Professor Mansfield Is In

About this episode

Jay Nordlinger interviews Harvey Mansfield about modern political philosophy and his new book.

It is always a treat to talk with Harvey Mansfield—Harvey C. Mansfield Jr., the scholar of political philosophy. He has been on the faculty of Harvard University (his alma mater) since 1962. Today, he is a professor emeritus. Many times, he has been my guest on Q&A . And he is again. His new book is The Rise and Fall of Rational Control: The History of Modern Political Philosophy . Opening question (mine): What is modern political philosophy? That is, when does it begin? It begins, says Professor Mansfield, with “Nick Machiavelli” (as he calls him, with a smile). Machiavelli advanced the idea of “rational control.” And what is rational control? Professor Mansfield explains the concept and provides a few examples. When they put speed bumps in your neighborhood, instead of going door to door asking people to drive slowly and carefully? That’s rational control. I ask Mansfield a range of questions, including this: “I assume you’ve read everything in your field—the ancient philosophers, the medieval ones, and the modern ones. But are there any gaps? Do you have a ‘lacuna,’ as Bill Buckley would say? Something you haven’t read but ought to?” “Oh, look,” says Mansfield, “I’m not as…

People in this episode

Host: Jay Nordlinger

Guest: Harvey Mansfield

Topics covered

• political philosophy
• rational control
• Machiavelli
• Harvard University
• literature

Keywords

• political philosophy
• Harvey Mansfield
• Machiavelli
• rational control
• Gulliver’s Travels

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Rise and Fall of Rational Control: The History of Modern Political Philosophy, Gulliver’s Travels

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