دریافتGlenn Tinder Political Thinking: The Perennial Questions
Glenn Tinder Political Thinking: The Perennial Questions. 6th Ed. New York: Pearson Longman. 2004.
Tinder seeks identify questions that are asked in political theory and various answers that have been proposed for each. He is self-consciously reticent about providing answers himself, which serves well for students’ first exposure to the questions. The fundamental building blocks with which he begins his introduction suggest the book’s appropriateness for a course linking political theory to the Christian liberal arts. He writes: “Most political ideas, perhaps all of them, are based on some particular conception of human nature.” Tinder suggest that the “extent and origins of evil in human beings” and whether or not human beings are “totally extinguished by death” (i.e. can have eternal life) are fundamental to the ethical concerns of politics. (4) He also presents a helpful introduction to some basic epistemological tools, while acknowledging their limits. (6, 15-17) Tinder’s framing of political theory in terms of human nature, evil, eternal life, and the limits of knowledge facilitates introducing students to the relevance of Christian worldview thinking. These areas provide clear bridges for students to see the direct relevance of faith for far-reaching questions like those addressed in Tinder’s book.
