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Europe: a Philosophical History, Part 1; the Promise of Modernity

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Europe: a Philosophical History, Part 1; the Promise of Modernity EUROPE: A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY PART 1 Europe is inseparable from its history. That history has been extensively studied in terms of its political history, its economic history, its religious history, its lit- erary and cultural history, and so on. Could there be a distinctively philosoph- ical history of Europe? Not a history of philosophy in Europe, but a history of Europe that focuses on what, in its history and identity, ties it to philosophy. In the two volumes of Europe: A Philosophical History - The Promise of Modernity and Beyond Modernity - Simon Glendinning takes up this question, telling the story of Europe’s history as a philosophical history. In Part 1, The Promise of Modernity, Glendinning examines the concep- tion of Europe that links it to ideas of rational Enlightenment and modernity. Tracking this self-understanding as it unfolds in the writings of Kant, Hegel and Marx, Glendinning explores the transition in Europe from a conception of its modernity that was philosophical and religious to one which was philosophical and scientific. While this transition profoundly altered Europe’s own history, Glendinning shows how its self-confident core remained intact in this devel- opment. But not for long. This volume ends with an examination of the abrupt shattering of this confidence brought on by the first world-wide war of European origin – and the imminence of a second. The promise of modernity was in ruins. Nothing, for Europe, would ever be the same again. Simon Glendinning is Professor of European Philosophy and Head of the European Institute at the London School of Economics and Political Science. ‘In these timely volumes, the idea of Europe – the site of so much contemporary political strife – receives a philosophical interroga- tion commensurate with its nature. Glendinning’s rigorous and compelling delineation of modern Europe’s conception of itself, as at once philosophy’s historical cradle and its cultural offspring, deftly draws upon the very self-understanding he analyses to con- firm its current exhaustion, and to affirm its capacity for radical self-renewal.’ Stephen Mulhall, University of Oxford, UK ‘In this remarkable two-volume book, Simon Glendinning inhab- its and works through a “philosophical history of the philosoph- ical history” of Europe. This is exemplary work, its readings developed with erudition, patience, and rigor. By the end of the second volume we come to see how the traditional concept of Europe is “exhausted”, but not thereby left entirely hopeless or without promise. This is a sustained, often brilliant, exercise of reading the unfolding deconstruction of the dominant European understanding of Europe, one that can indeed stand as perhaps its own best example of what the old name “Europe” can still call forth in philosophy today. A magnificent achievement.’ Geoffrey Bennington, Emory University, USA EUROPE: A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY, PART 1 The Promise of Modernity Simon Glendinning First published 2021 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2021 Simon Glendinning The right of Simon Glendinning to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record has been requested for this book ISBN: 978-1-138-58032-9 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-032-01580-4 (pbk) ISBN: 978-0-429-50743-4 (ebk) Typeset in Bembo by KnowledgeWorks Global Ltd. To the memory of Maurice Fraser CONTENTS List of abbreviations ix Acknowledgements xii Preface xiv Introduction: Our selective memories of Europe 1 PART I European cultural identity 15 1 Ideas of culture 17 2 Greek, Christian and beyond 30 PART II Europe’s modernity 49 3 From barbarism to civilisation 51 4 The European idea of man 61 5 The cosmopolitical animal 75 viii Contents PART III The history of the world 89 6 Perpetual peace 91 7 Attained freedom 104 8 Real happiness 120 9 Complete democracy 135 PART IV A sense of an ending 155 10 Europe in crisis 157 11 Dispiriting Europe 173 12 The grand tour: looking back and looking forward 192 Bibliography 196 Index 202 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS This list is specific to the works cited in this book, which is the first of two parts. The bibliography provides a complete list of works referred to across both Part One and Part Two, many of which were germane to both. AR Jacques Derrida, Acts of Religion AT Emmanuel Levinas, Alterity and Transcendence BB Ludwig Wittgenstein, Blue and Brown Books BFM Jacques Derrida, “Back from Moscow, in the USSR” BGE Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil Bentham Jeremy Bentham, An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation