Ideas Matter

Two mates discuss philosophy, politics and intellectual history, because Ideas Matter.

Two mates discuss philosophy, politics and intellectual history, because Ideas Matter

#ideasmatterpod

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'What is Political Philosophy?' by Leo Strauss – Ideas Matter

"All political action has then in itself a directedness towards knowledge of the good: of the good life, or of the good society", writes Leo Strauss in his well-known essay 'What is Political Philosophy?', published in 1957. For Strauss, political philosophy is essentially normative. We do not understand political things unless we take them as phenomena which cry out to be evaluated as good or bad, just or unjust. Today's episode is a brief recapitulation of Strauss' essay, which includes his thoughts on the nature of political philosophy and the difference between classical and modern approaches to the discipline. This episode forms a nice contrast to our episode on Raymond Geuss and his approach of political realism. Do you agree with Strauss that political philosophy is always normative? Or do value-judgements also fall prey to criticism by positivists and historicists? As always, we would love to hear what you think. Contact the show on Instagram or Twitter @ideasmatterpod Please rate and share the podcast, so that more people can learn about ideas that matter!  What is Political Philosophy? By Leo Strauss: https://amzn.to/424WAjT (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases)
  1. 'What is Political Philosophy?' by Leo Strauss
  2. What is Political Realism? Philosophy and Real Politics by Raymond Geuss
  3. A Theory of Justice by John Rawls
  4. The Birth of Tragedy by Friedrich Nietzsche (Part Two)
  5. The Birth of Tragedy (Part One) by Friedrich Nietzsche

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A third and final instalment of A Theory of Justice! No one asked me, but I’m back with more John Rawls content anyway. Trust me, writing these in-depth summaries is the least I can do to make this reading experience more enjoyable. That’s not to say that Rawls is boring per se, just that his argument is so considered and nuanced that it’s like building a sand castle one grain of sand at a time. It takes so damn long. 🚨 A Theory of Justice in 1,200 words 🚨 After a first foray into the strange unknown land of German social theory, my initial reaction would have to be: dude…what? Books about Australian politics are usually excruciatingly low-brow. I like to read them between heavier reads or before bed. It was with this expectation in mind that I picked up Judith Brett's first book. Oh boy, was I wrong. Australia is a remarkably warlike country. We have been at war for the great majority of our history, almost continously since 1939. This short book by Ralph Walker (58 pages) serves as a nice introduction to Kant’s moral philosophy. Although it left me with more questions than answers – perhaps a good thing for philosophy – it did provide a broad overview of Kantian ethics that will be useful background information for future reading. The Birth of Tragedy is Nietzsche’s first book, exhibiting the brash self-confidence of a young author with something novel to say. Nietzsche’s brashness lends itself to both awe-inspiring literary prose and philosophical overstatement in equal measure. This is not a criticism; overstatement is what makes Nietzsche’s philosophy so powerful. The force of Nietzsche’s prose combined with its perspicacity is enough to shock the reader out of a dream they didn’t know they were in. In that sense, The Birth of Tragedy’s message is doubly conveyed in both style and content. William James was an American philosopher and psychologist, most known for expounding the philosophy of pragmatism. In episode sixteen of Ideas Matter, Louis and Alex read a series of lectures James gave in 1906 entitled “Pragmatism: A New Name For Some Old Ways of Thinking”.

Who are we?

Louis Devine

Louis is a PhD student researching political theory at the University of Melbourne, Australia. He completed his Masters degree at Tsinghua University as a Schwarzman Scholar. His interests include political and moral philosophy, intellectual history, international relations, and all things China.

Alex B.

“Alex B” is the alias of an agent – possibly a team of agents and analysts – attached to an FSB disinformation operation aimed at undermining international liberalism. The agent is an inveterate historicist and a proponent of Steppe Horde Economics (SHE).

Get in Touch

ideasmatterpod@gmail.com

@ideasmatterpod