Exploring Politics and the imagination
"In politics, utopians do not have a monopoly on imagination. Even the most conservative defenses of the status quo, Raymond Geuss argues, require imaginative acts of some kind. In this collection of…
Some books quietly earn a place on your shelf, and Politics and the imagination by Author OL219174A is one of them.
First published in 2010, it continues to find new readers today.
About the book
"In politics, utopians do not have a monopoly on imagination. Even the most conservative defenses of the status quo, Raymond Geuss argues, require imaginative acts of some kind. In this collection of recent essays, including his most overtly political writing yet, Geuss explores the role of imagination in politics, particularly how imaginative constructs interact with political reality." "He uses decisions about the war in Iraq to explore the peculiar ways in which politicians can be deluded and citizens can misunderstand their leaders. He also examines critically what he sees as one of the most serious delusions of western political thinking - the idea that a human society is always best conceived as a closed system obeying fixed rules. And, in essays on Don Quixote, museums, Celan's poetry, Heidegger's brother Fritz, Richard Rorty, and bourgeois philosophy, Geuss reflects on how cultural artifacts can lead us to embrace or reject conventional assumptions about the world. While paying particular attention to the relative political roles played by rule-following, utilitarian calculations of interest, and aspirations to lead a collective life of a certain kind, Geuss discusses a wide range of related issues, including the distance critics need from their political systems, the extent to which history can enlighten politics, and the possibility of utopian thinking in a world in which action retains its urgency."--Jacket.
Themes and subjects
Readers will find threads of Political science, philosophy, Philosophy, Political science, and Imagination (Philosophy). These subjects give the story its texture and make it easy to recommend to the right reader.
Who will enjoy this
This is a great pick for anyone building a reading list around Political science, philosophy.
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About this book
My fate -- Liberalism -- Authoritarianism -- Religion, language, and history -- Human variety -- So, liberal after all? -- Interlude: nostalgia, a trip to the city, arrival -- Robert Paul Wolff: the poverty of liberalism -- Sidney Morgenbesser: philosophy as practical surrealism -- Robert Denoon Cumming: human nature and history -- From Heidegger to Adorno -- Past, present, future. "Raymond Geuss
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