 |
 |
|
|
UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI PRESS |
||
 |
||
|
 |
||||||
|
|
This volume of The Collected Works contains essays
published by Eric Voegelin between 1929 and 1933, the period
between the publication of his first book, On the Form of the
American Mind, and Hitler's rise to power, as well as
Voegelin's two books analyzing the explosive race issues posed by
National Socialism. The essays herein reflect the intellectual
and political tumult of the period and their author's maturing
grasp of political reality as he moved away from positivism and
Kelsen's "Pure Theory of Law" toward a more refined and open
philosophical stance. The heart of this shift is signaled by his
emphasis on philosophical anthropology and on the decisive
importance of the moral substance basic to political
communities.
The topics of the essays are grouped around major themes in sociological theory, political science, and the theory of law. They illuminate the theoretical and practical impact of Voegelin's experiences in America as he increasingly engages European theories of state, especially the social theories of leading French and German scholars. In content, these essays include such pragmatic concerns as American theories of property, economic transactions, due process of law, and Austrian constitutional reforms.
Voegelin also explores the technically complex speculative matters surrounding sovereignty and law, Max Weber's science, and the spiritual form of Europe. He analyzes Kant's understanding of moral duty and the meaning of solidarity as the substance of democratic society. Through these discourses, readers can see how the theme of divine transcendence increasingly finds expression during this crucial early stage of Voegelin's scholarly life. Thus, these studies mark the early path Voegelin took in making his arduous journey from legal scholar to philosophical political scientist. They display his increasingly resolute attention-- against challenges both existential and urgently political--to a growing insight into what it means to be fully human as he struggles toward an eventual philosophy of politics and history sufficient to amplify that noble insight.
About the Author
Eric Voegelin (1901-1985) was one of the most original and influential philosophers of our time. Born in Cologne, Germany, he studied at the University of Vienna, where he became a professor of political science in the Faculty of Law. In 1938, he and his wife, fleeing Hitler, immigrated to the United States. They became American citizens in 1944. Voegelin spent much of his career at Louisiana State University, the University of Munich, and the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. During his lifetime he published many books and more than one hundred articles. The Collected Works of Eric Voegelin will make available in a uniform edition all of Voegelin's major writings.About the Editors
Thomas W. Heilke is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Kansas. He is the author or editor of several books, including The Collected Works of Eric Voegelin, Volume 7: Published Essays, 1922-1928.
John von Heyking is Assistant Professor of Political Science at
the University of Lethbridge in Canada. He is the author of
Augustine and Politics as Longing in the World and the coeditor
of The Collected Works of Eric Voegelin, Volume 7: Published
Essays, 1922-1928.