History of Political Thought

Im ›Schlagschatten der Entfremdung‹ befasst sich der hier vorliegende Beitrag in philosophisch-anthropologischen Bahnläufen zum einen mit den sich an der Rückseite von Kontraktualismus und Kosmopolitismus vollziehenden und der neuzeitlichen politischen Philosophie inhärierenden Tendenzen der Entfremdung (aliénation). Zum anderen werden die ethischen und moralphilosophischen Begründungsprobleme ihrer jeweiligen Legitimitätsdiskurse thematisiert. In dieser Überfülle erscheinen für die Erforschung einer wechselseitigen Beeinflussung von Menschenbildern in ›räumlich-zeitlich übergreifender Interaktion‹ vor allem drei Komponenten essentiell: eine geschichtsphilosophische Prozesshaftigkeit, spezifische anthropologische Vorstellungen sowie divergierende ethische Grundprinzipien. Eine je wechselseitige interkulturelle Imprägnierung und Einformung im Sinne polyzentraler Ver- und Entwurzelung wird damit ebenso darstellbar, wie die Darlegung ihrer überzeitlichen Grundkonstanten.

Tesi in Storia della filosofia medievale (M-FIL/08), discussa il 15 marzo 2023 presso l’Università degli Studi di Padova, per il conseguimento della laurea magistrale in Scienze Filosofiche (LM-78), con votazione 110/110 e lode.

Questo lavoro di tesi magistrale è uno studio sul pensiero politico dantesco attraverso una prospettiva teologico politica, dal quale sono emersi, in particolare, tre importanti elementi: l’Impero quale ordinamento divino e universale,  avvolto da una missione salvifica, e il suo reale rapporto con l’ordinamento della Chiesa; la manifestazione di tale assetto politico mediante il simbolo dell’Aquila nel Paradiso; infine, la presenza dominante e centrale di Cristo.
Nel primo capitolo sono stati presi in considerazione i tre principi della Monarchia, i quali esprimono il fondamento teologico del trattato. Nella descrizione del primo principio, relativo alla prima questione circa la necessità dell’Impero per il mondo, si può dimostrare come Dante non segua soltanto la filosofia aristotelica, ma soprattutto il ragionamento teleologico tomista. La seconda questione riguarda l’autorità imperiale del popolo romano per diritto ed è proprio l’argomentazione teologica sul diritto, seguendo sempre Tommaso d’Aquino, che reggerà tutta la dimostrazione del secondo libro. Infine, attraverso il terzo principio, su cui si fonda l’ultima questione, Dante individua l’origine teologica dell’Impero esprimendo così il reale rapporto che sussiste fra l’autorità spirituale e l’autorità temporale, ossia un rapporto di cooperazione in cui è garantita la reciproca autonomia.
Il secondo capitolo è dedicato al simbolo divino dell’Aquila nel Paradiso, il quale rappresenta la più solenne manifestazione del pensiero politico e della teologia politica di Dante, vale a dire l’idea di Impero voluto da Dio per la restaurazione della giustizia e della libertà, nel perfetto accordo con la Chiesa Cattolica. Infatti, nel sesto canto del Paradiso ascoltiamo il solenne discorso dell’imperatore Giustiniano sul volo dell’Aquila in cui è pronunciata la sintesi del pensiero politico dantesco: la relazione politica fra l’Impero e la Chiesa, fra l’opera di fede e l’opera filosofica e legislativa, la virtù del popolo romano eletto da Dio, l’evento dell’Incarnazione sotto l’imperatore Augusto e la lontananza dalla verità delle fazioni contemporanee a Dante. Inoltre, il simbolo dell’Aquila compare nei canti del cielo di Giove. In questo luogo si compie il messaggio politico: se l’Aquila di cui parla Giustiniano è la giustizia di Dio che si impone nella storia attraverso l’azione umana, l’Aquila nel cielo di Giove, formata dagli spiriti beati, è la giustizia di Dio nell’eterno, la quale afferma l’infinita distanza fra la giustizia divina e la giustizia terrena.
Il terzo capitolo è uno studio sulla visione storica di Dante, la quale afferma l’assoluta centralità di Cristo, vero centro di gravità della sua filosofia politica. Tale visione storica sembra avvicinare il Poeta alle conclusioni di Gioacchino da Fiore e degli Spirituali francescani ma, in realtà, il significato cristologico nella teologia della storia di Dante è più vicino al pensiero di Tommaso d’Aquino e, in particolare, a quello di Bonaventura da Bagnoregio, secondo cui Cristo è la plenitudo temporis, quel momento eterno della pienezza dei misteri. Infine, nel pensiero dantesco splende la città di Roma, in quanto centro spaziale e politico della storia umana, dell’incontro fra gli ordinamenti stabiliti per la salvezza dell’uomo; Roma segna la continuità fra la cultura pagana e l’annuncio cristiano, dimostrando il compimento della missione del popolo romano dettata da Dio, ossia assumere il comando su tutte le genti per preparare il mondo alla vittoria della Chiesa di Cristo.

