Investigating the Silence Surrounding
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SILENCE IS NOT ALWAYS GOLDEN: INVESTIGATING THE SILENCE SURROUNDING THE TIIOUGHT OF ERIC VOEGELIN A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DMSON OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAW AI'I IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN POLITICAL SCIENCE MAY 2008 By Patrick Johnston Thesis Committee: Manfred Henningsen, Chairperson JamesDator Louis Hennan We certify that we have read this thesis and that, in our opinion, it is satisfactory in scope and quality as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts in Political Science. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS As the experience which engendered this project occurred during my time as an undergraduate at Louisiana State University, I should begin to acknowledge my debts by stating my appreciation of the Triumvirate (Professors Cecil Eubanks, Ellis Sandoz and James Stoner) for keeping political philosophy alive at LSU and for helping me build a foundation in the philosophical science of politics. Dr. Sandoz, who introduced me to Eric Voegelin's work, deserves special commendation for his tireless-work in promoting Voegelin's thought. His dedication in this endeavor has made my work in the following pages much easier than it might have been otherwise. I would be remiss if I did not include among my benefactors at LSU Professor Harry Mokeba who was instrumental in showing me the importance of comparative political study. In this vein I should add Dr. Sankaran Krishna who has continued to foster my interest in comparative political analysis during my graduate studies in Hawai'i. I extend my utmost gratitude to my committee, which included Professors Manfred Henningsen, James Dator and Louis Herman. The selflessness with which they gave their time was invaluable for the completion of this thesis. I cannot thank Dr. Henningsen enough for agreeing without hesitation to participate on work which took his mentor as its focus. This openness was extended with great care with regard to reading and commenting on the manuscript which saved me from errors. Any defects which remain in the thesis are my own respousibility. Last, but not least, I must thank Alejandro Barcenas who helped to sharpen my focus through our frequent conversatious, and John Stanley whose aid was inestimable in smoothing out technical difficulties during the process of bringing this project to its culmination. iii ABSTRACT The political philosopher Eric Voegelin (1901-1985) has been described as "one of the most original and influential philosophers of our time." However, considering the fact that most political theorists, much less political scientists, have never even heard of Eric Voegelin, his thought has not been met with deference, but silence. In confronting this quiescence, I examine how Voegelin himself, students of the thought of Hannah Arendt and Leo Strauss, the use and abuse ofVoegelin's thought, and the political science discipline itself contributed to the silencing of Voegelin. I also make suggestions on how the silence surrounding Voegelin's thought can be overcome. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••.••••• iii Abstract •••••••••.••••••••••••••••••••••••.•••••••••••••••••••••••••.•..•••••••••••••••••••..•••..•••••.••••••••••••••••• iv List of Abbreviations ••••••••••••••••••••••••••.•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••.••••••••••••• vi Introduction .•••••••••••••••••••.•.....••..••••.•.••••••.•..••........•..••••.•••.••.••.•...........•.••••••••••••••••. 1 Chapter 1: Why Voegelin Could Not Land a Good Job in the USA. .............. I0 Fleeing the East Coast ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••.•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 13 VoegeJin's Qualifications ......................................................................... 17 The Yale Affair ........................................................................................21 Voegelin Goes to Munich, Builds a Legacy ........................................... 25 Chapter 2: Voegelin and the Public Sphere •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 29 Voegelin and the Critique of Gnostics ................................................... 32 Voegelin On the Problem of Hitler and the Germans •••••••••••••••••••••••••• 38 The Death of a Phllosopher•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••.••••••••••••••••••••••• 43 In Search of Order••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 47 Chapter 3: The Avoidance ofVoegelin .............................................................. 52 A Lack of InteUectual Curiosity ••••••••••.•••••.•••.•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 54 Totalitarianism Part Two •.•••••••••••••••••.•••••.••••.•••.