Dante's Political Philosophy

Dante's Divina Commedia/Divine Comedy (completed c.1321) is considered one of the greatest works in Western literature, and its three canticles - Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso - have had a powerful influence on subsequent literature and thought. Dante shares the classical idea that political philosophy aims to defend the philosophic life, and in Paradiso he does just that, defending philosophy, understood as a way of life, against its subordination to Christianity. Paul Stern shows the contribution Dante's reflection on political life makes to his theoretical defense of the philosophic life, a life whose character and goodness is conveyed by his intensely self-reflective poetry. On his account, Dante's approach can guide our judgment of any proposal for the comprehensive transformation of human existence. It enables us, in short, to think more clearly about just what we should mean by paradise.

Paul Stern is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Politics and International Relations at Ursinus College. He is the author of Knowledge and Politics in Plato's 'Theaetetus' (Cambridge, 2008) and Dante's Philosophic Life: Politics and Human Wisdom in 'Purgatorio' (2018).