May 11 - May 21
Linda Raeder will host a seminar on her book John Stuart Mill and the Religion of Humanity between May 11 and May 21 on the Hayek-L email list.
Order the book from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0826213871/thefriedrhayeksc
From the publisher:
"John Stuart Mill and the Religion of Humanity introduces material that requires
significant reevaluation of John Stuart Mill's contribution to the development
of the liberal tradition. Through his influence, the radical anti-Christianity
of the French tradition was incorporated into the Anglo-American political
tradition. Mill's nontheological utilitarianism also involved the equally
important insinuation of Comtean "altruism," with its notion of the superiority
of social morality over personal morality, into Anglo-American consciousness.
Linda C. Raeder's study carefully examines the nature of modern secular
liberalism, the chief political carrier of the Millian form of secular religiosity in the American context. Raeder explores the influence of James Mill, Jeremy Bentham, Claude-Henri Saint-Simon, and Auguste Comte on John Stuart Mill's religious thought and aims. She treats Mill's Three Essays on Religion, discusses his participation in the Mansel controversy, and offers a new interpretation of On Liberty and Utilitarianism, both of which were crucial instruments in the accomplishment of his religious mission.
Raeder contends that Mill's religious aim was two-pronged--the undermining of
Christian belief and the establishment of the allegedly superior social morality
and spirituality embodied in the "Religion of Humanity" that he adopted, with
revisions, from Comte. Mill intended his philosophical writings to assist in the
realization of this aim, and they cannot adequately be comprehended without an
awareness of their subterranean religious theme.
John Stuart Mill and the Religion of Humanity examines the religious thought and
aspirations of the philosopher and shows that, contrary to the conventional view
of Mill as the prototypical secular liberal, religious preoccupations dominated
his thought and structured his endeavors throughout his life. For a proper
appreciation of Mill's thought and legacy, the depth of his animus toward
traditional transcendent religion must be recognized, along with the seriousness
of his intent to found a nontheological religion to serve as its replacement."
About Linda Raeder:
Linda Raeder holds an M.A. in Political Science from the University of Richmond
(Thesis: “F.A. Hayek on the Role of Reason in Human Affairs”) and a Ph.D., with
distinction, in Politics from the Catholic University of America (Dissertation:
“John Stuart Mill and the Religion of Humanity”). She was awarded a Humane
Studies Fellowship, a Weaver Fellowship, an Earhart Foundation Fellowship, an
Albright Fellowship by the University of Richmond, and a Governor’s Fellowship
by the University of Virginia.
Dr. Raeder recently returned from a year in Germany, where she taught political
and economic theory at the Center for U.S. Studies, Wittenberg. She has been
Associate Editor of _Humanitas_, published by the National Humanities Institute,
since 1994.
Her publications include “The Nature of Civil Society: an American
Perspective”; “The Liberalism/Conservatism of Burke and Hayek: A Critical
Comparison”; “Liberalism and the Common Good: A Hayekian Perspective on
Communitarianism”; “Education and the Free Society”; and “Marxism as
Psychodrama.”
As a conference participant, she has presented papers such as “Civil Society and
the Renewal of American Culture”; “The Nature of Civil Society’; “The
Psychological Presidency”; “Liberalism and the Common Good”; and “The Rule of Law.”
Linda Raeder's email address is:
Raeder925 -at- aol.com
Her web page is at:
http://faculty.pba.edu/raederl/Raederl157/Default.htm
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