Description
Book SynopsisSantayana’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.
Trade Review"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
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments 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
