Politics and Transcendence

“The trust in the Cosmos and its depth is the source of the premises . . . that we accept as the context of meaning for our concrete engagement in the search of truth. The search for truth makes sense only under the assumption that the truth brought up from the depth of his psyche by man, though it is not the ultimate truth of reality, is representative of the truth in the divine depth of the Cosmos. Behind every equivalent symbol in the historical field stands the man who has engendered it in the course of his search as representative of a truth that is more than equivalent. The search that renders no more than equivalent truth rests ultimately on the faith that, by engaging in it, man participates representatively in the divine drama of truth becoming luminous.” –Eric Voegelin

All are invited to join Zephyr for this series of four dinner seminars led by Juan Miguel Matheus (Stanford Constitutional Law Center and National Assembly of Venezuela) focused on the metaphysical and theological foundations of politics. Although politics is a temporal and earthly reality with its own sphere of autonomy, it is still related to the highest goods of human life. In this seminar we will explore the connection between politics and these highest goods through the lens of three key concepts: truth, human nature, and the good itself. These concepts capture aspects of human existence that help us to respond to the great problems threatening democratic self-government today.

Schedule

October 8, 6:00–7:30pm: Politics, History, and Transcendence

Reading: Eric Voegelin, The New Science of Politics, The University of Chicago Press, Midway Reprint, 1983, 1-26.

October 15, 6:00–7:30pm: Politics and Truth

Reading: Leo Strauss, “What is Political Philosophy?,” The Journal of Politics, vol. 19, no. 3, 1957, 343-355.

Suggested reading: 356-368 of the same text

October 22, 6:00–7:30pm: Politics and Human Goods

Reading: Plato, Apology of Socrates, trans. F.J. Church, MacMillan/Library of Liberal Arts, 1963, 1-17.

October 29, 6:00–7:30pm: Politics, Natural Right, and Human Nature

Reading: Leo Strauss, Natural Right and History, The University of Chicago Press, 1953, 1-8.

Suggested reading: Eric Voegelin, “What is Right by Nature?,” in Anamnesis, trans. and ed. Gerhart Niemeyer, University of Notre Dame Press, 1978, 55-70.

A full syllabus may be found here. Guidance questions for the first two sessions may be found here and here.

Readings

• Plato, Apology of Socrates

• Strauss, “What is Political Philosophy?,” What is Political Philosophy? And Other Studies, University of Chicago Press, 1959

• Strauss, Natural Right and History, University of Chicago Press, 1953, introduction

• Voegelin, “Reason: The Classic Experience,” Anamnesis, trans. and ed. Gerhart Niemeyer, University of Notre Dame Press, 1978

• Voegelin, The New Science of Politics, University of Chicago Press, 1951, introduction

Eligibility

This seminar is open to the general public.

Photo credit: O Palsson (licensed under CC by 2.0)