Annotation
Susanne K. Langer (1895 - 1985) was a US philosopher, whose work is currently being rediscovered and re-contextualised by a new generation of scholars.
The aim of the course is twofold: to discuss and interpret her core ideas and to disclose main motives of this recent surge of interest in her writings. Starting with exploration of the historical context of her philosophical work - in terms of the sources of her ideas as well as the conditions of her work -, we will move on to discuss her place (if any) in philosophy from a feminist point of view, which is one of the reasons why her work is currently studied.
In the following lectures, we will closely read selected chapters and essays she authored, focusing on her understanding of the nature of human experience, its representation in the arts, the relation between art and science, and her late attempt at a new conceptual grasp of the evolution of a man and human societies from a naturalist point of view. In terms of the current motivation to explore her work, beside the noted interest in female philosophers, we will discuss, especially, her place within the history of analytic philosophy, relations of her ideas to (current) cognitive philosophy and philosophy of mind, and her ideas in terms of contemporary philosophy of biology.
Throughout the course, we will pay enhanced attention to her aesthetics and explore how the concepts she coined in this field relate to other areas of her philosophical interest.