Beschreibung:
This book seeks to read the political thought of classic thinkers of the liberal tradition in the context of their metaphysical and theological writings. Sokolowski demonstrates that the political measures offered by political theorists to remedy the state of unrest and instability are intrinsically connected to their metaphysical conception of order, the self, and the interaction between the two.
In defiance of the predominant pattern of reading liberal political thought in isolation from the metaphysical and theological investigations of its classic thinkers, Metaphysical Problems, Political Solutions: Self, State, and Nation in Hobbes and Locke seeks to place their writings in context. Asaf Z. Sokolowski demonstrates that the political measures offered by theorists to remedy the social state of instability, known as the 'state of nature,' are intrinsically connected to distinctive metaphysical conceptions of the relationship between order and individuation. In each system of thought the origin and role of the self are determined by a particular conception of a created and evolving universal order. In turn, each version of order must contend with the vital question of how the individual is able to sustain a continuous identity. Thus, contrary to conventional thinking, it becomes apparent that the political theory developed by thinkers like Hobbes and Locke is predicated less on a security threat than on a debilitating insecurity concern, derived from ontological identity difficulties. This identity-focused reinterpretation of the liberal tradition transforms differences between key thinkers, previously reduced to nuance, into pivotal discords that shed a new light on the theoretical underpinnings of the self, the state, and the nation. As such, it will be valuable to scholars of political theory, metaphysics, theology, social science, and law.
Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 Chapter 1. Politics, Metaphysically Speaking
Chapter 3 Chapter 2. Hobbes: A Holistic Reading of his Politics
Chapter 4 Chapter 3. Hobbes: One for All
Chapter 5 Chapter 4. Hobbes: Rationality as Recurrence
Chapter 6 Chapter 5. Locke: Removing the Misconceptions
Chapter 7 Chapter 6. Locke: the Property of Continuous Identity
Chapter 8 Chapter 7. Locke: Heritage and Nationality
Chapter 9 Chapter 8. A Breakdown of Cosmopolitanism