The New Science of Politics (Walgreen Foundation Lectures)

Rating:
Summary: Not perfect, but still brilliant
Review: "The New Science of Politics" is the best short work in the oeurve of the great philosopher and political scientist Eric Voegelin. In it he describes, among other things, an effective methodology for studying the political experiences of peoples; the philosophical errors at the roots of scientism and positive social sciences, which seek to apply an irrelevant mathematical method to human behavior, which can only be comprehended on it's own terms; the existential underpinnings of virutally every revolutionary ideology the West has ever known in a spiritual revolt against the nature of human existence; and the dynamics of the kinds of political movements that arise from such experiences. This is nothing less that an attempt to ground human political life in an existential philosophy and to contruct from that understanding a method for rigourously and accurately studying those patterns of life. Voegelin's book is a milestone in human thought and a light in the abyssal darkness of Modernity.

Still, it is not without it's flaws. Voegelin persistently and completely misread Nietzsche, taking him to be an enemy of reality, when in fact Nietzsche rejected so mush of the Western tradition because he found in it a nihilist hatred for reality and existence that Voegelin also opposes. Likewise, Voegelin seems to take Christianity as either a sui generis phenomenon or a development out of Greek philosophy, when in fact it is neither. Christianity is the product of an evolution within the boundaries (and thus the experiences) of ancient Judaism. In order to understand Christianity as itself, it must be taken for the organic outgrowth from that background that it was. Voegelin thus persistently misunderstands the essence of Christianity, which he seems to confuse with semi-Platonic Augustinianism. Finally, Voegelin never seeks to analyze the metaphysical truthfulness of the existential experiences that he finds undergirding political life. He just takes it for granted that the quasi-Platonic cosmology that he adheres to is the true order of reality. This leaves him open to metaphysical criticism.

Nonetheless, this is a brilliant introduction to Voegelin's work and to the demented nature of modern ideology and it's roots in spiritual revolt.

Rating:
Summary: Not perfect, but still brilliant
Review: "The New Science of Politics" is the best short work in the oeurve of the great philosopher and political scientist Eric Voegelin. In it he describes, among other things, an effective methodology for studying the political experiences of peoples; the philosophical errors at the roots of scientism and positive social sciences, which seek to apply an irrelevant mathematical method to human behavior, which can only be comprehended on it's own terms; the existential underpinnings of virutally every revolutionary ideology the West has ever known in a spiritual revolt against the nature of human existence; and the dynamics of the kinds of political movements that arise from such experiences. This is nothing less that an attempt to ground human political life in an existential philosophy and to contruct from that understanding a method for rigourously and accurately studying those patterns of life. Voegelin's book is a milestone in human thought and a light in the abyssal darkness of Modernity.

Still, it is not without it's flaws. Voegelin persistently and completely misread Nietzsche, taking him to be an enemy of reality, when in fact Nietzsche rejected so mush of the Western tradition because he found in it a nihilist hatred for reality and existence that Voegelin also opposes. Likewise, Voegelin seems to take Christianity as either a sui generis phenomenon or a development out of Greek philosophy, when in fact it is neither. Christianity is the product of an evolution within the boundaries (and thus the experiences) of ancient Judaism. In order to understand Christianity as itself, it must be taken for the organic outgrowth from that background that it was. Voegelin thus persistently misunderstands the essence of Christianity, which he seems to confuse with semi-Platonic Augustinianism. Finally, Voegelin never seeks to analyze the metaphysical truthfulness of the existential experiences that he finds undergirding political life. He just takes it for granted that the quasi-Platonic cosmology that he adheres to is the true order of reality. This leaves him open to metaphysical criticism.

Nonetheless, this is a brilliant introduction to Voegelin's work and to the demented nature of modern ideology and it's roots in spiritual revolt.

