The Thinker as Artist and the Artist as Thinker—Literature and the History of Political Philosophy

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue seeks contributions from scholars working at the intersection of the history of political philosophy, literature, philosophy, and literary studies—particularly those who regard works of literature and literary fiction not merely as the adornments of a political life or shadows of civic sentiment, but as an essential forum for the education of the soul and the interrogation of justice. Proposed contributions should take seriously the ways in which literature, poetry, drama, and narrative not only reflect but also advance the historical traditions of political philosophy. This Special Issue thus invites articles that approach literature as a distinct mode of political philosophy and literary approaches to questions of the best life and the best regime, the nature of justice and constitutional liberty, and the pursuit of virtue and wisdom.

From Plato’s quarrel with the poets to Machiavelli’s theater of cruelty, from ancient epics to modern dystopian novels, from Aristophanes’ comedies to Austen’s novels, from Xenophon’s life of Cyrus to Rousseau’s Emile, great literature often engages in dialogue with perennial questions of political philosophy. Literary works can do more than gesture to or dramatize political ideas; literature often thinks politically, probing the foundations of law, the nature of justice, the problem of power, and the purpose of education (for example). Likewise, many enduring works of political philosophy—from Plutarch and Augustine to Dostoevsky and Nietzsche—exhibit a literary structure, voice, and imagination that signal a deeper engagement with rhetorical or poetic dimensions of truth-seeking.

This Special Issue will examine how the figures of the philosopher and the artist—often cast as antagonists, since Socrates’ banishment of the poets—may in fact be engaged in a common enterprise. Playwrights, poets, and novelists often reveal in dramatic or allegorical form a profound concern with questions that philosophers pursue through dialectic or argument. Some political philosophers, in their most searching works, have not shunned the literary dimension of their task. From Herodotus and Dante to Voltaire and Camus, we find writers whose philosophical investigations are inseparable from their writing style and moral imagination. At their best, both literature and political philosophy are devoted to exploring those questions that lie at the root of personal and communal life.

Inspired by the scholarship of Allan Bloom, George Anastaplo, and Catherine Zuckert, this Special Issue seeks contributors who remind readers that literature can be approached from the perspective of political philosophy and that the history of political philosophy benefits from a literature that has at its core reflections upon what it means to be human and our civic responsibilities as individuals living within political orders. In theme, it seeks to explore the categories of “artist” and “thinker” through the lenses of political philosophy and literature. We welcome proposals investigating authors and texts from antiquity to modernity, and we encourage contributions committed to close textual readings and philosophical inquiry, tracing themes or questions that resonate in the history of political philosophy and engage reflections on the intersection of literature and politics.

Proposal Guidelines

Literature is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal published online by MDPI and committed to fostering dialog between disciplines and traditions. This Special Issue will highlight articles that aim to illuminate political and philosophical dimensions arising within and through the form and genre of literary texts, embracing a vital sense of engagement with classic works of literature that are in conversation with authors and texts in the history of political philosophy. Accepted proposals will undergo rigorous peer review.

Please submit a proposal of no more than 750 words, along with a brief CV, by October 1, 2025. Proposals should outline the central argument of the proposed article, its primary text(s) or author(s), and how it speaks to the theme of the Special Issue. Authors whose proposals are accepted will be invited to submit full-length articles of 6,000 to 8,000 words no later than April 30, 2026.

We look forward to receiving your proposal and to advancing the conversation between literature and political philosophy in a way that honors both disciplines and their shared pursuit of wisdom.

Send proposals to the Guest Editor, Dr. Dustin Gish (dgish@uh.edu), and cc the Assistant Editor of Literature, Ms. Joyce Xi (joyce.xi@mdpi.com). Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editor for the purpose of ensuring proper fit with the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.

Dr. Dustin Gish
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Literature is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.