Max Scheler. Thoughts on Politics and Morality. On the National Ideas of Great Nations

Abstract

The book of the outstanding German philosopher and sociologist Max Scheler (1874-1928) “Thoughts on Politics and Morals” represents fragments of handwritten materials from his legacy dedicated to the philosophy of politics. Scheler focuses on the problem of the relationship between politics and morality. Should politics be moral? The commentaries introduce the reader to the principles of Scheler's “material ethics of values,” social philosophy, and “sociology of knowledge,” which underlie his political philosophy. The appendices expand the intellectual horizon of the author of “Thoughts...”, shedding light on his unrealized creative plans. In his work “On the National Ideas of Great Nations,” Scheler formulates his understanding of the historical missions of France, England, and Russia, outlining against their background the contours of German national consciousness of the early twentieth century. The accompanying articles to the translations reveal real-life and cultural-historical parallels between Germany and Russia, and evaluate Scheler’s ideas in the context of newest Russian history.

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Content (in russ)