scholarly journals Eric Voegelin e i simboli del politico

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Massimo Mezzanzanica
Keyword(s):  
New Science ◽  
Eric Voegelin ◽  
The Relationship

The article deals with Eric Voegelin’s analysis of the symbolic dimension of politics and history. It focuses at first on the analysis of the relationship between religion, politics and totalitarianism in the essay on “political religions” and outlines some aspects of the context in which this essay was written. Some characteristics of Voegelin's methodological reflections on the idea of a “new science” of politics are then presented and it is then shown how the attempt to understand the relationship between ideas and symbols opens a new horizon of research, in which the relationship between symbol and representation, and that between symbol, history and being, around which the monumental, and unfinished work Order and History moves, are the main axes.

Bentham's Metaphysics and the Science of Divinity

1986 ◽  
Vol 79 (4) ◽  
pp. 387-411
Author(s):  
James E. Crimmins
Keyword(s):  
Physical Science ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
Full Description ◽  
Intellectual Life ◽  
Jeremy Bentham ◽  
Natural Religion ◽  
New Science ◽  
Scant Attention ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Critique Of Religion

The utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) has long been recognized as an exponent of a new science of society. However, scholars of his thought have given scant attention to at least one important aspect of that science: the relationship between the metaphysical presuppositions of his social science and his view on religion. Rarely is it considered that Bentham's aspiration to create a science of society in emulation of physical science was fundamental to his critique of religion just as it was to all other areas of his thought. This critique of religion was set out principally in a series of works written between the years 1809 and 1823. Swear Not at All was published in 1817, and followed a year later, after earlier efforts were aborted in 1809 and 1813, by Church-of-Englandism and its Catechism Examined. The Analysis of the Influence of Natural Religion on the Temporal Happiness of Mankind appeared in 1822 and Not Paul, but Jesus in 1823. It was not merely a coincidence that in the very period when Bentham devoted so much of his time to religion his work on metaphysics and logic substantially reached fruition. The “Book on Logic,” on which Bentham worked at intervals between 1811 and 1821, was intended to give a full description of his “method.” The work was never completed but was eventually edited and included in several fragments in John Bowring's edition of The Works of Jeremy Bentham. The essay on “Nomography” with an appendix on “Logical Arrangements, or Instruments of Invention and Discovery Employed by Jeremy Bentham” is included in the third volume, and in the eighth volume is to be found the “Essay on Logic,” “A Fragment on Ontology,” the “Essay on Language,” and the “Fragments on Universal Grammar.” The metaphysics described in these essays by Bentham was initially developed by him during the formative years of his intellectual life in the early 1770s, and he was always aware of its particular consequences in the field of religion.

scholarly journals Eric Voegelin and Gnostic Hollywood: Cinematic Portrayals of the Immanentization of the Eschaton in Dark City (1998) and Pleasantville (1998)

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 220-242
Author(s):  
Fryderyk Kwiatkowski
Keyword(s):  
New Science ◽  
Hollywood Films ◽  
Eric Voegelin

Abstract In the first part of the paper, I will provide an overview of Eric Voegelin’s early thesis about Gnosis which he formulated in The New Science of Politics (1952) and Science, Politics, and Gnosticism (1968). A special attention will be paid to the idea of the immanentization of the eschaton which remains in the center of his argument. In the second part of the paper, I will analyze two Hollywood films in the light of Voegelin’s thesis: Dark City (1998) and Pleasantville (1998). Firstly, I will argue that the main characters depicted in the films can be classified as Gnostics in Voegelin’s sense. Secondly, I will demonstrate that their revolutionary acts reflect the idea of the immanentization of the eschaton.

The Is-Ought Problem, the Open Question Argument, and the new science of morality

Human Affairs ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Radim Bělohrad
Keyword(s):  
New Science ◽  
Open Question Argument ◽  
Open Question ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Is Ought Problem ◽  
Recent Attack

AbstractThe article deals with a recent attack by Sam Harris on two famous arguments that purport to establish a gap between factual and evaluative statements—Hume’s Is-Ought Problem and Moore’s Open Question Argument. I present the arguments, analyze the relationship between them and critically assess Harris’ attempt to refute them. I conclude that Harris’ attempt fails.

scholarly journals Reflexões sobre ética e ciência: ensaio no contexto de pandemia Covid-19

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 55-69
Author(s):  
Paulo César Carbonari
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
The Other ◽  
Critical Position ◽  
Alternative Concept ◽  
Critical Elements ◽  
New Science ◽  
Understanding Of Science ◽  
The One ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Understanding Science

