The Philosopher's Voice

Andrew Fiala

Description

This analysis of the relationship between philosophy and politics recognizes that political philosophers must continually struggle to distinguish their voices from others that clamor within political life. Author Andrew Fiala asks whether it is possible to maintain a distinction between philosophical speech and other political and poetic language. His answer is that philosophy's methodological self-consciousness is what distinguishes its voice from the voice of politics. By focusing on the different ways in which this methodological norm was enacted in the lives and work of Kant, Fichte, Hegel, and Marx, the author puts the problem in a larger context and considers the roles that these thinkers played in the political history of the nineteenth century.

1. Introduction: The Philosopher's Voice

2. Voice in Machiavelli, Locke, and Rousseau

3. The Politics of Pure Reason

4. Kant's Political Philosophy: Progressand Philosophical Intervention

5. Fichte: Philosophy, Politics, and the German Nation

6. Fichte's Voice: Language and Political Excess

7. Hegel: Philosophy and the Spirit of Politics

8. Hegel's Voice: Language, Education, and Philosophy

9. Marx: Politics, Ideology, and Critique

10. Marx's Voice: Political Action and Political Language

11. Philosophy, Politics, and Voice:

The Enduring Struggle

Appendix: Chronology

Notes

Bibliography

General Index

Citation Index

Sujets

• Philosophie
• Philosophie politique

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 01 février 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780791488072
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

The Philosopher’s Voice

SUNY series in Philosophy George R. Lucas Jr., editor

The Philosopher’s Voice

Philosophy, Politics, and Language in the Nineteenth Century

Andrew Fiala

STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS

Published by State University of New York Press, Albany

© 2002 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, address State University of New York Press, 90 State Street, Suite 700, Albany, NY 12207

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Fiala, Andrew G. (Andrew Gordon), 1966– The philosopher’s voice: philosophy, politics, and language in the nineteenth century/ Andrew Fiala. p. cm. — (SUNY series in philosophy) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-7914-5483-5 (alk. paper) — ISBN 0-7914-5484-3 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Philosophy—History—19th century. 2. Political science—History—19th century. I. Title. II. Series.

B65 .F5 2002 190'.9'034—dc21

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

2002021818

Contents

Acknowledgments Chapter 1. Introduction: The Philosopher’s Voice Chapter 2. Voice in Machiavelli, Locke, and Rousseau Chapter 3. The Politics of Pure Reason Chapter 4. Kant’s Political Philosophy: Progress and Philosophical Intervention Chapter 5. Fichte: Philosophy, Politics, and the German Nation Chapter 6. Fichte’s Voice: Language and Political Excess Chapter 7. Hegel: Philosophy and the Spirit of Politics Chapter 8. Hegel’s Voice: Language, Education, and Philosophy Chapter 9. Marx: Politics, Ideology, and Critique Chapter 10. Marx’s Voice: Political Action and Political Language Chapter 11. Philosophy, Politics, and Voice: The Enduring Struggle Appendix: Chronology Notes Bibliography General Index Citation Index

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Acknowledgments

Many people have contributed to the completion of this project. My thinking about this topic began with my dissertation on Hegel’sPhilosophy of RightVanderbilt University. I would like to thank my advisors for that at project, John Sallis, John Lachs, David Wood, Gregg Horowitz, Idit Dobbs- Weinstein, and Victor Anderson. Further thanks goes to John Lachs who offered suggestions on early drafts of my outline of the present project and who provided moral support and inspiration as I continued to work on it. I would also like to thank Scott Zeman who criticized the chapters on Marx; Robert Metcalf who critiqued the chapters on Fichte; Jere Surber who offered me insight into Fichte’s philosophy of language and the metacritique of Kant; and Sarah Cunningham who critiqued an early version of what became the chapters on Kant. Finally, I would like to thank my family for their support and patience as I completed this project: Julaine, Gordon, Don, Peggy, Bodhi, Tahoe, and Valerie.

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 1 C H A P T E R

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Introduction: The Philosopher’s Voice

Voice and Philosophy

Besides colors, it is especiallysounds (die Töne) which evoke in us a corresponding mood (Stimmung). This is chiefly true of the human voice (Stimme); for this is the principal way in which a person shows forth his inner nature; what he is, that he puts into his voice. 1 —Hegel,Encyclopedia

Voice is the origin of philosophy, politics, and poetry. Voice is the medium in which persons commune with one another by communicating their thoughts. It is the conjunction of body, mind, and community. It is the material medium by which we expose ourselves to one another, by which we persuade one another, by which we pursue together the truth, and by which we create and share ideas and emotions. Voice is the mechanism by which the inner be- comes outer. It is the source of dialectic and inspiration as well as the source of manipulation and coercion. Voice joins the universal and necessary laws of logic to a particular and contingent locus in space and time. All voices are embodied: they speak in concrete historically defined languages; they speak from a definite social and political position; and they address a concrete politically located audience. A voice is philosophical insofar as it is the active appearance of thinking, which aims beyond these historical contingencies to- ward the universal. The voice of philosophy is a mutual communication aimed at provoking thought in order to call forth truth. A voice is poetic insofar as it is actively creative. The voice of poetry sings, rejoices, mourns, and inspires. Such poetic vocalization aims at evoking a mood, feeling, or idea. Voice is political insofar as it is the mechanism for distributing social goods, for per- suading others about legitimate distributions, or for invoking authority. A continual problem for philosophy is to distinguish itself from poetic and political voices. This is a problem because philosophers cannot guarantee that their voices will be heard properly amid the cacophony of political life. As Aristotle noted, there are many other species of social animals, but only

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