Publications by Pavlos L Papadopoulos
In "Socrates in the Cave: On the Philosopher's Motive in Plato," edited by Paul J. Diduch and Mic... more In "Socrates in the Cave: On the Philosopher's Motive in Plato," edited by Paul J. Diduch and Michael P. Harding (Palgrave MacMillan, 2018), 315–340.
Aristotle writes in the Ethics that every human activity aims at the good; but human activity bec... more Aristotle writes in the Ethics that every human activity aims at the good; but human activity becomes problematic when the good that is sought conflicts with the traditional, and when this activity takes the form of political philosophy it becomes a danger to the philosopher and the tradition. Aristotle is explicitly aware of this problem in the Politics (the second half of his ethical-political teaching begun in the Ethics) and so must find a way to practice political philosophy responsibly. Aristotle draws our attention to this problem by taking Hippodamus of Miletus very seriously, whose importance as the paradigmatic political philosopher has been overlooked in scholarship. Via his critique of Hippodamus, Aristotle brings to light Plato’s solution to the problem faced by the political philosopher, visible in the Republic’s noble lie to its readers. Aristotle’s own solution may be seen in the reverent and poetic rather than critical and philosophic tone and the politically moderate rather than philosophically ambitious content of Book I of the Politics.
Book Reviews by Pavlos L Papadopoulos
First Things, 2023
Review of Glenn Ellmers, "The Narrow Passage: Plato, Foucault, and the Possibility of Political P... more Review of Glenn Ellmers, "The Narrow Passage: Plato, Foucault, and the Possibility of Political Philosophy" (2023)
Modern Age, 2022
Review of Steven B. Smith, Patriotism in an Age of Extremes (2021)
Law & Liberty, 2022
Review of the Landmark Xenophon's Anabasis, translated by David Thomas, edited by Shane Brennan a... more Review of the Landmark Xenophon's Anabasis, translated by David Thomas, edited by Shane Brennan and David Thomas
First Things, 2021
Short review of Thomas E. Ricks, "First Principles: What America's Founders Learned from the Gree... more Short review of Thomas E. Ricks, "First Principles: What America's Founders Learned from the Greeks and Romans and How That Shaped Our Country"
IM–1776, 2021
Review of Giorgio Agamben, "Where Are We Now? The Epidemic as Politics"
Journal of Inklings Studies, 2021
Review of Michael Ward's "After Humanity: A Guide to C.S. Lewis's The Abolition of Man"
The University Bookman, 2021
An essay on Eric Adler's "The Battle of the Classics" (2020) and "Classics, the Culture Wars, and... more An essay on Eric Adler's "The Battle of the Classics" (2020) and "Classics, the Culture Wars, and Beyond" (2016), using a part of Eva Brann's "Paradoxes of Education in a Republic" to evaluate Adler's recommendation for a multicultural core curriculum
Athwart, 2020
Review of Zena Hitz, "Lost in Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of the Intellectual Life"
Law & Liberty, 2019
A review of Michael Anton's "After the Flight 93 Election," published as part of a symposium at L... more A review of Michael Anton's "After the Flight 93 Election," published as part of a symposium at Law & Liberty. I present Anton as the most popular spokesman for the Claremont school of conservatism, an ascendant force on the American right during the Trump presidency. Anton's book is a pithy and accessible statement of the fundamental tenets of Claremont's "Americanist conservatism."
The University Bookman, 2019
A review of "The Rise of the Research University," edited by Louis Menand, Paul Reitter, and Chad... more A review of "The Rise of the Research University," edited by Louis Menand, Paul Reitter, and Chad Wellmon. University of Chicago Press, 2017
Review of "After Leo Strauss: New Directions in Platonic Political Philosophy," by Tucker Landy. ... more Review of "After Leo Strauss: New Directions in Platonic Political Philosophy," by Tucker Landy. Anamnesis 7 (2018), 122–130
Review of "Western Civilization and the Academy," edited by Bradley C. S. Watson.
Interpretation... more Review of "Western Civilization and the Academy," edited by Bradley C. S. Watson.
