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"The real Voegelin is a scandal. . ."
"[Some hesitations about Voegelin] evidently center, in part, on uneasiness with a perceived "religious" Voegelin and, in part, on the question of an academically "useable" Voegelin in a period of rampant scientism where religion is passé or worse. This evident climate of opinion seems bleakly dominant for the foreseeable future, and it is plainly dominant at the expense of the life of the soul—as it always has been," writes Ellis Sandoz in Part 1 of the four part "The Spirit of Voegelin's Late Work" which begins today.
"The Lighter Side"
We are pleased to introduce today (March 10, 2010) a new section for VoegelinView that we are calling "The Lighter Side." It can be reached from the top menu bar under Articles or from the On the Inside menu in the upper left hand column. We plan to feature audio, which we begin today; and we plan to add items from the old evforum, personal reminiscences about Eric Voegelin, and perhaps even photos and cartoons.
"Man in the Comos"
We begin today the audio recording of Eric Voegelin's lecture entitled "Man in the Cosmos." Go to The Lighter Side and listen to the introduction and the first part of the lecture. We have broken the lecture into eight segments and will plan to add two per week until all 70 minutes have been made available.
Gosplan Healthcare?
Thinking about possible imminent health care legislation, we recall Soviet Russian central planning of the past and conclude: "I fear some young people who have not lived through communism might also be historically illiterate and unable to imagine, much less evaluate, something beyond their own short personal experience, like the central administration of personal health needs in a society of some 300 million souls." Read "Gosplan Healthcare?" in this week's Commentary.
"[A conscience] can only be as good as the man who has it."
It seems as though every phrase quoted today on the use and misuse of conscience rises to the level of aphorism. For example: "All men are equal, to be sure, or they would not be individuals of one species; but sometimes it is forgotten that the point in which they most certainly are equal is their capacity for evil." Read part 2 of "Freedom of Conscience."
Just the Facts, Jack!
We begin this week a new feature in Book Reviews, "Briefly Noted." Thomas Sowell's Intellectuals and Society is considered.
The classics as the principal instrument of self-education
Charles Embry focuses this week on why Eric Voegelin sought to master the classics: ". . .for when the literary culture and the educational institutions upon which literacy depends are compromised and even destroyed, a man must look to the classics as guides to the recovery of his own humanity. . ." Read part 3 of "Eric Voegelin as Literary Critic."
"Catch Mercy's Moments as they Fly"
Poetry Editor Glenn Hughes offers this week a poem spun some 250 years ago from the New Testament. It reminds us of both our Lenten opportunities and the eternal recurrence of taxation. In this case the publicans held the contracts to collect Rome's taxes. Read Christopher Smart's "The Story of Zaccheus."