This paper wants to show that there is an undercurrent in Gadamer's philosophy, which is crucial for political thought.... in his opus magnum, Wharheit und Methode (1960), the chapter on tradition and prejudice sheds light on the relevance of these philosophical concepts for political thought.

While previous scholarship has shown that the rhetorical figure of the “heretical woman” was important in Jerome’s slandering of male rivals, this article argues that the “orthodox woman” played a just as important role in his self-presentation as an orthodox teacher. The “orthodox woman” is characterized by true asceticism which, according to Jerome’s ascetic theology, implies that she transcends her sex. Rather than being a “woman”, in the ordinary sense of the word, she is an angelic being with a supernatural understanding, which allows her to discern the spiritual meaning of the Scriptures and to distinguish between orthodoxy and heresy. It is argued that the presentation of the “orthodox woman” as very learned, independent and strong-willed makes her the direct opposite of Jerome’s “heretical woman”, and that such a portrayal suited Jerome’s purposes, as his great reliance on women readers called for a defence of female spiritual authority.

This article seeks to show the importance of Cicero for Kant by pointing out the systematic relationship between their respective views on ethics and law. Cicero was important to Kant because Cicero had already elaborated an imperative, "quasijural" conception of duty or obligation. Cicero had also already prefigured the distinction between ethical duties and duties of justice. The article does not establish any direct historical influence, but points out interesting systematic overlaps. The most important in the realm of ethics are a universal rationalism; a rule-based normative framework of duty; and skepticism about (Cicero), or rejection of (Kant), eudaimonism. In the realm of political theory, it is the centrality of law and of property that unites both thinkers; both reject voluntarism in thinking that consensus flows from the right external laws, not the other way around, and thus creates a juridical community; and lastly, both Cicero and Kant believe that transparence, or publicity, is a key ideal that might be presupposed by both the ethical and the juridical domain. The article thus shows that both Cicero and Kant separate ethics from law, but there are indications that neither has given up the aspiration to bridge the two realms on a higher plane. This reading of Kant yields both a more Ciceronian Kant and allows us to perceive Kantian aspects of Cicero.

Este estudio pretende describir las transformaciones del léxico de identificación colectiva en Chile a través distintas expresiones del discurso político: textos constitucionales, discursos presidenciales y declaraciones partidistas. Se analizó el contenido de 58 documentos de la historia política chilena. Los resultados mostraron diferencias significativas en el empleo los léxicos: estatal, republicano, patriótico, nacional y popular, entre otros, dependiendo del contexto sociohistórico y del género de discurso político. Se puede concluir que en el discurso político chileno hay complejas articulaciones de los distintos vocabularios de identificación política, más que una identificación exclusivamente nacionalista; en ese sentido, el recurso ideológico al léxico nacional solo se incrementa con la crisis del Estado liberal parlamentario, en el que era más frecuente una comprensión normativa en torno al léxico republicano.

