Political philosophy : what it is and why it matters / Ronald Beiner.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Beiner, Ronald, 1953- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Political science--Philosophy.

Political science.

Physical Description:

lv, 247 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2014.

Summary:

What is political philosophy? Ronald Beiner makes the case that it is centrally defined by supremely ambitious reflection on the ends of life. We pursue this reflection by exposing ourselves to, and participating in, a perennial dialogue among epic theorists who articulate grand visions of what constitutes the authentic good for human beings. Who are these epic theorists, and what are their strengths and weaknesses? Beiner selects a dozen leading candidates: Arendt, Oakeshott, Strauss, Lowith, Voegelin, Weil, Gadamer, Habermas, Foucault, MacIntyre, Rawls, and Rorty. In each case, he shows both why the political philosophies continue to be intellectually compelling and why they are problematic or can be challenged in various ways. In this sense, Political Philosophy attempts to draw up a balance sheet for political philosophy in the twentieth century, by identifying a canon of towering contributions and reviewing the extent to which they fulfill their intellectual aspirations.

Contents:

First prologue: horizons of political reflection

Second prologue: Freud, Weber, and political philosophy

Hannah Arendt: the performativity of politics

Michael Oakeshott: life's adventure

Leo Strauss: the politics of philosophy

Karl Löwith: in awe of the cosmos

Excursus on nature and history in the Strauss-Lö̈with correspondence

Eric Voegelin: modernity's vortex

Simone Weil: the politics of the soul

Hans-Georg Gadamer: philosophy without hubris

Jürgen Habermas: politics as rational discourse

Michel Foucault's carceral society

Alasdair MacIntyre: fragmentation and wholeness

Short excursus on the rise and decline of communitarianism as a political philosophy

John Rawls and the death of political philosophy

Richard Rorty: knocking philosophy off its pedestal; or, the death of political philosophy postmodernized.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781107069954

1107069955

9781107680555

1107680557

OCLC:

871219510