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The Form of PoliticsAristotle and Plato on Friendship |
eBook Available
A study of Aristotle’s and Plato’s interpretations of friendship and their significance for political life.
For statesmen, friendship is the lingua franca of politics. Considering the connections between personal and political friendship, John von Heyking’s The Form of Politics interprets the texts of Plato and Aristotle and emphasizes the role that friendship has in enduring philosophical and contemporary political contexts.
Beginning with a discussion on virtue-friendship, described by Aristotle and Plato as an agreement on what qualifies as the pursuit of good, The Form of Politics demonstrates that virtue and political friendship form a paradoxical relationship in which political friendships need to be nourished by virtue-friendships that transcend the moral and intellectual horizons of the political society. Von Heyking then examines Aristotle’s ethical and political writings - which are set within the boundaries of political life - and Plato’s dialogues on friendship in Lysis and the Laws, which characterize political friendship as festivity. Ultimately, arguing that friendship is the high point of a virtuous political life, von Heyking presents a fresh interpretation of Aristotle and Plato’s political thought, and a new take on the most essential goals in politics.
Inviting reassessment of the relationship between friendship and politics by returning to the origins of Western philosophy, The Form of Politics is a lucid work on the foundations of political cooperation.
Beginning with a discussion on virtue-friendship, described by Aristotle and Plato as an agreement on what qualifies as the pursuit of good, The Form of Politics demonstrates that virtue and political friendship form a paradoxical relationship in which political friendships need to be nourished by virtue-friendships that transcend the moral and intellectual horizons of the political society. Von Heyking then examines Aristotle’s ethical and political writings - which are set within the boundaries of political life - and Plato’s dialogues on friendship in Lysis and the Laws, which characterize political friendship as festivity. Ultimately, arguing that friendship is the high point of a virtuous political life, von Heyking presents a fresh interpretation of Aristotle and Plato’s political thought, and a new take on the most essential goals in politics.
Inviting reassessment of the relationship between friendship and politics by returning to the origins of Western philosophy, The Form of Politics is a lucid work on the foundations of political cooperation.
Details
Part of the McGill-Queen's Studies in the History of Ideas Series (number 66 in series)
256 Pages, 6 x 9
ISBN 9780773547568
June 2016
Formats: Paperback, eBook
“Full of many moving, even beautiful passages, The Form of Politics is a work of first-class scholarship and deep personal meditation. With an exceptional sweep of background material and a sense of abiding relevance and familiarity, von Heyking presents what has obviously been a labor of love stemming from the direct teaching of undergraduate students.” James V. Schall, Georgetown University
“A rich meditation on friendship’s role . . . past and present, with reference to a variety of political and literary figures. The Form of Politics is well summarized by an epithet Evelyn Waugh attached to a man who never made an enemy nor lost a friend: “Oh dear friendship, what a gift of God it is. Speak no ill of it.”” Interpretation
“The most intriguing aspect of von Heyking’s work is the idea of how the political community comes together and strengthens itself through festivity, an overlooked aspect of political friendship the author brilliantly brings back to the fore.” Contemporary Political Theory
“The author tells us that he decided to write a book about friendship because there is ‘no other topic in politics, or ethics, that really matters.’ [Von Heyking] elevates friendship to its rightful place as a topic of proper philosophical speculation. . . . [He] exemplifies that shared insight which is the sunaisthetic moment, and that lies at the heart of his thesis: 'Our discoveries of fundamental truths coincide with discoveries about ourselves and each other, done together. This, in essence, is what liberal education is about.'” Literary Review of Canada
