Octavio Paz: Humanism and Critique (Being Human: Caught in the Web of Cultures - Humanism in the Age of Globalization)

Octavio Paz is one of the most recognized Latin American writers. His essays offer a sophisticated critique of global modernity. Although his work has advanced many of the arguments that orient our contemporary debates in the social sciences and in philosophy, it has hardly ever been seriously taken into consideration in these disciplines. The volume suggests that this may have been a mistake. Its authors indicate ways in which Paz' essays can be read as substantial contributions to the contemporary debates in various fields. The aim of this book is to present to a non-Spanish speaking audience some of the discussions about Paz' offerings to the ongoing debates. It also wants to make a clear statement: a critique of our contemporary modernity must go hand in hand with a non-exclusive intercultural understanding of Humanism. Content Foreword Introduction: Crossing Borders, Reaching Humanity Part I: The Critical Theory of Octavio Paz A Comparison of their Early Cultural-Philosophical Writings Published after the Second World War Two Critiques of the Same Modernity Socialism in One Person: Specter of Marx in Octavio Paz’s Political Thought Octavio Paz reads Moses and Monotheism Part II: Paz and the ‘Privileges of Sight’ Octavio Paz, Mexican Muralist On Visual Modernity and Poetic Critique, between Octavio Paz and Walter Benjamin Duchamp According to Octavio Paz Part III: Octavio Paz and Social Sciences The Sociology of Octavio Paz The Walls of the Labyrinth: Mapping Octavio Paz’s Sociology through Georg Simmel’s Method Luz inteligente: The Anthropological Dimension in Octavio Paz’s First Essays Part IV: Octavio Paz and Philosophy Octavio Paz’s Poetic Reply to Hegel’s Philosophical Legacy To Hear the Inaudible, To See the Imperceptible: Modernity and Otherness in Octavio Paz The Blue Fire of the Double Flame Notes on Contributors Index of Names Octavio Paz is one of the most recognized Latin American writers. His essays offer a sophisticated critique of global modernity. Although his work has advanced many of the arguments that orient our contemporary debates in the social sciences and in philosophy, it has hardly ever been seriously taken into consideration in these disciplines. The volume suggests that this may have been a mistake. Its authors indicate ways in which Paz' essays can be read as substantial contributions to the contemporary debates in various fields. The aim of this book is to present to a non-Spanish speaking audience some of the discussions about Paz' offerings to the ongoing debates. It also wants to make a clear statement: a critique of our contemporary modernity must go hand in hand with a non-exclusive intercultural understanding of Humanism. Octavio Paz,Critique of Modernity,Humanism,Social Theory,Social Philosophy,Latin America,Literature,Human,Romance Studies,Interculturalism,Literary Studies,Spanish Literature,Cultural Theory