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Zusatztext Mika Ojakanas demonstrates the different ways, from Socrates to Derrida and Lacan, the same puzzles and tropes reappear by which conscience can be both a source of repression and of our freedom, a foundation of ethical autonomy and basis of law, authority, nation and state. This is a highly readable and impressive work of scholarly erudition that presents the reader with a compelling story of a central feature of how Occidental philosophy, theology and politics have fashioned the way we understand and govern ourselves. Informationen zum Autor Mika Ojakangas is Professor of Political Thought at the University of Jyvaskyla, Finland. The author of five books and over 80 articles, his research areas include continental political theory, the history of political and ethical thought, and political theology. Klappentext In Western thought! it has been persistently assumed that in moral and political matters! people should rely on the inner voice of conscience rather than on external authorities! laws! and regulations. This volume investigates this concept! examining the development of the Western politics of conscience! from Socrates to the present! and the formation of the Western ethico-political subject. The work opens with a discussion of the ambiguous role of conscience in politics! contesting the claim that it is the best defense against totalitarianism. It then look back at canonical authors! from the Church Fathers and Luther to Rousseau and Derrida! to show how the experience of conscience constitutes the foundation of Western ethics and politics. This unique work not only synthesizes philosophical and political insights! but also pays attention to political theology to provide a compelling and innovative argument that the experience of conscience has always been at the core of the political Western tradition. An engaging and accessible text! it will appeal to political theorists and philosophers as well as theologians and those interested in the critique of the Western civilization. Vorwort This Political Theory and Contemporary Society volume argues that the experience of conscience has always been at the core of the Western political tradition. Zusammenfassung In Western thought, it has been persistently assumed that in moral and political matters, people should rely on the inner voice of conscience rather than on external authorities, laws, and regulations. This volume investigates this concept, examining the development of the Western politics of conscience, from Socrates to the present, and the formation of the Western ethico-political subject. The work opens with a discussion of the ambiguous role of conscience in politics, contesting the claim that it is the best defense against totalitarianism. It then look back at canonical authors, from the Church Fathers and Luther to Rousseau and Derrida, to show how the experience of conscience constitutes the foundation of Western ethics and politics. This unique work not only synthesizes philosophical and political insights, but also pays attention to political theology to provide a compelling and innovative argument that the experience of conscience has always been at the core of the political Western tradition. An engaging and accessible text, it will appeal to political theorists and philosophers as well as theologians and those interested in the critique of the Western civilization. Inhaltsverzeichnis Acknowledgements1. Introduction 2. National Socialism and the Inner TruthThe Call of Heidegger’s ConscienceNihilism of Judgment: Arendt3. Conscience in Moral and Political TheologyChurch Fathers between the Law and the SpiritSynderesis and Conscientia: ScholasticismDivine Instinct The Spark of the Soul: Eckhart and TaulerA Voluntarist Bias of William Ockham?The Lutheran RevocationThe Return of the Repressed: Spiritualists and PietistsCalvin’s Compromise The Puritan...
