Eric Voegelin Livres

Publié dans l'entre-deux-guerres, cet ouvrage polémique critique les théories prétendument scientifiques de la race et le mythe de la race nordique, et défend une anthropologie philosophique des relations entre le corps, l'esprit et l'âme.

" Tel est donc l'argument qu'on nous oppose : si Hitler avait été stupide ou criminel, étant donné que les gens ont massivement voté pour lui, cela aurait impliqué que, eux aussi, étaient stupides ou criminels. Or cela n'est pas possible. Donc Hitler n'était ni stupide ni criminel. L'autre possibilité - mais c'est ce point qu'on refuse d'envisager - est qu'un très grand nombre d'Allemands, peut-être l'écrasante majorité, se sont en effet montrés particulièrement stupides et le sont encore aujourd'hui en grande partie sur le plan politique, et que nous nous trouvons ici dans une situation de corruption intellectuelle et morale, due à un certain nombre de facteurs qui ont porté le phénomène Hitler au pouvoir. Ce n'est pas seulement un problème allemand, c'est un problème international. Car, parmi les droits de l'homme ne figure pas le droit d'être stupide et si la plupart des gens sont dépourvus de convictions et se sentent irresponsables, l'indifférence politique s'apparente étroitement à la perversion éthique. C'est un manque de culpabilité coupable. Eric Voegelin

Ecrit en 1938, alors que Voegelin venait d'être interdit d'enseignement par le nazisme, Les Religions politiques analyse la montée en puissance des mouvements de masse totalitaires dans l'entre-deux-guerres, et cherche à déterminer quel est leur noyau religieux et métaphysique. C'est dans la dynamique même de la modernité qui amena avec elle la "décapitation de Dieu" et l'idée d'humanité qu'Eric Voegelin décèle les origines de la crise qui affecte son époque. Dans une rapide succession de tableaux, Voegelin parcourt l'histoire de l'Occident et met en lumière l'articulation entre l'existence humaine et l'ordre politique.

The series will publish all of philosopher Voegelin's (1901-1985) works, including the previously unpublished, multi-volume History of Political Ideas, of which this is the second volume. Completed in 1944, it is not a conventional chronological account but an original comprehensive account of the political thought and experiential underpinnings that typified the medieval period. A survey of the structure of the period is followed by analysis of the Germanic invasions, the fall of Rome, and the rise of empire and monastic Christianity, climaxing in a study of Saint Thomas Aquinas. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Volume 6 of the Collected Works of Eric Voegelin presents the first complete translation of the full German text of Anamnesis, originally published in 1966. The prior English edition, translated by Gerhart Niemeyer, primarily focused on sections related to Voegelin's philosophy of consciousness, omitting significant historical studies essential for a comprehensive understanding of his work. This complete version maintains the integrity of Voegelin's vision, balancing empirical and philosophical elements, and adhering to the standards of historiographic scholarship while exploring the texts' significance for human existence in society and history. Anamnesis is a crucial work in Voegelin's intellectual journey, as it reflects on his growth rather than advancing into new territories. It serves as both a personal recollection, reaching back to his early memories, and a demonstration of the anamnetic method applied to various historically remembered materials. More than a mere collection of essays, it represents Voegelin's reconceptualization of Order and History, marking a departure from his usual scholarly approach. Parts I and III include biographical and meditative reflections from 1943 and 1965, respectively. The first part chronicles his breakthrough in recovering consciousness from contemporary theories, while Part III reexamines Aristotelian interpretations and expands into previously unexplored areas of awareness. Betwe

Published in Vienna in 1936, Voegelin's work offers a critical examination of the most prominent European theories of state and constitutional law of the period, and provides a political and historical analysis of the Austrian situation. A critique of Kelsen's pure theory of law lies at its heart.

By the middle of the eighteenth century the effort of philosophy was to place man, with his variety of physical manifestations throughout the world, within a systemic order of nature. Voegelin perceives the problem of race as the epitome of the difficulties presented by this new theoretical approach.

Crisis and the Apocalypse of Man confronts the disintegration of traditional sources of meaning and the correlative attempts to generate new sources of order from within the self. Voegelin allows us to contemplate the crisis in its starkest terms as the apocalypse of man that now seeks to replace the apocalypse of God. The totalitarian upheaval that convulsed Voegelin's world, and whose aftermath still defines ours, is only the external manifestation of an inner spiritual turmoil. Its roots have been probed throughout the eight volumes of History of Political Ideas, but its emergence is marked by the age of Enlightenment.

"This volume of The Collected Works contains essays published by Eric Voegelin between 1929 and 1933, the period between the publication of his first book, On the Form of the American Mind, and Hitler's rise to power, as well as Voegelin's two books analyzing the explosive race issues posed by National Socialism. The essays herein reflect the intellectual and political tumult of the period and their author's maturing grasp of political reality as he moved away from positivism and Kelsen's "Pure Theory of Law" toward a more refined and open philosophical stance. The heart of this shift is signaled by his emphasis on philosophical anthropology and on the decisive importance of the moral substance basic to political communities." The topics of the essays are grouped around major themes in sociological theory, political science, and the theory of law. They illuminate the theoretical and practical impact of Voegelin's experiences in America as he increasingly engages European theories of state, especially the social theories of leading French and German scholars. In content, these essays include such pragmatic concerns as American theories of property, economic transactions, due process of law, and Austrian constitutional reforms.