Making Facts, Using Facts: Two Poetics of the Factual and One Theory of the Political

PMLA ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 134 (5) ◽  
pp. 1165-1172
Author(s):  
Chenxi Tang
Keyword(s):  
Political Thought ◽  
Political Action ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Space ◽  
Factual Information ◽  
The World ◽  
Political Realm

In political thought, there is perhaps no more penetrating scrutiny of the significance of the factual than hannah Arendt's essay “Truth and Politics.” “Facts and events,” Arendt observes, are the “invariable outcome of men living and acting together.” As such, they “constitute the very texture of the political realm” (227). Concerning words and deeds of many actors, factual truth must be the basis for deliberations and opinions in the political space. “Freedom of opinion,” she continues, “is a farce unless factual information is guaranteed and the facts themselves are not in dispute. In other words, factual truth informs political thought just as rational truth informs philosophical speculation” (234). Yet facts are infinitely fragile things, for they occur in the ever-changing field of human affairs, “established through testimony by eyewitnesses—notoriously unreliable—and by records, documents, and monuments, all of which can be suspected as forgeries” (239). Facts can be manipulated, even denied outright by the powers that be. The lie, opposed to factual truth as error is to rational truth, represents a deliberate political action, since it aims “to change the world” (246).

scholarly journals Dos espaços da sociabilidade aos espaços da ação política: transfiguração de ruas e praças em espaços políticos/From spaces of sociability to spaces of political action: transfiguration of streets and squares into political spaces

2018 ◽  
pp. 214-234
Author(s):  
Guilherme Felix Machado Filho
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Analysis ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Space ◽  
Social Spaces ◽  
The World ◽  
Political Scene

RESUMONos últimos anos, o cenário político mundial foi agitado por inúmeras manifestações que sacudiram ruas e praças, transfigurando, assim, em determinados momentos, espaços públicos – espaços do convívio social público - em espaços políticos – espaços da intencionalidade política. Diante disso, este artigo tem como objetivo analisar esse processo de transfiguração a partir de duas perspectivas de análise espacial próprias aos espaços políticos: a forma de organização dos/nos espaços e a exploração de sua visibilidade. Tomando como referência as manifestações ocorridas no Brasil no período de 2015 a 2016, verificou-se que o uso político de ruas e praças não é ocasional, mas resultado de estratégias definidas pelos grupos manifestantes de acordo com suas próprias características, como o tema da manifestação, o número de pessoas e a narrativa a ser criada, e as condições espaciais encontradas, como a visibilidade, o tamanho, a acessibilidade e os símbolos presentes nestes espaços.Palavras-chave: espaço político, ruas e praças, manifestações políticas, ação política. ABSTRACTIn recent years, the world political scene has been agitated by numerous demonstrations that have shaken streets and squares, thus transfiguring, at certain moments, public spaces - public social spaces - in political spaces - spaces of political intentions. Therefore, this article aims to analyze this process of transfiguration from two perspectives of spatial analysis specific to political spaces: the organization of spaces and the exploration of their visibility. Taking as a reference the manifestations that occurred in Brazil in the period from 2015 to 2016, it was verified that the political use of streets and squares is not occasional, but the result of strategies defined by the protesting groups according to their own characteristics, as the theme of the manifestation , the number of people and the narrative to be created, and the spatial conditions found, such as visibility, size, accessibility and symbols present in these spaces.Keywords: political space, streets and squares, political manifestations, political action

Heraclitus’ Political Thought

Apeiron ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 405-426 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Maximilian Robitzsch
Keyword(s):  
Political Thought ◽  
Political Order ◽  
Traditional View ◽  
The Political ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
Political Thinking ◽  
Difficult Question ◽  
Close Analysis ◽  
Political Realm

Abstract This paper deals with Heraclitus’ political thought. First, in discussing the conception of cosmic justice, it argues that it is a mistake to separate Heraclitus’ political thought from his cosmological thought. Second, the paper works out two basic principles of Heraclitean political thinking by offering a close analysis of fragment B 114 as well as related texts. According to Heraclitus, (1) there is a standard common and relevant to all human beings in the political realm, namely, the logos, and (2) ruling well is a matter of grasping the logos and using it as a guide in all things political. Finally, the paper tackles the notoriously difficult question of whether there are certain forms of political order towards which Heraclitean thought is more or less inclined. According to what may be called the traditional view, Heraclitus is seen as a supporter of an aristocratic political order, while according to what may be called the revisionist view, Heraclitus is classified as a supporter of a democratic political order. The paper concludes that while Heraclitean philosophy is compatible with a plethora of different forms of political order, including democratic ones, the two basic principles of Heraclitean politics that were distinguished above are more conducive to aristocratic forms of political order.

