1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910780762003321

Autore

Ceaser James W

Titolo

Nature and history in American political development [[electronic resource] ] : a debate / / James W. Ceaser ; with responses by Jack N. Rakove, Nancy L. Rosenblum, Rogers M. Smith

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cambridge, Mass., : Harvard University Press, 2006

ISBN

0-674-02930-5

Descrizione fisica

viii, 229 p

Collana

The Alexis de Tocqueville lectures on American politics

Classificazione

MG 70000

Altri autori (Persone)

RakoveJack N. <1947->

RosenblumNancy L <1947-> (Nancy Lipton)

SmithRogers M. <1953->

Disciplina

320.97301

Soggetti

Political science - United States - History

Foundationalism (Theory of knowledge)

Ideology

United States Politics and government

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

First Harvard University Press paperback edition, 2008.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. 199-221) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Foundational concepts and American political development / James W. Ceaser -- Can we know a foundational idea when we see one? / Jack N. Rakove -- Replacing foundations with staging: "second-story" concepts and American political development / Nancy L. Rosenblum -- What if God was one of us? The challenges of studying foundational political concepts / Rogers M. Smith -- Foundational concepts reconsidered / James W. Ceaser.

Sommario/riassunto

In this inaugural volume of the Alexis de Tocqueville Lectures, James Ceaser traces the way certain "foundational" ideas-including nature, history, and religion-have been understood and used over the course of American history. Ceaser treats these ideas as elements of political discourse that provide the ground for other political ideas, such as liberty or equality. Three critical commentators challenge Ceaser's arguments, and a spirited debate about large and enduring questions in American politics ensues.