Humanism and America : Essays on the outlook of modern civilisation by Foerster
Humanism and America by Norman Foerster is a collection of essays written in the early 20th century. As a symposium on the outlook of modern civilization, it advocates a renewed humanism that distinguishes the human sphere from both nature and the divine, counters scientism and romantic skepticism, and reasserts discipline, measure, and standards across culture, religion, the arts, and education. Contributors probe science, literature, criticism, and public life through this lens. The
opening of this collection sets a mood of modern disillusion and American influence, introduces “humanism” as a promising corrective shaped notably by Irving Babbitt and Paul Elmer More, states the book’s aim to clarify terms and tasks, and rebuts charges that humanists are merely academic, un-American, reactionary, or “Puritan.” Louis Trenchard More’s first essay argues that exact science rightly treats measurable, objective phenomena but overreaches when it claims the inner life, attacking pseudo-sciences, warning against metaphysical physics, and defending a Renaissance-style dualism that leaves character to humanism. Irving Babbitt’s defining essay then identifies humanism with the law of measure, decorum, and a stable “centre” (with classical and Confucian affinities), sharply distinguishes it from humanitarian sentiment and utilitarian progress, and proposes a higher will that disciplines emotion, works with standards and reason, and can cooperate with religion while remaining distinct. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Editor | Foerster, Norman, 1887-1972 |
|---|---|
| LoC No. | 30006560 |
| Title | Humanism and America : Essays on the outlook of modern civilisation |
| Original Publication | New York: Farrar and Rinehart, 1930. |
| Contents | Preface, by Norman Foerster -- The pretensions of science, by Louis Trenchard More -- Humanism: an essay at definition, by Irving Babbitt -- The humility of common sense, by Paul Elmer More -- The pride of modernity, by G. R. Elliott -- Religion without humanism, by T. S. Eliot -- The plight of our arts, by Frank Jewett Mather, Jr. -- The dilemma of modern tragedy, by Alan Reynolds Thompson -- An American tragedy, by Robert Shafer -- Pandora's box in American fiction, by Harry Hayden Clark -- Dionysus in dismay, by Stanley P. Chase -- Our critical spokesmen, by Gorham B. Munson -- Behaviour and continuity, by Bernard Bandler, II -- The well of discipline, by Sherlock Bronson Gass -- Courage and education, by Richard Lindley Brown -- A list of [humanistic] books published since 1900. |
| Credits | Sean – @parchmentglow |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | B: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion |
| Subject | Philosophy, Modern |
| Subject | Literature -- Philosophy |
| Subject | Humanism |
| Subject | United States -- Civilization -- 20th century |
| Category | Text |
| EBook-No. | 78119 |
| Release Date | Mar 5, 2026 |
| Copyright Status | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 5028 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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