In the Democracy in America's chapters on war and armies in the transition from the aristocratic ... more In the Democracy in America's chapters on war and armies in the transition from the aristocratic to the democratic social state (état social), Tocqueville briefly draws on Machiavelli regarding the conquest of a country with or without intermediary powers between political leadership and the people by which he primarily understands the existence of local nobilities. In this reference, Tocqueville is quick to express skepticism about the overstated importance of Machiavelli in the history of political philosophy. In different places of his work though a more mitigated stance is documented. A comparative approach of Machiavelli and Tocqueville on war may seem odd, even inappropriate. In this paper I argue that the "brief encounter," in Melvin Richter's terms, of Tocqueville with Machiavelli can be fruitfully explored in order to make sense of the key importance for modern warfare of the collapse of nobility in Europe. Concomitantly, Machiavelli 's intuitions about conquering an absolutist state without intermediary powers compared to a state endowed with "prince" and "barons" can be further elaborated to better grasp its impact on wars including civil strife. In this paper I first explore Machiavelli's perception of the intermediary powers in conquest and broadly in warfare paying due attention to the importance for the preservation of liberty of latent or open civil discord between social powers or classes; then I turn to Tocqueville's rich analysis of the transformation of modern warfare due to democratic centralization and obsession with private welfare. Democratic armies constantly challenge democratic liberty and they can sometimes successfully albeit perversely integrate democratic ambition and turn it against democracy. I conclude with some reflections on the connection between war and politics regarding latent civil conflicts in democracies.
In his critique of religion, Hume envisages forms of religious ritual disconnected from the super... more In his critique of religion, Hume envisages forms of religious ritual disconnected from the superstitious “neurotic” mindset; he considers simple rituals fostering moderation. In this paper, I claim that one can profitably interpret Hume’s obsession with secular rituals, such as French highly ceremonial manners, in the sense of anxiety-soothing institutions that bind citizenry without the appeal to a civil religion, properly speaking. Let us call this path the Old Regime’s civil ritualism”. Overall, Tocqueville conceives rituals in a Humean spirit, as existential anxiety-soothing institutions. Moving beyond the Humean line of thought, he focuses on the ambiguous role of religious rituals in the context of democratic faith and the Christian civil religion that he deems appropriate for the US. Yet, he also detects novel forms of superstition firmly embedded in secular, democratic faith.
ABSTRACT This paper argues that the republican ideal of non-domination, central in Bergès’s paper... more ABSTRACT This paper argues that the republican ideal of non-domination, central in Bergès’s paper, rests on affective conditions that often go unnoticed. In this context, I introduce the notion of affective independence to shed light on the affects akin to the spirit of socio-economic and political independence in between aristocratic pretentiousness and vanity on the one hand and servility towards superiors on the other. In the Letters on Sympathy, Sophie de Grouchy dismisses Adam Smith’s key notion of propriety and thoroughly rejects deferential manners. Her critical gaze cuts even deeper. Anticipating critiques of democratic demagoguery, she reclaims the early modern notion of enthusiasm, linked to religious fanaticism, to account for uncritical admiration towards populist leaders.
Le concept des sentiments sociaux vise a problematiser l'espace theorique, dans ses dimension... more Le concept des sentiments sociaux vise a problematiser l'espace theorique, dans ses dimensions morales et politiques, que le paradigme de l'amour chretien avait occupe apres l'eclipse de la philia antique. Dans la deuxieme moitie du xviii siecle, le paradigme de la sympathie, debarrasse de la plupart des connotations cosmologiques, viendra occuper l'espace anthropologique laisse vacant par la nonreprise d'une forme de la philia ou de la charite secularisee. La fonction principale de la sympathie sera l'egalisation des partenaires par regulation des conflits affectifs. La normalisation sociale s'exerce ainsi dans une societe qui se pacifie dans un mouvement spontane des individus "sympathiques" sans prise en compte des differences dues au statut social ou a l'inegalite naturelle entre lesindividus. La tradition sociologique du
In his critique of religion, Hume envisages forms of religious ritual disconnected from the super... more In his critique of religion, Hume envisages forms of religious ritual disconnected from the superstitious "neurotic" mindset; he considers simple rituals fostering moderation. In this paper, I claim that one can profitably interpret Hume's obsession with secular rituals, such as French highly ceremonial manners, in the sense of anxiety-soothing institutions that bind citizenry without the appeal to a civil religion, properly speaking. Let us call this path the Old Regime's civil ritualism". Overall, Tocqueville conceives rituals in a Humean spirit, as existential anxiety-soothing institutions. Moving beyond the Humean line of thought, he focuses on the ambiguous role of religious rituals in the context of democratic faith and the Christian civil religion that he deems appropriate for the US. Yet, he also detects novel forms of superstition firmly embedded in secular, democratic faith.