Baroque and the Political Language of Formalism (1845–1945): Burckhardt, Wölfflin, Gurlitt, Brinckmann, Sedlmayr

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evonne Levy
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual History ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
Art History ◽  
Architectural History ◽  
The Political ◽  
Nazi Party ◽  
Political Views ◽  
The World ◽  
Art Historians ◽  
Central Argument

<P>This study in intellectual history places the art historical concept of the Baroque amidst world events, political thought, and the political views of art historians themselves. Exploring the political biographies and writings on the Baroque (primarily its architecture) of five prominent Germanophone figures, Levy gives a face to art history, showing its concepts arising in the world. From Jacob Burckhardt’s still debated "Jesuit style" to Hans Sedlmayr’s <I>Reichsstil</I>, the Baroque concepts of these German, Swiss and Austrian art historians, all politically conservative, and two of whom joined the Nazi party, were all took shape in reaction to immediate social and political circumstances. </P> <P>A central argument of the book is that basic terms of architectural history drew from a long established language of political thought. This vocabulary, applied in the formalisms of Wölfflin and Gurlitt, has endured as art history’s unacknowledged political substrate for generations. Classic works, like Wölfflin’s <I>Kunstgeschichtliche Grundbegriffe</I> are interpreted anew here, supported by new documents from the papers of each figure.</P>

History, Politics, Law

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Cross Section ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
International Institutions ◽  
The Political ◽  
Global Order ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Many

Historians of political thought and international lawyers have both expanded their interest in the formation of the present global order. History, Politics, Law is the first express encounter between the two disciplines, juxtaposing their perspectives on questions of method and substance. The essays throw light on their approaches to the role of politics and the political in the history of the world beyond the single polity. They discuss the contrast between practice and theory as well as the role of conceptual and contextual analyses in both fields. Specific themes raised for both disciplines include statehood, empires and the role of international institutions, as well as the roles of economics, innovation and gender. The result is a vibrant cross-section of contrasts and parallels between the methods and practices of the two disciplines, demonstrating the many ways in which both can learn from each other.

scholarly journals The crisis of modernity as the crisis of the political: Towards a critique of the reason of the ethos

2003 ◽  
pp. 61-85
Author(s):  
Simo Elakovic
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Political Power ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Decision ◽  
The World ◽  
Political Act ◽  
Crisis Of Modernity ◽  
Political Decision Making

The crisis of modernity as the crisis of the political is seen by the author primarily as a crisis of the "measure" of the criterion of political decision making and action. This crisis is understood in the first place as a crisis of self-awareness and practice of the ethos. Machiavelli was the first to attempt a solution to this problem by introducing the concept of virtus, which became the fundamental principle of modern political philosophy. However, many modern and contemporary interpreters of Machiavelli's thought often ignore the social and political context in which the political doctrine of the Florentine thinker arose. Namely, Machiavelli's effort to find an authentic form of the political act that would make possible a harmonization and stabilization of the dramatic political circumstances then prevailing in Italian cities required a reliable diagnosis and adequate means for a successful therapy of the sick organism of the community. The epochal novelty in Machiavelli's political theory was the shift from the ancient theorization of virtue to its modern operationalization. Nevertheless, this shift is often interpreted as a radical opposing of the Greek concept of arete to the Roman virtus, which is crudely and simplistically reduced to bravery and strength necessary for taking and keeping political power. Hegel in his political philosophy travels an important part of the road - unconsciously rather than consciously - along with Machiavelli and Shelling. This particularly holds for his understanding of the necessity of strength and bravery in the process of operationalizing the spirit of freedom in history through the mediation of "negation" as "the power of evil". The mediation of subjectivity and substantiality, according to Hegel, takes place in the state by the brutal bridling of the world spirit where not just individuals but whole peoples are sacrificed - toward freedom, i.e. its realization in the community of the ethos. The "trouble of the times" is a consequence of the separation between I and the world (Entzeiung) and stems from a reduced political reason which lacks the criterion of the ethical totality for political action and decision making. By the separation of the ethos this reason get routinized and political action is reduced to naked technique of winning and keeping political power. In the concluding segment of the paper the author points to some global consequences of the crisis of political decision making in the historical reality at the end of 20th century.

