Books by Alexander Duff
Cambridge University Press, 2015. This study shows the relevance of Heidegger’s thought for conte... more Cambridge University Press, 2015. This study shows the relevance of Heidegger’s thought for contemporary evaluations of politics by responding to widespread confusion about the political implications of his work. It traces the wide variation in Heidegger’s political influence on both the right and the left to fundamental ambiguities in his thought, and shows the unified ground of Heideggerian politics in the principles of his ontology.
Papers and Book Chapters by Alexander Duff
American Journal of Political Science
Aristotle's analysis in the Rhetoric of the intelligibility of passionately angry political speec... more Aristotle's analysis in the Rhetoric of the intelligibility of passionately angry political speech is an urgently needed addition to the ongoing scholarly reassessment of his relevance to democratic practices. Aristotle shows his readers-both orators and their auditors, citizens who might both rule and be ruled-that anger is prone to exaggeration and distortion and is therefore liable to be amplified into hatred. He shows further though that if instead of simply being exaggerated, anger is taken "seriously," then a more sober and measured politics can ensue, one less destructive of a good legal order.
Political Research Quarterly, 2022
The revival of ideologically motivated right-wing political agitation across the Western world de... more The revival of ideologically motivated right-wing political agitation across the Western world demands that its intellectual sources be discovered. Martin Heidegger has occupied a position among anti-liberal, anti-modernist, and anti-Western forces across the globe comparable to that of Karl Marx on the socialist Left. Yet scholars still lack the conceptual terminology for capturing the political import of his work. The recent publication of Heidegger's Black Notebooks provides an opportunity for rereading his central political works in order to recover their meaning for contemporary political movements. Such a rereading also illuminates the sources of Heidegger's remarkable and misunderstood influence on the political Right. It thus explains a matter of urgent and high importance for generalist political scientists.
Journal of Politics
Ambition enjoys an ambiguous status in political practice. It is at once necessary and dangerous.... more Ambition enjoys an ambiguous status in political practice. It is at once necessary and dangerous. Although Machiavelli's engagement with Cicero in the Prince has been well-noted, his critique in the Discourses of his preeminent rival authority on republicanism has received very little attention. This critique concerns Cicero's failure to respond to the threat posed to republican institutions by the ambition of leading citizens. By following out the details of this critique, this article speaks both to recent debates about Machiavelli's republicanism and to the obscurity about the problem of ambition in contemporary politics.
Political Communication Ethics: Theory and Practice, 2020
Leo Strauss and Contemporary Thought: Reading Strauss Outside the Lines, 2021
The Problem of Rule in MacIntyre’s Politics and Ethics in the Conflicts of Modernity, 2018
The present essay explores an important problem in Alasdair MacIntyre’s thought by focusing on hi... more The present essay explores an important problem in Alasdair MacIntyre’s thought by focusing on his latest book, Ethics in the Conflicts of Modernity (2017). His mature work consists in a revival of virtue-oriented, broadly Aristotelian ethical and political philosophy. Yet, as is particularly clear in this latest work, his treatment of these subjects fundamentally abstracts from what distinguishes politics from other practical spheres of human endeavour and excellence, namely, rule. Others have noted the oddly non-Aristotelian or non-Thomistic character of MacIntyre’s proposed reorientation of political and ethical life, remarking on his refusal to accept any orientation by the ‘best regime’ or making a prudential assessment of existing regimes. This study builds on such observations and argues that MacIntyre’s passing over political matters properly so-called, as distinct from strictly social or ethical questions, is distinctive of his NeoAristotelianism and represents a serious problem in his work.
Heidegger has powerful adherents in societies as disparate as Russia and Iran. If liberal democra... more Heidegger has powerful adherents in societies as disparate as Russia and Iran. If liberal democracies are to reckon with his followers, they must wrestle with his thought.
Book Reviews and Symposia Contributions by Alexander Duff
Modern Age, 2008
Review of Donald Forbes' GEORGE GRANT: A GUIDE TO HIS THOUGHT
Perspectives on Political Science, 2017
The Review of Politics, 2013
The Review of Politics, 2014
The Review of Politics, 2018
Both Zuckert and Strauss take the “surface” of Machiavelli's work as the necessary starting point... more Both Zuckert and Strauss take the “surface” of Machiavelli's work as the necessary starting point for their interpretations. Zuckert differs from Strauss, however, with respect to what she takes the surface to be. She focuses more attentively on the literary character of the work, as written or literary, and so is led to a different series of observations and emphases in her interpretation of Machiavelli.
The L.A. Review of Books solicited responses to Gregory Fried's review of Martin Heidegger's Blac... more The L.A. Review of Books solicited responses to Gregory Fried's review of Martin Heidegger's Black Notebooks. Contributions to a forum on this topic are collected here.
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Books by Alexander Duff
Papers and Book Chapters by Alexander Duff
Book Reviews and Symposia Contributions by Alexander Duff