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Aristotle: Democracy and Political Science

Delba Winthrop

Harvey C. Mansfield (ed.)

In our time democracy is seen as the best or even the only legitimate form of government, and not in need of defense. Delba Winthrop in this posthumous publication takes up the challenge of ... More

In our time democracy is seen as the best or even the only legitimate form of government, and not in need of defense. Delba Winthrop in this posthumous publication takes up the challenge of justifying democracy through Aristotle’s political science. She begins from the fact that democrats want inclusiveness; they want above all to include everyone as a part of a whole. But what makes a whole? Winthrop pursues the answer with a comprehensive interpretation of Aristotle’s Politics, Book3, uncovering the insights philosophy brings to politics and, especially, the insights politics brings to philosophy. Central to politics is the quality of assertiveness—the kind of speech that demands to be heard. Aristotle, as shown for the first time, carries assertive speech into philosophy, where human reason claims its due as a contribution to the universe.Less

Authoritarian Apprehensions: Ideology, Judgment, and Mourning in Syria

Lisa Wedeen

If the Arab uprisings initially heralded the end of tyrannies and a move toward liberal democratic governments, their defeat not only marked a reversal but was of a piece with emerging forms of ... More

If the Arab uprisings initially heralded the end of tyrannies and a move toward liberal democratic governments, their defeat not only marked a reversal but was of a piece with emerging forms of authoritarianism worldwide. In Authoritarian Apprehensions, Lisa Wedeen draws on her decades-long engagement with Syria to offer an erudite and compassionate analysis of this extraordinary rush of events—the revolutionary exhilaration of the initial days of unrest and then the devastating violence that shattered hopes of any quick undoing of dictatorship. Developing a fresh, insightful, and theoretically imaginative approach to both authoritarianism and conflict, Wedeen asks, What led a sizable part of the citizenry to stick by the regime through one atrocity after another? What happens to political judgment in a context of pervasive misinformation? And what might the Syrian example suggest about how authoritarian leaders exploit digital media to create uncertainty, political impasses, and fractures among their citizens? Drawing on extensive fieldwork and a variety of Syrian artistic practices, Wedeen lays bare the ideological investments that sustain ambivalent attachments to established organizations of power and contribute to the ongoing challenge of pursuing political change. This masterful book is a testament to Wedeen’s deep engagement with some of the most troubling concerns of our political present and future.Less

Civic War & the Corruption of the Citizen

Peter Alexander Meyers

This book leads us through the social processes by which shock incites terror, terror invites war, war invokes emergency, and emergency supports unchecked power. It then reveals how the domestic ... More

This book leads us through the social processes by which shock incites terror, terror invites war, war invokes emergency, and emergency supports unchecked power. It then reveals how the domestic political culture created by the Cold War has driven these developments forward since 9/11, contending that our failure to acknowledge that this Cold War continues today is precisely what makes it so dangerous. The author argues that the mantra of our time—“everything changed on 9/11!”—is false and pernicious. By contrast, this book provides an account of long-term transformations in the citizen's experience of war, the constitution of political powers, and public uses of communication, and from that historical basis explains how a convergence of these social facts became the pretext for unprecedented opportunism and irresponsibility after 9/11. Where others have observed that our rights are under attack, the author digs deeper and finds that, today, “government by the people” itself is at risk. With historical and philosophical insight, this is a diagnosis of the American political scene that at once makes clear the new position of the citizen and the necessity for active citizenship if democracy is to endure.Less

The Cloaking of Power: Montesquieu, Blackstone, and the Rise of Judicial Activism

Paul O. Carrese

This book provides a provocative and original analysis of the intellectual sources of today's powerful judiciary, arguing that Montesquieu, in his Spirit of the Laws, first articulated a new ... More