Rating:
Summary: Learned
Review: Eric Voegelin was one of the most learned scholars of the 20th century. This work, which goes beyond what might be considered a "science of politics," is a fairly complete exposition of some of the central themes of philosophy, particularly how they relate to politics. Voegelin's thesis is (in part) roughly as follows: Christianity, particularly in its Augustinian version, dedivinzed the universe. In this process, man saw his limited, creaturely role. However, various revolutionary movements arose which sought to redivinize man and society. These movements were largely "gnostic" in orientation. This gnosticism can be seen in the revolutionary philosophies of our time, such as Comteianism, Marxism, and Nazism. "These Gnostic experiences . . . are the core of the redivinization of society, for the men who fall into these experiences divinize themselves by substituting more massive modes of participation in divinity for faith in the Christian sense." [p. 124.] One gnostic phenomenon Voegelin calls "immanitizing the eschaton" in which revolutionaries attempt to create utopia on earth. They often follow a version of Joachim's "three ages" scheme: for example, Comte's approach to history (theological, metaphysical, and scientific phases); the Marxian three stages of society (primitive, class-based, and communistic); and Nazism with its "Third Reich." [pps. 112-13.]

Voegelin's learning is nothing short of astounding. He is at ease discussing topics as diverse as ancient philosophy, the inscriptions of King Darius I, the Mongol Orders of Submission, and various Puritan literature.

There are a couple problems with this work. First, Voegelin has a rather freewheeling use of the term "gnosticism" which he seems to apply to just about everything he doesn't like. For example, the Protestant Reformation was "the successful invasion of Western institutions by Gnostic movements." [p. 134.] While gnosticism may be an appropriate way to describe various movements that sprung up at the time of the Reformation, this is an unfair characterization of Protestantism as a whole. [See Murray Rothbard's essay "Karl Marx as Religious Eschatologist" in The Logic of Action II.] In fact, Voegelin goes so far as to call Calvin's Institutes a "Gnostic Koran"! [p. 139.] He also sees gnostic elements in Paul and Isaiah, among others. Second, it's kind of hard to determine exactly what Voegelin's own views are. Although he has been praised by many Christian writers, he apparently wasn't a Christian in the traditional sense. He called himself a "mystic." [Michael Franz, Eric Voegelin and the Politics of Spiritual Revolt, p. 70 n. 11.] In fact, David Gordon, echoing R.J. Rushdoony, recently stated that Voegelin was himself a gnostic! [David Gordon, Mises Review, Fall 2000.]

Rating:
Summary: Learned
Review: Eric Voegelin was one of the most learned scholars of the 20th century. This work, which goes beyond what might be considered a "science of politics," is a fairly complete exposition of some of the central themes of philosophy, particularly how they relate to politics. Voegelin's thesis is (in part) roughly as follows: Christianity, particularly in its Augustinian version, dedivinzed the universe. In this process, man saw his limited, creaturely role. However, various revolutionary movements arose which sought to redivinize man and society. These movements were largely "gnostic" in orientation. This gnosticism can be seen in the revolutionary philosophies of our time, such as Comteianism, Marxism, and Nazism. "These Gnostic experiences . . . are the core of the redivinization of society, for the men who fall into these experiences divinize themselves by substituting more massive modes of participation in divinity for faith in the Christian sense." [p. 124.] One gnostic phenomenon Voegelin calls "immanitizing the eschaton" in which revolutionaries attempt to create utopia on earth. They often follow a version of Joachim's "three ages" scheme: for example, Comte's approach to history (theological, metaphysical, and scientific phases); the Marxian three stages of society (primitive, class-based, and communistic); and Nazism with its "Third Reich." [pps. 112-13.]

Voegelin's learning is nothing short of astounding. He is at ease discussing topics as diverse as ancient philosophy, the inscriptions of King Darius I, the Mongol Orders of Submission, and various Puritan literature.

There are a couple problems with this work. First, Voegelin has a rather freewheeling use of the term "gnosticism" which he seems to apply to just about everything he doesn't like. For example, the Protestant Reformation was "the successful invasion of Western institutions by Gnostic movements." [p. 134.] While gnosticism may be an appropriate way to describe various movements that sprung up at the time of the Reformation, this is an unfair characterization of Protestantism as a whole. [See Murray Rothbard's essay "Karl Marx as Religious Eschatologist" in The Logic of Action II.] In fact, Voegelin goes so far as to call Calvin's Institutes a "Gnostic Koran"! [p. 139.] He also sees gnostic elements in Paul and Isaiah, among others. Second, it's kind of hard to determine exactly what Voegelin's own views are. Although he has been praised by many Christian writers, he apparently wasn't a Christian in the traditional sense. He called himself a "mystic." [Michael Franz, Eric Voegelin and the Politics of Spiritual Revolt, p. 70 n. 11.] In fact, David Gordon, echoing R.J. Rushdoony, recently stated that Voegelin was himself a gnostic! [David Gordon, Mises Review, Fall 2000.]

