John Macmurray: Community beyond Political Philosophy: 20th Century Political Thinkers Frank G. Kirkpatrick Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

John Macmurray

Community beyond Political Philosophy

John Macmurray

Community beyond Political Philosophy

Description

Scottish philosopher John Macmurray's intriguing career makes the job of classifying his work difficult by contemporary academic modes of categorization. Despite his extensive writings on political principles and politics and significant influence on numerous British politicians, he never regarded the political sphere as an end in itself. Above all, he was a political philosopher determined to place politics into a wider, more comprehensive, metaphysical and religious framework.

In this long-overdue analysis of Macmurray, Frank Kirkpatrick traces the development of Macmurray's thought with its roots in the Bible, Hegel and the democratic liberal tradition of the west. Kirkpatrick contends that Macmurray's most important contribution to the field is his development of a philosophical understanding of what constitutes an authentic community. Through this analysis, Kirkpatrick explores the extraordinary resonances of Macmurray's political thought in other modern philosophers and reveals his enduring significance.

Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 An Intellectual Biography of John Macmurray: From Evangelicalism to Marxism
Chapter 3 Macmurray's Engagement with Marxian Thought in the 1930s
Chapter 4 Community in Marx and Macmurray: A Reappraisal
Chapter 5 Christianity, Fascism, and the Clue to History
Chapter 6 The Gifford Lectures: The Self as Agent
Chapter 7 The Gifford Lectures: Persons in Relation
Chapter 8 Macmurray and Contemporary Political Philosophy
Chapter 9 The Family and Small Communities in Political Thought
Chapter 10 Democracy, Human Nature, and the Nation-State
Chapter 11 Bibliography
Chapter 12 Index
Chapter 13 About the Author

Product details

Published	02 Mar 2005
Format	Paperback
Edition	1st
Extent	182
ISBN	9780742522541
Imprint	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Dimensions	230 x 154 mm
Series	20th Century Political Thinkers
Publisher	Bloomsbury Publishing

This is an important book, not only because it breaks new ground in the articulation and exploration of one of the most profound yet undeservedly neglected philosophers of the 20th century, but also because in revealing the genius of its subject (John Macmurray) Frank Kirkpatrick helps us to engage with some of the most important social and political challenges of our time.

Michael Fielding, University of Sussex
A timely retrieval of a seminal political and religious thinker. Kirkpatrick performs an essential service in making the work of John Macmurray available to 21st century debates about freedom, justice, community and society.

Christopher Lind, Senior Fellow, Massey College; Executive director, Sorrento Center
Kirkpatrick presents a clear introduction to the whole of Macmurray's work. Recommended.

Choice Reviews
Frank Kirkpatrick has written a deceptively short and simple work. It contains an excellent brief biography as well as a clear, concise and precise account of John Mcmurray's thought.

Political Studies Review
Frank Kirkpatrick reminds us how much we need to hear the voice of John Macmurray for Macmurray touches on issues and frames his philosophical discourse in ways that make possible a dialogue between those concerned with the importance of the human freedomand individuality with those for whom equality and justice are of prime value. Macmurray's relational model of human nature challenges not only pessimistic interpretations of human nature, but assumptions that govern human behavior. Living in a societythat is dominated by forms of market fundamentalism Macmurray, in effect, brings into question competitive, individualist, and reductionistic understandings of human possibilities that stand in marked contrast to seeing community as a way of affirming the mutuality of relations among persons and fostering a concern once again for the common good. In addition, Kirkpatrick's understanding of Macmurray provides a venue for a discussion of religion, and its importance in human life, that is not reducible totheological abstractions or divisive religious claims.

Robert H. Craig, The College of St. Scholastica
Frank Kirkpatrick reminds us how much we need to hear the voice of John Macmurray for Macmurray touches on issues and frames his philosophical discourse in ways that make possible a dialogue between those concerned with the importance of the human freedom and individuality with those for whom equality and justice are of prime value. Macmurray's relational model of human nature challenges not only pessimistic interpretations of human nature, but assumptions that
govern human behavior. Living in a society that is dominated by forms of market fundamentalism Macmurray, in effect, brings into question competitive, individualist, and reductionistic understandings of human
possibilities that stand in marked contrast to seeing community as a way of affirming the mutuality of relations among persons and fostering a concern once again for the common good. In addition, Kirkpatrick's understanding of Macmurray provides a venue for a discussion of religion, and its importance in human life, that is not reducible to
theological abstractions or divisive religious claims.

Robert H. Craig, The College of St. Scholastica