The Theological Origins and Underpinning of the Longing for Total Revolution

The longing for total revolution described in Bernard Yack’s seminal book, which he analyzes as an effort to find a place for human freedom and morality in a world governed by natural necessity, can be traced to Reformation debates between predestinarian Calvinists and free-will theologians. These debates were reflected in Kant’s efforts to establish the very possibility of freedom and in those of Hegel, Marx, and Nietzsche. Considered in this light, the longing for total revolution is a yearning not merely to overcome dehumanization but to become something more than human, which must always come up short in the face of human finitude and mortality.

Duke Scholars

Author Michael A. Gillespie Political Science