Evoking the Spirit and Civilizing Human: The Art of Political Writing of Leo Strauss and Jacob Burckhardt—Political Gnosticism and Political Humanism
Date Issued
2010
Date
2010
Author(s)
Lin, Hsiao-Chin
Abstract
Three main arguments constitute this thesis. First of all, I propose two possible paradigms, the model to explain the structure of scientific revolution advanced by Thomas Kuhn and later modified by J.G.A. Pocock who makes the concept be appropriate in the study on history of political though: The one is Political Humanism, which sets all important and ultimate principles of political actions, thoughts, and moralities on human-self, and the other is Political Gnosticism, which requests piety and obey from human on the same matters with Political Humanism. The two paradigms support the necessary ideas for theory-writers when they deal with exact the same principle as political actions, thoughts, and moralities. After reviewing the developing process of two paradigms, we believe they not only overlap and co-exist in the political theory writing language, but also appropriate the theoretical elements from each other.
Secondly, I take Swiss historian Jacob Burckhardt as the contemporary Political Humanism illustration, and Jewish American political philosopher Leo Strauss as the Political Gnosticism one. They both opposed some current elements in their time and main thoughts, and proposed radical modification according to the two paradigms. Burckhardt criticized the 19th Germany Historicism, followed the cultural historical method, and emphasized the human idea in history, political, and world-view thinking, especially in his Greek, Rome, and Renaissance interpretation. Similarly but not identical, Strauss, facing the predicament of historicism, relativism, and nihilism, evoked the two-competing-model which are Athens (classical political philosophy) and Jerusalem ( the teaching of Bible) underlining the role of absolutely right, justice, and moral in political thinking. I try to prove in the second part of this thesis, which are the Chapter 3 & 4, their theory-writing embody the characteristics of the two paradigms.
In conclusion, I advocate the effects of the two paradigms incarnated in Burckhardt and Strauss are the re-empowerment of politics. Burckhardt and Political Humanism empowered the politic to be active, animate, and invigorate; Strauss and Political Gnosticism made the politics be orderly, absolutely, and stable. The two-sided paradigms both give the politics the active/orderly power it needs, and make it strong enough to endure the possible-coming political turmoil.
Subjects
Political Humanism
Political Gnosticism
Jacob Burckhardt
Leo Strauss
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