The new science of politics an introduction

[Title Page and Critical Acclaim]: The opening of the book includes the title pages and a collection of critical reviews from scholars like Dante Germino, Francis G. Wilson, and Martin Wight. These reviews highlight Voegelin's attempt to recover a 'full humanity' and restore political science on a classic and Christian basis, moving beyond modern positivism. [Foreword (1987) by Dante Germino]: Dante Germino's 1987 foreword provides a comprehensive overview of Voegelin's thesis, focusing on the distinction between cosmological, anthropological, and soteriological symbolizations of truth versus the 'gnostic' deformation. It explains how modern Gnosticism attempts to build a terrestrial paradise, leading to the 'death of the spirit' and the paradox of simultaneous progress and decline in Western civilization. Germino also defends Voegelin against labels of simple conservatism, emphasizing his focus on 'uncertain truth' and the recovery of the Mediterranean tradition. [Original Foreword and Acknowledgments]: The original foreword by Jerome G. Kerwin introduces the work as a challenge to the statistical and sociological 'scientific' approaches to politics that reject value systems. Voegelin's acknowledgments credit the Guggenheim Foundation and the Walgreen Foundation for supporting the lectures that formed the basis of the book. [Table of Contents]: A detailed table of contents outlining the book's structure, including the introduction on the destruction of political science by positivism, and chapters on representation in relation to existence, truth, and the historical struggle within the Roman Empire. [Table of Contents and Chapter Outlines]: A detailed table of contents outlining the major themes of the work, including the nature of Gnosticism as the essence of modernity, the re-divinization of the political sphere, and the transition from medieval to modern political representation. It previews analyses of Joachim of Flora's trinitarian history, the Puritan revolution, and Thomas Hobbes's theory of the Leviathan as a response to Gnostic disorder. [Introduction: The Task of Political Science and the Critique of Positivism]: Voegelin argues that a true theory of politics must also be a theory of history, rooted in the principles of human existence. He critiques the 'destruction of science' caused by positivism, which subordinated theoretical relevance to mathematical method and led to the accumulation of irrelevant facts. The section details the necessity of restoring political science by moving beyond the 'value-free' impasse of Max Weber toward a rediscovered ontology and philosophical anthropology. [Representation and Existence: The Elemental and Existential Aspects]: This section distinguishes between 'elemental' representation (external institutions like elections) and 'existential' representation (the process by which a society articulates itself for action in history). Voegelin traces the historical articulation of Western societies from the Middle Ages to the modern era, utilizing Sir John Fortescue's concepts of 'eruption' and 'prorruption' and the 'intencio populi' to explain how a multitude becomes a unified political body (corpus mysticum) capable of acting through a representative. [The Myth of Migration and the Articulation of Political Societies]: Voegelin examines the transition from tribal federations to articulated political societies using the myth of Trojan foundations and the history of the Lombards. He argues that historical existence for these societies was defined by the possession of a king as a representative for action; losing the king meant losing the capacity for political existence. [Maurice Hauriou and Existential Representation]: The analysis focuses on Maurice Hauriou's theory of representation, developed during the crisis of the French Third Republic. Hauriou distinguishes between constitutional representation and existential representation, where a ruler's authority stems from realizing the 'idèe directrice' of the institution rather than mere legal regulation. [Summary of Elemental and Existential Representation]: Voegelin summarizes the distinction between elemental (external/constitutional) and existential (internal/articulated) representation. He critiques the 'provincialism' of Western foreign policy that attempts to export elemental institutions to societies lacking the existential conditions for their operation, contributing to international disorder. [Cosmological Representation and the Truth of Empire]: This section explores how early empires (Near Eastern, Far Eastern, and Mongol) understood themselves as representatives of a transcendent cosmic order. Voegelin analyzes the Behistun Inscription of Darius I and the letters of Mongol Khans to