Approaches to Political Thought - Hardcover

Any student who becomes interested in political theory needs to understand at some point that there are a multiplicity of ways to approach and interpret the canonical texts and the issues they address. William L. Richter here provides within the covers of one volume a very useful compendium of both primary and secondary essays to help create that awareness of hermeneutic diversity and contestation. -- Thomas A. Spragens Jr., Duke University In this volume, William L. Richter skillfully introduces the reader to several key thinkers in the contemporary academic study of political philosophy. And he moves beyond introduction to thoughtful evaluation through the competent interpretive essays accompanying each thinker or movement. The volume is one from which students and general learners will profit immensely. -- Charles E. Butterworth, University of Maryland

Approaches to Political Thought raises three important questions concerning traditional political thought: (1) Why study the political writings and ideas of Plato, Machiavelli, and other long-dead writers? (2) Who among the writers, and which of their works, are worth studying? (3) How should they be studied? The book then explores ten contemporary approaches to understanding political thought and the diverse answers to these questions. The approaches covered include those of Leo Strauss, Hannah Arendt, Eric Voegelin, Sheldon Wolin, the Cambridge School (Quentin Skinner and J.G.A. Pocock), Psychobiography, Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School (Herbert Marcuse and Jurgen Habermas), Hermeneutics (Paul Ricoeur and Hans-Georg Gadamer), Michel Foucault, and Feminist Criticism (Susan Moller Okin and Jean Elshtain). Each chapter includes an introductory essay and edited selections that illustrate or discuss that approach. Each chapter concludes with discussion questions and suggestions for further exploration, including books, articles, and web sites. This exploration of contending contemporary approaches to political thought touches upon ongoing methodological and philosophical issues that are relevant to several academic disciplines, including political science, history, philosophy, and psychology.