The Re-enchantment of the World
Art versus Religion
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4158435 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Edward Winters (West Dean College of Arts and Conservation, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2009 |
| Volume | 49 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 85-88 |
| Publication date | 2009-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The British Journal of Aesthetics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0007-0904 • E-ISSN: 1468-2842 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/aesthj/ayn051 |
| OpenAlex | W2088523969 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
THIS is a remarkable book. It is an enquiry as to whether the fine arts can engage our lives in such a way that we might yet find enchantment. It opens with a discussion of the role that religion has played in human affairs and a further discussion concerned to raise doubts about the orthodox view of what that might be. To the historian and sociologist, the secularization of the modern world arises from the emergence of science and rational enquiry. Thus, according to such orthodoxy, science is seen to topple the superstitions of religion, replacing unverifiable truth claims with the certainties secured by its disciplined methods. The author raises considerable doubts concerning such interpretation of secularization pointing to the evident presence of religion in the United States, the renewed adoption of religious vocation in China, and the rise of Islam across the world. History and sociology are beside the point. What is secularism; and what are the consequences of secularism for human beings deprived of religion and its consolations? Graham seeks the nature of religion neither in metaphysics nor in superstition, but in the form of life to which religion gives rise. Thus for Graham the question is not concerned with the description of secularization, but rather with the philosophical assessment of the intelligibility of living a pious life in a secular world. History and sociology treat secularization as a fact of social history, the intellectual world having progressed from the darkness of religion into the enlightenment of reason. The better question is to ask whether secularism is itself coherent; and if, in a secular society it is possible to live one's life in awe? Graham quotes Max Weber, writing in 1918, 'The fate of our times is characterized by rationalization and intellectualization and, above all, by the "disenchantment of the world"' (p. 45
Aesthetics · Disenchantment · Enlightenment · Epistemology · Interpretation (philosophy · Islam · Metaphysics · Modernity · Orthodoxy · Political science · Politics · Secular state · Secularism · Secularization · Sociology · Sociology of religion · Superstition · Theology · Law · Philosophy · Religion and Society Interactions · Religious studies · Religious Tourism and Spaces
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,22 |
| Citation span | 2008 - 2024 (17) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |