Hope, or On Theology

Chapter 6 turns to Fénelon’s theology, focusing on his treatment of hope and its significance for his political philosophy. It argues that he regarded hope not just as a key theological virtue, but also as a key virtue of political rulers and political reformers. Its discussion of the political implications of Fénelon’s theology proceeds in three parts. It first examines the role of hope in Telemachus. It then turns to the treatment of hope in Fénelon’s theology, focusing on three particular discussions: the place of hope in love, the relationship of hope to self-interest, and the place of hope in prayer. The final section turns to two aspects of Fénelon’s theology beyond hope which also have significant implications for his political philosophy: his understanding of the relationship of human being to divine being, and his arguments for the existence of God and their implications for universal order.

Courage, or On War

Chapter 3 examines Fénelon’s theory of international relations. His commitment to peace has long been appreciated. But where many have suggested that Fénelon calls for a renunciation of war in accord with his ostensibly quietist spirituality, this chapter argues that his position on war is less pacifistic and idealistic than such readings suggest. For even as he disparages war on religious and humanitarian grounds, Fénelon’s realism manifests itself in two ways: a belief that peace requires readiness to use power as demanded by necessity properly understood; and a belief that peace can be made to last only if certain institutional structures are established (a teaching that informs his positions on strategic diplomacy and active bilateral engagement, international confederations and collective alliances, and international free trade). In so doing, the chapter emphasizes the significance of his distinction between “false courage” and “true courage” for his theory of just war and his balance-of-powers theory.

Prudence, or On Education

Chapter 1 examines Fénelon’s contributions as an educator. It focuses on four texts indispensable to appreciating the methods and aims of his masterwork Telemachus. These include the book-length Dialogues on Eloquence and Education of Girls, and his shorter Letter to the Academy and “Advice on Education.” In interpreting these texts, it argues that fundamental to them—and indeed to Fénelon’s political philosophy as a whole—is Fénelon’s claim that the proper aim of moral and political education is not substituting pure love for self-love, but rather discouraging pernicious self-love and encouraging healthy self-love. Fénelon describes this as a shift from “false glory” to “true glory.” And this shift, it argues, is central to Fénelon’s political philosophy, and also reveals him to be an insightful moral psychologist as well as a moderate and subtle political thinker.

Justice, or On Statesmanship

Chapter 4 examines Fenelon’s ideas on statesmanship. Focusing on his views on the relationship of moral virtue to political virtue, it emphasizes his core teaching that good governance of others begins with good government of the self. Yet the self-rule and self-control that Fénelon asks of political leaders is distinct from the renunciation and “annihilation” of the self central to his spirituality of pure love. Good rulers, he argues, need to cultivate both mastery of pernicious pleasures and openness to true pleasures, as each disposition has a crucial political function. To show this, the chapter begins with Fénelon’s distinction between true pleasure and false pleasure, and then shows how this distinction shapes his lessons on how a ruler ought to be disposed toward ministers and counselors. The chapter concludes by examining Fénelon’s understanding of the practical political institutions most necessary for justice in the state.

Introduction

The introduction has three aims. First, it sets forth the reasons why a monongraph on Fénelon’s thought is needed: namely in order to remedy the striking neglect Fénelon has received in the Anglophone world given his historical influence, his intrinsic interest, and his present relevance. Second, it provides an introduction to Fénelon’s life and works to familiarize readers with his context and the range of his intellectual contributions. Third, it presents the three interpretive contributions, beyond reconstruction of his system, that this book makes to the extant scholarship.

Epilogue

The book concludes with a brief epilogue that restates its central claims and calls particular emphasis to the unifying distinction between true and false that both animates and connects so many of Fénelon’s treatments of discrete topics—and also constitutes one of the key reasons why his political philosophy remains relevant to us today.

Love, or On the Best Life

Chapter 7 focuses on Fénelon’s concept of pure love and its relationship to his political philosophy. In so doing, it contests the common claim that Fénelon sought to realize pure love in political practice. In contrast, it argues that his political philosophy is in fact animated by a deep awareness of the gap that separates the world of human glory from the world of divine glory, the earthly city from the heavenly city. To this end it proceeds in three parts. The first part examines his definition of pure love, and the degree to which this definition comports with the categories of his political thought. The next section examines Fénelon’s understanding of the life of pure love, and how it compares to the lives led by political rulers and philosophers. The final section offers a brief consideration of Fénelon’s own life seen through the lens of pure love.

Faith, or On Religion

Chapter 5 shifts from Fénelon’s practical writings to his writings on metaphysics, theology, and spirituality. In surveying these writings, this and the following two chapters aim not to provide exhaustive treatments of these areas of his thought, but to demonstrate their significance for Fénelon’s political philosophy. Chapter 5 begins this by presenting Fénelon’s views on the political significance of religious faith. In so doing, it focuses on his realist claims regarding how religious faith and institutions can serve as checks on political power. Its first part examines his claims regarding the connection of irreligion and tyranny. It then examines his claims regarding how religion can mitigate propensities to tyranny. Its final section turns to Fénelon’s nuanced position on the proper relationship of Church and State, which centers on the way in which religious institutions can provide useful checks on executive power.

Moderation, or On Economics

Chapter 2 offers an overview and interpretation of Fénelon’s economic thought. Contra those who have found in Fénelon a precursor to certain radical economic ideologies, it argues that attempting to understand his economic positions via such categories is mistaken. Fénelon in fact stakes out substantively moderate economic positions on three fronts: his belief that the proper end of political economy is sufficiency and not austerity, his emphasis on stability and avoiding both contraction and dependence on growth, and his claim that flourishing economies embrace not just agriculture but also commerce and trade. To show this, the chapter examines the economic arrangements of several states depicted in Telemachus, as well as Fénelon’s practical proposals for the reform of the French economy—all of which are connected by a unifying distinction between “false riches” and “true riches.”