Episode 23: God and the City - D.C. Schindler Returns!
Oct 1, 2024
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D.C. Schindler, a Professor at the John Paul II Institute and author of 'God and the City,' discusses how metaphysics intertwines with contemporary politics. He argues for revisiting classical political theories to address modern challenges and critiques the modern political frameworks. The conversation highlights divine influence in governance, the church's vital role in civic life, and the relationship between authority and freedom. Schindler emphasizes the need for a metaphysical understanding of social structures that acknowledges the divine.
The podcast underscores the significance of ecclesiocentric post-liberalism, advocating for the church's crucial role in addressing contemporary political and social challenges.
Dr. Schindler emphasizes the necessity of framing politics through an ontological lens rooted in classical metaphysical principles to foster genuine community.
Deep dives
Ecclesiocentric Post-Liberalism
The podcast discusses the concept of ecclesiocentric post-liberalism, which emphasizes the role of the church in addressing contemporary social and political challenges. This approach seeks to highlight how modern social orders obscure the church's nature and its unique contributions. The conversation also notes that recent discussions around post-liberalism require a robust theological framework capable of interfacing with the political landscape. The importance of developing a Theopolitan contribution to ongoing post-liberal discourse is underscored as a means to navigate the complexities of modern governance and the church’s perspective.
Metaphysical Foundations of Politics
Dr. Schindler introduces the idea that understanding politics requires an ontological perspective that revisits classic metaphysical concepts. He posits that classical thinkers like Aristotle and Aquinas viewed politics as a foundational science, integral to human existence that mirrors metaphysical principles. The podcast emphasizes the need to reclaim the notion of politics as distinct from modern liberal interpretations that have narrowed its scope. By integrating metaphysics into political discourse, it allows for a richer understanding of how political frameworks should respect and function alongside theological dimensions.
Authority and Sacrality in Politics
A central theme discussed is the relationship between authority and political order, which Dr. Schindler describes as quasi-sacramental. The conversation suggests that recognizing the sacral nature of authority can prevent authoritarianism and totalitarianism by embedding political leadership in moral and spiritual accountability. By contrasting modern liberalist views with classical visions of authority, the discussion illustrates how genuine political leaders should reflect a divine order. This view proposes that authority derived from God fosters community and human flourishing, contrasting sharply with reductive views that strip authority of its spiritual significance.
Integration of Church and City
The podcast explores the idea that the church and the political city should be understood as interconnected entities that reflect a perfect society. Dr. Schindler argues that the church must actively engage in the political order, offering its moral and spiritual guidance while remaining distinct from it. The body-soul analogy is employed to illustrate this dynamic, suggesting that just as the soul animates the body, the church provides intrinsic value and meaning to the city. This integral relationship posits that a vibrant political community is enriched by the church’s presence, rather than being threatened by it, and affirms that the church's mission is deeply embedded in the fabric of societal life.
Dr. Schindler’s work is concerned above all with shedding light on contemporary cultural challenges and philosophical questions by drawing on the resources of the classical Christian tradition. His principal thematic focus is metaphysics and philosophical anthropology, but he also works in political philosophy, phenomenology, the philosophy of science, the philosophy of religion, and philosophical theology. His main historical areas are ancient Greek philosophy (especially Plato and Neoplatonism), German philosophy (especially Hegel and Heidegger), and Catholic philosophy (especially Aquinas and 20th Century Thomism).
Dr. Schindler studied the Great Books as an undergraduate at Notre Dame, received a Master’s degree in theology at the John Paul II Institute, and then completed his education with a Master’s degree and a Ph.D. in philosophy at The Catholic University of America. After teaching for twelve years at Villanova University, first as a teaching fellow in philosophy and then as a founding member of the Humanities Department, Dr. Schindler returned to Washington, DC to teach philosophy courses at the Institute. He has published more than a dozen books—including two volumes of a planned trilogy on the nature of freedom with the University of Notre Dame Press and a Robert Spaemann Reader with Oxford University Press—and more than 70 articles and book chapters, and his work has been translated into six languages. He is an editor of the English-language edition of Communio: International Catholic Review, and a board member of The Review of Metaphysics and New Polity: A Journal of Post-Liberal Thought; he is a translator of books and articles from French and German; he is a Fellow of the Institute for Human Ecology at CUA and served on the Executive Council of the American Catholic Philosophical Association; and he has been invited to deliver named annual lectures in a variety of venues, including the Thomas Aquinas Lecture at four universities and colleges, the Bitar Memorial Lecture series at Geneva College, the John Paul II Lecture at the University of Dallas, the Lorenzo Albacete Lecture in New York City, and the Areopagus Lecture at Mars Hill Audio Journal in Charlottesville, VA.
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