This book provides a provocative and original analysis of the intellectual sources of today's powerful judiciary, arguing that Montesquieu, in his Spirit of the Laws, first articulated a new conception of the separation of powers and of strong but subtle courts. Montesquieu instructed statesmen and judges to “cloak power” by placing the robed power at the center of politics, while concealing judges behind citizen juries and subtle reforms. Tracing Montesquieu's conception of judicial power through Blackstone, Hamilton, and Tocqueville, the book shows how it led to the prominence of judges, courts, and lawyers in America today. But it places the blame for contemporary judicial activism squarely at the feet of Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. and his jurisprudential revolution—which it is argued is the source of the now-prevalent view that judging is merely political. To address this crisis, the book argues for a rediscovery of an independent judiciary-one that blends prudence and natural law with common law and that observes the moderate jurisprudence of Montesquieu and Blackstone, balancing abstract principles with realistic views of human nature and institutions. It also advocates for a return to the complex constitutionalism of the American founders and Tocqueville and for judges who understand their responsibility to elevate citizens above individualism, instructing them in law and right. Such judicial statesmanship, moderating democracy's excesses, the book explains, differs from an activism that favors isolated individuals and progressive policies over civic duties, communal principles, and constitutional tradition.Less

Conventional Realism and Political Inquiry: Channeling Wittgenstein

John G. Gunnell

This book is an exploration of the relationship between philosophy and various forms of political inquiry and is specifically and primarily devoted to advancing an argument for conventional realism. ... More

This book is an exploration of the relationship between philosophy and various forms of political inquiry and is specifically and primarily devoted to advancing an argument for conventional realism. The thesis is that everything we designate as “real,” whether natural or social, is rendered conventionally. This entails a rejection of the widely accepted distinction between what is natural and what is conventional as a way of demarcating natural science and social science. The argument is presented in an opposition to the deep-seated influence of representational philosophy on political science and political theory and particularly to the claim that the mind is the source and repository of meaning, that language is primarily a vehicle of thought and a means of communication, and that reality resides in some physical or metaphysical realm that stands behind our discursive practices. Both mentalism and realism have been embraced by political theorists in a perennial search for a foundation of epistemic authority as a means of gaining practical purpose. Although this is not principally a book about Ludwig Wittgenstein, the argument for conventional realism and the critique of mentalism and traditional realism are viewed as entailments of his work and of others who embraced his conception of philosophy as an interpretive endeavor and a form of social inquiry rather than undertaking the construction of a metaphysical “super-order.” In a brief conclusion, the book discusses the normative implications of conventional realism.Less

Creating Political Presence: The New Politics of Democratic Representation

Dario Castiglione and Johannes Pollak (eds)

For at least two centuries, democratic representation and how it should work has been at the center of many disputes. Representative democracy itself, though arguably the dominant political form of ... More

For at least two centuries, democratic representation and how it should work has been at the center of many disputes. Representative democracy itself, though arguably the dominant political form of constitutional states, remains a frequent focus of contestation, regarded as incapable of reflecting the will of the masses, or inadequate in today’s global governance. This view of democratic representation, based on a reflective and responsive mode, has lately been under attack for its failure to capture the performative and constructive elements of the process of representation. By contrast, the new literature is more attentive to the dynamic and mutually constructive aspects of the relationship between represented and representatives. In this book, a group of international scholars explores the implications of such a turn and the sense in which democratic representation needs the creation of political presence, as discussed in the opening essay. Two broad, overlapping perspectives emerge in the rest of the book. In the first section, the contributions investigate how political representation relates to empowerment, either facilitating or interfering with the capacity of citizens to develop autonomous judgment in collective decision making. Contributions in the second section look at representation from the perspective of inclusion, focusing on how representative relationships and claims articulate the demands of those who are excluded or have no voice. The final section examines political representation from a more systemic perspective, exploring its broader environmental conditions and the way it acquires democratic legitimacy.Less

Dangerous Counsel: Accountability and Advice in Ancient Greece

Matthew Landauer

This book examines the role of the sumboulos (adviser) in Greek conceptions of both democratic and autocratic politics. The distinctive role of advisers follows from the structural similarity between ... More

