Lucretius as Theorist of Political Life

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Political, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, Politics, History & Theory
Cover of the book Lucretius as Theorist of Political Life by J. Colman, Palgrave Macmillan US
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: J. Colman ISBN: 9781137292322
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan US Publication: December 5, 2012
Imprint: Palgrave Macmillan Language: English
Author: J. Colman
ISBN: 9781137292322
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan US
Publication: December 5, 2012
Imprint: Palgrave Macmillan
Language: English

"John Colman has presented us with a profound and scrupulously detailed inquiry into how Lucretius understood the tensions between the philosophic life and the requirements and characteristics of the life of political action—tensions with which Lucretius had to deal in his endeavor to bring philosophy into Rome." – James H. Nichols, Jr., Professor of Government, Claremont McKenna College, USA

"Lucretius has been drawing renewed attention for both the depth of his message and the beauty of his poem. Nevertheless, only a few commentators are attentive to the paradox of a philosophic teaching that reduces everything to matter in motion in the form of a beautiful poem. John Colman represents the even more rare case of someone who sees this paradox and explains it intelligently. He is able to show the way Lucretius addresses those interested in beauty and those interested in politics in a work that appears to reject both." – Christopher Kelly, Professor of Political Science, Boston College, USA

"A careful study of Lucretius by a notable young scholar showing, not just assuming, that he had a politics. The result is to reveal how his politics compares with that in the Socratic tradition and how he was distorted by his modern students and interpreters." – Harvey C. Mansfield, Professor of Government at Harvard; Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford, USA

Lucretius as Theorist of Political Life is an interpretation of Lucretius' poem On the Nature of Things as a defense of philosophy given the irremediable tension between the competing claims of the philosophic and political life. The central issue is the need for, and attempt by, philosophy to justify and defend its way of life to the political community. This work uncovers how Lucretius' conception of the philosophic life, and the reaction to the human, religious, and political implications of the discovery of nature, distinguish his intention from the anti-theological animus that drives the politically and scientifically ambitious project of his modern appropriators.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

"John Colman has presented us with a profound and scrupulously detailed inquiry into how Lucretius understood the tensions between the philosophic life and the requirements and characteristics of the life of political action—tensions with which Lucretius had to deal in his endeavor to bring philosophy into Rome." – James H. Nichols, Jr., Professor of Government, Claremont McKenna College, USA

"Lucretius has been drawing renewed attention for both the depth of his message and the beauty of his poem. Nevertheless, only a few commentators are attentive to the paradox of a philosophic teaching that reduces everything to matter in motion in the form of a beautiful poem. John Colman represents the even more rare case of someone who sees this paradox and explains it intelligently. He is able to show the way Lucretius addresses those interested in beauty and those interested in politics in a work that appears to reject both." – Christopher Kelly, Professor of Political Science, Boston College, USA

"A careful study of Lucretius by a notable young scholar showing, not just assuming, that he had a politics. The result is to reveal how his politics compares with that in the Socratic tradition and how he was distorted by his modern students and interpreters." – Harvey C. Mansfield, Professor of Government at Harvard; Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford, USA

Lucretius as Theorist of Political Life is an interpretation of Lucretius' poem On the Nature of Things as a defense of philosophy given the irremediable tension between the competing claims of the philosophic and political life. The central issue is the need for, and attempt by, philosophy to justify and defend its way of life to the political community. This work uncovers how Lucretius' conception of the philosophic life, and the reaction to the human, religious, and political implications of the discovery of nature, distinguish his intention from the anti-theological animus that drives the politically and scientifically ambitious project of his modern appropriators.

More books from Palgrave Macmillan US

Cover of the book Urbanization, Urbanism, and Urbanity in an African City by J. Colman
Cover of the book Inequality, Poverty and Precarity in Contemporary American Culture by J. Colman
Cover of the book Hannah Arendt and the Specter of Totalitarianism by J. Colman
Cover of the book The Politics of Custom in Eighteenth-Century British Fiction by J. Colman
Cover of the book The Social Media President by J. Colman
Cover of the book The Australian School of International Relations by J. Colman
Cover of the book From the Axial Age to the Moral Revolution: John Stuart-Glennie, Karl Jaspers, and a New Understanding of the Idea by J. Colman
Cover of the book Disability and Religious Diversity by J. Colman
Cover of the book Hong Kong and Bollywood by J. Colman
Cover of the book Urban Identity and the Atlantic World by J. Colman
Cover of the book The Last Mufti of Iranian Kurdistan by J. Colman
Cover of the book Abandoning American Neutrality by J. Colman
Cover of the book Who Needs Jobs? by J. Colman
Cover of the book Organized Crime and States by J. Colman
Cover of the book The Mobilization of the Unemployed in Europe by J. Colman
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy