Augustine and Politics As Longing in the World
Publisher: University of Missouri Press; University of Missouri
Published: May 2001
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 278
ISBN-13: 9780826213495
Subjects: History of religion; Political science & theory; Politics / Current Events; Augustine; Religion And Politics; Religion; Philosophy; Saint, Bishop of Hippo; History & Theory - General; Christianity - Theology - General; Christian Theology - General; Augustine,; Political and social views
Description: "Saint Augustine's political thought has ususally been interpreted by modern readers as suggesting that politics is based on sin. In Augustine and Politics as Longing in the World, John von Heyking shows that Augustine actually considered political life a substantive good that fulfills a human longing for a kind of wholeness.".

"Rather than showing Augustine as supporting the Christian church's domination of politics, von Heyking argues that he held a subtler view of the relationship between religion and politics, one that preserves the independence of political life.

And while many see his politics as based on a natural-law ethic or on one in which authority is conferred by direct revelation, von Heyking shows how Augustine held to an understanding of political ethics that emphasizes practical wisdom and judgment in a mode that resembles...Aristotle rather than Machiavelli.".

"Augustine and Politics as Longing in the World shows how Augustine's belief that politics was a way for humans to fulfill their longings for a kind of wholeness discloses a deeper affirmation of a more meaningful, pluralistic, and robust political life than his interpreters have previously appreciated."--BOOK JACKET.