On Politics: A History of Political Thought - From Herodotus to the Present
- ISBN-10
- 0871404656
- ISBN-13
- 9780871404657
- Series
- On Politics
- Category
- History
- Pages
- 1120
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2013-01-18
- Publisher
- W. W. Norton & Company
- Author
- Alan Ryan
Description
Both a history and an examination of human thought and behavior spanning three thousand years, thrillingly traces the origins of political philosophy from the ancient Greeks to Machiavelli in Book I and from Hobbes to the present age in Book II. Whether examining Lord Acton’s dictum that “absolute power corrupts absolutely” or explicating John Stuart Mill’s contention that it is “better to be a human dissatisfied than a pig satisfied,” Alan Ryan evokes the lives and minds of our greatest thinkers in a way that makes reading about them a transcendent experience. Whether writing about Plato or Augustine, de Toqueville or Thomas Jefferson, Ryan brings a wisdom to his text that illuminates John Dewey’s belief that the role of philosophy is less to see truth than to enhance experience. With this unparalleled tour de force, Ryan emerges in his own right as one of the most influential political philosophers of our time.
Get the book
Other editions
Similar books
-
Einstein on Politics: His Private Thoughts and Public Stands on Nationalism, Zionism, War, Peace, and the Bomb
By Albert EinsteinAmong the nineteen signatories were Lenard and Gehrcke, whom Einstein once referred to as the leaders of “the Nauheim brigade.” The pamphlet they disseminated in Leipzig received considerable coverage in right-wing newspapers, ...
-
The Politics of the Book: A Study on the Materiality of Ideas
By Filipe Carreira da Silva, Monica Brito VieiraExamining the evolving form of classic works of social and political thought, including W. E. B. Du Bois’s The Souls of Black Folk, G. H. Mead’s Mind, Self, and Society, and Karl Marx’s 1844 Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts, ...
-
The Beginning of Politics: Power in the Biblical Book of Samuel
By Stephen Holmes, Moshe HalbertalThe Book of Samuel is universally acknowledged as one of the supreme achievements of biblical literature. Yet the book's anonymous author was more than an inspired storyteller.
-
A Primer on Politics before and after the Election
By BENJAMIN ALLENThis book of elementary principles of politics is written in two (2) parts.
-
Politics Is for Power: How to Move Beyond Political Hobbyism, Take Action, and Make Real Change
By Eitan HershAided by political theory, history, cutting-edge social science, as well as remarkable stories of ordinary citizens who got off their couches and took political power seriously, this book shows us how to channel our energy away from ...
-
Politics: Books III and IV
By Aristotle, David KeytYACK , BERNARD , The Problems of a Political Animal : Community , Justice , and Conflict in Aristotelian Political Thought ( Berkeley , 1993 ) . Articles BARKER , ERNEST , ' The Life of Aristotle and the Composition and Structure of the ...
-
Tyrant: Shakespeare on Politics
By Stephen Greenblatt"Brilliant, beautifully organized, exceedingly readable." —Philip Roth World-renowned Shakespeare scholar Stephen Greenblatt explores the playwright’s insight into bad (and often mad) rulers.
-
Exploring the Public Effects of Religious Communication on Politics
By Brian CalfanoThis is particularly true in the United States, where scholars have devoted considerable attention to a variety of political phenomena at the intersection of religious belief and identity, including social movements, voting behavior, public ...
-
The Price of Politics
By Bob WoodwardProviding verbatim, day-by-day, even hour-by-hour accounts, the book shows what really happened, what drove the debates, negotiations and struggles that define, and will continue to define, the American future.
-
Perspectives on Political Awareness: Conceptual, Theoretical and Methodological Issues
By Thomas Denk, Maria Olson, Niels Nørgaard KristensenThis interdisciplinary volume presents a comprehensive framework to understand political awareness.