Erasmus wollte niemals ein guter Katholik oder ein guter Protestant sein - ja nicht einmal ein guter Erasmianer. Als Christ lehnte er engstirnige, sterile Lehren und Dogmen ab, weil er sich nicht in kleingeistige Grabenkämpfe verstricken wollte. Seine außergewöhnliche Lebensführung, und daß er immer wieder eitlen irdischen Ruhm ablehnte, machten ihn zu einem festen Bezugspunkt für all jene, die den allgegenwärtigen Ausschweifungen der Gier in jener Zeit widerstanden. Mehr noch, seine Liebe zu Christus, zur Menschheit und zur klassischen Literatur widerstand dem Sturm des Hasses und der moralischen Verkümmerung, der für seine Zeit so charakteristisch war. Sein satirischer Humor, wie er in seinem Lob der Torheit zu finden ist, gab den Menschen die Möglichkeit, über ihre eigenen Fehler und Dummheiten zu lachen, sie dadurch zu überwinden und somit frei zu werden.

In this chapter I discuss how Cicero’s Academic identity shapes the discussion of appropriate actions in De officiis, focusing
primarily on how Cicero applies the Academic principle of persuasiveness (probabile) in this work and on the use of Academic dialectical methodology for the discussion of the Stoic theory on appropriate actions, especially in the third book of De officiis.

Este seminario pretende discutir sobre el resurgimiento de la
extrema derecha en nuestras sociedades a partir de un enfoque
histórico de larga duración, que tenga en cuenta la evolución de
las alternativas antiliberales y contrarrevolucionarias integrando
dos perspectivas: los análisis “desde arriba” y “desde abajo”.
La primera prestará atención a los mecanismos y discursos de
legitimación que articulan el apoyo a los movimientos
antiliberales y contrarrevolucionarios. Estos mecanismos,
discursos y narrativas ¿son originales y novedosas o reciclan
materiales previamente existentes? Las categorías como patria,
religión y familia, ¿conectan con contenidos actuales o funcionan
como recursos movilizadores que proyectan las ansiedades del
presente sobre un pasado imaginado? ¿Cómo reinventan y
adaptan estas familias políticas los referentes tradicionales para
hacerlos atractivos en un presente cambiante?
La segunda perspectiva aspira a dar cuenta de la capacidad que
tuvieron las bases sociales para interpretar, traducir e influir
“desde abajo” en la conformación de las culturas políticas
contrarrevolucionarias. El apoyo popular a los proyectos
antiliberales se ha analizado tradicionalmente acudiendo a la
manipulación, la ignorancia y la “falsa conciencia”. En los últimos
años, sin embargo, la historiografía ha llamado la atención sobre
la capacidad de la gente corriente para perseguir lo que
percibieron como sus propios intereses y expectativas en el seno
de los proyectos contrarrevolucionarios. ¿Cómo pueden las
aportaciones sobre la dimensión popular de la contrarrevolución
ayudarnos a replantear nuestro presente?
El seminario se articula a través de tres mesas en las que
especialistas de los siglos XIX, XX y XXI, con miradas europeas y
americanas, reflexionarán a partir de tres bloques de preguntas de
carácter transversal. En su conjunto, pretendemos debatir sobre
en qué medida el ascenso de la extrema derecha no es un
“accidente” ni una “vuelta al pasado”, sino la manifestación de un
fenómeno persistente durante la contemporaneidad, que nos
obliga a cuestionar las narrativas teleológicas sobre el triunfo del
liberalismo.

Would choosing the second chamber by sortition be an effective way to achieve a 50:50 balance between men and women? John Dryzek argues that the upper chamber – in Australia as in the UK, a deliberative forum – would be a good place to start, and looks at ways to ensure women sitting in deliberative assemblies get an equal voice and hearing.

Starting with the interest of analyzing prisons’ system and punitive societies, the dissertation researches these themes in Alexis de Tocqueville and Émilie Durkheim, then confronts both with Michel Foucault. This present study highlights how punitive power is legitimated by the society itself, which asks the criminal to be punished in order to preserve its integrity and morality. Prisons’ main aim is to punish and to shape the reo as the society requires, however at the very end it is not given that this present society will accept him back. Thanks to Foucault, everything changes: he is the first to denounce out loud the brutality of prisons’ system and to deem about the condition of the criminal himself.

