The ugliness of Moses Mendelssohn : aesthetics, religion and morality in the eighteenth century
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
The ugliness of Moses Mendelssohn : aesthetics, religion and morality in the eighteenth century
（Routledge Jewish studies series）
Routledge, 2018
- : pbk
Available at 1 libraries
Note
Includes bibliographical references and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
The Ugliness of Moses Mendelssohn examines the idea of ugliness through four angles: philosophical aesthetics, early anthropology, physiognomy and portraiture in the eighteenth-century.
Highlighting a theory that describes the benefit of encountering ugly objects in art and nature, eighteenth-century German Jewish philosopher Moses Mendelssohn recasts ugliness as a positive force for moral education and social progress. According to his theory, ugly objects cause us to think more and thus exercise-and expand-our mental abilities. Known as ugly himself, he was nevertheless portrayed in portraits and in physiognomy as an image of wisdom, gentility, and tolerance. That seeming contradiction-an ugly object (Mendelssohn) made beautiful-illustrates his theory's possibility: ugliness itself is a positive, even redeeming characteristic of great opportunity.
Presenting a novel approach to eighteenth century aesthetics, this book will be of interest to students and scholars in the fields of Jewish Studies, Philosophy and History.
Table of Contents
Introduction: The Eyes of the Beholders 1 Moral Aesthetics: What is the Ugly? 2 Comeliness, Glamour, Ugliness: Physical Distinctions and Moral Implications 3 Reading Faces, Reading Souls: Johann Caspar Lavater's New Physiognomy 4 The Ugly Made Beautiful: The Meaning and Appearance of Mendelssohn Conclusion
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