“A reconsideration of the relation of friendship and politics is most welcome. And this is what John von Heyking has given us - a moving, learned, yet experiential explication of friendship.” New Oxford Review
“The author displays encyclopedic reading and an associative cast of mind, illuminating the Aristotelian and Platonic texts by reference to a wide range of philosophical and extra-philosophical sources.” Polis, The Journal for Ancient Greek Political Thought
“This is an astonishingly good book. It succeeds in piercing the account of friendship in Plato and Aristotle in a way that few have been able to match. Where previous interpreters were largely content to classify the forms of friendship or delineate the tensions between them, von Heyking has probed the experimental core from which they derive. He has opened these classic texts in a wat that is nothing short of path-breaking, for, it must be admitted, the texts themselves do not readily yield up their secrets.” Political Science Reviewer
“A rich meditation on friendship’s role . . . past and present, with reference to a variety of political and literary figures. The Form of Politics is well summarized by an epithet Evelyn Waugh attached to a man who never made an enemy nor lost a friend: “Oh dear friendship, what a gift of God it is. Speak no ill of it.”” Interpretation
“The most intriguing aspect of von Heyking’s work is the idea of how the political community comes together and strengthens itself through festivity, an overlooked aspect of political friendship the author brilliantly brings back to the fore.” Contemporary Political Theory
“The author tells us that he decided to write a book about friendship because there is ‘no other topic in politics, or ethics, that really matters.’ [Von Heyking] elevates friendship to its rightful place as a topic of proper philosophical speculation. . . . [He] exemplifies that shared insight which is the sunaisthetic moment, and that lies at the heart of his thesis: 'Our discoveries of fundamental truths coincide with discoveries about ourselves and each other, done together. This, in essence, is what liberal education is about.'” Literary Review of Canada
“A reconsideration of the relation of friendship and politics is most welcome. And this is what John von Heyking has given us - a moving, learned, yet experiential explication of friendship.” New Oxford Review
“The author displays encyclopedic reading and an associative cast of mind, illuminating the Aristotelian and Platonic texts by reference to a wide range of philosophical and extra-philosophical sources.” Polis, The Journal for Ancient Greek Political Thought
“This is an astonishingly good book. It succeeds in piercing the account of friendship in Plato and Aristotle in a way that few have been able to match. Where previous interpreters were largely content to classify the forms of friendship or delineate the tensions between them, von Heyking has probed the experimental core from which they derive. He has opened these classic texts in a wat that is nothing short of path-breaking, for, it must be admitted, the texts themselves do not readily yield up their secrets.” Political Science Reviewer
John von Heyking is professor of political science at the University of Lethbridge.
Contents
Abbreviations xi
Preface xiii
1 Introduction: Friendship Is the Form of Politics 3
PART ONE ARISTOTLE AND THE HORIZON OF COMMON SENSE
2 Sunaisthetic Friendship: The “Most Intense and Best” Love 35
3 Political Friendship as Storytelling, Practical Wisdom through
Mimesis 57
PART TWO PLATO AND THE DAIMONIC HORIZON
4 Hermes as Eros in Plato’s Lysis 97
5 Evoking Friendship as the Form of Politics in Plato’s Laws 131
6 Political Friendship as Learning to Dance Together 147
7 “The Argument Is Singing to Us Now”: Founders’ Friendship and
Cosmic Friendship in Plato’s Laws 175
8 Conclusion: Dwelling Together 198
Bibliography 211
Index 229
Contents
Abbreviations xi
Preface xiii
1 Introduction: Friendship Is the Form of Politics 3
PART ONE ARISTOTLE AND THE HORIZON OF COMMON SENSE
2 Sunaisthetic Friendship: The “Most Intense and Best” Love 35
3 Political Friendship as Storytelling, Practical Wisdom through
Mimesis 57
PART TWO PLATO AND THE DAIMONIC HORIZON
4 Hermes as Eros in Plato’s Lysis 97
5 Evoking Friendship as the Form of Politics in Plato’s Laws 131
6 Political Friendship as Learning to Dance Together 147
7 “The Argument Is Singing to Us Now”: Founders’ Friendship and
Cosmic Friendship in Plato’s Laws 175
8 Conclusion: Dwelling Together 198
Bibliography 211
Index 229
Contents
9780773544017
$37.95 CAD
Paperback