Bloom Allan Bloom, The Closing of the American Mind BT Martin Heidegger, Being and Time CD Sigmund Freud, Civilization and its Discontents CES Edmund Husserl, The Crisis of European Sciences and Transcendental Phenomenology CF Jacques Derrida, On Cosmopolitanism and Forgiveness CHPR Karl Marx, Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right CHU Stanley Cavell, Conditions Handsome and Unhandsome CM Karl Marx, The Communist Manifesto CPR Immanuel Kant, Critique of Pure Reason CR Stanley Cavell, The Claim of Reason Davies Norman Davies, Europe: A History DG Deland Anderson, “The Death of God and Hegel’s System of Philosophy” DP Andrew Buchwalter, Dialectics, Politics, and the Contemporary Value of Hegel’s Practical Philosophy x List of abbreviations EH Francis Fukuyama, The End of History and the Last Man EIT Rodolphe Gasché, Europe, or the Infinite Task EO Jacques Derrida, The Ear of the Other EP Dermot Moran, “‘Even the Papuan is a Man and not a Beast’: Husserl on Universalism and the Relativity of Cultures” HIE Pim den Boer, The History of the Idea of Europe History Aristotle, History of Animals HFK G.W.F. Hegel, Faith and Knowledge HLW Rebecca Comay, “Hegel’s Last Words” HP Paul Valéry, History and Politics HPR G.W.F. Hegel, Philosophy of Right HSR Robert Perkins, “Hegel and the Secularisation of Religion” IBWD Bernard Williams, In the Beginning was the Deed IM Martin Heidegger, Introduction to Metaphysics Kant Immanuel Kant, Kant’s Political Writings Keiser Wolfram Keiser, Christian Democracy and the Origins of European Union LH Martin Heidegger, “Letter on Humanism” LLF Jacques Derrida, Learning to Live Finally MK Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf OH Jacques Derrida, The Other Heading OfH Jacques Derrida, Of Hospitality OG Jacques Derrida, Of Grammatology OL J.S. Mill, On Liberty OS Jacques Derrida, Of Spirit OSE Karl Popper, The Open Society and its Enemies PE Paul Valéry, “La Politque de L’Esprit” PF Jacques Derrida, Politics of Friendship PG Jacques Derrida, The Problem of Genesis in Husserl’s Philosophy PH G.W.F. Hegel, Philosophy of History PI Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations Politics Aristotle, Politics PT Carl Schmitt, Political Theology RB Emmanuel Levinas, Is it Righteous to Be? RC Mitchell Cohen, “Rooted Cosmopolitanism” RFGB Ludwig Wittgenstein, Remarks on Frazer’s Golden Bough RG J.S. Mill, “On Nationality and Representative Government”, in Three Essays RHJ P.G. Wodehouse, Right Ho, Jeeves RS I. Bernard Cohen, Revolution in Science S1 Geoffrey Bennington, Scatter 1 SE Pierre Rosanvallon, Society of Equals SHE Simon Jenkins, A Short History of Europe List of abbreviations xi SM Jacques Derrida, Specters of Marx SR V.I. Lenin, State and Revolution TDC T.S. Eliot, Notes Towards the Definition of Culture TIML David Wiggins, “Truth, Invention, and The Meaning of Life” UE Judith Butler, “Uncritical Exuberance?” (unpaginated online text) UNESCO Jacques Derrida, “Of the Humanities and the Philosophical Discipline” UWC Jacques Derrida, “The University Without Condition” VM Jacques Derrida, “Violence and Metaphysics” WH Stephen Houlgate, “World History as the Progress of Consciousness” WL Simon Critchley, “What’s Left After Obama?” (unpaginated online text) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the following people for their support, encouragement, inspiration, and suggestions large or small: Catherine Audard, Sonja Avilijaš, Matthew Bell, Robert Bernasconi, Chiara Bottici, Richard Bronk, Kevin Cahill, Amit Chaudhuri, Rebecca Comay, Robert Eaglestone, Kevin Featherstone, Katrin Flickschuh, Cristóbal Garibay-Petersen, Rodolphe Gasché, Victoria Glendinning, Denis Guénoun, Robert Hancké, Bjarke Morkore Stigel Hansen, Stephen Houlgate, Christine Irizarry, Peggy Kamuf, Anna Ksiazczakova, Oisín Keohane, Mareike Kleine, Ingrid Kylstad, Elissa Marder, Michael Morgan, Alan Montefiore, Michael Naas, Kalypso Nicolaides, Paula Zoido Oses, Alois Pichler, Tahir Rashid, Alison Stone, and Jonathan White. This volume is dedicated to my friend and colleague Maurice Fraser, with whom I taught a course called “The Idea of Europe” for over a decade at the LSE. Very sadly, Maurice died while I was completing the first draft of this text, and I am very sorry that I won’t get to hear his warm and generous praise for get- ting it published, and his robust and unstinting criticism of what I have written. Material from this book has been presented at academic conferences, semi- nars and lectures at universities in Amsterdam, L’Aquila, Baltimore, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Groningen, Haifa, Little Rock, London, Luxembourg, Memphis, Moscow, New York, Nottingham, Oxford, Rochester, St Petersburg, Utrecht, Warwick, and Wolverhampton; at public events in Edinburgh, Hay-on-Wye, and London; and at various schools, primary and secondary, in England.
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