Inventions of the Imagination: Romanticism and Beyond - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0295990988 ISBN 13: 9780295990989

Publisher: University of Washington Press, 2011

Synopsis

The dialectic between reason and imagination forms a key element in Romantic and post- Romantic philosophy, science, literature, and art. Inventions of the Imagination explores the diverse theories and assessments of this dialectic in essays by philosophers and literary and cultural critics. By the end of the eighteenth century, reason as the predominant human faculty had run its course, and imagination emerged as another force whose contributions to human intellectual existence and productivity had to be newly calculated and constantly recalibrated. The attempt to establish a universal form of reason alongside a plurality of imaginative capacities describes the ideological program of modernism from the end of the eighteenth century to the present day. This collection chronicles some of the vicissitudes in the conceptualization and evaluation of the imagination across time and in various disciplines.

About this title

Review

The essays in this volume are clearly written and stimulating, jargon-free despite the sometimes complex material, and the volume has made the transition from a collection of conference papers to a set of polished essays in an exemplary way.

--John Guthrie "Modern Language Review "

The collection as a whole provides ample material for thinking about the epistemic role of the imagination. . . . [I]t makes an important contribution not only to the history of philosophy and the study of romanticism, but also to contemporary questions in hermeneutics, theories of knowledge and aesthetics.

-- (01/01/2012)

This is a stimulating collection of papers, foregrounding the role of the imagination at a time when its lack can be almost palpably felt across the educational curriculum and in the political arena.

-- (01/01/2012)

About the Author

Richard T. Gray is the Byron W. and Alice L. Lockwood professor of Germanics at the University of Washington. Nicholas Halmi is University Lecturer in English Literature of the Romantic Period at the University College, Oxford. Gary J. Handwerk is professor of English and comparative literature at the University of Washington. Michael A. Rosenthal is associate professor of philosophy at the University of Washington. Klaus Vieweg is professor of philosophy at Friedrich Shiller University.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Washington Press
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0295990988
• ISBN 13: 9780295990989
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 208
• Editor: Gray Richard T., Halmi Nicholas, Handwerk Gary J., Rosenthal Michael A., Vieweg Klaus