This book examines the role of the sumboulos (adviser) in Greek conceptions of both democratic and autocratic politics. The distinctive role of advisers follows from the structural similarity between the two regime types, especially with regard to accountability politics. The Athenian demos, gathered together in the assembly and in the popular courts, was understood in the fifth and fourth centuries to have competencies and powers akin to those of an autocratic ruler. In particular, both the demos and the autocrat were recognized as unaccountable rulers able to hold others, including their advisers, to account. Given the power asymmetries structuring the relationships between advisers and decision-makers in both democracies and autocracies, both practicing orators and theoretically inclined observers came to see that the problems and opportunities associated with having (or choosing) to speak to the powerful were comparable across regimes. In playing with the image of the demos as tyrant, fifth- and fourth- century authors such as Herodotus, Thucydides, Aristophanes, and Plato illuminated the logic of accountability and offered powerful accounts of the ways in which power asymmetries conditioned and at times distorted political discourse.Less

A Democratic Theory of Judgment

Linda M. G. Zerilli

For contemporary democratic theory, political judgment is conceptualized wholly in terms of the adjudication of equally rational yet incommensurable value conflicts in the absence of a shared ... More

For contemporary democratic theory, political judgment is conceptualized wholly in terms of the adjudication of equally rational yet incommensurable value conflicts in the absence of a shared substantive idea of the good. Taking up the unfinished work of Hannah Arendt on judgment, this book argues for a practice of judging politically that is focused less on questions of validity and more on democratic practices of world-building and the creation of new objects of judgment in a global context characterized by widespread value pluralism.Less

Ethics and the Orator: The Ciceronian Tradition of Political Morality

Gary A. Remer

For thousands of years, critics have attacked rhetoric and the actual practice of politics as unprincipled, insincere, and manipulative. In Ethics and the Orator, the Ciceronian rhetorical tradition ... More

For thousands of years, critics have attacked rhetoric and the actual practice of politics as unprincipled, insincere, and manipulative. In Ethics and the Orator, the Ciceronian rhetorical tradition is offered as a rejoinder to these critics of rhetoric and politics. The book argues that the Ciceronian tradition is based on practical or “rhetorical” politics, rather than on idealistic visions of a politics-that-never-was—a response that is ethically sound, if not altogether morally pure. The study is distinct from other works on political morality in that it turns to Cicero, not Aristotle, as the progenitor of an ethical rhetorical perspective. Contrary to many, if not most, studies of Cicero since the mid-nineteenth century, which have either attacked him as morally indifferent or have only taken his persuasive ends seriously (setting his moral concerns to the side), Ethics and the Orator demonstrates how Cicero presents his ideal orator as exemplary not only in his ability to persuade, but in his capacity as an ethical person. The book demonstrates that Ciceronian values—balancing the moral and the useful, prudential reasoning, and decorum—are not particular only to the philosopher, but are distinctive of a broader Ciceronian rhetorical tradition that runs through the history of Western political thought post-Cicero, including the writings of Quintilian, John of Salisbury, Justus Lipsius, Edmund Burke, the authors of The Federalist, and John Stuart Mill.Less

Herodotus in the Anthropocene

Joel Alden Schlosser

Herodotus in the Anthropocene develops a vision of earthly flourishing that can inspire and inform action in the twenty-first century. The book argues that Herodotus’ Histories offers a cluster of ... More

Herodotus in the Anthropocene develops a vision of earthly flourishing that can inspire and inform action in the twenty-first century. The book argues that Herodotus’ Histories offers a cluster of concepts for articulating and understanding the dynamic nature of things in a complex world, how human beings develop cultural practices, or nomos or nomoi, in responsive interaction with the non-human things that shape existence, and that political institutions might best sustain the communities of things produced through these practices. Herodotus' concept of earthly flourishing calls attention to the dynamic interaction of human and non-human that has become undeniable in the Anthropocene. Yet the concept shifts responses away from simply changing political institutions or dissolving all agents into one teeming collective. Instead, earthly flourishing illuminates how human and non-human interactions create ongoing practices with permanence as well as an openness to change. Earthly flourishing names not a state but an activity, an activity that has been pursued for millennia; the Histories narrates different pursuits of earthly flourishing and shows how these practices might be best pursued through commitments to equality inflected by particular historical situations.Less

Hobbes's Kingdom of Light: A Study of the Foundations of Modern Political Philosophy

