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Susanne K. Langer (1895 - 1985) was a US philosopher, whose work is currently being rediscovered and re-contextualised by a new generation of scholars. The aim of the course is twofold: to discuss and interpret her core ideas and to disclose main motives of this recent surge of interest in her writings. Starting with exploration of the historical context of her philosophical work - in terms of the sources of her ideas as well as the conditions of her work -, we will move on to discuss her place (if any) in philosophy from a feminist point of view, which is one of the reasons why her work is currently studied. In the following lectures, we will closely read selected chapters and essays she authored, focusing on her understanding of the nature of human experience, its representation in the arts, the relation between art and science, and her late attempt at a new conceptual grasp of the evolution of a man and human societies from a naturalist point of view. In terms of the current motivation to explore her work, beside the noted interest in female philosophers, we will discuss, especially, her place within the history of analytic philosophy, relations of her ideas to (current) cognitive philosophy and philosophy of mind, and her ideas in terms of contemporary philosophy of biology. Throughout the course, we will pay enhanced attention to her aesthetics and explore how the concepts she coined in this field relate to other areas of her philosophical interest. <br>
Poslední úprava: Hadravová Tereza, Mgr., Ph.D. (03.02.2023)
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The educational aims of the course are:
The course requirements are
Poslední úprava: Hadravová Tereza, Mgr., Ph.D. (14.03.2023)
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Primary literature: The plan is to read through Philosophical Sketches (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1961), plus the following essays and chapters: "Discursive Forms and Presentational Forms", in Philosophy in a New Key: A Study in the Symbolism of Reason, Rite and Art (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1942); ‘The Lord of Creation’. In Fortune Magazine (1944); "The Great Dramatic Forms: The Comic Rhythm", in Feeling and Form (New York: Charles Scribner’s, 1953); "The Great Dramatic Forms: The Tragic Rhythm", in Feeling and Form (New York: Charles Scribner’s, 1953); ‘Why Philosophy?’ In The Saturday Evening Post (1961); ‘The Cultural Importance of the Arts’. Journal of Aesthetic Education 1, no. 1 (1 April 1966): 5–12; "The Dreams Ending", in Mind: An Essay on Human Feeling, Vol. 3. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1982. The students are encouraged to read all work by Langer. Langer's full biography and a representative selection of secondary literature on Langer can be found here: https://langercircle.sites.uu.nl/resources-2/ Secondary literature (recommended): BOOKS Dengerink Chaplin, Adrienne. The Philosophy of Susanne Langer: Embodied Meaning in Logic, Art and Feeling. London: Bloomsbury, 2019. Innis, Robert E. Susanne Langer in Focus: The Symbolic Mind. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2009. ARTICLES Colapietro, Vincent. ‘Symbols and the Evolution of Mind: Susanne Langer’s Final Bequest to Semiotics’. In Semiotics, edited by John Deely and C. W. Spinks, 61–70. New York: Peter Lang, 1998. Danto, Arthur C. ‘Mind as Feeling; Form as Presence; Langer as Philosopher’. Journal of Philosophy 81, no. 11 (1 November 1984): 641–7. Dryden, Donald. ‘The Philosopher as Prophet and Visionary: Susanne Langer’s Essay on Human Feeling in the Light of Subsequent Developments in the Sciences’. Journal of Speculative Philosophy 21, no. 1 (2007): 27–43. Gardner, Howard. ‘Philosophy in a New Key Revisited: An Appreciation of Susanne Langer’. In Art, Mind, and the Brain: A Cognitive Approach to Creativity, 48–54. New York: Basic Books, 1982. Hopkins, R. ‘Sculpture and Space’ in Matthew Kieran & Dominic Lopes (eds.), Imagination, Philosophy, and the Arts, London: Routledge (2003): 272-290. Reid, Louis Arnaud. ‘Susanne Langer and Beyond’. British Journal of Aesthetics 5, no. 4 (1965): 357–67. Schaper, Eva. ‘The Art Symbol’. British Journal of Aesthetics 4, no. 3 (1 July 1964): 228–39. Verhaegen, Sanders. 'Susanne Langer and the American development of analytic philosophy', in Peijnenburg, J. and Verhaegh, S. (eds.), Women in the History of Analytic Philosophy. Springer (2022)
Poslední úprava: Hadravová Tereza, Mgr., Ph.D. (03.02.2023)
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