beginning critical theory
Irving Babbit (1865-1933)
Paul Elmer More (1864-1937)
Aristotle
Matthew Arnold
Stuart Pratt Sherman (1881-1926)
Norman Foerster ((1887-1972)
Frank Jewett Mather (1868-1953)
Robert Shafer (1889-1956)
T.S. Eliot (1888-1965)
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| Liberal Humanism beginning critical theory |
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| Johns Hopkins Guide: New Humanism | Those Who Fit Under the Umbrella of Liberal Humanists: Irving Babbit (1865-1933) Paul Elmer More (1864-1937) Aristotle Matthew Arnold Stuart Pratt Sherman (1881-1926) Norman Foerster ((1887-1972) Frank Jewett Mather (1868-1953) Robert Shafer (1889-1956) T.S. Eliot (1888-1965) |
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| to AudBall's Guide | ||||||||||||||||
| Liberal Humanism: a response to the philosophies that say that 1) the only way something can be understood is to compare it to something else, and 2) the powers of fate are stronger than that of the will of the individual, meaning that you don't have any control over your life. Liberal Humanism is a spiritual philosophy that is anti-materialistic (live moderately) and focuses on the improvement of the self and one's character through self-examination and self-regulation. Peter Barry calls Liberal Humanism the "theory before theory" because it attempts to define what literature is (Barry, 17). Barry's ten tenets of liberal humanism are that 1) literature is timeless and applicable to any age, 2) literature has meaning without context, 3) texts must be studied objectively, without a priori assumptions, and in isolation, 4) literature is more important than technology because human nature does not change, 5) the individual transcends all else, 6) literature reflects life, it does not control it, 7) the form of literature follows its function, 8) literature is sincere in holding some truth, 9) literature shows rather than explains, and 10) criticism is a mediator between the literature and the reader (Barry 17-21) Liberal Humanist criticism focuses on the content of literature, its moral interpretation, and measures it against "art for art's sake (Barry 32)." | ||||||||||||||||