Politics and Philosophy
Niccolò Machiavelli and Louis Althusser's Aleatory Materialism
Description
Often portrayed as an aloof philosopher, Louis Althusser's work on Niccolo Machiavelli reveals Althusser's deep commitment to political practice. Seeking to challenge the prevailing views on Althusser, Mikko Lahtinen argues that the French thinker cannot be understood from a purely philosophical perspective.
Author Bios
Mikko Lahtinen, Soc.Sc.D. (1997) in Political Science, University of Tampere (Finland), Ph.D. (2006) in History of Ideas, University of Oulu (Finland), is senior lecturer of Political Science at University of Tampere. He has published widely on the political theory, history of political philosophy from Antiquity to contemporary thought, Niccolò Machiavelli and Renaissance thought, Montesquieu and Enlightenment, and the Marxist theory from Marx to Gramsci and Althusser. His theoretical-methodological work focuses on the development of the 'conjunctural' theory of history and politics. His forthcoming book The Land of Libries (in Finnish) concerns public library as a strong democratic element in Finnish society.
More Info
Publication date: June 14, 2011
Table of Contents
Foreword
Author’s Preface to the English Edition
Chapter 1 Introductory Comments
1.1 Althusser, Machiavelli and political theory
1.2 Althusser’s contribution to Machiavelli scholarship
1.3 The approach of the present study
Chapter 2 A Critique of Hegelianism
2.1 A critique of Hegelian dialectics
2.2 Althusser’s Marxism
2.3. Althusser’s self-criticism
2.4. The ‘Machiavellian’ Lenin
Chapter 3 Aleatory Materialism
3.1. Prologue: Machiavelli’s solitude
3.2. The underground current of the materialism of the encounter
Chapter 4 Althusser’s Aleatory Machiavelli
4.1. A preliminary schema: the two dimensions of Machiavelli’s differentia specifica
4.2. Machiavelli’s differentia specifica in the history of political thought
4.3. The praxis of The Prince: the text as a political act
4.4. The praxis of the prince: the aleatory truth
4.5. The praxis of the prince: the project and strategy of the new prince
4.6. Epilogue: Althusser’s interpretation of Machiavelli
Chapter 5 The Subversive Machiavelli
5.1. The art of war and the art of politics
5.2. The destructive current of fortuna
5.3. The aspects of fortuna
5.4. Lady fortuna and the young men
5.5. The rise and fall of Cesare Borgia
5.6. ‘A stable people’
5.7. Epilogue: Machiavelli and the taming of chance
Chapter 6 Conclusion
References
Index
