Beyond Posthumanism
The German Humanist Tradition and the Future of the Humanities
Published on 1. September 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
314 pages
978-1-83695-074-5 (ISBN)
Description
Kant, Goethe, Schiller and other eighteenth-century German intellectuals loom large in the history of the humanities-both in terms of their individual achievements and their collective embodiment of the values that inform modern humanistic inquiry. Taking full account of the manifold challenges that the humanities face today, this volume recasts the question of their viability by tracing their long-disputed premises in German literature and philosophy. Through insightful analyses of key texts, Alexander Mathaes mounts a broad defense of the humanistic tradition, emphasizing its pursuit of a universal ethics and ability to render human experiences comprehensible through literary imagination.
Reviews / Votes
"Beyond Posthumanism is a timely intervention into a high-stakes debate on the value of humanist education today. The book situates this debate in a wider historical framework, thereby demonstrating the often overlooked complexity of humanistic concepts. Highlighting literature's unique ability to serve as a meta-sphere for reflection, this is a comprehensive and thoughtful consideration of one of the great questions of contemporary education." * Christine Lehleiter, University of TorontoMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
11 Illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
460 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-83695-074-5 (9781836950745)
DOI
10.3167/9781789205633
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
02/2020
1st Edition
Berghahn Books
€33.99
Available for download
E-Book
02/2020
1st Edition
Berghahn Books
€24.49
Available for download
Person
Alexander Mathaes is Professor Emeritus of German at the University of Oregon.
Content
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
Chapter 1. Signs and Wonders: The Humanist Pedagogy of Eighteenth-Century Universal Histories of Mankind
Chapter 2. Religion, Anthropology, and the Mission of Literature in Schiller's Universalgeschichte
Chapter 3. The Sublime as an Objectivist Strategy
Chapter 4. The Importance of Herder's Humanism and the Posthumanist Challenge
Chapter 5. Humanist Antinomies: Goethe's Iphigenie auf Tauris and Torquato Tasso
Chapter 6. Incorporating Change: The Role of Science in Goethe's and Carl Gustav Carus's Humanist Aesthetics
Chapter 7. Karl Marx's and Ludwig Feuerbach's Materialism in Gottfried Keller's "Kleider Machen Leute"
Chapter 8. The End of Pathos and of Humanist Illusions: Schiller and Schnitzler
Chapter 9. Blurring the Human/Animal Boundary: Hofmannsthal's Andreas
Chapter 10. Humanism and Ideology: Thomas Mann's Writings (1914-30)
Chapter 11. Between Humanism and Posthumanism: Hermann Hesse's Steppenwolf
Conclusion
Works Cited
Index
Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
Chapter 1. Signs and Wonders: The Humanist Pedagogy of Eighteenth-Century Universal Histories of Mankind
Chapter 2. Religion, Anthropology, and the Mission of Literature in Schiller's Universalgeschichte
Chapter 3. The Sublime as an Objectivist Strategy
Chapter 4. The Importance of Herder's Humanism and the Posthumanist Challenge
Chapter 5. Humanist Antinomies: Goethe's Iphigenie auf Tauris and Torquato Tasso
Chapter 6. Incorporating Change: The Role of Science in Goethe's and Carl Gustav Carus's Humanist Aesthetics
Chapter 7. Karl Marx's and Ludwig Feuerbach's Materialism in Gottfried Keller's "Kleider Machen Leute"
Chapter 8. The End of Pathos and of Humanist Illusions: Schiller and Schnitzler
Chapter 9. Blurring the Human/Animal Boundary: Hofmannsthal's Andreas
Chapter 10. Humanism and Ideology: Thomas Mann's Writings (1914-30)
Chapter 11. Between Humanism and Posthumanism: Hermann Hesse's Steppenwolf
Conclusion
Works Cited
Index