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Summary
Reflections on principle and prudence in the thoughts and actions of great thinkers and statesmen.
Discussions of the place of moral principle in political practice are haunted by the abstract and misleading distinction between realism and its various principled or “idealist” alternatives. This volume argues that such discussions must be recast in terms of the relationship between principle and prudence: as Nathan Tarcov maintains, that relationship is “not dichotomous but complementary.” In a substantive introduction, the editors investigate Leo Strauss’s attack on contemporary political thought for its failure to account for both principle and prudence in politics. Leading commentators then reflect on principle and prudence in the writings of great thinkers such as Homer, Machiavelli, and Hegel, and in the thoughts and actions of great statesmen such as Pericles, Jefferson, and Lincoln. In a concluding section, contributors reassess Strauss’s own approach to principle and prudence in the history of political philosophy.
“…[a] superbly edited volume … the editors must be congratulated for putting together an edited volume of superior quality—a volume that is unified in its theme, excellent in the quality of the chapters, and a great joy to read and to review.” — Society
“...[a] collection of outstanding essays … The editors have done an excellent job … Highly recommended.” — CHOICE
“Principle and Prudence in Western Political Thought contains a series of first-rate essays on a—if not the—central problem of political thought: how should and can abstract and general principles inform contingent, particularistic political life.” — Catherine H. Zuckert, coauthor of Leo Strauss and the Problem of Political Philosophy
Christopher Lynch is Professor of Political Science at Carthage College and the translator and editor of Machiavelli’s Art of War. Jonathan Marks is Professor of Politics at Ursinus College and the author of Perfection and Disharmony in the Thought of Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
Table of Contents
Introduction Christopher Lynch and Jonathan Marks
Part I. Principle and Prudence in “Athens” and “Jerusalem”
1. Machiavelli and Homer on the Man and the Beast Peter J. Ahrensdorf
2. Practice and Principles in Ancient Statesmanship Richard S. Ruderman
3. Weaponizing Words: Some Pathologies of Strategic Communication in Thucydides’ Peloponnesian War Karl Walling
4. “And God Led Them Not by the Way of the Philistines”: Principles, Practice, and Prudence in the Torah Hillel Fradkin
5. The Wedding of Logos and Ergon: Josephus’s Defense of the Torah in Against Apion Clifford Orwin
Part II. Principle and Prudence in Modern Political Thought
6. Machiavelli’s Literary Self-Portraits: Clizia, the Discourses, Alternating Epochs, and the Pursuit of Fame Vickie Sullivan
7. Principle and Practice in Locke’s Some Thoughts Concerning Education Jonathan Marks
8. Montesquieu’s Legislator: Putting Order in the Laws Diana J. Schaub
9. On the Lawgiver: Rousseau’s Articulation of the Political Problem Heinrich Meier
10. David Hume on Principle, Nature, and the Indirect Influence of Philosophy Richard Velkley
11. Principle and Practice in Hegel’s Critique of Rousseau Paul Franco
Part III. Principle and Prudence in American Political Thought
12. Principle and Prudence: The Use of Force from the Founders’ Perspective (1984) Nathan Tarcov
13. Jefferson’s “Summary View” Reviewed, Yet Again Ralph Lerner
14. Lincoln’s Enlightenment Steven B. Smith
Part IV. Principle and Prudence in the Thought of Leo Strauss
15. Strauss on the Theoretical and Practical Origins of Philosophy Svetozar Minkov
16. The Prudence of Philosophic Politics: Leo Strauss’s “Introduction” to Thoughts on Machiavelli Christopher Lynch
17. Strauss’s Second Statement on Locke Nasser Behnegar