In the Democracy in America's chapters on war and armies in the transition from the aristocratic ... more In the Democracy in America's chapters on war and armies in the transition from the aristocratic to the democratic social state (état social), Tocqueville briefly draws on Machiavelli regarding the conquest of a country with or without intermediary powers between political leadership and the people by which he primarily understands the existence of local nobilities. In this reference, Tocqueville is quick to express skepticism about the overstated importance of Machiavelli in the history of political philosophy. In different places of his work though a more mitigated stance is documented. A comparative approach of Machiavelli and Tocqueville on war may seem odd, even inappropriate. In this paper I argue that the "brief encounter," in Melvin Richter's terms, of Tocqueville with Machiavelli can be fruitfully explored in order to make sense of the key importance for modern warfare of the collapse of nobility in Europe. Concomitantly, Machiavelli 's intuitions about conquering an absolutist state without intermediary powers compared to a state endowed with "prince" and "barons" can be further elaborated to better grasp its impact on wars including civil strife. In this paper I first explore Machiavelli's perception of the intermediary powers in conquest and broadly in warfare paying due attention to the importance for the preservation of liberty of latent or open civil discord between social powers or classes; then I turn to Tocqueville's rich analysis of the transformation of modern warfare due to democratic centralization and obsession with private welfare. Democratic armies constantly challenge democratic liberty and they can sometimes successfully albeit perversely integrate democratic ambition and turn it against democracy. I conclude with some reflections on the connection between war and politics regarding latent civil conflicts in democracies.
In his critique of religion, Hume envisages forms of religious ritual disconnected from the super... more In his critique of religion, Hume envisages forms of religious ritual disconnected from the superstitious “neurotic” mindset; he considers simple rituals fostering moderation. In this paper, I claim that one can profitably interpret Hume’s obsession with secular rituals, such as French highly ceremonial manners, in the sense of anxiety-soothing institutions that bind citizenry without the appeal to a civil religion, properly speaking. Let us call this path the Old Regime’s civil ritualism”. Overall, Tocqueville conceives rituals in a Humean spirit, as existential anxiety-soothing institutions. Moving beyond the Humean line of thought, he focuses on the ambiguous role of religious rituals in the context of democratic faith and the Christian civil religion that he deems appropriate for the US. Yet, he also detects novel forms of superstition firmly embedded in secular, democratic faith.
ABSTRACT This paper argues that the republican ideal of non-domination, central in Bergès’s paper... more ABSTRACT This paper argues that the republican ideal of non-domination, central in Bergès’s paper, rests on affective conditions that often go unnoticed. In this context, I introduce the notion of affective independence to shed light on the affects akin to the spirit of socio-economic and political independence in between aristocratic pretentiousness and vanity on the one hand and servility towards superiors on the other. In the Letters on Sympathy, Sophie de Grouchy dismisses Adam Smith’s key notion of propriety and thoroughly rejects deferential manners. Her critical gaze cuts even deeper. Anticipating critiques of democratic demagoguery, she reclaims the early modern notion of enthusiasm, linked to religious fanaticism, to account for uncritical admiration towards populist leaders.
Le concept des sentiments sociaux vise a problematiser l'espace theorique, dans ses dimension... more Le concept des sentiments sociaux vise a problematiser l'espace theorique, dans ses dimensions morales et politiques, que le paradigme de l'amour chretien avait occupe apres l'eclipse de la philia antique. Dans la deuxieme moitie du xviii siecle, le paradigme de la sympathie, debarrasse de la plupart des connotations cosmologiques, viendra occuper l'espace anthropologique laisse vacant par la nonreprise d'une forme de la philia ou de la charite secularisee. La fonction principale de la sympathie sera l'egalisation des partenaires par regulation des conflits affectifs. La normalisation sociale s'exerce ainsi dans une societe qui se pacifie dans un mouvement spontane des individus "sympathiques" sans prise en compte des differences dues au statut social ou a l'inegalite naturelle entre lesindividus. La tradition sociologique du
In his critique of religion, Hume envisages forms of religious ritual disconnected from the super... more In his critique of religion, Hume envisages forms of religious ritual disconnected from the superstitious "neurotic" mindset; he considers simple rituals fostering moderation. In this paper, I claim that one can profitably interpret Hume's obsession with secular rituals, such as French highly ceremonial manners, in the sense of anxiety-soothing institutions that bind citizenry without the appeal to a civil religion, properly speaking. Let us call this path the Old Regime's civil ritualism". Overall, Tocqueville conceives rituals in a Humean spirit, as existential anxiety-soothing institutions. Moving beyond the Humean line of thought, he focuses on the ambiguous role of religious rituals in the context of democratic faith and the Christian civil religion that he deems appropriate for the US. Yet, he also detects novel forms of superstition firmly embedded in secular, democratic faith.
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