The Political Philosophy of Eric Voegelin

In this one hour lecture on the political philosophy of Eric Voegelin, covering his Order and History and New Science of Politics (and Essays on Science, Politics, and Gnosticism), we go over what Eric Voegelin meant when he spoke of Gnostic politics, revolution, and totalitarianism.

0:00-2:10 - Introduction
2:10-15:31 - Cosmic Politics
15:31-22:33 - Political Theology of Augustine
22:33-40:46 - The Return of Gnostic Politics
40:46-57:17 - Hobbes, Burke, and Liberalism
57:17-1:00:51 - Summary & Conclusion
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Paul Krause is the editor-in-chief of VoegelinView. He is a political philosopher, literary critic, and classicist. He has written on the arts, culture, classics, literature, politics, philosophy, religion, and history for numerous publications in the English-speaking world. He is the author of Finding Arcadia (2023), The Odyssey of Love (2021), and the Politics of Plato (2020); he has also contributed to The College Lecture Today (2019) and Making Sense of Diseases and Disasters (2022).
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[irankarapte]

your lectures and essays are incredibly lucid and beautifully written. Thank you for your work

[history]

Politics is inseparable from Gnostic movements, so the question arises, how can society protect itself from Gnosticism?

[materiaprima]

Voegelin is the most unsung and ironically the most profound 20th c philosopher

[WordSonFoRealz]

The criticism against liberalism that its not impervious to attack seems odd to me. Also that the state is supposed to have anything to do with heart and soul. The idea is the state stays out of the way of these things. Its our responsibility to inform and protect against gnostic and all other threats of an ideological nature. Im not sure i agree with criticism about something not doing something its not intended to do. I also disagree with concept that its chasing a utopian vision. The idea is there is no utopia, only the best we can do and we should always strive for it. Franklins "a republic, if you can keep it." seems fitting.