Flash Points: The philosophers shaping Western politics

Plus: France’s most ridiculed public intellectual [Foreign Policy Logo]( [Foreign Policy Flashpoints]( January 22, 2023 | [View in browser]( To read unlimited articles featured in Flash Points, [sign in]( or [subscribe today](. It is not uncommon to hear people bemoan the simplification of public philosophy as a discipline—or the idea that, for instance, “German philosophy today is not so much the kind of intellectual discipline that Martin Heidegger would practice, hermitlike, in his Black Forest hut but rather a successful service industry competing for customers,” as Stuart Jeffries wrote in 2017. Yet FP writers have argued over the years that the work of public philosophers, along with their academic counterparts, has remained influential to contemporary political thought. This edition of Flash Points explores the lasting impact of philosophers, public and otherwise, on Western politics and society.—Chloe Hadavas --------------------------------------------------------------- [It’s Time to Take Bernard-Henri Lévy Seriously]( A close reading of the philosophical career, and influence, of France’s most ridiculed public intellectual. By Blake Smith --------------------------------------------------------------- [German Philosophy Has Finally Gone Viral. Will That Be Its Undoing?]( A new generation of rockstar philosophers are taking the discipline to the masses. But their TED Talks, TV shows, and best-sellers might be ruining it forever. By Stuart Jeffries --------------------------------------------------------------- [Who’s Afraid of Judith Shklar?]( Meet the American philosopher who showed that Western politics could only move forward by first taking a step backward. By Jacob T. Levy --------------------------------------------------------------- [How Leftist Theory Stopped Making Sense]( Progressive thinkers tried to explain ever more of the world—and found themselves explaining nothing at all. By John-Baptiste Oduor --------------------------------------------------------------- [Why Jürgen Habermas Disappeared]( The German philosopher was one of the 20th century’s most influential public intellectuals. But 21st-century politics has cut him adrift. By Blake Smith Photo: Yves Gellie/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images --------------------------------------------------------------- [
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