Resumo
Princípios e Questões de Filosofia Política (Vol.
1 of 2) by António Cândido Ribeiro da Costa, published in 1878, is a dissertation presented at the University of Coimbra, exploring the scientific foundations of political philosophy, with a focus on the conditions for suffrage.
The work argues that politics is an experimental science, rooted in observable social phenomena, and critiques speculative theories like absolute principles, the influence of great men, and divine providence as inadequate for explaining social evolution.
It emphasizes the importance of empirical observation and the biological underpinnings of sociology, drawing on thinkers like Turgot, Kant, Condorcet, Spencer, and Darwin.