Criticism and our modes of abstraction
This essay argues that any adequate account of literary studies as an intellectual discipline has to reckon with the aesthetic nature of literary works. To make my case, I draw on the philosophy of John Dewey and Alfred North Whitehead, the aesthetics of Susanne K. Langer, and accounts of criticism...
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| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
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Johns Hopkins University Press
2024
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| Summary: | This essay argues that any adequate account of literary studies as an intellectual
discipline has to reckon with the aesthetic nature of literary works. To make my case, I draw on
the philosophy of John Dewey and Alfred North Whitehead, the aesthetics of Susanne K.
Langer, and accounts of criticism by Louise Rosenblatt and Kenneth Burke, all of whom I show
to be indebted to William James. Key to my argument is their redefinition of knowledge in terms
of “modes of abstraction” and their elaboration of concepts geared towards registering the
distinctive kinds of abstractive thinking at work in criticism and the arts. |
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