When Peace Kills Politics

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharath Srinivasan
Keyword(s):  
Civil Wars ◽  
Political Action ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Transformation ◽  
Peace Agreement ◽  
Original Contribution ◽  
Close Range ◽  
Civil Politics ◽  
Political Realm

When Peace Kills Politics explains the role of international peacemaking in reproducing violence and political authoritarianism in Sudan and South Sudan in recent decades. Srinivasan explains how Sudan’s landmark north–south peace process that achieved the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement fueled war in Darfur, the Nuba Mountains and the Blue Nile alongside how it contributed to Sudan’s failed political transformation and newly independent South Sudan’s rapid descent into civil war. Concluding with the conspicuous absence of ‘peace’ when non-violent revolutionary political change came to Sudan in 2019, Srinivasan examines at close range why outsiders’ peace projects may displace civil politics and raise the political currency of violence. With an original contribution to theorizing peace and peacemaking drawing upon the political thought of Hannah Arendt, the book is an analysis of the tragic shortcomings of attempting to build a non-violent political realm through neat designs and tools of compulsion, where the end goal of peace becomes caught up in idealized constitutional texts, technocratic templates and deals on sharing spoils. When Peace Kills Politics demands a radical rethinking of the project of peace in civil wars, grounded in a more earnest commitment to civil political action.

Constructing human agency

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annabel S. Brett
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Human Agency ◽  
The Political ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Political Space ◽  
Free Agency ◽  
Natural Agents ◽  
The World ◽  
Theological Differences

This chapter argues that human agency is free agency. It is freedom, or dominium over one's own actions, which makes a human being different from all other animals; and it is the foundation of the world of the moral, the juridical, and the political, which are all continuous with one another and from which animals—and a fortiori all other natural agents—are excluded. However, during the sixteenth century, the idea that human beings are essentially and ineradicably free to control their own actions came under severe pressure from new and irreconcilable theological differences over the freedom of the human will—differences that therefore implicitly pressured the primary threshold of political space.

John Adams's Machiavellian Moment

1995 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 389-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Bradley Thompson
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Political ◽  
John Adams ◽  
Founding Fathers ◽  
The World ◽  
Political Epistemology

John Adams was unique among the Founding Fathers in that he actually read and took seriously Machiavelli's ideas. In his Defence of the Constitutions of the United States, Adams quoted extensively from Machiavelli and he openly acknowledged an intellectual debt to the Florentine statesman. Adams praised Machiavelli for having been “the first” to have “revived the ancient politics” and he insisted that the “world” was much indebted to Machiavelli for “the revival of reason in matters of government.” What could Adams have meant by these extraordinary statements? The following article examines the Machiavellian ideas and principles Adams incorporated into his political thought as well as those that he rejected. Drawing upon evidence found in an unpublished fragment, Part one argues that the political epistemology that Adams employed in the Defence can be traced to Machiavelli's new modes and orders. Part two presents Adams's critique of Machiavelli's constitutionalism.

scholarly journals Espaço político e tensão democrática: os protestos recentes e a potência política das ruas/Political space and democratic tension: the recent protests and the political power of the streets

2018 ◽  
pp. 162-181
Author(s):  
Sérgio Silva Borges
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Political Power ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Space ◽  
Public Places ◽  
Contemporary Debate ◽  
The Public ◽  
Empirical Survey

RESUMOEste artigo busca analisar a potência política das ruas. Aborda-se, à luz de mobilizações políticas contemporâneas, a transformação de espaços do cotidiano social em recurso para a ação política. Este é o objetivo do texto, analisar, com base em episódios do ciclo de protestos recentes, a exemplo das Jornadas de Junho de 2013, no Brasil, o poder das ruas, sua potência política e a conexão existente entre essas arenas e os espaços de decisão. Acredita-se que certas manifestações políticas transformam logradouros públicos em espaços políticos abertos. Nesse sentido, fez-se uma breve discussão sobre o debate contemporâneo a respeito do espaço público para delinear uma distinção entre esse e o espaço político aberto e problematizar as condições pelas quais espaços de sociabilidade transformam-se em espaços de conflito e ação. Procurou-se, através de um levantamento empírico, explicitar a tensão entre as instituições e as ruas, bem como a potência política dessa última. Notar-se-á que diferentes manifestações políticas criam tipos ou subcategorias de espaços políticos. Palavras-chave: Espaço político; Potência política; Tensão democrática. ABSTRACTThis paper aims to analyze the potential political power of the streets. The approach, in the light of contemporary political mobilizations, is the transformation of social everyday spaces into a resource for political action. This text analyzes the power of the streets based on the cycle of recent protests in Brazil, such as the Journeys of June 2013, as well as their political power and the connection between these arenas and the spaces of decision. It is assumed that certain political manifestations turn public places into open political spaces. In this sense, a brief discussion was made on the contemporary debate about the public space to delineate a distinction between the public space and the open political space in order to problematize the conditions by which spaces of sociability become spaces of conflict and action. Through an empirical survey, it is attempted to explain the tension between institutions and the streets, as well as their the political power. It will be noted that different political manifestations create types or subcategories of political spaces.Keywords: Political space; Political power; Democratic tension.

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