The Eric Voegelin Reader

Politics, History, Consciousness

Charles R. Embry, Glenn Hughes

464 pages

Published: September 2017

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ISBN: 9780826221346

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Price: $50.00

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About This Book: Eric Voegelin (1901–1985) was one of the most original philosophers of our time, working throughout his life to account for the endemic political violence of the twentieth century, in an effort variously referred to as a philosophy of politics, history, or consciousness. Drawing from the University of Missouri Press’s thirty-four-volume edition of his collected works, Charles Embry and Glenn Hughes have assembled a selection of Voegelin’s representative writings, satisfying the need for a single volume that can serve as a general introduction to his philosophy. The selection demonstrates the range and creativity of Voegelin’s thought, including writings that show his thinking as it developed historically in his long search for order in human society.

The Eric Voegelin Reader will be welcomed by students of political philosophy, political science, philosophy of history, theology, and other fields, including those who are unfamiliar with Voegelin’s difficult, but exciting and stimulating, thought. The editors have provided a short introduction and situate each selection in the context of Voegelin’s overall work.
Authors and Editors: Charles R. Embry is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Texas A&M University-Commerce. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Louisiana Tech University, a Master of Arts degree in Government from Louisiana State University-Baton Rouge, and a PhD. in Political Science from Duke University. He has published articles in Liberal Education and News for Teachers of Political Science (A Publication of the American Political Science Association), as well as numerous poems. His book, Robert B. Heilman and Eric Voegelin: A Friendship in Letters, 1944-1984, was published in 2004 by the University of Missouri Press as a volume in the Eric Voegelin Institute Series in Political Philosophy. Also published by the University of Missouri Press are Philosophy, Literature and Politics: Essays Honoring Ellis Sandoz (2005), which he co-edited with Barry Cooper, The Philosopher and The Storyteller: Eric Voegelin and Twentieth-Century Literature (2008) and Voegelinian Readings of Modern Literature (2011). Professor Embry is married to Polly Detels, retired Associate Professor of History, Texas A&M-Commerce. They live in Bellingham, WA.

Glenn Hughes is Professor of Philosophy at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, where he also holds the St. Mary’s Chair in Catholic Philosophy. He is the author of many articles and a number of books, including Mystery and Myth in the Philosophy of Eric Voegelin (1993), Transcendence and History (2003), and A More Beautiful Question: The Spiritual in Poetry and Art (2011), all published by the University of Missouri Press. His poetry has appeared in many national literary journals and two chapbooks; he has also edited or co-edited four volumes of work by the Northwest poet Robert Sund. He is a regular contributor of original scholarship at national conferences, and has been both a coordinator of and invited lecturer at international meetings and events. Forthcoming in spring, 2017 is a volume of essays co-edited with Charles R. Embry entitled The Timelessness of Proust: Reflections on In Search of Lost Time. Professor Hughes lives in San Antonio, Texas.
Praise For This Book: “The achievement of this volume is superb. Through a selection of his writings perfectly chosen, it makes manifest to everyone the preeminent place of Eric Voegelin in the intellectual landscape of the twentieth century.”—Tilo Schabert, University of Erlangen, author of How World Politics Is Made

“Embry and Hughes have succeeded in presenting a thoroughly accessible and well-crafted introduction to the thought of Eric Voegelin. Providing philosophical readings of substance with erudite commentary, this volume ranges perspicaciously across the eras and interests of Voegelin’s writings and will open to a new audience the grandeur of one of the most penetrating and relevant minds of the twentieth century. The Eric Voegelin Reader is set to become the essential companion to the study of Voegelin’s work.”—James Greenaway, St. Mary’s University, author of The Differentiation of Authority: The Medieval Turn toward Existence

“Organized with meticulous care and framed with introductions of exceptional clarity, this reader provides the perfect entrée into Voegelin’s thought and the rich treasures of his thirty-four-volume Collected Works. The readings capture, in concentrated form, the full scope of Voegelin’s political and philosophical vision, including the surprising turns in his intellectual development that were born of ever-deepening insights into the nature of reality and human history. There is no contemporary point of view that cannot be enriched and challenged by Voegelin’s uniquely profound and original ideas. The Eric Voegelin Reader will greatly enhance the ease and quality of such encounters.”—Paul Kidder, Department of Philosophy, Seattle University

“Drawing on a broad variety of Voegelin's work—memoirs, interview, lectures, essays, books—the editors present a very intelligent selection of materials that unfolds his main themes in a clear, logical sequence, and this is also greatly aided by their introduction and explanatory comments with reference to each selection. This brilliant collection of Voegelin's most luminous texts offers an excellent one-volume introduction to the full range and scope of a major thinker who might otherwise seem rather overwhelming to someone new to his work."—Eugene Webb, University of Washington, author of In Search of the Triune God: The Christian Paths of East and West