The Historical Mind

Description

America is increasingly defined not only by routine disregard for its fundamental laws, but also by the decadent character of its political leaders and citizens—widespread consumerism and self-indulgent behavior, cultural hedonism and anarchy, the coarsening of moral and political discourse, and a reckless interventionism in international relations. In The Historical Mind, various scholars argue that America's problems are rooted in its people's refusal to heed the lessons of historical experience and to adopt "constitutional" checks or self-imposed restraints on their cultural, moral, and political lives. Drawing inspiration from the humanism of Irving Babbitt and Claes G. Ryn, the contributors offer a timely and provocative assessment of the American present and contend that only a humanistic order guided by the wisdom of historical consciousness has genuine promise for facilitating fresh thinking about the renewal of American culture, morality, and politics.
Acknowledgments

Introduction

Part I: The New Humanism

1. What I Believe: Rousseau and Religion
Irving Babbitt

2. Power without Limits: The Allure of Political Idealism and the Crumbling of American Constitutionalism
Claes G. Ryn

Part II: Culture and Imagination

3. Russell Kirk and the Romance of Babbittianism
Bradley J. Birzer

4. The Pillars of Hercules: Babbitt, Warren, and the Dangers of Scientific Naturalism
Justin D. Garrison

5. Luminosity, Imagination, Truth: On Voegelin and Ryn
S. F. McGuire

Part III: Ethics and Character

6. Politics, Moral Judgment, and the Enlightenment Project
William F. Byrne

7. Natural Law, the Moral Imagination, and Prudent Exceptions
Robert C. Koons

8. Irving Babbitt and Christianity: A Response to T. S. Eliot
Ryan R. Holston

Part IV: America and Constitutional Spirit

9. Can Constitutions Preserve the Engendering Experiences of Order?
Michael P. Federici

10. On the Moral Necessity of Constitutionalism: Claes Ryn and Ethical Democracy
Bruce P. Frohnen

Part V: America, Humanism, and the World

11. "Let Things Be Called by Their Right Names": Difference as Constraint in American Exceptionalism
Richard M. Gamble

12. A Little Place and a Big Idea: The Temptation to Imperialism and the Loss of Republicanism
Justin B. Litke

13. Resistance and Renewal: Irving Babbitt and China
Zhang Yuan and Justin D. Garrison

Conclusion

Contributors
Index

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 01 mai 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781438478449
• Langue: English

Extrait

THE HISTORICAL MIND
THE HISTORICAL
MIND
Humanistic Renewal in a Post-Constitutional Age
Edited by Justin D. Garrison and Ryan R. Holston
Published by State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2020 State University of New York Press
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.
For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY www.sunypress.edu
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Garrison, Justin D., editor. | Holston, Ryan R., 1973- editor.
Title: The historical mind : humanistic renewal in a post-constitutional age / Edited by Justin D. Garrison and Ryan R. Holston.
Description: Albany : State University of New York Press, [2020] | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019049054 (print) | LCCN 2019049055 (ebook) | ISBN 9781438478432 (hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781438478449 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Political science—Philosophy. | Constitutional law—Philosophy. | Constitutional law—United States. | Humanism—United States. | United States—Politics and government—Philosophy.
Classification: LCC JK31 .H56 2020 (print) | LCC JK31 (ebook) | DDC 320.01—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019049054
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019049055
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Timothy and Hermione. Become who you are.
—J.D.G.
For Kate and Ben, who are never short on imagination.
—R.R.H.

