“Incisive, Dissonant” Rationality vs. Aesthetic Modernism: Hedenius and Trotzig
The Swedish “Welfare State” of the 1950s was described as a rational, well-organized society by leading Swedish philosopher, Professor Ingemar Hedenius. His biopolitical vision emphasized the scientific basis for social reforms, and he was an active opponent to any kind of religious thinking. Hedeni...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2020-09-01
|
| Series: | Humanities |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/9/3/103 |
| _version_ | 1797554651461058560 |
|---|---|
| author | Ulf Olsson |
| author_facet | Ulf Olsson |
| author_sort | Ulf Olsson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Swedish “Welfare State” of the 1950s was described as a rational, well-organized society by leading Swedish philosopher, Professor Ingemar Hedenius. His biopolitical vision emphasized the scientific basis for social reforms, and he was an active opponent to any kind of religious thinking. Hedenius also worked as a literary critic, and he would use that role to confront literary representations of contemporary society that did not fit in with his promulgation of rationality. Hedenius furiously attacked Swedish writer Birgitta Trotzig’s <i>A Landscape</i> (1959). In her book, she challenges any harmonizing vision of society. She does it through representations of the body, and the gaze that does not shy away from the anguished and pained body, the body opening up and giving birth. The body in Trotzig’s work is also the tortured body of Christ. With the Swedish welfare state as a point of reference, this article explores the collision between what can be called a “rational modernism” and aesthetic modernism: Hedenius called Trotzig’s book “evil,” and Trotzig, when she commented upon this almost three decades later, saw Hedenius’s review as an authoritarian assault. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:35:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-98aa7bd411d04300b5367ed53daa3057 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0787 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:35:03Z |
| publishDate | 2020-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Humanities |
| spelling | doaj.art-98aa7bd411d04300b5367ed53daa30572023-11-20T12:33:00ZengMDPI AGHumanities2076-07872020-09-019310310.3390/h9030103“Incisive, Dissonant” Rationality vs. Aesthetic Modernism: Hedenius and TrotzigUlf Olsson0Department of Culture and Aesthetics, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, SwedenThe Swedish “Welfare State” of the 1950s was described as a rational, well-organized society by leading Swedish philosopher, Professor Ingemar Hedenius. His biopolitical vision emphasized the scientific basis for social reforms, and he was an active opponent to any kind of religious thinking. Hedenius also worked as a literary critic, and he would use that role to confront literary representations of contemporary society that did not fit in with his promulgation of rationality. Hedenius furiously attacked Swedish writer Birgitta Trotzig’s <i>A Landscape</i> (1959). In her book, she challenges any harmonizing vision of society. She does it through representations of the body, and the gaze that does not shy away from the anguished and pained body, the body opening up and giving birth. The body in Trotzig’s work is also the tortured body of Christ. With the Swedish welfare state as a point of reference, this article explores the collision between what can be called a “rational modernism” and aesthetic modernism: Hedenius called Trotzig’s book “evil,” and Trotzig, when she commented upon this almost three decades later, saw Hedenius’s review as an authoritarian assault.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/9/3/103welfare staterationalitybiopoliticsmodernismthe bodythe gaze |
| spellingShingle | Ulf Olsson “Incisive, Dissonant” Rationality vs. Aesthetic Modernism: Hedenius and Trotzig Humanities welfare state rationality biopolitics modernism the body the gaze |
| title | “Incisive, Dissonant” Rationality vs. Aesthetic Modernism: Hedenius and Trotzig |
| title_full | “Incisive, Dissonant” Rationality vs. Aesthetic Modernism: Hedenius and Trotzig |
| title_fullStr | “Incisive, Dissonant” Rationality vs. Aesthetic Modernism: Hedenius and Trotzig |
| title_full_unstemmed | “Incisive, Dissonant” Rationality vs. Aesthetic Modernism: Hedenius and Trotzig |
| title_short | “Incisive, Dissonant” Rationality vs. Aesthetic Modernism: Hedenius and Trotzig |
| title_sort | incisive dissonant rationality vs aesthetic modernism hedenius and trotzig |
| topic | welfare state rationality biopolitics modernism the body the gaze |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/9/3/103 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ulfolsson incisivedissonantrationalityvsaestheticmodernismhedeniusandtrotzig |