Interpretation: A Journal of Political Philosophy 42:3 (Spring 2016), 531–542
Essays by Pavlos L Papadopoulos
Albertus Magnus Institute, 2023
We are all familiar with the Declaration of Independence—perhaps too familiar. Perhaps we’ve let ... more We are all familiar with the Declaration of Independence—perhaps too familiar. Perhaps we’ve let our familiarity with it blind us to what it actually says and does not say. For example, we all remember something about self-evident truths regarding natural rights and the purpose of government. But the document is hardly reducible to this statement. And, the further we range about the Declaration, the more we recall the most obvious truth of all: that our nation, as it was Founded and as it currently exists, is hardly reducible to the Declaration of Independence!
So, to complement all the other ways we mark Independence Day—in John Adams’s words, by “solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty” as well as “Pomp and Parade, […] Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations”—here are three overlooked lessons from the Declaration of Independence.
The American Conservative, 2022
An interpretation of the 2022 Wyoming Congressional GOP primary between Liz Cheney and Harriet Ha... more An interpretation of the 2022 Wyoming Congressional GOP primary between Liz Cheney and Harriet Hageman. I interpret Cheney and Hageman as representing two distinct kinds of elites, representing two different American regimes and two possible paths forward for the Republican Party.
The American Conservative, 2023
A description of the rationale for imperialism that is dominant in the contemporary United States... more A description of the rationale for imperialism that is dominant in the contemporary United States, and a discussion of John Quincy Adams's argument against American imperialism.
City Journal, 2023
Jefferson famously spoke of the Declaration of Independence as a statement of "the American mind.... more Jefferson famously spoke of the Declaration of Independence as a statement of "the American mind." This essay argues that the American Founders also articulated the importance of an American "heart"—what C.S. Lewis would call the "Chest," or what Plato would call "thumos [spiritedness]"—to correspond to the American mind.
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Publications by Pavlos L Papadopoulos
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Book Reviews by Pavlos L Papadopoulos
Interpretation: A Journal of Political Philosophy 42:3 (Spring 2016), 531–542
Essays by Pavlos L Papadopoulos
So, to complement all the other ways we mark Independence Day—in John Adams’s words, by “solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty” as well as “Pomp and Parade, […] Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations”—here are three overlooked lessons from the Declaration of Independence.
http://www.ramify.org/0502_editorial.php
Interpretation: A Journal of Political Philosophy 42:3 (Spring 2016), 531–542
So, to complement all the other ways we mark Independence Day—in John Adams’s words, by “solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty” as well as “Pomp and Parade, […] Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations”—here are three overlooked lessons from the Declaration of Independence.
https://www.firstthings.com/article/2020/12/letters
Of course, these timelines are inherently limited. They pass over the three "Carlist Wars" (attempts to reinstate absolute monarchy in Spain during the 19th century) and the complexity of national unification in Italy and Germany. Nor do they note the instability in some of these periods: for example, the waves of left-wing terrorism in Italy (and Germany) during the 1970s-80s, the failed coups in 1960s-70s Portugal before the successful coup that led to democratic government, the ongoing drug wars in Mexico. Finally, they do not detail the precise nature of the regimes, even on such basic questions as civilian control of the military (which has been the exception in Brazilian history during the 19th and 20th centuries, even when it has a republican constitution).
The purpose of these timelines is threefold: first, to demonstrate the novelty (newness) of liberal democracy as a form of government, even in Western Europe, one part of the world where we take it for granted today; second, to suggest the complex origins of many currently-existing democracies; finally, to contrast the stability of the American regime, despite significant changes since 1789, with the instability of the nations listed below.
France is an instructive example. To begin with, there is the simple fact that France has had five separate republican constitutions (and a number of monarchical restorations, and imperial governments) in the time that the United States has had a single, gradually-amended Constitution. Moreover, the current French constitution was written, approved, and implemented after the "May 1958 crisis": a military conspiracy prompted the government to grant Charles de Gaulle dictatorial power for six months, during which time he ruled France by fiat while ensuring that a new, democratic constitution could be written, approved by the French people, and implemented. (De Gaulle was immediately elected to the presidency, which he held for the next ten years.)