History is life’s teacher.
—Marcus Tullius Cicero
To the several perversities of the day a man should always oppose only the great masses of universal history.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The past is never dead. It’s not even past.
—William Faulkner
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part I. The New Humanism
ONE What I Believe: Rousseau and Religion
Irving Babbitt
TWO Power without Limits: The Allure of Political Idealism and the Crumbling of American Constitutionalism
Claes G. Ryn
Part II. Culture and Imagination
THREE Russell Kirk and the Romance of Babbittianism
Bradley J. Birzer
FOUR The Pillars of Hercules: Babbitt, Warren, and the Dangers of Scientific Naturalism
Justin D. Garrison
FIVE Luminosity, Imagination, Truth: On Voegelin and Ryn
S. F. McGuire
Part III. Ethics and Character
SIX Politics, Moral Judgment, and the Enlightenment Project
William F. Byrne
SEVEN Natural Law, the Moral Imagination, and Prudent Exceptions
Robert C. Koons
EIGHT Irving Babbitt and Christianity: A Response to T. S. Eliot
Ryan R. Holston
Part IV. America and Constitutional Spirit
NINE Can Constitutions Preserve the Engendering Experiences of Order?
Michael P. Federici
TEN On the Moral Necessity of Constitutionalism: Claes Ryn and Ethical Democracy
Bruce P. Frohnen
Part V. America, Humanism, and the World
ELEVEN “Let Things Be Called by Their Right Names”: Difference as Constraint in American Exceptionalism
Richard M. Gamble
TWELVE A Little Place and a Big Idea: The Temptation to Imperialism and the Loss of Republicanism
Justin B. Litke
THIRTEEN Resistance and Renewal: Irving Babbitt and China
Zhang Yuan and Justin D. Garrison
Conclusion
Contributors
Index
Acknowledgments
The editors would like to acknowledge the following as reprinted materials and to thank the content owners for granting reprint permission: Chapter 1 was originally published by Irving Babbitt in The Forum 83, no. 2 (February 1930): 80–87. Reprinted with permission of Current History Magazine INC. © 2018 Current History, Inc. Chapter 2 was originally published by Claes G. Ryn in Humanitas 26, nos. 1–2 (2013): 5–27. Reprinted with permission of Humanitas. Lyrics appearing in the introduction from “The Levee’s Gonna Break,” Bob Dylan, author, copyright © 2006 by Special Rider Music. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Reprinted by permission.
Justin Garrison would like to acknowledge Roanoke College and the summer research grant it provided to facilitate completion of this volume. He would also like to thank Ms. Judi Pinckney and Mr. Kasey F. Reese for assistance in preparing in preparing portions of the manuscript. Ryan Holston would like to extend his appreciation to Jim Hentz (RIP), who provided valuable guidance along the way. He would also like to thank Spencer Bakich for his insight into the contemporary literature on democratic peace theory. Additionally, he wishes to express his deep gratitude to Bruce Frohnen, whose early dedication to this volume provided it with needed support and momentum.
Finally, both editors would like to extend their sincere appreciation to Michael Federici for his mentorship throughout the process; without him this book certainly would not have come to fruition.
Introduction
If it keep on rainin’ the levee gonna break
—Bob Dylan
POST-CONSTITUTIONAL AMERICA
The temperature is hovering around freezing. The clouds intermittently disburse noonday sunlight into a leaden sky. On the western front of the Capitol, President George W. Bush strides to a podium to take his second oath of office as president of the United States. In his second inaugural address, he seeks to explain the true meaning of this axial moment in human history. According to his view, since the Founding, Americans have furthered history’s purpose of promoting freedom, individual rights, and self-government at home and abroad. In his time as president, the United States has acted in Afghanistan and Iraq in accordance with the country’s “great liberating tradition” and has thereby kindled anew “a fire in the minds of men.” 1 Much work remains to be done. The process of converting the globe to principles that are “eternally right” will be done through diplomacy, if possible; it will be done through force, if necessary. 2 The United States, too, is in need of substantial change. More home ownership, better health care, greater investment in education, and stronger retirement programs are vital to providing the American people with “greater freedom from want and fear,” while making “our society more prosperous and just and equal.” 3 Returning to his universal focus, Bush channels the Prophet Isaiah and concludes his remarks, stating, “America, in this young century, proclaims liberty throughout all the world and to all the inhabitants thereof.” 4
Four years later, the United States has a new president. The temperature is below freezing when Barack Obama begins his first inaugural address. Most of his remarks touch upon domestic areas of concern and anxiety. He explains that failing infrastructure must be repaired. A recommitment to science and technological investment is needed because it will lower health-care costs and allow Americans to “harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories.” 5 The national government will play a decisive role in these efforts. He devotes some of his time to discussing the broader world. Rejecting as false a choice between security and idealism, he warns terrorists and others who might harm the United States, “We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense.” 6 He says the United States is a friend to all who desire “peace and dignity.” 7 He offers America’s help to nations suffering from conflict and poverty. He admonishes countries with wealth to be more generous. Reflecting on the essence of American history and the realization of his vision for the future, Obama articulates his convictions that “the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself, and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.” 8
Despite differences in ideology and party affiliation, there are some striking similarities in these remarks from Bush and Obama. Although they place different degrees of emphasis on involvement of the federal government in American life, they both believe it has a crucial role to play in numerous policy areas and on various social scales. Both presidents share the belief that the United States is a special nation called to spread human rights and self-government to the ends of the earth; they differ over tactics rather than vision. Both of them invite Americans to pursue the realization of a domestic paradise of freedom and equality and a world at peace made possible through unflagging optimism and robust American action. Each president argues that he is stating nothing new but is reminding Americans of what they have always believed, have always been. They see their presidencies as continuations of the best in the American tradition.
In his speech, Bush asked younger Americans who might be suspicious of the truth of his remarks to “believe the evidence of your eyes.” 9 A number of the things those eyes would see would be troubling. Among other things, the Bush years included failed wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, widespread and illegal surveillance of citizens, signing statements reflecting disregard for limitations on executive power, torture, a Great Recession, almost six trillion dollars in new national debt, and diminishing job prospects for large swaths of the population. In most respects, Obama followed in Bush’s