Devin Stauffer

Hobbes’s Kingdom of Light is a wide-ranging exploration of Hobbes’s thought. The book delves into Hobbes’s critique of the classical tradition, his natural philosophy, and his critique of religion ... More

Hobbes’s Kingdom of Light is a wide-ranging exploration of Hobbes’s thought. The book delves into Hobbes’s critique of the classical tradition, his natural philosophy, and his critique of religion before turning to his more familiar political philosophy. By considering neglected aspects of Hobbes’s thought as well as its more famous features, the book brings out the breadth and complexity of Hobbes’s revolutionary war against the “Kingdom of Darkness.” Hobbes was engaged in a struggle on multiple fronts against forces, both philosophic and religious, that he thought had long distorted philosophy and destroyed the prospects of a lasting peace in politics. By exploring the twists and turns of Hobbes’s own arguments, not only in his famous Leviathan but throughout his corpus, the book uncovers the details of Hobbes’s critique of an older outlook, rooted in classical philosophy and Christian theology, as well as the key features of the new outlook—the “Kingdom of Light”—that Hobbes sought to put in its place. Hobbes’s venture helped to prepare the way for the later emergence of modern liberalism and modern secularism. The close examination and careful evaluation of that venture sheds new light on the origins of principles and movements that are at once ascendant and beleaguered today.Less

Leo Strauss and the Problem of Political Philosophy

Michael P. Zuckert and Catherine H. Zuckert

Leo Strauss was one of the preeminent political philosophers of the twentieth century. Although most of his work took the form of investigations in the history of political philosophy, his intentions ... More

Leo Strauss was one of the preeminent political philosophers of the twentieth century. Although most of his work took the form of investigations in the history of political philosophy, his intentions were not simply those of a historian of ideas. His chief goal was the restoration of political philosophy as a meaningful, even urgent enterprise. To that end, he delivered stinging critiques of two modern intellectual movements, positivism and historicism, that seemed to make political philosophy no longer possible. His was an effort to reestablish rationalism by showing that the death spiral of philosophy in modern times was a failure not of philosophic rationalism as such, but rather of modern philosophy. That rationalism had at its center what Straus called the “problem of political philosophy,” the solutions to which constituted the history of political philosophy. His inquiries led to the recovery of the classical philosophy of the Socratic tradition, which Strauss saw as a rejoinder to proclamations of the end of philosophy by Nietzsche and Heidegger. The exploration of the several dimensions of “the problem of political philosophy” as Strauss understood it,is the core of this book. That leads to the consideration of such matters as his debts to Husserl, Nietzsche, and Heidegger, his notion of political philosophy as “first philosophy,” the difference between the ancients and moderns, the theological-political problem that he pronounced central to his work, and his contention that liberal democracy is the best regime for our time.Less

Making Patriots

Walter Berns

Although Samuel Johnson once remarked that “patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels,” over the course of the history of the United States we have seen our share of heroes: patriots who have ... More

Although Samuel Johnson once remarked that “patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels,” over the course of the history of the United States we have seen our share of heroes: patriots who have willingly put their lives at risk for this country and, especially, its principles. And this is even more remarkable given that the United States is a country founded on the principles of equality and democracy that encourage individuality and autonomy far more readily than public spiritedness and self-sacrifice. This book is a pithy and provocative essay on precisely this paradox. How is patriotism inculcated in a system that, some argue, is founded on self-interest? By guiding the reader through the history and philosophy of patriotism in a republic, from the ancient Greeks through contemporary life, the book considers the unique nature of patriotism in the United States and its precarious state. It argues that while both public education and the influence of religion once helped to foster a public-minded citizenry, the very idea of patriotism is currently under attack. The book finds the best answers to his questions in the thought and words of Abraham Lincoln, who understood perhaps better than anyone what the principles of democracy meant and what price adhering to them may exact. The graves at Arlington and Gettysburg and Omaha Beach in Normandy bear witness to the fact that self-interested individuals can become patriots.Less

Man Is by Nature a Political Animal: Evolution, Biology, and Politics

Peter K. Hatemi and Rose McDermott (eds)