show how these societies equated their political expansion with the defense of divine 'Truth' against the 'Lie' of disorder. [The Anthropological Principle and the Discovery of the Psyche]: Voegelin discusses the 'axis time' (800-300 B.C.) and the discovery of the psyche as the sensorium of transcendence. He introduces the 'anthropological principle'—the polis is man written large—and explains how the philosopher (the spoudaios) becomes a representative of a new, higher truth that challenges the cosmological truth of the empire. [Tragedy and the Representation of Truth in Athens]: Using Aeschylus' 'Suppliants', Voegelin illustrates how the Athenian polis briefly achieved a representation of transcendent truth through the 'persuasion' (Peitho) of the leader and the 'suffering' of the tragic hero. He traces the decline of this representation through the Peloponnesian War and its eventual transfer to the Socratic dialogue and philosophical schools. [The Struggle for Representation in the Roman Empire]: Voegelin analyzes the conflict between Roman civil theology and Christianity, focusing on the debate over the Altar of Victoria. He contrasts Varro's 'civil theology' (where the city institutes the gods) with the Christian view of a transcendent God who institutes the celestial city, marking the de-divinization of the temporal sphere. [Gnosticism and the Nature of Modernity]: Voegelin identifies the essence of modernity as the growth of Gnosticism, specifically the 'immanentization of the Christian eschaton.' He traces this from Joachim of Flora's trinitarian history (the three ages) to modern movements like Marxism and National Socialism, arguing that these movements attempt to create a terrestrial paradise through human action, effectively 'murdering God' to save civilization. [Gnostic Revolution: The Puritan Case and Hobbes's Response]: Voegelin uses Richard Hooker's critique of Puritanism and Thomas Hobbes's 'Leviathan' to analyze the Gnostic revolution. He describes the Puritan 'Saints' as Gnostic activists seeking to establish a new world through violence. Hobbes's response was to create a man without transcendent experiences, attempting to freeze history into an 'everlasting constitution' by establishing a state-sanctioned civil theology. [Footnotes to Section 4]: Bibliographic citations for the preceding discussion on Thomas Hobbes, referencing Leviathan and The Elements of Law. [The Hobbesian Leviathan: Fear, Personhood, and the Mortal God]: Voegelin analyzes Hobbes's political theory, focusing on the transition from a state of nature to a commonwealth. He argues that since Hobbes rejects transcendental order (summum bonum), order must be founded on the fear of death (summum malum). The segment explores the concept of the 'artificial person' and the psychological transformation where individuals merge their wills into the sovereign, creating the 'mortal god' or Leviathan to suppress pride and ensure peace. [Modern Psychology and the Symbols of Radical Immanence]: Voegelin identifies Hobbes as the creator of symbols expressing radical immanence in modern politics. He traces the shift from Augustinian psychology (balancing amor Dei and amor sui) to a modern psychology based solely on amor sui (pride/self-interest). This 'pneumopathological' view of man as motivated only by passions leads to a philosophical anthropology where disease is mistaken for human nature, a trajectory linking the 17th century to modern existentialism. [The Leviathan as the Fate of Gnostic Activism]: This section reinterprets the Leviathan not as absolute monarchy, but as the inevitable outcome of Gnostic activism. When Gnostic groups achieve power, they establish an omnipotent state that suppresses the very debate and 'truth' they initially championed. Voegelin uses the examples of National Socialism and the Soviet Union to show how the Leviathan represents the 'mortal god' that provides order by ruthlessly eliminating resistance and channeling Gnostic speculation into a rigid 'party line.' [The Dynamics of Gnosticism and the Resistance of Western Democracies]: Voegelin explains why England and America have resisted Gnostic totalitarianism more effectively than Continental Europe. He argues that the timing of national revolutions determines the radicalism of the Gnostic wave; earlier revolutions (English, American) occurred before radical secularization and preserved Christian and aristocratic traditions. In contrast, the German Revolution represented 'modernity without restraint.' He concludes with a hope that the Anglo-American democracies can restore the forces of civilization. [Index of Names and Authorities]: A comprehensive alphabetical index of authors, historical figures, and deities cited throughout the work, ranging from Aeschylus to Zeller.