Description
Book SynopsisThis important collection reveals that Augustine's political thought drew on and diverged from the classical tradition, contributing to the study of questions at the center of all Western political thought. 2020 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title Award Winner Studies on Augustine have burgeoned over the past decade, but attention has focused primarily on his writings on philosophy and theology. Less attention has been given to his political teaching, despite his well-known and influential statements on politics, most notably in his City of God. This collection of essays examines Augustine's corpus with a view to understanding his political thought. Taking seriously what he has to say about politics, the contributors here begin with Augustine's own reflections on politics-and often in writings where one least expects to find such reflections, such as the autobiographical Confessions, his letters, and his sermons.The contributors then consider the ways in which Augustine's teaching relates to that of his predecessors, the classical thinkers, as well as to the thought of other medieval thinkers, revealing that Augustine both drew on and diverged from the classical tradition and influenced the political thought of later medieval and even modern thinkers. This important collection thus contributes to the history of political thought and to the study of the questionsat the center of all Western political thought. RICHARD J. DOUGHERTY is professor of politics and chair of the Department of Politics at the University of Dallas.
Trade ReviewAugustine's Political Thought succeeds in illustrating the rich and colorful pallet that Augustine masterfully used to paint his own political thought. * AUGUSTINIANA *
This book is a brilliant and novel scholarly contribution to the literature on Augustine and politics. The essays exhibit a mastery of the relevant secondary material and an ability to draw not just upon the explicitly political texts in question from Augustine's corpus but also on other relevant texts. The collection fills a gap in the literature on Augustine and politics. -- Thomas Hibbs, Baylor University
[O]ffers a refreshing diversion from narrowminded historicism[.] This collection convincingly shows that Augustinian political thought can and should not be limited to his relation to the Roman Empire and its history. * BRYN MAWR CLASSICAL REVIEW *
Table of ContentsIntroduction - Richard J. Dougherty PART 1. POLITICS, NATURE, AND VIRTUE St. Augustine and the Problem of Political Ethics - Richard J. Dougherty The Other Happy Life: The Political Dimensions to St. Augustine's Cassiciacum Dialogues - Michael Foley Peace and the Order of Nature: Augustine, Giles, and Dante - Peter Busch Deeds and Words: Latreia, Justice and Mercy in Augustine's Political Thought - Ashleen Manchaca-Bagnulo The Centrality of Justice in Augustine's Early Investigations - Adam Thomas PART 2. ST. AUGUSTINE AND ANCIENT POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY The Few, the Many, and the Universal Way of Salvation: Augustine's Point of Engagement with Platonic Political Thought - Thomas Harmon Augustine's Imitation in the Confessions of Plato's Teaching on Art and Politics in the Republic - Douglas Kries Augustine's Revision of Greek and Roman Esotericism - Ryan Balot Augustine's Ciceronian Response to the Ciceronian Patriot - Veronica Roberts Ogle City of God and Roman Sacral Politics - Daniel Strand Augustine and Platonic Political Philosophy: The Contribution of Joseph Ratzinger - Daniel E. Burns
