Classical Legislative Poetry - Research on Political Philosophy Themes

Author: Lin Guohua
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features: Is the philosophical enterprise truly a freedom of thought that could endanger the authority of state law, or a moral obligation directed by the authority of state law? This is the question that the author is prompted to when comparing the two great works of the medieval philosopher Averroes, the Decisive Treatise, and the modern philosopher Spinoza, the Tractatus Theologico-politicus. It largely dominates the author's research and leads the author to see a profound distinction between the "legislative poetry" and the "lyric poetry" in the tradition of Western political philosophy. The former burdens the philosophical enterprise with political and moral responsibilities, while the latter aims to preserve the natural right to intellectual freedom. This book explores, through textual interpretation, the authentic legal-political spirit that lies hidden in the tradition of Western culture, where poetry, philosophy, and history converge. By analyzing five classic works in Western culture—Labor and the Days of Rest; The Laws; Macbeth; Robinson Crusoe; and Discourse on the Origins of Inequality and the Basis of Its Foundation—it specifically inquires into the true legal-political spirit that underlies the Western cultural tradition. It also examines how Western thinkers, guided by this legislative spirit, succeeded or failed in establishing good and virtuous states amidst concerns for divine will and withdrawal from worldly affairs.