Essays in political philosophy
Boston College Professor of Political Science Robert Faulkner (1934-2023) was a universally respected scholar of modern political philosophy and American political and legal thought who earned praise from 羞羞影院 colleagues and students alike, and from across academia. 听
Now, a recently published book of his writings has brought Faulkner鈥檚 legacy into focus.
Politics, Progress, and the Constitution: Essays in Political Philosophy consists of 17 studies spanning his career, and his interest in great thinkers like Aristotle, Machiavelli, Plato, Francis Bacon, Xenophon, John Locke, John Marshall, and Alexander Bickel. These essays examine the theory and practice of constitutional government, the philosophical foundations of modern republicanism, and the principles of great statesmanship as embodied by George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln, among others.
鈥淩obert Faulkner was, of course, a professor of political science, and he was interested in both parts of that subject: the political and the scientific,鈥� said Behrakis Professor of Hellenic Political Studies Robert Bartlett, the book鈥檚 editor.
鈥淧ut another way, he had a keen and lifelong interest in the everyday workings of politics, but he was also interested in science broadly understood: What is it that we can know about ourselves and the world? I think his studies were informed by Aristotle鈥檚 famous dicta that a human being is by nature a political animal and a rational animal. But how鈥攈ow well鈥攄oes our potential rationality sit with our political nature? To what extent can our politics really be rational?鈥�
Faulkner, who joined the 羞羞影院 faculty in 1968 and continued to work as a research professor following his retirement in 2014, was attuned to the foundational, classical, and historical aspects of political science. He dealt with such topics as Lincoln鈥檚 prescriptions for liberal democracy; the differences between Xenophon鈥檚 and Herodotus鈥檚 biographies of Cyrus the Great; Aristotle鈥檚 doubts about executive power; Locke鈥檚 republicanism and critique of religion; and Bacon鈥檚 scientific method and use of the essay as a literary form.
His books included The Case for Greatness: Honorable Ambition and Its Critics, proposing 鈥渁 reasonable understanding of excellence鈥� associated with the quality of ambition鈥攚hich, he argued, had come to be regarded as a negative trait for leaders; and Francis Bacon and the Project of Progress, in which he cast Bacon as a key architect of the Enlightenment and one of the seminal founders of modernity.
Behrakis Professor in Hellenic Political Studies Robert C. Bartlett (Peter Julian)
鈥淚n putting the book together, I read most all of Bob鈥檚 writings, the articles especially,鈥� said Bartlett. 鈥淚 selected from these many writings those that I thought were representative of the stages of his research and interest and that didn鈥檛 overlap so much with his books. I have also included in the book a complete bibliography of his writings.鈥�
Bartlett notes that he had the fortune to have been both a student of Faulkner鈥攚ho sat on Bartlett鈥檚 doctoral dissertation committee鈥攁nd later, a colleague. 鈥淚 thought it would be a worthwhile service to others and鈥擨 hope鈥攁 fitting tribute to him to put together a representative sample of his scholarship. So the book is partly a 鈥榯hank you鈥� to a mentor and friend, partly also a gift to others.鈥�
Faulkner鈥檚 studies broadened and deepened over time, according to Bartlett: first concentrating on early modern political philosophy and the roots of the American republic鈥攑articularly focusing on Locke鈥攁nd then transitioning to an extensive investigation of Bacon, a less-explored figure in political science circles.
Faulkner saw that modernity was a carefully thought-out project to bring philosophy鈥攏ow known as science鈥攖o bear on everyday life, 鈥渕aking it easier, safer, longer,鈥� said Bartlett, with technology as the change agent. The central architect for this endeavor was Bacon, and Faulkner 鈥渨as instrumental in bringing Bacon鈥檚 thought to the attention of political science and political theory especially,鈥� according to Bartlett.
鈥淏ob appreciated Bacon鈥檚 jaw-dropping ambition to remake the world, even as he had some reservations about its late fruits.鈥�
Bartlett sums up Faulkner as 鈥渁 wonderful teacher, a fine scholar, and a thoroughly decent human being.
鈥淗e had a clear sense of what really mattered, in politics and in life, and he devoted himself to serious things鈥攁ll the while maintaining a great sense of humor that enlivened his conversation and made his company a real pleasure. He could be pugnacious in print, but he was always a gentleman in person.鈥�
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