Political Anthropology
Political Anthropology by Helmuth Plessner, published by Northwestern University Press in 2018, is a significant work that delves into the essence of politics as a fundamental aspect of human nature. This edition, translated into English for the first time, spans 130 pages and presents Plessner’s exploration of political life through a genealogical lens. He engages critically with prominent thinkers such as Carl Schmitt and Martin Heidegger, examining the intricate relationships between cultures and their struggles for recognition and power.
Readers will find that this book outlines an anthropological foundation for political thought, addressing themes of power, political ideologies, and social theory. Plessner’s arguments highlight the complexities of human interactions within political contexts, offering insights that resonate with contemporary discussions in philosophy and sociology. The introduction and epilogue provide valuable context, situating Plessner’s ideas within the Weimar-era German political landscape and current debates, making this work relevant for scholars and students alike.
Official synopsis Publisher
In Political Anthropology (originally published in 1931 as Macht und menschliche Natur), Helmuth Plessner considers whether politics–conceived as the struggle for power between groups, nations, and states–belongs to the essence of the human. Building on and complementing ideas from his Levels of the Organic and the Human (1928), Plessner proposes a genealogy of political life and outlines an anthropological foundation of the political. In critical dialogue with thinkers such as Carl Schmitt, Eric Voegelin, and Martin Heidegger, Plessner argues that the political relationships cultures entertain with one other, their struggle for acknowledgement and assertion, are expressions of certain possibilities of the openness and unfathomability of the human.
Translated into English for the first time, and accompanied by an introduction and an epilogue that situate Plessner’s thinking both within the context of Weimar-era German political and social thought and within current debates, this succinct book should be of great interest to philosophers, political theorists, and sociologists interested in questions of power and the foundations of the political.
Publisher
Topics
FAQ
What is “Political Anthropology” about?
Who is the author of “Political Anthropology”?
When was “Political Anthropology” published?
What is the ISBN for “Political Anthropology”?
What are the book details (language, pages, edition)?
