I argue that, from his early "Studies in the History of the Renaissance" to his late essays on He... more I argue that, from his early "Studies in the History of the Renaissance" to his late essays on Hellenic culture and philosophy, Walter Pater's work sets forth an original theory of intersubjectivity. This theory is grounded in close analysis of what we might call "scenes of contact" in the domain of art. Pater's concepts of "touch," "impress," and "the scene of human experience" show how the artwork participates in broader relationships that make social existence possible. The affinity of these concepts to contemporaneous theories of lived experience, expression and understanding by Wilhelm Dilthey shows Pater's participation in an emerging intellectual paradigm. Taken together, these readings offer an alternative to accounts of Pater as a materialist, an impressionist, or a hedonist. Instead, his work should be understood as part of a broader theoretical inquiry of his generation into the fundamental nature of experience.
This essay situates the work of Gerard Manley Hopkins in a philosophical debate of the 1870s arou... more This essay situates the work of Gerard Manley Hopkins in a philosophical debate of the 1870s around the nature of mental phenomena and their susceptibility to scientific investigation. I argue that Hopkins participates in this early phenomenological discourse. His theory of “instress” derives from the same medieval concept, intentio, from which Brentano develops his theory of intentionality a few years later. Recovering Hopkins’s conception of intentionality, and seeing its place in his metaphysics and poetics, shows an original, British approach to phenomenology emerging independently of Brentano and Husserl. It also throws into relief the broader theoretical problems of the later nineteenth century around the grounding of psychology and the future of metaphysics.
I argue that, from his early "Studies in the History of the Renaissance" to his late essays on He... more I argue that, from his early "Studies in the History of the Renaissance" to his late essays on Hellenic culture and philosophy, Walter Pater's work sets forth an original theory of intersubjectivity. This theory is grounded in close analysis of what we might call "scenes of contact" in the domain of art. Pater's concepts of "touch," "impress," and "the scene of human experience" show how the artwork participates in broader relationships that make social existence possible. The affinity of these concepts to contemporaneous theories of lived experience, expression and understanding by Wilhelm Dilthey shows Pater's participation in an emerging intellectual paradigm. Taken together, these readings offer an alternative to accounts of Pater as a materialist, an impressionist, or a hedonist. Instead, his work should be understood as part of a broader theoretical inquiry of his generation into the fundamental nature of experience.
This essay situates the work of Gerard Manley Hopkins in a philosophical debate of the 1870s arou... more This essay situates the work of Gerard Manley Hopkins in a philosophical debate of the 1870s around the nature of mental phenomena and their susceptibility to scientific investigation. I argue that Hopkins participates in this early phenomenological discourse. His theory of “instress” derives from the same medieval concept, intentio, from which Brentano develops his theory of intentionality a few years later. Recovering Hopkins’s conception of intentionality, and seeing its place in his metaphysics and poetics, shows an original, British approach to phenomenology emerging independently of Brentano and Husserl. It also throws into relief the broader theoretical problems of the later nineteenth century around the grounding of psychology and the future of metaphysics.
Uploads