Le désir est à distinguer du besoin, qui renvoie au manque et à ce qui est utile pour le combler. Le besoin, au sens strict, relève du corps, le désir, de l'âme. On peut définir le besoin comme un manque objectif, d'ordre physiologique : nous avons besoin de nourriture lorsque notre corps n'a plus les nutriments qui lui sont nécessaires pour se conserver. Le désir, quant à lui, serait le sentiment ou la conscience que notre esprit a de ce besoin corporel. Certains désirs ne semblent pas issus de besoins corporels. Peut-on admettre, avec Freud, que le désir de connaissance est une "sublimation" du désir sexuel, de la libido ? Le désir ne se confond ni avec le besoin, ni avec la curiosité. Il n'est pas spontané, comme le besoin, mais acquis. Il est lié au langage : « le désir, selon Roland Barthes, est le besoin en ce qu'il se parle. » Il partage donc les caractères de la connaissance.

Westen" aus Frankreich könnten die politische Symbolik der Französischen Revolution ablösen. Die Guillotine. 2. Außerdem sind die Gelben Westen nicht teuer und könnten alleine in Deutschland 80-millionenfach versendet werden. Mit einem finanziellen Aufwand des Staates von maximal100 Millionen Euro. Abzüglich des "Sozialausgleichs". 3. Das alleine ist wesentlich billiger als die Kosten für die Gesamt-Abgeordneten im Deutschen Bundestag. 4. Weltweit hochgerechnet ergibt die Versendung von Gelben Westen bei 8 Milliarden Menschen einen finanziellen Aufwand von vielleicht 10 Milliarden Euro, Mengenrabatte und Portokosten mit eingerechnet. 5. Der Wert dieser Symbolik läge weit über alle Waffenproduktionen und deren Profit! Weltweit! 6. Die UNO oder auch die EU könnten als eine gemeinsame Entscheidung entsprechende Anträge einbringen und realisieren. 7. Wenn nur der "Politische Wille" da wäre! Denn daran, an diesem Politischen Willen entscheidet sich einzig und alleine die Politik, der Geist, der Wille der Politik, der Geist und der Wille der "Revolution": dann und nur dann, wenn eine Revolution eine Revolution des Geistes, des Bewußtseins ist, dann und nur dann, ist diese Revolution auch eine "politische" Revolution, oder, eine praktische Revolution.

CfP. Concepta Online Seminar: On the Joint Practice of Conceptual History and the Study of Political Thought, 8-9 Jan 2024

Concepta was set up in 2006 as International Research School in Conceptual History and Political Thought, within the framework of the History of Social and Political Concepts Group. A year before, their founding members organized the first Introduction to Conceptual History course at the University of Helsinki Summer School.

Ever since then, the Introduction to Conceptual History courses have taken place every year (in 2013 and 2014 at Aarhus, in 2015 at Copenhagen), with editions in Spanish at Argentinian and Mexican institutions since 2015, a 2023 edition in Istanbul on concepts in the Bengal to Balkans region, along with numerous research seminars and workshops.

The rhetorical or argumentative uses of concepts are diverse. They cover the many aspects of human interaction, from social and political to cultural, economic, legal, and scientific. The etymology of Concepta sheds light on its renewed uses in modern languages. Concepta, the neuter plural past participle of the Latin verb concipere, fairly means to say concepts, though the closest Latin term for concept is arguably notio. Yet, concepta, meaning the things conceived, bears a stronger expressive and phonetic force than the plural of notio, namely, notiones.

Concepta’s mission goes beyond the reach of a mere description. It formulates a normative aim rendered by the association of conceptual history with political thought. By all means, it is possible to do research in either field independently. Most research in conceptual history deals indeed with issues other than political, whereas most research in political thought has been produced on the margins of conceptual history.

Focus

This seminar will explore the various linkages imaginable between conceptual history and political thought. It will delve around conditions, means, and ends of the joint practice of conceptual history focused on political thought, and the study of political thought informed by conceptual history. Their association remains a sign of methodological renewal and inspiration that challenges both scholarly practices and their correspondence in academic curricula. The seminar will inquire into the pros and cons of those interdisciplinary options, paying especial attention to their outcomes or consequences.

