Approaches to Political Thought

by Richter, William L.; Binckes, Lisa V.; Cavenee, Charles J.; Gould, Carol A.; Harden, Dan R.; Healey, Lori Thomas; Inozemtseva, Liudmila; Mateo-Gomez, Tatiana; Maxwell, Lisa; McKechnie, Kristine A.; Steen, Norman E.

• ISBN13: 9780742564336
• ISBN10: 0742564339
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-03-16
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Summary

Approaches to Political Thought raises three important questions concerning traditional political thought: (1) Why study the political writings and ideas of Plato, Machiavelli, and other long-dead writers? (2) Who among the writers, and which of their works, are worth studying? (3) How should they be studied? The book then explores ten contemporary approaches to understanding political thought and the diverse answers to these questions. The approaches covered include those of Leo Strauss, Hannah Arendt, Eric Voegelin, Sheldon Wolin, the Cambridge School (Quentin Skinner and J. G. A. Pocock), psychobiography, critical theory of the Frankfurt School (Herbert Marcuse and Juumlet;rgen Habermas), hermeneutics (Paul Ricoeur and Hans-Georg Gadamer), Michel Foucault, and feminist criticism (Susan Moller Okin and Jean Elshtain). Each chapter includes an introductory essay and edited selections that illustrate or discuss that approach, and concludes with discussion questions and suggestions for further exploration, including books, articles, and websites. This exploration of contending contemporary approaches to political thought touches upon ongoing methodological and philosophical issues that are relevant to several academic disciplines, including political science, history, philosophy, and psychology. Book jacket.

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments	p. ix
Introduction: The Study of Political Thought	p. 1
Contested Heritage	p. 1
Capital and Carbuncles	p. 12
Textual Approaches	p. 29
Leo Strauss and Political Philosophy	p. 33
Leo Strauss	p. 33
Machiavelli's Teaching	p. 40
Leo Strauss's Interpretive Methods	p. 55
Hannah Arendt and Remembrance	p. 65
Hannah Arendt	p. 65
Tradition and the Modern Age	p. 73
Plato and Thinking	p. 91
Eric Voegelin, Philosopher of History	p. 97
Eric Voegelin	p. 97
Plato and Socrates	p. 99
Multiple Voegelins	p. 109
Contextual Approaches	p. 127
Sheldon Wolin and Paradigmatic Political Thought	p. 129
Sheldon Wolin	p. 129
Scientific Revolutions	p. 132
Paradigms and Political Theories	p. 140
Quentin Skinner, J.G.A. Pocock, and History of Thought	p. 159
Quentin Skinner	p. 159
Approaching Historical Texts	p. 167
The American Founding	p. 173
Erik Erikson and Psychobiography	p. 181
Erik Erikson and Psychobiography	p. 181
Luther: Case and Event	p. 188
Nietzsche, Perspectivism, and Parental Identification	p. 196
Postmodern Approaches	p. 203
Herbert Marcuse, Jürgen Habermas, and Critical Theory	p. 207
Herbert Marcuse	p. 207
A Note on Dialectic	p. 217
Knowledge-Constitutive Human Interests	p. 224
Paul Ricoeur, Hans-Georg Gadamer, and Hermeneutics	p. 229
Hermeneutics: Paul Ricoeur and Hans-Georg Gadamer	p. 229
The Model of the Text	p. 236
Praise of Theory	p. 247
Michel Foucault and the Archeology of Knowledge	p. 253
Michel Foucault	p. 253
Politics and the Study of Discourse	p. 260
Governmentality	p. 267
Feminist Criticism: Okin and Elshtain,	p. 277
Feminist Criticism	p. 277
Women in Western Political Thought	p. 286
Public and Private Imperatives	p. 292
Conclusion	p. 305
Sources and Permissions	p. 315
Index	p. 319
About the Contributors	p. 331
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