•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 59 WiU.fu.1 Ignorance? •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••.••••••••••••••••••••••••• 63 Moving FOlWard ...................................................................................... 70 Chapter 4: Use and Abuse of Voegelin .............................................................. 72 The Many Baptisms of Eric Voegelin •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 74 Voegelin as Conservative •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••.•••.•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 77 The Use and Abuse ofVoegelin in Secondary Literature •••••••••••••••••••• 81 Chapter 5: The State of the Discipline ............................................................... 90 The Problem ofScientism in American Political Science .................... 94 The APSA Annual Meeting, Do We Need It? ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 105 Conclusion •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 111 Bibliogmphy ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 115 v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AR Autobiographical Reflections CW Collected Works ofEric Voegelin, all volumes available through the Univeristy of Missouri Press. EVF Barry Cooper, Eric Voegelin and the Foundations ofModern Political Science NSP New Science ofPolitics NYT New York Times OH Order and History, all volumes available through the University of Missouri Press asCWI4-18. ROP Review ofPolitics VRC Voegelin Recollected: Conversations on a Life CW 1 On the Form ofthe American Mind, translated by Ruth Hem, edited with an introduction by JOrgen Gerhardt and Barry Cooper, (Baton Rouge: LSU Press, 1995). CW 2 Race and State, translated by Ruth Hem, edited with an introduction by Klaus Vondung, (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1997). CW 4 The Authoritarian State: An Essay on the Problem ofthe Austrian State, translated by Ruth Hem, edited with an introduction by Gilbert Weiss, historical commentary on the period by Erika Weinzierl, (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1999). CW 5 Modernity Without Restraint: The Political Religions, The New Science of Politics, and Science, Politics, and Gnosticism, edited with an introduction by Manfred Henningsen, (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1999). CW 6 Anamnesis: On the Theory ofHistory and Politics, translated M.J. Hanak, based on the abbreviated version by Gerhart Niemeyer, edited with an introduction by David Walsh, (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2002). CW7 Published Essays, 1922-1928, trans. by M.J. Hanak, ed. with an introduction by Thomas W. Heilke and John von Heyking (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2003). CW 12 Published Essays, 1966-1985, edited with an introduction by Ellis Sandoz, (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1990). CW 13 Selected Book Reviews, translated and edited by Jody Cockerill and Barry Cooper, with an introduction by Barry Cooper (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2001). CW 18 Order and History, Vol. v.. In Search ofOrder, edited with an introduction by Ellis Sandoz, (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2000). CW24 History ofPolitical Ideas, Vol. VI: Revolution and the New Science, edited with an introduction by Barry Cooper (Columbia: University of Missouri Press,1999). CW29 Selected Correspondence: 1922-1950, edited by JOrgen Gebhardt (Forthcoming 2008). CW30 Selected Correspondence: 1950-1984, translated by Sandy Adler, Thomas A. vi Hollweck, and William Petropulos, edited with an introduction by Thomas Hollweck, (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2007). CW 31 Hitler and the Germans, translated, edited, and with an introduction by Detlev Clemens and Brendan Purcell, (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1999). CW33 The Drama o/Humanity and Other Miscellaneous Papers, 1939-1985, edited with and introduction by William Petropulos and Gilbert Weiss, (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2004). CW 34 Autobiographical Reflections: Revised Edition, with a Voegelin Glossary and Cumulative Index, edited with an introduction by Ellis Sandoz, (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2006). OH I Israel and Revelation (Baton Rouge: LSU Press, 1956). OH III Plato and Aristotle (Baton Rouge: LSU Press, 1958). OHIV The Ecumenic Age (Baton Rouge: LSU Press, 1974). vii Introduction The business of introductions is always difficult because an introduction has, most simply, a double sense. On the one hand., the introduction is a space to begin something and., on the other hand., the bringing forth of something new. In the context of a master's thesis, both purposes have to be brought out. Focusing on the silence regarding Eric Voegelin's work then becomes a task in the original sense of introduction (introducere). Specifically,