In this sprawling and fascinating new book, Ulf Schulenberg argues powerfully that pragmatism, humanism, and anti-authoritarianism all hang together in a coherent, mutually reinforcing whole. The scholarship in this book is impressively wide-ranging. Drawing from a large and diverse cast of authors and thinkers, Schulenberg tells a thought-provoking story about what pragmatism is, and how it can assist in bringing about a more decent, free, and artistically rich human future.

David Rondel, Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of Nevada, Reno, USA

In this provocative book, Schulenberg illuminates new entanglements between humanism, anti-authoritarianism, and pragmatism and shows why rethinking aesthetics is critical not just for the life of the arts, but for culture and practical life. He pushes back against traditional readings of Dewey (e.g. on aesthetic form) to urge pragmatist aesthetics toward more innovative approaches to contemporary art and the avant-garde. Humanism, Anti-Authoritarianism, and Literary Aesthetics will inspire fresh ways of looking at these issues and imaginative new conversations.

David L. Hildebrand, Professor of Philosophy, University of Colorado, Denver, USA

This is a major contribution to both pragmatist aesthetics and the understanding of what is now called neo-pragmatism. Questions of art were always at the center of pragmatism, and this wonderfully readable and carefully researched book demonstrate it beyond doubt. For Rorty, to mention one neo-pragmatist that is at the heart of this book, poetry, art, and literature are more fundamental than coping with the world, for coping is guided by how we (re)imagine the world. The Renaissance humanists taught us that we are like God in that we are also creators, but that the supreme creation is ourselves. This book is a great celebration of pragmatist humanism and aesthetics and how they instigate progress in our own self-making.

Eduardo Mendieta, Professor of Philosophy, Penn State University, USA