----------------- HES POSTING ----------------- Raeder seminar on Hayek-L -- May 11 - May 21 Linda Raeder will conduct an e-seminar between May 11 and May 21 on her book _John Stuart Mill and the Religion of Humanity_ on the Hayek-L email list. To SUBSCRIBE to Hayek-L, send the message: SUBSCRIBE Hayek-L <yourfirstname> <yourlastname> to: [log in to unmask] For example, your message might read: SUBSCRIBE Hayek-L Jane Citizen The Hayek-L archives are at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/hayek-l.html Information on the Hayek-L email list can be found at: http://www.hayekcenter.org/hayek-l/hayek-l.html >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." Order the book from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0826213871/thefriedrhayeksc 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: [log in to unmask] Her web page is at: http://faculty.pba.edu/raederl/Raederl157/Default.htm All interested parties are welcome. Thanks, Greg Ransom Hayek-L list host [log in to unmask] ------------ FOOTER TO HES POSTING ------------ For information, send the message "info HES" to [log in to unmask]