Description
Book SynopsisWith The Life of Reason in an Age of Terrorism, Charles Padrón and Kris Skowroński (editors) gather together a broad assortment of contributions that address the germaneness of George Santayana’s (1863-1952) social and political thought to the world of the early twenty-first century in general, and specifically to the phenomenon of terrorism. The essays treat a broad range of philosophical and historical concerns: the life of reason, the philosophy of the everyday, fanaticism, liberalism, barbarism, egoism, and relativism. The essays reflect a wide range of viewpoints and perspectives, but all coalesce around discussions of how Santayana’s thought fits in with and enhances an understanding of both our challenging times, and our uncertain future. Contributors are: Cayetano Estébanez, Matthew Caleb Flamm, Nóra Horváth, Jacquelyn Ann Kegley, Till Kinzel, Katarzyna Kremplewska, John Lachs, José Beltrán Llavador, Eduardo Mendieta, Daniel Moreno Moreno, Luka Nikolic, Charles Padrón, Giuseppe Patella, Daniel Pinkas, Herman Saatkamp, Jr., Matteo Santarelli, Krzysztof Piotr Skowroński and Andrés Tutor.
Table of ContentsEditors’ Introduction Preface: Justice and Sorrow John Lachs Acknowledgments Notes on Contributors Part 1: Terrorism and Its Discontents 1 Forgetting and Remembering History: Memory and Self Identity Jaquelyn Ann Kegley 2 The Life of Reason and Terrorism: Strategies Herman J. Saatkamp, Jr. 3 Managing Necessity: Santayana on Forms of Power and the Human Condition Katarzyna Kremplewska 4 Santayanan Reason, Terror and Terrorism, and the Everyday World Charles Padrón 5 Assassination Nation: The Drone as Thanatological Dispositif Eduardo Mendieta 6 Santayana and the (Postmodern) Spirit of Terrorism Luka Nikolić Part 2: The Circumscribing Political Context 7 Santayana, Self-Knowledge and the Limits of Politics Till Kinzel 8 Santayana on Americanism Daniel Moreno 9 Liberalism and the Vertigo of Spirit: Santayana’s Political Theodicy Matthew Caleb Flamm 10 Dewey, Santayana, and ‘Ndrangheta: Understanding a Complex Phenomenon Matteo Santarelli 11 “A Happy Snow-Flake Dancing in the Flaw”: Reflections on Santayanan Alternatives and Surviving a New Dark Age Nóra Horváth Part 3: Barbarism, Fanaticism, Madness, and Egotism 12 Barbarism Begins at Home: Santayana and Barbarism in Art and Life Giuseppe Patella 13 Egotism, Violence and the Devil: On Santayana’s Use of the Concept of Egotism Daniel Pinkas 14 A Religion without Fanaticism: Little Lessons of Wisdom from Santayana José Beltrán Llavador 15 Santayana on Pluralism, Relativism and Rationality Andrés Tutor 16 Santayana’s Idea of Madness and Normal Madness in a Troubled Age Cayetano Estébanez 17 Santayana’s Philosophy of Education against Fanaticism and Barbarity Krzysztof Piotr Skowroński Index
