4. Political philosophers and the history of political thought

2021 ◽  
pp. 51-66
Author(s):  
Richard Whatmore
Keyword(s):  
Data Analysis ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
Policy Recommendations ◽  
Public Intellectuals ◽  
History Of Political Thought ◽  
History Of ◽  
The 1950S ◽  
The Right ◽  
History And Theory

‘Political philosophers and the history of political thought’ discusses the confidence in the 1950s that the ‘right’ system of politics, economy and society had been discovered and linked with a turn away from history and theory. Behavioralism, which was propagated by Heinz Eulau, David Easton, and other political scientists, demanded the analysis of politics through the assertion of claims that could be verified or refuted. Data analysis could test hypotheses and come up with irrefutable policy recommendations. Domestic and international liberalism are coupled with variants of pacific socialism or communitarianism. There are a number of renowned political theorists who turned into public intellectuals, such as Norberto Bobbio and Jürgen Habermass.

scholarly journals Meanings and Understandings in the History of Ideas

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 232-256
Author(s):  
Adrian Blau
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual History ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
Philosophy Of Language ◽  
History Of Ideas ◽  
History Of Political Thought ◽  
History Of ◽  
The 1950S ◽  
Intellectual Foundations

Abstract This paper presents a framework of four types of meaning and understanding in the history of political thought and intellectual history. Previous frameworks have overlooked a whole type of meaning – the type often prioritised by political theorists and philosophers. I call this “extended meaning.” Correcting a wrong turn in philosophy of language in the 1950s, I show how extended meaning has robust intellectual foundations, and I illustrate its value for textual interpreters. Even historians often need extended meaning, for example to help resolve ambiguous passages. So, the main types of meaning are not alternatives: scholars interested in one kind of meaning still need others. This paper thus celebrates both diversity and unity.

Postmodern Approaches to the History of Political Thought

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua Foa Dienstag
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Other ◽  
Leo Strauss ◽  
History Of Political Thought ◽  
History Of ◽  
The 1950S

This article describes the postmodern approach to the history of political thought that has evolved through the practices of a variety of theorists in both Europe and the United States since the 1950s. It maintains that Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophy is the originating point of this movement, although neither he nor any of the other theorists it mentions left any canonical statements of methods to compare with the works of Quentin Skinner or Leo Strauss. Terms such as “deconstruction,” “genealogy,” and “radical hermeneutics” are often used to describe these methods. At the broadest level, the postmodern approach displays an acute sensitivity to the role of language in politics, and in political theory itself, that originates in the work of Nietzsche. While postmodernism is nothing if not a congeries of method, this article argues that these diverse approaches have, if not a unity, than at least common sources and overlapping themes.

A Virtue for Courageous Minds

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aurelian Craiutu
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
French Revolution ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
Moral Virtue ◽  
Individual Liberty ◽  
History Of Political Thought ◽  
Common Notion ◽  
History Of ◽  
Benjamin Constant ◽  
Intellectual Foundations

Political moderation is the touchstone of democracy, which could not function without compromise and bargaining, yet it is one of the most understudied concepts in political theory. How can we explain this striking paradox? Why do we often underestimate the virtue of moderation? Seeking to answer these questions, this book examines moderation in modern French political thought and sheds light on the French Revolution and its legacy. The book begins with classical thinkers who extolled the virtues of a moderate approach to politics, such as Aristotle and Cicero. It then shows how Montesquieu inaugurated the modern rebirth of this tradition by laying the intellectual foundations for moderate government. The book looks at important figures such as Jacques Necker, Germaine de Staël, and Benjamin Constant, not only in the context of revolutionary France but throughout Europe. It traces how moderation evolves from an individual moral virtue into a set of institutional arrangements calculated to protect individual liberty, and explores the deep affinity between political moderation and constitutional complexity. The book demonstrates how moderation navigates between political extremes, and it challenges the common notion that moderation is an essentially conservative virtue, stressing instead its eclectic nature. Drawing on a broad range of writings in political theory, the history of political thought, philosophy, and law, the book reveals how the virtue of political moderation can address the profound complexities of the world today.

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