Chasing Leviathan Hegel, Heidegger, and the Ground of History | Dr. Michael Allen Gillespie
What do Hegel and Heidegger have to do with the struggles faced by liberalism today?
Duke political philosopher Dr. Michael Allen Gillespie joins host PJ Wehry to rethink the philosophical foundations of modern history and the crisis we're living through now.
Dr. Gillespie, Professor of Political Science at Duke University, revisits his landmark book, Hegel, Heidegger, and the Ground of History, to examine what these two towering figures reveal about the trajectory of Western civilization.
In this conversation they explore:
- Why Fukuyama's "end of history" never arrived and what replaced it
- Hegel's master-slave dialectic and what it tells us about how consciousness drives history
- Heidegger's warning: the "forgetfulness of Being" as the root of modern nihilism
- What it means to ask for the ground of history and why that question remains urgent
- The tension between human freedom and natural causation at the heart of modernity
- Heidegger's destruction of Western metaphysics and what he was trying to clear space for
- Why Heidegger may have misread Plato, and what we lose because of it
This is a conversation for anyone who suspects something has gone deeply wrong in the modern world and wants to understand why.
Make sure to check out Dr. Gillespie's book: Hegel, Heidegger, and the Ground of History 👉 https://www.amazon.com/dp/0226293777/
Check out our website at chasingleviathan.com
Who thinks that they can subdue Leviathan? Strength resides in its neck; dismay goes before it. When it rises up, the mighty are terrified. Nothing on earth is its equal. It is without fear. It looks down on all who are haughty; it is king over all who are proud.
These words inspired PJ Wehry to create Chasing Leviathan. Chasing Leviathan was born out of two ideals: that truth is worth pursuing but will never be subjugated, and the discipline of listening is one of the most important habits anyone can develop.