The Ugliness of Moses Mendelssohn: Aesthetics, Religion & Morality in the Eighteenth Century

ISBN-13: 9781138781771 / Angielski / Twarda / 2014 / 192 str.

Leah Hochman;¬Abar;¬Abar

Opis

The Ugliness of Moses Mendelssohn examines the idea of ugliness through four angles: philosophical aesthetics, early anthropology, physiognomy and portraiture in the eighteenth-century. Highlighting a theory that describes the benefit of encountering ugly objects in art and nature, eighteenth-century German Jewish philosopher Moses Mendelssohn recasts ugliness as a positive force for moral education and social progress. According to his theory, ugly objects cause us to think more and thus exercise-and expand-our mental abilities. Known as ugly himself, he was nevertheless portrayed in portraits and in physiognomy as an image of wisdom, gentility, and tolerance. That seeming contradiction-an ugly object (Mendelssohn) made beautiful-illustrates his theory's possibility: ugliness itself is a positive, even redeeming characteristic of great opportunity. Presenting a novel approach to eighteenth century aesthetics, this book will be of interest to students and scholars in the fields of Jewish Studies, Philosophy and History.

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Spis treści

Introduction: The Eyes of the Beholders1 Moral Aesthetics: What is the Ugly? 2 Comeliness, Glamour, Ugliness: Physical Distinctions and Moral Implications3 Reading Faces, Reading Souls: Johann Caspar Lavater’s New Physiognomy 4 The Ugly Made Beautiful: The Meaning and Appearance of Mendelssohn Conclusion

O autorze

Leah Hochman is Associate Professor of Jewish Thought at HUC-JIR, USA, and directs the Louchheim School for Judaic Studies. She holds a Ph.D. from Boston University and teaches classes in Jewish philosophy, Jewish literature, American Judaism, and religion and food.