Voegelin, Schelling, and the Philosophy of Historical Existence

317 Pages·2003·1.26 MB·English

by  Jerry Day

Voegelin,
Schelling,
and the
Philosophy
of Historical
Existence
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Eric Voegelin Institute Series
in Political Philosophy
Other Books in the Series
Augustine and Politics as Longing in the World,
by John von Heyking
Eros, Wisdom, and Silence: Plato’s Erotic Dialogues,
by James M. Rhodes
A Government of Laws: Political Theory, Religion,
and the American Founding,
by Ellis Sandoz
Hans Jonas: The Integrity of Thinking,
by David J. Levy
Lonergan and the Philosophy of Historical Existence,
by Thomas J. McPartland
The Narrow Path of Freedom and Other Essays,
by Eugene Davidson
Transcendence and History: The Search for
Ultimacy from Ancient Societies to Postmodernity,
by Glenn Hughes
Voegelin,
Schelling,
and the
Philosophy
of Historical
Existence
Jerry Day
University of Missouri Press Columbia and London
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The Curators of the University of Missouri
University of Missouri Press, Columbia, Missouri 
Printed and bound in the United States of America
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         
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Day, Jerry, –
Voegelin, Schelling, and the philosophy of historical
existence/ Jerry Day.
p. cm. — (Eric Voegelin Institute series in
political philosophy)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN ---(alk. paper)
. Voegelin, Eric, – . Schelling, Friedrich
Wilhelm Joseph von, –. . History—
Philosophy. I. Title. II. Series.
B.V D 
—dc 
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Publication of this book has been assisted by generous
contributions from Eugene Davidson and the Eric
Voegelin Institute.
C O N T E N T S
Acknowledgments ix
List of Abbreviations xiii
Introduction 
PA RT O N E
Order
Chapter One The Order of Human Consciousness 
PA RT T WO
Historiography
Chapter Two Schelling’s Historiography 
Chapter Three Voegelin’s Differentiated Historiography 
Chapter Four Voegelin’s Equivalent Historiography 
PA RT T H R E E
Conclusion
Chapter Five Voegelin’s Participation in the
“Schelling Renaissance” 
Appendix Translation of Schelling’s Outline for the
Philosophy of Mythology in His Philosophy of Revelation
(Lectures and ) 
Bibliography 
Index 
vii
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A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S
I shall begin with the pleasant task of thanking the people most
responsible for improving my understanding of the specific themes discussed
in this book. Zdravko Planinc originally suggested that I examine Voegelin’s
unpublished work on Schelling, specifically the “Last Orientation” part of
the History of Political Ideas,during a visit to the Voegelin archives at Stanford
University. He then supervised the doctoral dissertation on Voegelin’s use of
Schelling that grew out of my initial engagement with the unpublished ma-
terial. Barry Cooper responded to an early paper I presented on the subject
of my dissertation at the  meeting of the American Political Science
Association, raised several questions and problems for the interpretation of
Schelling and Voegelin, and later shared with me part of his own research on
Voegelin’s use of Schelling. Ron Srigley spent countless hours with me dis-
cussing my accounts of Voegelin’s central texts and proved himself to be an
invaluable friend at every stage of my work and personal life. Oona Ajzenstat
and I had thoughtful discussions about Voegelin’s philosophy of conscious-
ness, based on her work on Emmanuel Levinas. Geoffrey Price improved my
understanding of Schelling’s reception by continental thinkers in the early
twentieth century and respectfully challenged my understanding of Christian
eschatology within and beyond Voegelin’s thought. Ellis Sandoz provided
me with several opportunities to present my research to the Eric Voegelin
Society meetings of the American Political Science Association, one of which
included the organization of an international panel on Voegelin’s understand-
ing of the Germanic spiritual sciences (Geisteswissenschaften).Fred Lawrence
kindly took on the responsibilities of an external examiner for my disserta-
tion and provided me with an extensive and thoughtful review of my work.
P. T. Kroeker, D. Clark, P. Widdicombe, and H. Stover read my dissertation
ix