Aesthetic Democracy

by Thomas Docherty

Aesthetic Democracy argues that art and the aesthetic in general are the founding condition of the possibility of establishing social and political democracy. The book examines contemporary criticism and finds that it is historically shaped by colonialism, and that it sets up an opposition of east and west that shapes all contemporary cultural politics. The author argues for a way of outwitting this potentially dangerous struggle of east and west grounded in an aestheticism and a validation of sensory experience. Docherty proposes a new model of cultural critique, based on a revitalized and positively valorized notion of "hypocrisy," whose roots lie in Machiavelli, but whose contemporary strength lies in its potential for an ethical encounter with alterity as such.

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Professor Thomas Docherty is Emeritus Professor of English and of Comparative Literature at the University of Warwick

Reviews

[Hesham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Docherty hypothetical arguements wavered between a well elaborated argumentation and an incoherent one. In the most part his hypothesis are derivative in nature, yet some of these hypothesis doesn't lack orginality and intellectual sharpness at all.
Interesting here to note the power of interpretation , and how Docherty skillfully drive the possibilites offered by such open texts , the like of " Augustine , Derrida and Agamben" ,toward his proposed ending without twisting or reducing the potentialities of these texts ,but rather he penetrates the texts in a gracefull way.

He contests to offer democracy as an event , as a potentiality , in that he stresses over the act of aestheticisation- aesthetics- and its diminished , neglected role in the current state of affairs and within the frame that is falsely called "Democracy".

Docherty's attitude toward democracy is skeptic, yet demanding . Skeptic because he thinks that what we currently consider as "democracy" does not hold anything democratic about it except the name. on the other hand he is "demanding" because he construes democracy as a not-yet-acomplished theory . As a consequence, he does not refutes it nor he considers it invalid , but instead , he endeavors to attain the promises of sovereignty and autonomy offered by democracy through a rethinking of our concept of democracy .These aforementioned promises can be fulfilled through an aesthetics that makes the possiblity of altering the self , and hence can be called democratic .

[Kevin Fitzpatrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Consisting of three discrete segments entitled "The Colonial Condition of Criticism," "The Potential of Aestheticism," and "Sovereign Democracy," "Aesthetic Democracy" by Thomas Docherty lays out, with supreme fluency and cogency, an argument for a new understanding of what exactly democracy is, its possibilities, and its genealogy. Starting with a linking of the nature of 'confessions' in Augustine, Camus, and Derrida, Docherty expertly delineates the indeterminate nature of the writing process, how it is perched between reader and author, between past and future, and how this precarious nature thus informs our understanding of where exactly we are in our postmodern 'moment.' Key to this understanding is theory's indeterminate nature between colonized and colonizer, a liminal relationship that mirrors many such dualistic pairs in the book. The book goes on to explore, in Augustine and Derrida, and also Agamben, the unstable relationship between life and death, past and future, that too allows for an understanding of democracy as, per Aristotle, a 'potential,' a series of moments, where man can live up to his potential to be fully human. Finally, in perhaps the most stimulating chapters, Docherty introduces Machiavelli who, despite the baggage he carries reputation wise, is best seen as a reformer who wishes to perfect the civic sphere by a concern with issues such as land reform. No hidebound reactionary, he is instead one who asserts that the only 'sphere' that exists is the public, a field where civic good is paramount, above non-existent Christian morality. Along with Rousseau, Machiavelli (and Docherty) identifies a 'hypocrisy' at the center of social life. However Docherty views this hypocrisy as essential to developing a democracy which advances the public good. Finally, in one fine final flourish, he identifies Claribel of Shakespeare's "The Tempest" as the exemplar of our post-colonial democratic citizen. When one is finished perusing Docherty's arguments, one finds oneself perplexed, consoled, emboldened, and, most importantly, wiser.
Familiarity with post-modern and philosophy in general is assumed by the author; however, the style of the text is clear, not opaque, and the many literary references (particularly to the "The Tempest" at the end) will ease those unfamiliar with some thinkers into a sense of understanding quite well I believe. Overall, the smooth integration of major thinkers into his own distinct theory is a major attractor to readers of this tome; also, the innovative use of Machiavelli as a 'touchstone' to his system is a major stroke of genius, adding, once again, to the book's attraction; finally, the humanity and holistic nature of the theory itself, its gentle embracing of a vision of man resolute and surviving in our unreliable, indeterminate postmodern world, lends hope to those concerned with man's plight in what often seems like a dire philosophical world view; and this is all done in a sincere, smooth style. That is what makes this such an informed, informative 'jewel' of a book.