Impure reason

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Based on the premise that modern discourse on enlightenment and its self-critique began in the eighteenth century, this volume offers a fresh perspective on the controversy through cultural, social, and political history. It confronts abstract theories of enlightenment dialectics with concrete historical studies from the Age of Enlightenment. The collection presents current research on the German Enlightenment, aiming to familiarize an American audience with the period that produced influential figures like Lessing, Kant, and Goethe, along with others less known outside German studies. Leading scholars analyze eighteenth-century German society, politics, literature, and culture, providing a unique American viewpoint and critiques often absent in Germany. Their essays cover a diverse range of topics, including colonialism, diversity challenges, reading practices, male sexuality in enlightenment critiques, medicine and patriarchy, art and social discipline, mourning, and women's experiences. Modern critics discussed include Horkheimer, Adorno, Habermas, Lyotard, Frank, Rorty, and Wolf, with some subjected to gender-based critique. This volume will engage scholars in various fields, including German studies, gender studies, history, philosophy, and psychology, while introducing those outside German studies to the tradition of Enlightenment critique and its contemporary relevance.