Proposals

We welcome paper proposals dealing with any of the issues mentioned above. Kindly send your paper proposal (abstract of up to 150 words, together with contact details) to the e-mail addresses of both conveners: José María Rosales (jmrosales@uma.es) and Rosario López (rosariols@uma.es)

Deadline for submitting paper proposals: Thursday, 30 November 2023

The progress of economic ideas was accompanied by a gradual evolution in the methods of economic analysis, broadly speaking from a partial, concrete and casually empirical, to a general, abstract and deductive approach. Mercantilists generally tackled their problems with piecemeal and partial discussions based on casual observation, though this does not mean that they generalized from 'directly observed facts'. The pioneers of classical political economy began to formulate theories which were to some extent speculative, abstract and general.

L’obiettivo di questo studio è l’analisi delle manipolazioni operate sulla lingua tedesca dalla propaganda nazionalsocialista. L’attenzione è posta in particolar modo sul linguaggio della propaganda e su quello ufficiale che caratterizzano la stampa nazista e i discorsi alle masse, in modo da fornire un’analisi delle caratteristiche della lingua del nazionalsocialismo (le quali per anni hanno contribuito alle opere di convincimento e hanno reso possibile la persuasione di un popolo intero) riscontrate in un corpus di articoli da me selezionato in quanto ritenuto adatto all’esemplificazione.

In studies dedicated to the issues of classical Eurasianism, there are hardly any attempts at a synchronous and differentiated study of the state concepts of various figures of the movement. Due to this, in our opinion, the presence of alternative positions within the Eurasian current is ignored. As a consequence, the issue of ideological factions within Eurasianism remains without the attention it deserves. Thus, in scientific literature, the comparison of political-philosophical concepts of Eurasianism and Neo-Eurasianism in the context of the issue of the ideal state is clearly not given enough attention. The problem discussed in the work has not previously been studied in the interpretation proposed by the author of the dissertation. The passage underscores the need for a more nuanced and comprehensive examination of the various state concepts within the Eurasian movement, emphasizing the potential richness of the topic that is currently overlooked in academia.

Ce prince, qui régnait sur un vaste État, depuis de la mer du Nord jusqu'au Jura, représentait une menace existentielle pour le royaume de France. Aux yeux de Louis XI, il fallait que la Bourgogne tombe pour que la monarchie poursuive son œuvre d'unification. C'est dans les marais aux alentours de Nancy que le rêve d'empire du Téméraire est terrassé par une coalition hétéroclite de Lorrains, de Suisses et d'Alsaciens, qu'il menaçait de faire disparaître. Sa mort allait sidérer la chrétienté. Elle aura fait non seulement la France, mais l'Europe : elle consacre la prééminence française et fait émerger une nouvelle puissance rivale, celle des Habsbourg.En reconstituant cette bataille célèbre, l'auteur met en lumière la brutalité indicible des combats, le traitement impitoyable des vaincus, les effrois, les peurs, la panique, la résilience, surtout, qui allait décider du sort des armes. C'est toute une mutation de l'art de la guerre à l'automne du Moyen Âge qui se dessine au fil des pages : le poids décisif de l'infanterie, l'usage accru des armes à feu, la contribution du renseignement à la conception de stratégies militaires de plus en plus élaborées. La France mettra longtemps à cueillir tous les fruits de la victoire de Nancy : si elle s'empare sans coup férir du duché de Bourgogne, elle voit lui échapper les autres possessions du Téméraire. Mais la mort de ce redoutable vassal a une autre portée encore : elle signe le crépuscule des grands féodaux. Une ère nouvelle commence, qui ouvre la voie à l'essor de la monarchie absolue. (éditeur)

Among the various positive aspects which characterize the representation of the figure of Augustus in the ancient tradition, his inclination towards clemency after his final ascent to the Princedom stands out, in some special cases, including that of Cinna, whose life the prince decided to spare, despite rumours of his plotting against him. A parallel analysis of the only two classical statements of the episode by Seneca and Cassius Dio, as well as of some passages referring to it by some 16th century writers and thinkers, provides the opportunity to refocus on the different forms through which, as well as the purposes for which, the case was exploited in different historical contexts in order to draw attention to the space to be given to clemency in the exercise of power,  IN  Augustus through the Ages Receptions, Readings and Appropriations of the Historical Figure of the First Roman Emperor, eds. P. Assenmaker, M. Cavagna, M. Cavalieri, D. Engels, Bruxelles, 2022, p. 317-340