The practices of the Enlightenment : aesthetics, authorship, and the public

321 Pages·2015·3.61 MB·English

by  Dorothea E. von von Mücke

Dorothea E.
von Mücke

the

PRACTICES
of the
ENLIGHTENMENT
f
Aesthetics,
Authorship,
and the
Public
The
PRACTICES
of the
ENLIGHTENMENT
X
COLUMBIA THEMES in PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIAL CRITICISM, and the ARTS
COLUMBIA THEMES in PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIAL CRITICISM, and the ARTS
Lydia Goehr and Gregg M. Horowitz, editors
Advisory Board
Carolyn Abbate J. M. Bernstein
Eve Blau T. J. Clark
Arthur C. Danto John Hyman
Michael Kelly Paul Kottman
Columbia Themes in Philosophy, Social Criticism, and the Arts presents monographs,
essay collections, and short books on philosophy and aesthetic theory. It aims to pub-
lish books that show the ability of the arts to stimulate critical reflection on modern
and contemporary social, political, and cultural life. Art is not now, if it ever was, a
realm of human activity independent of the complex realities of social organization
and change, political authority and antagonism, cultural domination and resistance.
The possibilities of critical thought embedded in the arts are most fruitfully expressed
when addressed to readers across the various fields of social and humanistic inquiry.
The idea of philosophy in the series title ought to be understood, therefore, to embrace
forms of discussion that begin where mere academic expertise exhausts itself, where
the rules of social, political, and cultural practice are both affirmed and challenged, and
where new thinking takes place. The series does not privilege any particular art, nor
does it ask for the arts to be mutually isolated. The series encourages writing from the
many fields of thoughtful and critical inquiry.
For a list of books, see page 293
Dorothea E.
von Mücke
The
PRACTICES
of the
ENLIGHTENMENT
f
Aesthetics,
Authorship,
and the
Public
Columbia University Press
New York
Columbia University Press
Publishers Since 1893
New York Chichester, West Sussex
cup.columbia.edu
Copyright © 2015 Columbia University Press
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Mücke, Dorothea E. von.
The practices of the Enlightenment : aesthetics, authorship, and the public /
Dorothea E. von Mücke.
pages cm — (Columbia themes in philosophy, social criticism, and the arts)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-231-17246-2 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-231-53933-3 (e-book)
1. Enlightenment. 2. Aesthetics. 3. Authorship. I. Title.
B802.M79 2015
190.9'033—dc23
2014035520
Columbia University Press books are printed on
permanent and durable acid-free paper.
This book is printed on paper with recycled content.
Printed in the United States of America
c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Cover image
Attributed to Erwin von Steinbach. Sketch “B” of the Strasbourg Cathedral.
Reprinted from Marcel Aubert, The Art of the High Gothic Era, 1965.
Cover and book design
Lisa Hamm
References to Web sites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing.
Neither the author nor Columbia University Press is responsible for URLs
that may have expired or changed since the manuscript was prepared.
For Philippe and Miriam
4

CONTENTS
Acknowledgments XI
Introduction XIII
Part I
THE BIRTH OF AESTHETICS,
THE ENDS OF TELEOLOGY, AND THE RISE OF GENIUS 1
1 THE SURPRISING ORIGINS OF
ENLIGHTENMENT AESTHETICS 5
2 DISINTERESTED INTEREST: THE HUMAN ANIMAL’S
LACK OF INSTINCT 27
3 BEAUTIFUL, NOT INTELLIGENT DESIGN 39
4 ENLIGHTENMENT DISCOURSES ON ORIGINAL GENIUS 51
5 “WHERE NATURE GIVES THE RULE TO ART” 53
6 THE STRASBOURG CATHEDRAL:
EDIFICATION AND THEOPHANY 63
CONCLUSION 73
(VIII) CONTENTS
Part II
CONFESSIONAL DISCOURSE, AUTOBIOGRAPHY,
AND AUTHORSHIP 77
7 PIETISM 85
The Valorization of Individual Experience 85
The Autobiography of Johanna Eleonora Petersen 93
8 ROUSSEAU 109
Confession/Profession 109
The Author and His Audiences in Rousseau’s Confessions 126
9 GOETHE: FROM THE “CONFESSIONS OF
A BEAUTIFUL SOUL” TO POETRY AND TRUTH 141
The Confessions of a Beautiful Soul 142
Revealed Religion and the Function of the Bible 149
Experience, the Production of Presence,
and the Function of Art 158
Beyond the Prophets: deus sive natura 165
Conclusion 177
Part III
IMAGINED COMMUNITIES AND
THE MOBILIZATION OF A CRITICAL PUBLIC 181
10 PATRIOTIC INVOCATIONS OF THE PUBLIC 187
The Context of the Seven Years’ War 187
The Perspective of a Legally Trained
High-Level Administrator 190
The Perspective of the Ambitious Young Scholar
and Publicist 196
CONTENTS (IX)
11 REAL AND VIRTUAL AUDIENCES IN HERDER’S CONCEPT
OF THE MODERN PUBLIC 205
The Role of Language and Religion in Shaping the Public 208
Live and Virtual Publics of Art: The Function of Music
and Imaginative Literature 212
12 MOBILIZING A CRITICAL PUBLIC 219
“Was ist Aufklärung?” 222
Gelehrte Streitigkeiten/Learned Battles 229
In the Beginning Was the Word 235
Conclusion 243
Notes 247
Index 281