Images of History

Kant, Benjamin, Freedom, and the Human Subject

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Aesthetics, History, Criticism, & Surveys, Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism
Cover of the book Images of History by Richard Eldridge, Oxford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Richard Eldridge ISBN: 9780190619855
Publisher: Oxford University Press Publication: June 1, 2016
Imprint: Oxford University Press Language: English
Author: Richard Eldridge
ISBN: 9780190619855
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication: June 1, 2016
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Language: English

Developing work in the theories of action and explanation, Eldridge argues that moral and political philosophers require accounts of what is historically possible, while historians require rough philosophical understandings of ideals that merit reasonable endorsement. Both Immanuel Kant and Walter Benjamin recognize this fact. Each sees a special place for religious consciousness and critical practice in the articulation and revision of ideals that are to have cultural effect, but they differ sharply in the forms of religious-philosophical understanding, cultural criticism, and political practice that they favor. Kant defends a liberal, reformist, Protestant stance, emphasizing the importance of liberty, individual rights, and democratic institutions. His fullest picture of movement toward a moral culture appears in Religion within the Bounds of Mere Reason, where he describes conjecturally the emergence of an ethical commonwealth. Benjamin defends a politics of improvisatory alertness and consciousness-raising that is suspicious of progress and liberal reform. He practices a form of modernist, materialist criticism that is strongly rooted in his encounters with Kant, Hölderlin, and Goethe. His fullest, finished picture of this critical practice appears in One-Way Street, where he traces the continuing force of unsatisfied desires. By drawing on both Kant and Benjamin, Eldridge hopes to avoid both moralism (standing on sharply specified normative commitments at all costs) and waywardness (rejecting all settled commitments). And in doing so, he seeks to make better sense of the commitment-forming, commitment-revising, anxious, reflective and sometimes grownup acculturated human subjects we are.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Developing work in the theories of action and explanation, Eldridge argues that moral and political philosophers require accounts of what is historically possible, while historians require rough philosophical understandings of ideals that merit reasonable endorsement. Both Immanuel Kant and Walter Benjamin recognize this fact. Each sees a special place for religious consciousness and critical practice in the articulation and revision of ideals that are to have cultural effect, but they differ sharply in the forms of religious-philosophical understanding, cultural criticism, and political practice that they favor. Kant defends a liberal, reformist, Protestant stance, emphasizing the importance of liberty, individual rights, and democratic institutions. His fullest picture of movement toward a moral culture appears in Religion within the Bounds of Mere Reason, where he describes conjecturally the emergence of an ethical commonwealth. Benjamin defends a politics of improvisatory alertness and consciousness-raising that is suspicious of progress and liberal reform. He practices a form of modernist, materialist criticism that is strongly rooted in his encounters with Kant, Hölderlin, and Goethe. His fullest, finished picture of this critical practice appears in One-Way Street, where he traces the continuing force of unsatisfied desires. By drawing on both Kant and Benjamin, Eldridge hopes to avoid both moralism (standing on sharply specified normative commitments at all costs) and waywardness (rejecting all settled commitments). And in doing so, he seeks to make better sense of the commitment-forming, commitment-revising, anxious, reflective and sometimes grownup acculturated human subjects we are.

More books from Oxford University Press

Cover of the book The Character Gap by Richard Eldridge
Cover of the book Asian American History: A Very Short Introduction by Richard Eldridge
Cover of the book Innovations in Psychosocial Interventions and Their Delivery by Richard Eldridge
Cover of the book Student Study Guide to The Early Human World by Richard Eldridge
Cover of the book Heal Thyself by Richard Eldridge
Cover of the book Making Education Work for the Poor by Richard Eldridge
Cover of the book Environmental Change and Globalization: Double Exposures by Richard Eldridge
Cover of the book The Oxford Handbook of Gender, Sex, and Crime by Richard Eldridge
Cover of the book A World Beyond Physics by Richard Eldridge
Cover of the book Groove Music by Richard Eldridge
Cover of the book On Hinduism by Richard Eldridge
Cover of the book Sherlock Holmes Short Stories - With Audio Level 2 Oxford Bookworms Library by Richard Eldridge
Cover of the book Why Religion is Natural and Science is Not by Richard Eldridge
Cover of the book Evolution of Infectious Disease by Richard Eldridge
Cover of the book A History of US: Liberty for All? by Richard Eldridge
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy