Shusterman’s Pragmatism: Between Literature and Somaesthetics (Value Inquiry Book Series, 244)

"This book is the first essay collection on Richard Shusterman, the foremost representative of contemporary pragmatist aesthetics, a philosopher whose books have been translated into more than fifteen languages. The 12 essays, which cover the wide-ranging scope of Shusterman's pragmatist thought, divide into three sections: Literary Theory and Philosophy of Art; Epistemology, Metaphysics, Ethics, and Politics; and Somaesthetics. Written by an international group of authors from different philosophical perspectives, the book's essays not only provide a good introduction to Shusterman's innovative pragmatist theories, but show their useful applications to important and controversial topics in philosophy, politics, religious and gender studies, the arts, and somaesthetics. The book also includes two new texts by Shusterman: an introductory essay in which he explains the trajectory of his intellectual development and a detailed response to the other contributors, which closes the book."--Publisher's website Cover Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Introduction A Pragmatist Path through the Play of Limits: from Literature to Somaesthetics Part One: LITERARY THEORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF ART ONE The Idea of Emotion in T. S. Eliot and in Richard Shusterman TWO Neo-pragmatist Models of Self-Development and the Poetic Subjectivity in John Ashbery’s Poetry THREE Challenging the Taboo of the Autobiographical FOUR “You Must Change Your Life”: Pragmatism and the Therapeutic Function of Art Part Two: EPISTEMOLOGY, METAPHYSICS, ETHICS, AND POLITICS FIVE Philosophy and Life: Pragmatism, Wittgenstein, and Metaphysics SIX Faith and the Limits of Fallibilism SEVEN Erotic Pragmatism: Shusterman’s Deweyan Advances EIGHT Shusterman and the Paradoxes of Superhuman Self-Styling Part Three: SOMAESTHETICS NINE “Body Trouble”? Somaesthetics and Feminism TEN Aesthetics and Corporal Values ELEVEN Sampling (No)Body TWELVE Somaesthetics and Democracy: Dewey and Contemporary Body Art Continuing Connections: Comments on the Preceding Essays ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS INDEX This collection of twelve essays explores the versatility of Richard Shusterman's pragmatic aesthetics. They are organized into three sections on literary theory and philosophy of art; somaesthetics; and issues in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics and politics. Specific essays pursue the idea of emotion, the therapeutic function of art, the limits of fallibilism, paradoxes of super-human self-styling, somaesthetics and democracy, and corporeal values. The contributors are European and American writers and professors of philosophy, English, and history. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Edited By Dorota Koczanowicz And Wojciech Małecki. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.