Rewriting Contemporary Political Philosophy with Plato and Aristotle: An Essay on Eudaimonic Politics

Description

Many contemporary philosophers develop political theories in an attempt to justify the societies that we currently live in. But the distribution of wealth in our societies today is becoming ever more polarized. Can these philosophers offer theories that are truly just? Paul Schollmeier takes us back to ancient political philosophy in order to present an original theory of what a society in our era ought to be and to offer a cogent critique of contemporary theories both liberal and libertarian. He adapts the ancient principle of happiness found in Plato and Aristotle to introduce us to a new concept of a eudaimonic polity, and he shows that the principles of justice espoused by John Rawls and by Robert Nozick are essentially sophistry in the ancient sense of the word. Schollmeier sets out a political theory that advocates engagement in political activity primarily for its own sake and not for private profit or pleasure. He argues that we can best exercise our rational and political nature when we participate together with others in political activity without an ulterior motive. Not to engage in activity of this kind is to deny our nature and to fall into conflict over limited resources both social and natural. This original study of contemporary political philosophy presents a strong case for a eudaimonic polity over current theories that neglect and denigrate public interests and favour instead interests essentially private. Cover Contents Acknowledgments Preface Part 1 The Cave: The Turn to the Intelligible 1 Rational Animals 2 Political Animals Part 2 A Eudaimonic Polity: An Opportunity Overlooked in Contemporary Political Thought 3 Liberty and Slavery 4 Rightness and Fairness 5 Public and Private Part 3 The Cave Again: The Daunting Prospect of Political Tragedy 6 Poetical Animals Notes Select Bibliography Index