Humanism Anti-Authoritarianism and Literary Aesthetics

Presenting pragmatist humanism as a form of anti-authoritarianism this book sheds light on the contemporary significance of pragmatist aesthetics and the revival of humanism.This interdisciplinary study shows that a mediation between pragmatist aesthetics which emphasizes the significance of creating making and inventing and Marxist materialist aesthetics which values form promises interesting results and that the former can learn from the latter doing so Ulf Schulenberg discusses 3 layers of the multi-layered phenomenon that is the revival of humanism: He first explains the potential of a pragmatist humanism clarifying the contemporary significance of humanism. He then argues that pragmatist humanism is a form of anti-authoritarianism. Finally he shows the possibility of bringing together the resurgence of humanism and a renewed interest in the work of aesthetic form by arguing that pragmatist aesthetics needs a more complex conception of form.Establishing a transatlantic theoretical dialogue Humanism Anti-Authoritarianism and Literary Aesthetics brings together literary and aesthetic theory philosophy and intellectual history. It discusses a broad range of authors from Emerson Whitman James Nietzsche Proust and Dewey to Wittgenstein Lukcs Adorno Jameson Latour and Rorty to illuminate how humanism pragmatism and anti-authoritarianism are interlinked.