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George Santayana's Political Hermeneutics
Series: - Value Inquiry Book Series, Volume: 373
- Social Philosophy, Volume: 373
Author:
Santayana’s political ideas, as contained in Dominations and Powers and dispersed throughout his other works, have not been given the attention they deserve. This is the first comprehensive study of Santayana’s political hermeneutics as embedded in his general philosophy and intimately connected to his cultural criticism. Managing necessity and harmonizing diversity, negative anthropology, an Apollonian individualism and naturalistic humanism, are only a few of the interpretative categories used to elucidate the dense, ambiguous and ironic ruminations of Santayana and reveal their timeliness. Discussion of other thinkers—from Plato to Ricoeur—brings to light the essentially dialogical character of his work.
Katarzyna Kremplewska obtained her Ph.D. in philosophy from the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Polish Academy of Sciences, in 2015 and is Assistant Professor there. She has published articles in Polish and English, as well as the monograph Life as Insinuation. George Santayana’s Hermeneutics of Finite Life and Human Self (SUNY Press, 2019).
"By far, this is the best and most comprehensive work on Santayana’s Dominations and Powers, and the volume stands as one of the best books written from a careful and critical understanding of Santayana’s views." – Herman Saatkamp, Indiana University
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Introduction
1 Foundations and Contours
1.1 Dualities
1.2 Realms and Orders
1.3 Powers, Dominations, and Virtues
1.4 Human Nature, Condition, and Negative Anthropology
2 Liberty
2.1 From Cultural Critique to Political Thinking
2.2 Vacant Freedom and Vital Liberty
2.3 Anarchist and Revolutionary Delusions
3 Servitude
4 Militancy
4.1 Sources and Forms of Militancy
4.2 War and Wars of Imagination
4.3 The Limits of Relativism and Moral Ambivalence
5 Arts as Powers and as Dominations
5.1 Mass Society, Business, and Culture
5.2 Liberal Arts and the Artist
5.3 A Digression on Secularization
6 The Fragility of Liberalism
6.1 Ideas
6.2 The Fate of the Liberal Ideals under the Liberal Rule
6.3 Culture
7 Reflections on Self-Government, Democracy, and Justice
7.1 A Few Remarks on Government by Politicians
7.2 Perfection versus Freedom
7.3 The Ironies of Democracy
7.4 The Aristocratic Ideal and a Democratic Society
7.5 Justice as Harmonizing Diversity and Justice as Charity
8 Santayana on Communism
9 Conclusions and Further Reflections on Why Culture Matters
Bibliography
Index
Abbreviations
Introduction
1 Foundations and Contours
1.1 Dualities
1.2 Realms and Orders
1.3 Powers, Dominations, and Virtues
1.4 Human Nature, Condition, and Negative Anthropology
2 Liberty
2.1 From Cultural Critique to Political Thinking
2.2 Vacant Freedom and Vital Liberty
2.3 Anarchist and Revolutionary Delusions
3 Servitude
4 Militancy
4.1 Sources and Forms of Militancy
4.2 War and Wars of Imagination
4.3 The Limits of Relativism and Moral Ambivalence
5 Arts as Powers and as Dominations
5.1 Mass Society, Business, and Culture
5.2 Liberal Arts and the Artist
5.3 A Digression on Secularization
6 The Fragility of Liberalism
6.1 Ideas
6.2 The Fate of the Liberal Ideals under the Liberal Rule
6.3 Culture
7 Reflections on Self-Government, Democracy, and Justice
7.1 A Few Remarks on Government by Politicians
7.2 Perfection versus Freedom
7.3 The Ironies of Democracy
7.4 The Aristocratic Ideal and a Democratic Society
7.5 Justice as Harmonizing Diversity and Justice as Charity
8 Santayana on Communism
9 Conclusions and Further Reflections on Why Culture Matters
Bibliography
Index
Scholars interested in American philosophy, Spanish philosophy, social and political philosophy, and cultural criticism.