The Lesson of Carl Schmitt: Four Chapters on the Distinction between Political Theology and Political Philosophy

Meier, Heinrich

ISBN 10: 0226518906 / ISBN 13: 9780226518909

Published by University of Chicago Press, 1998

About this Item

Some margin brackets and a few notes in margin, all in pencil.

Seller Inventory # ABE-1781123407609

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Lesson of Carl Schmitt: Four Chapters on the Distinction between Political Theology and Political Philosophy
• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication Date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0226518906
• ISBN 13: 9780226518909
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Very Good
• Dimensions: 15.24W x 22.86H x 1.78D centimeters 15.24 centimeters width by 22.86 centimeters height by 1.78 centimeters depth
• Weight: 17.602 ounces

About this title

Synopsis

This book is the culmination of Heinrich Meier's acclaimed analyses of the controversial thought of Carl Schmitt. Meier identifies the core of Schmitt's thought as political theology—that is, political theorizing that claims to have its ultimate ground in the revelation of a mysterious or supra-rational God. This radical, but half-hidden, theological foundation unifies the whole of Schmitt's often difficult and complex oeuvre, cutting through the intentional deceptions and unintentional obfuscations that have eluded previous commentators.

Relating this religious dimension to Schmitt's support for National Socialism and his continuing anti-Semitism, Meier compels the reader to come to terms with the irreconcilable differences between political theology and political philosophy. His book will give pause to those who have tended to gloss over the troubling aspects of some of Schmitt's ideas.

With editions in German, French, Italian, and now English, Meier's two books on Schmitt have dramatically reoriented the international debate about Carl Schmitt and his significance for twentieth-century political thought.

"Standing far above the rest . . . is Heinrich Meier's new study, Die Lehre Carl Schmitts, which covers all of Schmitt's writings. . . . Meier's work has forced everyone to take a second look at the assumptions underlying Schmitt's better-known writings and reconsider some that have been ignored."—Mark Lilla, reviewing the German edition in The New York Review of Books

About the Author

Heinrich Meier is director emeritus of the Carl Friedrich von Siemens Foundation in Munich, professor of philosophy at the University of Munich, and permanent visiting professor in the John U. Nef Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago. He is the author of nine books, including On the Happiness of the Philosophic Life and Political Philosophy and the Challenge of Revealed Religion.