Freedom from Reality: The Diabolical Character of Modern Liberty

497 Pages·2017·5.44 MB·English

by  D C Schindler

Freedom from Reality
catholic ideas for a secular world
O. Carter Snead, series editor
The purpose of this interdisciplinary series is to feature authors from
around the world who will expand the influence of Catholic thought
on the most important conversations in academia and the public
square. The series is “Catholic” in the sense that the books will
emphasize and engage the enduring themes of human dignity and
flourishing, the common good, truth, beauty, justice, and freedom
in ways that reflect and deepen principles affirmed by the Catholic
Church for millennia. It is not limited to Catholic authors or even
works that explicitly take Catholic principles as a point of departure.
Its books are intended to demonstrate the diversity and enhance
the relevance of these enduring themes and principles in numerous
subjects, ranging from the arts and humanities to the sciences.
F R E E D O M
from R E A L I T Y
The Diabolical Character
of Modern Liberty
D. C. SCHINDLER
University of Notre Dame Press
Notre Dame, Indiana
University of Notre Dame Press
Notre Dame, Indiana 46556
undpress.nd.edu
Copyright © 2017 by the University of Notre Dame
All Rights Reserved
Published in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Schindler, D.C., author.
Title: Freedom from reality : the diabolical character of modern liberty /
D.C. Schindler.
Description: Notre Dame, Indiana : University of Notre Dame Press, [2017] |
Series: Catholic ideas for a secular world |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
Identifiers: LCCN 2017030365 (print) | LCCN 2017042736 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780268102630 (pdf) | ISBN 9780268102647 (epub) |
ISBN 9780268102616 (hardcover : alk. paper) |
ISBN 0268102619 (hardcover : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Liberty—Philosophy—History.
Classification: LCC B105.L45 (ebook) |
LCC B105.L45 S43 2017 (print) | DDC
123/.5—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017030365
∞This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992
(Permanence of Paper).
This e-Book was converted from the original source file by a third-party
vendor. Readers who notice any formatting, textual, or readability issues
are encouraged to contact the publisher at [email protected]
For Jeanne

CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: What Is Good? 1
Part I. John Locke and the Dialectic of Power
1 Locke’s (Re-)Conception of Freedom 13
2 The Political Conquest of the Good in the Second Treatise 65
Part II. Modern Liberty as a Flight from the Real
3 The Basic Shape of Modern Liberty 131
4 Symbolical Order and Diabolical Subversion 151
5 A “Society of Devils” 193
Part III. Retrieving the Origin as the Essence of Freedom
6 Starting Over and Starting After:
A First Foundation in Plato and Aristotle 279
7 Plato: The Golden Thread of Freedom 295
8 Aristotle: Freedom as Liberality 323
Conclusion 359
Notes 364
Bibliography 460
Index 479

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The etymological connection between the words “symbolical” and “di-
abolical” was first made known to me nearly twenty years ago in the
title of a section of the book Leben in der Einheit von Leben und Tod,
by German philosopher Ferdinand Ulrich. That discovery opened up,
among other things, what turned out to be a new way to think about the
problem of freedom in modernity. The present book is the fruit of those
reflections.
I wish to thank Mark Shiffman for reading the chapters on Locke
and offering several helpful suggestions, and my father, David L.
Schindler, who went through the entire manuscript and discussed it
with me. Conversations with my colleagues at the John Paul II Institute
in Washington, DC—Fr. Antonio Lopez, Michael Hanby, Nicholas
Healy, Fr. Paolo Prosperi, David Crawford, Margie McCarthy, Joseph
Atkinson, and, again, my father David L. Schindler—on the various cul-
tural, metaphysical, and theological themes that are addressed in this
book have been invaluable. There is nothing that can substitute for prob-
ing questions from those with whom one shares a basic vision of reality.
The staff at the University of Notre Dame Press has been delight-
ful to work with; it is rare to meet with such a happy combination of
courtesy and competence as I found in director Steven Wrinn, manag-
ing editor Rebecca DeBoer, production and design manager Wendy
McMillen, and copy editor Scott Barker. I wish to offer special thanks
to the series editor, Carter Snead, for his encouragement and support in
this project.
Above all, I would like to express gratitude to my wife, Jeanne Hef -
fernan Schindler, who introduced me to the unexpected joys of political
philosophy, and of course to the deep reality of communal existence.
This book is dedicated to her.
ix