John Macmurray: Community beyond Political Philosophy(20th Century Political Thinkers)

Scottish philosopher John Macmurray's intriguing career makes the job of classifying his work difficult by contemporary academic modes of categorization. Despite his extensive writings on political principles and politics and significant influence on numerous British politicians, he never regarded the political sphere as an end in itself. Above all, he was a political philosopher determined to place politics into a wider, more comprehensive, metaphysical and religious framework. In this long-overdue analysis of Macmurray, Frank Kirkpatrick traces the development of Macmurray's thought with its roots in the Bible, Hegel and the democratic liberal tradition of the west. Kirkpatrick contends that Macmurray's most important contribution to the field is his development of a philosophical understanding of what constitutes an authentic community. Through this analysis, Kirkpatrick explores the extraordinary resonances of Macmurray's political thought in other modern philosophers and reveals his enduring significance.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 An Intellectual Biography of John Macmurray: From Evangelicalism to Marxism Chapter 3 Macmurray's Engagement with Marxian Thought in the 1930s Chapter 4 Community in Marx and Macmurray: A Reappraisal Chapter 5 Christianity, Fascism, and the Clue to History Chapter 6 The Gifford Lectures: The Self as Agent Chapter 7 The Gifford Lectures: Persons in Relation Chapter 8 Macmurray and Contemporary Political Philosophy Chapter 9 The Family and Small Communities in Political Thought Chapter 10 Democracy, Human Nature, and the Nation-State Chapter 11 Bibliography Chapter 12 Index Chapter 13 About the Author

About the Author :
Frank G. Kirkpatrick is Ellsworth Morton Tracy Lecturer and Charles A. Dana Professor of Religion at Trinity College. He is the author of The Ethics of Community, Together Bound: God, History, and the Religious Community, and numerous articles.

Review :
This is an important book, not only because it breaks new ground in the articulation and exploration of one of the most profound yet undeservedly neglected philosophers of the 20th century, but also because in revealing the genius of its subject (John Macmurray) Frank Kirkpatrick helps us to engage with some of the most important social and political challenges of our time. A timely retrieval of a seminal political and religious thinker. Kirkpatrick performs an essential service in making the work of John Macmurray available to 21st century debates about freedom, justice, community and society. Kirkpatrick presents a clear introduction to the whole of Macmurray's work. Recommended. Frank Kirkpatrick has written a deceptively short and simple work. It contains an excellent brief biography as well as a clear, concise and precise account of John Mcmurray's thought. Frank Kirkpatrick reminds us how much we need to hear the voice of John Macmurray for Macmurray touches on issues and frames his philosophical discourse in ways that make possible a dialogue between those concerned with the importance of the human freedomand individuality with those for whom equality and justice are of prime value. Macmurray's relational model of human nature challenges not only pessimistic interpretations of human nature, but assumptions that govern human behavior. Living in a societythat is dominated by forms of market fundamentalism Macmurray, in effect, brings into question competitive, individualist, and reductionistic understandings of human possibilities that stand in marked contrast to seeing community as a way of affirming the mutuality of relations among persons and fostering a concern once again for the common good. In addition, Kirkpatrick's understanding of Macmurray provides a venue for a discussion of religion, and its importance in human life, that is not reducible totheological abstractions or divisive religious claims. Frank Kirkpatrick reminds us how much we need to hear the voice of John Macmurray for Macmurray touches on issues and frames his philosophical discourse in ways that make possible a dialogue between those concerned with the importance of the human freedom and individuality with those for whom equality and justice are of prime value. Macmurray's relational model of human nature challenges not only pessimistic interpretations of human nature, but assumptions that govern human behavior. Living in a society that is dominated by forms of market fundamentalism Macmurray, in effect, brings into question competitive, individualist, and reductionistic understandings of human possibilities that stand in marked contrast to seeing community as a way of affirming the mutuality of relations among persons and fostering a concern once again for the common good. In addition, Kirkpatrick's understanding of Macmurray provides a venue for a discussion of religion, and its importance in human life, that is not reducible to theological abstractions or divisive religious claims.