Tobias Barreto’s Complete Works: Rediscovering a Classic

Forschungsprojekt

The "Complete Works of Tobias Barreto" project seeks to bring one of Brazil’s most influential legal thinkers back into modern legal discourse. Tobias Barreto (1839–1889), a philosopher, jurist, and leader of the Escola do Recife movement, significantly shaped Brazilian legal thought. Despite his impact, much of his work has remained scattered and underappreciated. This project addresses that by compiling a comprehensive twelve-volume collection, including many previously unpublished texts, offering fresh insights into his 19th-century jurisprudence. Born in Vila de Campo in Northeast Brazil, Barreto was a self-taught scholar fluent in multiple languages. His engagement with German legal philosophy, particularly the works of Kant, Hegel, and Savigny, informed his quest for a new legal structure in Brazil.

He did not merely imitate these ideas; instead, he reformulated Brazilian law into a more adaptable framework focused on social issues. This re-edition will highlight Barreto's contributions to legal theory, philosophy, and literature. It allows researchers to explore connections between historical and contemporary debates on legal methodology and the role of law in society. The collection addresses themes like natural law, justice, and the interplay between legal systems and morality, providing valuable material for understanding how legal scholarship adapts to societal shifts. By re-editing Barreto’s works, the project reconstructs 19th-century Brazilian intellectual life, showing how his ideas on law, ethics, and society remain relevant today. This collection is a key resource for scholars, enriching discussions on the intersection of law, philosophy, and society.