Este ensaio apresenta reflexões para tematizar uma certa compreensão de ciência e de ética. O faz recuperando elementos críticos tanto de uma quanto da outra e, particularmente da relação entre elas. As preocupações se situam no contexto dos processos de enfrentamento da pandemia Covid-19. Situa-se numa posição crítica tanto às posições anticientíficas e também aquelas que são adesistas a uma certa forma de entender a ciência como absoluta. Procura escapar do dilema que separa falsamente o debate entre “negacionismo anticientífico” e “cientificismo primário”. Além dos aspectos contextuais, busca apresentar alternativas. Em tom ensaístico, faz uma crítica ao conceito de ciência tradicional, apresenta um conceito alternativo de ciência, discute criticamente ideia de progresso, de procedimentos, entre outros aspectos. Defende a proposta de uma nova ciência e de uma nova ética. O pano de fundo é explicitado pela apresentação da proposta de compreensão de direitos humanos em travessia como parte deste debate entre ética é ciência.    Reflections on ethics and science: essay in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic This essay presents reflections to thematize a certain understanding of science and ethics. It does this by recovering critical elements from both the one and the other, and particularly the relationship between them. The concerns are in the context of the processes of coping with the Covid-19 pandemic. It is in a critical position both to anti-scientific positions and also to those who are adherents to a certain way of understanding science as absolute. It seeks to escape the dilemma that falsely separates the debate between “anti-scientific denialism” and “primary scientism”. In addition to the contextual aspects, it seeks to present alternatives. In an essayistic tone, criticizes the concept of traditional science, presents an alternative concept of science, discusses critically the idea of progress, of procedures, among other aspects. He defends the proposal of a new science and a new ethics. The background is made explicit by the presentation of the proposed understanding of human rights in crossing as part of this debate between ethics and science. Keywords: Science. Ethic. Covid-19. Human rights.  

The Cybernetic Matrix of `French Theory'

2007 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 27-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Céline Lafontaine
Keyword(s):  
Jacques Lacan ◽  
Information Feedback ◽  
New Science ◽  
Informational Model ◽  
Philosophical Movement ◽  
Roman Jakobson ◽  
Postmodern Philosophy ◽  
French Theory ◽  
The Relationship

This article aims to draw a portrait of the influence of cybernetics on soft science. To this end, structuralism, post-structuralism and postmodern philosophy will be successively analyzed in a perspective based on importing concepts stemming from the cybernetic paradigm (information, feedback, entropy, complexity, etc.). By focusing more specifically on the American postwar context, we intend to remind the audience that many soft science specialists were involved in the elaboration of this ‘new science’. We will then retrace the influence of the cybernetic paradigm on structuralism. Starting with the historic meeting between Roman Jakobson and Claude Lévi-Strauss, we will illustrate that structural phonology is directly inspired by discoveries stemming from the informational model. In the same perspective, the conceptual borrowings of psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan from cybernetics will be identified and analyzed. Then, we will address the matter of the relationship between postmodern theories and the cybernetic paradigm. The philosophical movement towards deconstruction, as well as Deleuze and Guattari’s philosophy, will be analyzed based on how they relate to this paradigm. We will also insist on the fact that the philosophy of Jean- François Lyotard’s La Condition postmoderne is fully in line with the epistemological revolution launched by cybernetics.

Helvétius and the Roots of the “Closed” Society

1974 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 153-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Blair Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Modern Science ◽  
Political Consequences ◽  
New Science ◽  
Political Views ◽  
Historical Circumstance ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
General Perspective

The argument of this essay is that Talmon and Popper are mistaken in their suggestion that speculation about human affairs is governed by an inexorable logic of political consequences: that there exist certain broad perspectives or ‘paradigms” that impel men willy-nilly to pathological extremes in their political views, apart from intention or historical circumstance.I seek to demonstrate that the general perspective which informed the thought of Helvétius—unquestionably one of the most manipulative of thinkers in his conception of politics—was simply the framework of early-modern science, as it was understood in France. It was the same philosophy which served his unequivocally libertarian contemporaries, such as Voltaire and Diderot, as well as their predecessors. Helvétius' political conclusions resulted, not from pathological attitudes or doctrines, but rather from his attempt to resolve a problem engendered within the new science, a fundamental dilemma in French thinking concerning the relationship of the individual to society and the state.

scholarly journals THE CONCEPT OF GNOSTICISM IN THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF E. VOEGELIN

2020 ◽  
pp. 53-62
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
National Socialism ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Western World ◽  
New Science ◽  
Eric Voegelin

The article discusses the concept of political Gnosticism, developed by the philosopher Eric Voegelin. This concept is one of the main elements of Voegelin’s political philosophy, in which he answers the question about the essence of modern politics. Voegelin believes that modernity is the result of the historical victory of the ideology of “Gnosticism”. The historical roots of Gnosticism, says Voegelin, should not be sought in late antiquity, but in the Middle Ages. Based on the ideas of Christian mystics, such as Joachim of Flore, an ideology of Gnosticism was formed, which spread in the Western world and became a powerful political force. This force accomplished the “great Gnostic revolution” and shaped modern society. Examples of modern Gnostic regimes are progressivism, positivism, Marxism, psychoanalysis, communism, fascism, National Socialism. Modern political science is not able to give a critical understanding of Gnosticism, since it itself is a product of Gnostic ideology. Therefore, modern political science needs to restore its fundamental principles, which were established by ancient philosophers, the founders of the philosophy of politics. Voegelin calls this the reteoretisation of political science. The author of the article analyzes the theoretical and historical grounds of Voegelin’s concept and concludes that one of the sources of his theory of political Gnosticism is Hegel’s doctrine of unhappy consciousness. The article also proves that Voegelin’s concept of Gnosticism is not identical with historical Gnosticism. The author also analyzes the reasons why political science of the twentieth century did not accept this concept and did not draw conclusions from criticism of political science in the work “New Science of Politics” by Voegelin. The article concludes that the changes that are taking place in the modern world force us to reconsider and overestimate Voegelin’s concept, which, in our opinion, has great heuristic potential.

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