The book explores the complex dynamics surrounding Germany's reunification after the Soviet Union's collapse, challenging the perception of French President François Mitterrand as an opponent of this process. Instead, it argues that Mitterrand's primary focus was ensuring that a reunified Germany would be integrated into a stable and unified Europe, rather than viewing it as a threat. This perspective sheds new light on the historical relationship between Germany and France during a pivotal moment in modern European history.
Exploring the tension between limits and limitless aspirations in modernity, Schabert examines how humanity's quest for God-like power has led to a civilization in crisis, particularly evident in ecological challenges. Drawing from diverse fields such as philosophy and political thought, he highlights the paradox of constitutional governments emerging within a framework meant to transcend limitations. Through the insights of thinkers like Spinoza and Locke, the author elucidates how these limitations can reveal the potential of modernity, suggesting a path toward a world beyond its current disruptions.
Zwei berühmte “Eranos-Kreise” sind der Heidelberger Kreis vor dem Ersten Weltkrieg, zu dem Max Weber und Ernst Troeltsch gehörten, und der 1933 in Ascona gegründete Kreis, aus dem die bekannten „Eranos Tagungen“ hervorgingen. Diese Tagungen versammelten führende Gelehrte aus verschiedenen Wissenschaften, darunter Hellmut Wilhelm, Paul Tillich und C. G. Jung in der Anfangszeit, sowie Walter Haug, Annemarie Schimmel und George Steiner in späteren Jahren. Im zweiten Zyklus traten zunehmend jüngere Wissenschaftler hinzu, die die Idee von Wissenschaft als „Eranos“ – einer Gesprächsgemeinschaft – in ihre eigenen Arbeiten integriert hatten. Die Innovationskraft der Eranos-Idee zeigt sich auch im Band zum „Eranos Movement“, der erstmals die Verknüpfung der Eranos-Kreise mit der Wissenschaft des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts beleuchtet. Diese entwickelte sich um die von den Romantikern neu gestellte Frage: Wie erkenne ich Anderes? Die moderne Hermeneutik, mit Friedrich Schleiermacher als bedeutendstem Vertreter, entstand und formte das „Eranos Movement“, das die hermeneutische Begegnung mit dem „Anderen“ (Menschen, Kulturen, Disziplinen) gesellschaftlich ausformte. Die Beschäftigung mit den Eranos-Kreisen führt uns ins Zentrum der modernen Wissenschaftskultur und offenbart die Vielfalt der Menschheit.
"This book inquires anew into the question: whence originates the political Gestalt of human life and what does it entail? In pursuit of this question the book attempts to undertake a transcultural and transhistorical grounding of political theory. The material for it has accordingly been taken from classical works of different cultural spheres. Ancient Greek, Jewish and Christian, Chinese, Arabic, ancient Egyptian, and Indian texts have been examined with regard to their fundamental claims. Analysis of these texts showed that the visions of the political existence of human begins that they entertain can be surprisingly similar ... In this way, a body of knowledge that had largely fallen into oblivion owing to the advent of modernity could be recovered and made available for contemporary political theory. It is precisely this knowledge that has the potential for providing the foundation for transcultural commonalities in our own times"--Preface.
"Dispelling the notion that François Mitterrand was reluctant to accept the reunification of Germany, Schabert focuses on French diplomacy, re-creating cabinet meetings and quoting communications between Mitterrand and other world leaders, to show that Mitterrand's main concern was that a reunified Germany be firmly anchored in a unified Europe"--Provided by publisher.
