Bodin Jean (c.1529–96), French political philosopher whose philosophy centers on the concept of sovereignty. His Six livres de la république (1577) defines a state as constituted by common public interests, families, and the sovereign. The sovereign is the lawgiver, who stands beyond the absolute rights he possesses; he must, however, follow the law of God, natural law, and the constitution. The ideal state was for Bodin a monarchy that uses aristocratic and democratic structures of government for the sake of the common good. In order to achieve a broader empirical picture of politics Bodin used historical comparisons. This is methodologically reflected in his Methodus ad facilem historiarum cognitionem (1566).
Bodin was clearly a theorist of absolutism. As a member of the Politique group he played a practical role in emancipating the state from the church. His thinking was influenced by his experience of civil war. In his Heptaplomeres (posthumous) he pleaded for tolerance with respect to all religions, including Islam and Judaism. As a public prosecutor, however, he wrote a manual for judges in witchcraft trials (De la démonomanie des sorciers, 1580). By stressing the peacemaking role of a strong state Bodin was a forerunner of Hobbes.
See also HOBBES, POLITICAL PHILOSOPH. H.P.