Modern Aesthetics and Democratic Life: The Struggle for Aesthetic Freedom, (Hardcover)

<p><b>In this innovative open-access study, Jörg Schaub demonstrates that the aesthetic is essential to democratic societies' aspiration to realize a life of equal freedom for all.</b> </p><p>Revisiting seminal eighteenth-century aesthetic treatises, Schaub advances a new interpretation of modern aesthetics and, in doing so, lays the groundwork for his original account of Hegel's post-ideal conception of aesthetics. He argues that what lies at the core of these accounts-and gives them their cultural significance-is the value they accord to free perceptual, emotional, and imaginative exploration of the world, and he shows how this orientation transforms our understanding of the values of freedom and equality. </p><p>Building on this interpretation of modern aesthetics, Schaub develops a novel conception of aesthetic recognition that expands familiar recognition relationships by bringing into view the consideration we owe one another as perceiving, feeling, and imaginative beings. Through a range of case studies, he shows that many conflicts in democratic life are also struggles for aesthetic recognition. This perspective yields a critical theory of aesthetics capable of diagnosing and criticizing forms of aesthetic misrecognition. </p><p>Schaub brings aesthetics into dialogue with social and political philosophy and critical theory. His study constitutes a significant intervention in the long-standing debate about aesthetics and politics, reshaping how we think about freedom in democratic life. </p><p><i>The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by the University of Essex.</i></p>

• Modern Aesthetics and Democratic Life: The Struggle for Aesthetic Freedom, (Hardcover)
• Author: Jörg Schaub
• ISBN: 9781350586727
• Format: Hardcover
• Publication Date: 2026-07-09
• Page Count: 288