Shusterman’s Pragmatism. Between Literature and Somaesthetics. Koczanowicz, Dorota and Wojciech Malecki (Eds.) Amsterdam/New York, NY, 2012, VI, 236 pp. Pb: 978-90-420-3486-0 € 50 / US$ 68

Series: Value Inquiry Book Series 244 Central European Value Studies This book is the first essay collection on Richard Shusterman, the foremost representative of contemporary pragmatist aesthetics, a philosopher whose books have been translated into more than fifteen languages. The 12 essays, which cover the wide-ranging scope of Shusterman’s pragmatist thought, divide into three sections: Literary Theory and Philosophy of Art; Epistemology, Metaphysics, Ethics, and Politics; and Somaesthetics. Written by an international group of authors from different philosophical perspectives, the book’s essays not only provide a good introduction to Shusterman’s innovative pragmatist theories, but show their useful applications to important and controversial topics in philosophy, politics, religious and gender studies, the arts, and somaesthetics. The book also includes two new texts by Shusterman: an introductory essay in which he explains the trajectory of his intellectual development and a detailed response to the other contributors, which closes the book. Contents Dorota Koczanowicz and Wojciech Malecki: Introduction Richard Shusterman: A Pragmatist Path through the Play of Limits: from Literature to Somaesthetics Literary Theory and Philosophy of Art Anna Budziak: The Idea of Emotion in T. S. Eliot and in Richard Shusterman Kacper Bartczak: Neo-pragmatist Models of Self-Development and the Poetic Subjectivity in John Ashbery’s Poetry Wojciech Malecki: Challenging the Taboo of the Autobiographical Dorota Koczanowicz: “You Must Change Your Life”: Pragmatism and the Therapeutic Function of Art Epistemology, Metaphysics, Ethics, and Politics Sami Pihlström: Philosophy and Life: Pragmatism, Wittgenstein, and Metaphysics Adam Chmielewski: Faith and the Limits of Fallibilism Don Morse: Erotic Pragmatism: Shusterman’s Deweyan Advances Jerold J. Abrams: Shusterman and the Paradoxes of Superhuman Self-Styling Somaesthetics Monika Bokiniec: “Body Trouble”? Somaesthetics and Feminism Krzysztof Piotr Skowronski: Aesthetics and Corporal Values Robert Dobrowolski: Sampling (No)Body Martin Jay: Somaesthetics and Democracy: Dewey and Contemporary Body Art Richard Shusterman: Continuing Connections: Comments on the Preceding Essays About the Contributors Index