John Selden
John Selden | |
|---|---|
John Selden (portrait by an unknown artist) | |
| Born | 16 December 1584 Salvington, Sussex |
| Died | 30 November 1654 (aged 69) White Friars, London |
| Education | |
| Alma mater | Hart Hall, Oxford |
| Philosophical work | |
| Era | 17th-century philosophy |
| Region | Western philosophy |
| School | Natural law, social contract, humanism |
| Main interests | Political philosophy, legal history |
| Notable ideas | Proposed an egoistic theory of moral motivation, maintained that natural law was revealed historically through (esp. Hebrew) scripture, argued that civil law arises from contract |
John Selden (16 December 1584 – 30 November 1654) was an English jurist, a scholar of England's ancient laws and constitution and scholar of Jewish law. He was known as a polymath; John Milton hailed Selden in 1644 as "the chief of learned men reputed in this land".