By Joseph R. Fornieri
What constitutes Lincoln’s political greatness as a
statesman? As a great leader, he saved the Union, presided over the end of
slavery, and helped to pave the way for an interracial democracy. His great
speeches provide enduring wisdom about human equality, democracy, free labor,
and free society. Joseph R. Fornieri contends that Lincoln’s political genius
is best understood in terms of a philosophical statesmanship that united
greatness of thought and action, one that combined theory and practice. This
philosophical statesmanship, Fornieri argues, can best be understood in terms
of six dimensions of political leadership: wisdom, prudence, duty, magnanimity,
rhetoric, and patriotism. Drawing on insights from history, politics, and
philosophy, Fornieri tackles the question of how Lincoln’s statesmanship
displayed each of these crucial elements.
Providing an accessible framework for understanding
Lincoln’s statesmanship, this thoughtful study examines the sixteenth
president’s political leadership in terms of the traditional moral vision of
statecraft as understood by epic political philosophers such as Aristotle and
St. Thomas Aquinas. Fornieri contends that Lincoln’s character is best
understood in terms of Aquinas’s understanding of magnanimity or greatness of
soul, the crowning virtue of statesmanship. True political greatness, as
embodied by Lincoln, involves both humility and sacrificial service for the
common good. The enduring wisdom and timeless teachings of these great thinkers,
Fornieri shows, can lead to a deeper appreciation of statesmanship and of its
embodiment in Abraham Lincoln.
With the great philosophers and books of western
civilization as his guide, Fornieri demonstrates the important contribution of
normative political philosophy to an understanding of our sixteenth president.
Informed by political theory that draws on the classics in revealing the
timelessness of Lincoln’s example, his interdisciplinary study offers profound
insights for anyone interested in the nature of leadership, statesmanship,
political philosophy, political ethics, political history, and constitutional law.
About the Author
Joseph R. Fornieri
is a professor of political science at the Rochester Institute of Technology
and the director of the Center for Statesmanship, Law, and Liberty. He is the
author or editor of five books, including Abraham Lincoln’s Political Faith and,
with Sara Vaughn Gabbard, Lincoln’s America.
ISBN 978-0809333295, Southern Illinois University Press, ©
2014, Hardcover, 248 Pages, Photographs & Illustrations, End Notes, Selected
Bibliography & Index. $34.50. To Purchase the book click HERE.
No comments:
Post a Comment