Rating:
Summary: A Masterful Synthesis
Review: Eric Voegelin, who died in 1985, is one of the giants of intellectual history and political philosophy. Unfortunately, he is far less well-recognized outside of a small scholarly community than some of the poseurs who foist quack theories on the public under the guise of "political philosophy." The New Science of Politics, based on Voegelin's Walgreen Lectures, can be read as a theoretical companion to his magisterial Order and History, a five-volume elaboration of the theories presented here. Voegelin provides an examination of political community and its representations through symbolic appropriation and the underlying basis of political order throughout history. Equally, Voegelin deals with misappropriation of symbols in the form of Gnosticism, which emerged at the dawn of the middle ages. His diagnostic exercise leads to an examination of modernity, which is characterized by advance and decline, the nature of of our own times. Modernist movements such as Nazism and Communism embody gnostic misappropriation of the symbolization of order. Writing in the immediate postwar period as an Austrian refugee from Hitler, with a command of ancient and modern philosophy and history and access to documentation in a dozen languages, Voegelin both lays the foundation for a return to the Aristotelean tradition of political philosophy and analysis and provides the personal witness of a research physician who has examined the patient at close hand. There is no better short book in our times for accomplishing Dr. Johnson's admonition to clear your mind of cant, or providing a sound basis for recognizing the corruption of intellectual and personal standards in current politics and scholarship, or the infection of scholarship by extremist politics. Voegelin has a number of brilliant students carrying on his work. However, unlike acolytes of Leo Strauss and Allan Bloom and their neo-conservative entourage, who represent a very different and self-referential strain in modern political analysis, Voegelin's students have not populated the high offices of government. Given the power of Voegelin's model presented in The New Science of Politics, I expect and hope that his long-term influence will weigh decisively in the war on modernity and its pernicious supporting social science-based infrastructure. To understand the contours of the problem, The New Science of Politics is an indispensible guide and a model of elegant anlysis and writing.

Rating:
Summary: A Masterful Synthesis
Review: Eric Voegelin, who died in 1985, is one of the giants of intellectual history and political philosophy. Unfortunately, he is far less well-recognized outside of a small scholarly community than some of the poseurs who foist quack theories on the public under the guise of "political philosophy." The New Science of Politics, based on Voegelin's Walgreen Lectures, can be read as a theoretical companion to his magisterial Order and History, a five-volume elaboration of the theories presented here. Voegelin provides an examination of political community and its representations through symbolic appropriation and the underlying basis of political order throughout history. Equally, Voegelin deals with misappropriation of symbols in the form of Gnosticism, which emerged at the dawn of the middle ages. His diagnostic exercise leads to an examination of modernity, which is characterized by advance and decline, the nature of of our own times. Modernist movements such as Nazism and Communism embody gnostic misappropriation of the symbolization of order. Writing in the immediate postwar period as an Austrian refugee from Hitler, with a command of ancient and modern philosophy and history and access to documentation in a dozen languages, Voegelin both lays the foundation for a return to the Aristotelean tradition of political philosophy and analysis and provides the personal witness of a research physician who has examined the patient at close hand. There is no better short book in our times for accomplishing Dr. Johnson's admonition to clear your mind of cant, or providing a sound basis for recognizing the corruption of intellectual and personal standards in current politics and scholarship, or the infection of scholarship by extremist politics. Voegelin has a number of brilliant students carrying on his work. However, unlike acolytes of Leo Strauss and Allan Bloom and their neo-conservative entourage, who represent a very different and self-referential strain in modern political analysis, Voegelin's students have not populated the high offices of government. Given the power of Voegelin's model presented in The New Science of Politics, I expect and hope that his long-term influence will weigh decisively in the war on modernity and its pernicious supporting social science-based infrastructure. To understand the contours of the problem, The New Science of Politics is an indispensible guide and a model of elegant anlysis and writing.