This book brings together a diverse group of contributors to examine the ways in which evolutionary theory and biological research are increasingly informing analyses of political behavior. Focusing ... More

This book brings together a diverse group of contributors to examine the ways in which evolutionary theory and biological research are increasingly informing analyses of political behavior. Focusing on the theoretical, methodological, and empirical frameworks of a variety of biological approaches to political attitudes and preferences, the authors consider a wide range of topics, including the comparative basis of political behavior, the utility of formal modeling informed by evolutionary theory, the genetic bases of attitudes and behaviors, psychophysiological methods and research, and the wealth of insight generated by recent research on the human brain. Through this approach, the book reveals the biological bases of many previously unexplained variances within the extant models of political behavior.Less

Montesquieu and the Despotic Ideas of Europe: An Interpretation of "The Spirit of the Laws"

Vickie B. Sullivan

Montesquieu’s Spirit of the Laws is famous for overtly associating despotism with Asia and the Middle East and not with Europe. A scholar on this basis might be inclined to term Montesquieu an ... More

Montesquieu’s Spirit of the Laws is famous for overtly associating despotism with Asia and the Middle East and not with Europe. A scholar on this basis might be inclined to term Montesquieu an Orientalist, one who gazes at exotic foreign cultures in order to exert control over these distant peoples in both thought and in reality. Sullivan argues, however, that Montesquieu’s great work, contrary to first impressions, actually implicates Europe itself with despotism. Specifically, the Frenchman reveals that many of Europe’s greatest philosophical and religious ideas are themselves despotic and have inspired cruel and violent practices on the continent and beyond. Indeed, when Montesquieu uses the formulation “idées despotiques” in the work, he refers to the deplorable punishments that such ideas inspire. In some cases, hoary philosophical authorities such as Plato and Aristotle articulate and advocate for such ideas. Remaining ensconced in revered sources, they can wait for centuries to be rediscovered and revived. In other cases, Christians have promulgated ideas that induce human beings to commit earthly outrages for the sake of heavenly salvation. More recently, Machiavelli and Hobbes have introduced terrifying abuses in their attempts to correct those of their predecessors. These despotic ideas possess both longevity and geographical range, and therefore remain a constant threat. Montesquieu seeks to foster in the readers of his masterwork a repugnance for these despotic ideas so that future generations might be relieved of their vicious influence.Less

Naïve Readings: Reveilles Political and Philosophic

Ralph Lerner

We love our opinions and resist efforts by others to have us reconsider, let alone change, what we are pleased to treat as settled truths. Both philosophers and far-sighted political actors have long ... More

We love our opinions and resist efforts by others to have us reconsider, let alone change, what we are pleased to treat as settled truths. Both philosophers and far-sighted political actors have long understood this about their intended audiences and have adjusted their speech accordingly. To the extent that they mean to convey unsettling thoughts, writers may resort to camouflage and concealment. Rather than shock their publics by direct confrontation, they fall back on various devices by which they would insinuate their message without raising alarm. This book is premised on the notion that this camouflage is best detected by paying attention to the obvious and by keeping our eyes wide open. Its essays are experiments testing whether an admittedly naïve reading can yield a good understanding of what some thinkers had in view when trying to stir their audiences to better, second thoughts. These thinkers are a diverse lot, to be sure—Francis Bacon, Benjamin Franklin, Edward Gibbon, Judah Halevi, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Moses Maimonides, and Alexis de Tocqueville—but resemble one another in taking up the challenge of artfully challenging others.Less

Naming Evil Judging Evil

Ruth W. Grant (ed.)

