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K. P. Moritz's case poetics : aesthetic autonomy reconsidered

Class, Monika LU orcid (2014) In Literature and medicine 32(1). p.46-73
Abstract
To historians of medicine, Karl Philipp Moritz is known as the founding editor of the Magazine for Empirical Psychology (1783–93), one the oldest psychiatric journals in Europe. In literary theory, Moritz counts as one of the inaugurators of aesthetic autonomy. Combining both fields, this article uncovers that Moritz’s interest in observation, his reservations towards rationality, and his concern for the particular as opposed to the universal helped to shape his concept of “uselessness” in On Creative Imitation of Beauty. From this double perspective, we recognize Moritz’s growing regard for case narrative as an end in itself, independent from plans for a future science of empirical psychology. Moritz’s passionate and compassionate... (More)
To historians of medicine, Karl Philipp Moritz is known as the founding editor of the Magazine for Empirical Psychology (1783–93), one the oldest psychiatric journals in Europe. In literary theory, Moritz counts as one of the inaugurators of aesthetic autonomy. Combining both fields, this article uncovers that Moritz’s interest in observation, his reservations towards rationality, and his concern for the particular as opposed to the universal helped to shape his concept of “uselessness” in On Creative Imitation of Beauty. From this double perspective, we recognize Moritz’s growing regard for case narrative as an end in itself, independent from plans for a future science of empirical psychology. Moritz’s passionate and compassionate approach to observership helps to revise Foucault’s “medical gaze.” This essay proposes that Moritz was a Wordsworthian figure in medical history, who injected psychiatric writing with the experience of ordinary life expressed in the simple language of non-experts. (Less)
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author
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
History, 18th Century, Humans, Medicine in Literature, Psychology/history, Writing/history
in
Literature and medicine
volume
32
issue
1
pages
28 pages
publisher
Johns Hopkins University Press
external identifiers
  • pmid:25055706
  • scopus:84905445849
ISSN
0278-9671
DOI
10.1353/lm.2014.0000
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
fbaa5121-d836-4c4a-987f-dc83aa83fc14
date added to LUP
2022-09-10 12:20:44
date last changed
2024-06-13 14:08:38
@article{fbaa5121-d836-4c4a-987f-dc83aa83fc14,
  abstract     = {{To historians of medicine, Karl Philipp Moritz is known as the founding editor of the Magazine for Empirical Psychology (1783–93), one the oldest psychiatric journals in Europe. In literary theory, Moritz counts as one of the inaugurators of aesthetic autonomy. Combining both fields, this article uncovers that Moritz’s interest in observation, his reservations towards rationality, and his concern for the particular as opposed to the universal helped to shape his concept of “uselessness” in On Creative Imitation of Beauty. From this double perspective, we recognize Moritz’s growing regard for case narrative as an end in itself, independent from plans for a future science of empirical psychology. Moritz’s passionate and compassionate approach to observership helps to revise Foucault’s “medical gaze.” This essay proposes that Moritz was a Wordsworthian figure in medical history, who injected psychiatric writing with the experience of ordinary life expressed in the simple language of non-experts.}},
  author       = {{Class, Monika}},
  issn         = {{0278-9671}},
  keywords     = {{History, 18th Century; Humans; Medicine in Literature; Psychology/history; Writing/history}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{46--73}},
  publisher    = {{Johns Hopkins University Press}},
  series       = {{Literature and medicine}},
  title        = {{K. P. Moritz's case poetics : aesthetic autonomy reconsidered}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/lm.2014.0000}},
  doi          = {{10.1353/lm.2014.0000}},
  volume       = {{32}},
  year         = {{2014}},
}