Annotation. Examining the emergence of modernity within the philosophical and political debates of the sixteenth century, Religion and the Rise of Modernity resumes the analysis of the "great confusion" introduced in Volume IV of History of Political Ideas. Encompassing a vast range of events ignited by Luther's Ninety-Five Theses, this period is one of controversy, revolution, and partiality. Despite the era's fragmentation and complexity, Voegelin's insightful analysis clarifies its significance and suggests the lines of change converging at a point in the future: the medieval Christian understanding of a divinely created closed cosmos was being replaced by a distinctly modern form of human consciousness that posits man as the proper origin of meaning in the universe. Analyzing the most significant features of the great confusion, Voegelin examines a vast range of thought and issues of the age. From the more obvious thinkers to those less frequently studied, this volume features such figures as Calvin, Althusius, Hooker, Bracciolini, Savonarola, Copernicus, Tycho de Brahe, and Giordano Bruno. Devoting a considerable amount of attention to Jean Bodin, Voegelin presents him as a prophet of a new, true religion amid the civilizational disorder of the post-Christian era. Focusing on such traditional themes as monarchy, just war theory, and the philosophy of law, this volume also investigates issues within astrology, cosmology, and mathematics. Religion and the Rise of Modernity is a valuable work of scholarship not only because of its treatment of individual thinkers and doctrines influential in the sixteenth century and beyond but also because of its close examination of those experiences that formed the modern outlook.

This lucidly written text, in its second edition, continues to provide a comprehensive study of the classical political tradition from Plato to Marx. The book elucidates the fascinating evolution of the history of political ideas, through the works of thirteen key political thinkers — which includes Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hegel and Marx. The text highlights the decline and revival of classical political theory and portrays the clash of universalism vs. localism in the classical tradition. It focuses on the recent interpretations of the classical texts, for instance, feasibility of the ideal State in Plato; civic humanism and republicanism in Machiavelli; the radicalism of Locke, and the contributions to the woman’s cause by John Stuart Mill. The text is intended for the undergraduate and postgraduate students of Political Science of various universities, and for all those who are appearing for the civil services examinations. NEW TO THIS EDITION : Inclusion of two important liberal thinkers, Mary Wollstonecraft, the founder of liberal feminism, and Immanuel Kant, a de-ontological liberal. Addition of an Appendix on John Rawls who is credited as a seminal thinker of contemporary times, having played a crucial role in the revival of normative political theory.

This book, first published in 1992, presents a comprehensive scholarly account of the development of European political thinking through the Renaissance and the reformation to the 'scientific revolution' and political upheavals of the seventeenth century. It is written by a highly distinguished team of contributors.

In this long essay Becker analyzed the structure, drafting, and philosophy of the Declaration. He recognizes that it was not intended as an objective historical statement of the causes of the Revolution, but merely furnished a moral and legal justification for rebellion. Step by step, the colonists modified their theory to suit their needs. Whenever men become sufficiently dissatisfied with the existing regime of positive law and custom, they will be found reaching out beyond it for the rational basis of what they conceive ought to be. This is what the Americans did in their controversy with Great Britain.