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Order and History #3
柏拉图与亚里士多德
《秩序与历史》卷三完成了沃格林对古希腊文化的研究，从它在希腊古典时期之前的起源，一直到它在雅典统治时期达到的全盛。本卷正如其标题所示，主要是致力于对两位代表了古希腊哲学探究顶点的伟大思想家的作品的研究。
通过对柏拉图和亚里士多德关于灵魂、城邦和宇宙的思考的生动分析，沃格林展示了旧的神话象征体系是如何被更为分化的哲学象征所取代。尽管对旧的真理象征的淘汰和拒斥可能会导致混乱而令人绝望的相对主义，但沃格林仍然将它当作某种关于历史进程的深刻思想的基础。
在他看来，历史并没有明显的“意义”，然而每个社会都同样追求过真理。尽管每个社会都在不同的情境下展开自己的命运，然而它们在各自的行为和制度中都创造出了承载各自生存意义的象征。历史就在对意义和秩序的共同追寻中获得了统一性。这种历史观的合理性和崇高性对当今时代有着诸多启示。
通过对柏拉图和亚里士多德关于灵魂、城邦和宇宙的思考的生动分析，沃格林展示了旧的神话象征体系是如何被更为分化的哲学象征所取代。尽管对旧的真理象征的淘汰和拒斥可能会导致混乱而令人绝望的相对主义，但沃格林仍然将它当作某种关于历史进程的深刻思想的基础。
在他看来，历史并没有明显的“意义”，然而每个社会都同样追求过真理。尽管每个社会都在不同的情境下展开自己的命运，然而它们在各自的行为和制度中都创造出了承载各自生存意义的象征。历史就在对意义和秩序的共同追寻中获得了统一性。这种历史观的合理性和崇高性对当今时代有着诸多启示。
460 pages, Paperback
Published May 1, 2014
7 people are currently reading
277 people want to read
About the author
Eric Voegelin
88 books190 followersGerman-born American political philosopher. He taught political theory and sociology at the University of Vienna after his habilitation there in 1928. While in Austria Voegelin established the beginnings of his long lasting friendship with F. A. Hayek. In 1933 he published two books criticizing Nazi racism, and was forced to flee from Austria following the Anschluss in 1938. After a brief stay in Switzerland, he arrived in the United States and taught at a series of universities before joining Louisiana State University's Department of Government in 1942. His advisers on his dissertation were Hans Kelsen and Othmar Spann.
Voegelin remained in Baton Rouge until 1958 when he accepted an offer by Munich's Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität to fill Max Weber's former chair in political science, which had been empty since Weber's death in 1920. In Munich he founded the Institut für Politische Wissenschaft. Voegelin returned to America in 1969 to join Stanford University's Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace as Henry Salvatori Fellow where he continued his work until his death on January 19, 1985. He was a member of the Philadelphia Society.
Voegelin remained in Baton Rouge until 1958 when he accepted an offer by Munich's Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität to fill Max Weber's former chair in political science, which had been empty since Weber's death in 1920. In Munich he founded the Institut für Politische Wissenschaft. Voegelin returned to America in 1969 to join Stanford University's Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace as Henry Salvatori Fellow where he continued his work until his death on January 19, 1985. He was a member of the Philadelphia Society.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 13, 2016
Voegelin's account of Plato differs from the usual textbook accounts in that he goes beyond the facile claim that "Plato believed in the realm of Forms" to the reality that the soul manifests the idea through mythological symbols. Yes, Plato did believe in the realm of Forms, but that doesn't say a whole lot. The more interesting problem is tying Plato's use of forms to his use of myth.
And that's what Voegelin does. He gives a remarkably lucid and sophisticated organization of Plato's key works, especially The Republic, Timeaus, and Laws. Regarding the Republic he notes the primarily line of meaning in Plato’s work is between ascent and descent: Plato descends to speak with his friends and only with difficulty can he ascend to the order of the soul.
Which brings us to a key point: The Idea. The soul is the idea of the form of the cosmos instantiated in lesser souls. The idea is Plato’s reality and is embodied in the historically existing polis (272). The “Spirit” must manifest itself in the “visible, finite form of an organized society” (281; despite his hostility to Hegel Voegelin is starting to sound a lot like Hegel).
Myth for Plato draws from and upon the powers of unconsciousness. The symbols of the myth are not meant to be taken as wooden epistemological objects (241). They are the reality “broken in the medium of consciousness” (246).
Aristotle appears to get short shrift in this volume, but in many ways Voegelin handles Aristotle more lucidly than he does Plato--and Aristotle isn't quite the deep thinker that Plato is. This book is very good but I got the impression that Voegelin deliberately "floated around" getting to the heart of the forms. Further, in some areas he sounds a lot like Hegel. That's not a criticism; just an observation that should come into play when one reads Voegelin's famous essay on Hegel the Sorcerer.
So is Plato a totalitarian? Not exactly, since his "totalitarian" views in the Republic probably never could come to fruition given his other view that only few men could "contain the Idea."
Why no voting buttons? We don't let customers vote on their own reviews, so the voting buttons appear only when you look at reviews submitted by others.
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And that's what Voegelin does. He gives a remarkably lucid and sophisticated organization of Plato's key works, especially The Republic, Timeaus, and Laws. Regarding the Republic he notes the primarily line of meaning in Plato’s work is between ascent and descent: Plato descends to speak with his friends and only with difficulty can he ascend to the order of the soul.
Which brings us to a key point: The Idea. The soul is the idea of the form of the cosmos instantiated in lesser souls. The idea is Plato’s reality and is embodied in the historically existing polis (272). The “Spirit” must manifest itself in the “visible, finite form of an organized society” (281; despite his hostility to Hegel Voegelin is starting to sound a lot like Hegel).
Myth for Plato draws from and upon the powers of unconsciousness. The symbols of the myth are not meant to be taken as wooden epistemological objects (241). They are the reality “broken in the medium of consciousness” (246).
Aristotle appears to get short shrift in this volume, but in many ways Voegelin handles Aristotle more lucidly than he does Plato--and Aristotle isn't quite the deep thinker that Plato is. This book is very good but I got the impression that Voegelin deliberately "floated around" getting to the heart of the forms. Further, in some areas he sounds a lot like Hegel. That's not a criticism; just an observation that should come into play when one reads Voegelin's famous essay on Hegel the Sorcerer.
So is Plato a totalitarian? Not exactly, since his "totalitarian" views in the Republic probably never could come to fruition given his other view that only few men could "contain the Idea."
Why no voting buttons? We don't let customers vote on their own reviews, so the voting buttons appear only when you look at reviews submitted by others.
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April 18, 2023
one of the best account of the thought of Plato and Aristotle. The book is friendly to read, and very fascinating. It combines an insightful reading with a remarkably historical details. It is not an exaggeration to state that this book, for me, is unputdownable.
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November 12, 2009Recommended by James Schall in Another Sort of Learning, Chapter 6, as one of Four Books and Two Essays to Help You Begin Wondering about Plato.
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