Aesthetic Ideology (Theory and History of Literature, Vol. 65)

Paul De Man's reputation was irreparably damaged by the revelation after his death of his wartime anti-Semitism, obscuring some valid intellectual contributions to the field of aesthetics. This collection of philosophical essays, compiled by Andrzej Warminski of the University of California, argues for the close connections between art and politics and art and science. He discusses Kant and Hegel, whose major contributions to aesthetics are less known than their work on rationality and morality. And in an essay on Schiller he deplores, rather naively, the poet/playwright's lack of philosophical concern for the basis of his art.