Is it more dangerous to call something evil or not to? This fundamental question deeply divides those who fear that the term oversimplifies grave problems and those who worry that, to effectively ... More

Is it more dangerous to call something evil or not to? This fundamental question deeply divides those who fear that the term oversimplifies grave problems and those who worry that, to effectively address such issues as terrorism and genocide, we must first acknowledge them as evil. Recognizing that the way we approach this dilemma can significantly affect both the harm we suffer and the suffering we inflict, a group of contributors engages in the debate with this series of essays. Drawing on Western conceptions of evil from the Middle Ages to the present, these pieces demonstrate that, while it may not be possible to definitively settle moral questions, we are still able—and in fact are obligated—to make moral arguments and judgments. Using a wide variety of approaches, the authors raise tough questions: Why is so much evil perpetrated in the name of good? Could evil ever be eradicated? How can liberal democratic politics help us strike a balance between the need to pass judgment and the need to remain tolerant? Their answers exemplify how the sometimes rarefied worlds of political theory, philosophy, theology, and history can illuminate pressing contemporary concerns.Less

Playing the Fool: Subversive Laughter in Troubled Times

Ralph Lerner

The role of the fool is to provoke the powerful to question their convictions, preferably while avoiding a beating. Fools accomplish this not by hectoring their audience, but by broaching sensitive ... More

The role of the fool is to provoke the powerful to question their convictions, preferably while avoiding a beating. Fools accomplish this not by hectoring their audience, but by broaching sensitive topics indirectly, often disguising their message in a joke or a tale. Writers and thinkers throughout history have adopted the fool's approach, and here the book turns to six of them — Thomas More, Francis Bacon, Robert Burton, Pierre Bayle, Benjamin Franklin, and Edward Gibbon — to elucidate the strategies these men employed to persuade the heedless, the zealous, and the overly confident to pause and reconsider. As this book makes plain, all these men lived through periods marked by fanaticism, particularly with regard to religion and its relation to the state. In such a troubled context, advocating on behalf of skepticism and against tyranny could easily lead to censure, or even, as in More's case, execution. And so, the book reveals, these serious thinkers relied on humor to move their readers toward a more reasoned understanding of the world and our place in it. At once erudite and entertaining, this book is an eloquently thought-provoking look at the lives and writings of these masterly authors.Less

Poetic Justice: Rereading Plato's "Republic"

Jill Frank

Plato’s dialogues are often read as offering biting criticisms of Athens’s democratic authorities, as efforts to supplant those authorities with philosophical authority, and as subjugating desire, ... More

Plato’s dialogues are often read as offering biting criticisms of Athens’s democratic authorities, as efforts to supplant those authorities with philosophical authority, and as subjugating desire, imagination, and sense perception to that philosophical authority. On that interpretative approach, Plato’s evident artistry as poet and dramatist is seen as an instrument in the service of the rationalism and idealism of his dialogues, and of their rule of truth. With particular focus on the Republic, this book, by contrast, foregrounds Plato’s artistry and poetry to bring to appearance how the philosophy of the Republic depends on, draws on, and incapacitates desire, persuasion, and the senses, and does so for the sake of justice. Reading the Republic with and against Socrates’ treatment of mimetic poetry in Republic 10, and alongside other dialogues, including Phaedrus, Symposium, and Theaetetus, the book argues that rather than endorsing and enforcing fixed hierarchies in knowledge and politics, Plato’s texts offer an education in ethical and political self-governance with a view to reimagining democratic authority.Less

Representative Democracy: Principles and Genealogy

Nadia Urbinati

It is usually held that representative government is not strictly democratic, since it does not allow the people themselves to directly make decisions. But here, taking as its guide Thomas Paine's ... More

It is usually held that representative government is not strictly democratic, since it does not allow the people themselves to directly make decisions. But here, taking as its guide Thomas Paine's subversive view that “Athens, by representation, would have surpassed her own democracy,” this book challenges this accepted wisdom, arguing that political representation deserves to be regarded as a fully legitimate mode of democratic decision making—and not just a pragmatic second choice when direct democracy is not possible. As the author shows, the idea that representation is incompatible with democracy stems from our modern concept of sovereignty, which identifies politics with a decision maker's direct physical presence and the immediate act of the will. The author goes on to contend that a democratic theory of representation can and should go beyond these identifications. Political representation, she demonstrates, is ultimately grounded in a continuum of influence and power created by political judgment, as well as the way presence through ideas and speech links society with representative institutions. Integrating the ideas of such thinkers as Rousseau, Kant, Paine, and the Marquis de Condorcet with her own, the author constructs an alternative vision of democracy.Less