The City of God, or, Heaven on Earth: A New Metaphysical Politics
Colloquium
Speaker: Dylan Shaul, University of California, Riverside
Start: Feb 19, 2027 - 03:30pm
Where: TBA
Description:
This paper develops and defends a new metaphysical conception of the final goal of politics as the City of God (Heaven on Earth). First, I trace a brief history of political philosophy's relation to metaphysics, with a focus on special metaphysics (metaphysica specialis): the positive history of metaphysical politics from Plato to Leibniz, the critique of this tradition from Kant through 19th and 20th century anti-metaphysical thought, and the current efforts to revive a political Absolute within the speculative turn (e.g. Badiou and Žižek). Then, I present a new account of the City of God as a matter of bringing Heaven down to Earth, i.e. bringing the Unconditioned Good down into our conditioned world. I sketch some philosophical derivations of the key attributes of the City of God: the divine law of justice, the rejection of tyranny, and the highest good of peace. I suggest the ways in which this view remedies certain persistent limitations of contemporary political philosophy, especially in the speculative turn. Finally, I consider the relevance of these ideas for the contemporary world, including the crises of capitalism and liberal democracy, as well as the rise of authoritarianism and militarism. 