Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

The Mathematical Imagination: On the Origins and Promise of Critical Theory
The Mathematical Imagination: On the Origins and Promise of Critical Theory
The Mathematical Imagination: On the Origins and Promise of Critical Theory
Ebook405 pages5 hours

The Mathematical Imagination: On the Origins and Promise of Critical Theory

Rating: 0 out of 5 stars

()

Read preview

About this ebook

This book offers an archeology of the undeveloped potential of mathematics for critical theory. As Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorno first conceived of the critical project in the 1930s, critical theory steadfastly opposed the mathematization of thought. Mathematics flattened thought into a dangerous positivism that led reason to the barbarism of World War II. The Mathematical Imagination challenges this narrative, showing how for other German-Jewish thinkers, such as Gershom Scholem, Franz Rosenzweig, and Siegfried Kracauer, mathematics offered metaphors to negotiate the crises of modernity during the Weimar Republic. Influential theories of poetry, messianism, and cultural critique, Handelman shows, borrowed from the philosophy of mathematics, infinitesimal calculus, and geometry in order to refashion cultural and aesthetic discourse.

Drawn to the austerity and muteness of mathematics, these friends and forerunners of the Frankfurt School found in mathematical approaches to negativity strategies to capture the marginalized experiences and perspectives of Jews in Germany. Their vocabulary, in which theory could be both mathematical and critical, is missing from the intellectual history of critical theory, whether in the work of second generation critical theorists such as Jürgen Habermas or in contemporary critiques of technology. The Mathematical Imagination shows how Scholem, Rosenzweig, and Kracauer’s engagement with mathematics uncovers a more capacious vision of the critical project, one with tools that can help us intervene in our digital and increasingly mathematical present.

The Mathematical Imagination is available from the publisher on an open-access basis.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateMar 5, 2019
ISBN9780823283842
The Mathematical Imagination: On the Origins and Promise of Critical Theory
Author

Matthew Handelman

Matthew Handelman is Assistant Professor of German Studies at Michigan State University.

Related to The Mathematical Imagination

Related ebooks

Mathematics For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for The Mathematical Imagination

Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings

0 ratings0 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

    Book preview

    The Mathematical Imagination - Matthew Handelman

    Oabook_preview_excerpt.html}ˮו]/\\ٺ3fp>dM^vYfyu̕3z̦.{O}>k\k~эqr͝<+Zn n#7r8vEtոAfV7nn\2\p<\Kqˇb}Y|;b=vֵn1 ?xTj+x2Ku})wj\OwkޭǠ`I2^vRNb8}7plnK7dyvopɘ]MPg⫮ş [ӧB^>f^=l'7 '|nI}w'GrXisÏS.n(wysrprm]n[ Gy$9h?t7U)TtC\@uGo fo٭K_\u_ 7̾>Wv;ge\r\I ٱ*Ɔj6J+] (X fUﺩ+dw+yB!{Nn=/\?kY&v&zcjTn/"]7ȗ M%'u@`f]>fm2j].,8P]|sJEM1LZgq.jOO Q=hco t*nŭw_ C_WOϲsa* \v7xpt-OVO"$tV6vr7@=h:l7ay}^vkYEGꂅx&+&K\}1e&W* h冎"y^v|м{$=,`X<9^!S6iFiI ьJ_墻*[P]q5(ZTL0?3șHFB6%`bRF\'gRH5w񪶐kMeeSa{k69'O?vu9foE'lZђ t(QKܡx|6&,4?7]]M;x̰#WsvSxmHfe\nUP q]/Dcb[S!x _BK=zp6K`lKU X&km 4r}}&3^FO3† r‘Bt_soEe+O4Ce'T@' 3'!"Y0'T:~;@E#hhGZ@p&e5QƠe˃|}F|kp,SeH :Ey!ۓ;8[UCuxN{cIupԄ]{ۨ*g`n#\m>m.h~YwTۥ[;r+u/R;9Pb7[j编zG+rZG>{_wp'(_wx{LBD74*{w}BI&'`f//,J1!Q^wr$3g 9cvef85.nEm6'NLV<xAZXœ'٬AW%Ei 2lNkuC]fτ > Ҭx4ܹn+^lҸ@"^ʓ~dz۰R(3UA۳嵽f=\>=@hѷZ9krDx @_ EB 85S0j뫿NG 7dXXt #W^n"sY0 1[VpʀAs?Õ^UI\c8 "r&Yu3!p<vXRE2choxnPO ]U\O#!B~ HMz۲s`g`; 5`G(X1%dT.Bg MeC/M)&s%;Jև8r L"%Rt&z~:/viST84QFeW}~ zVbwUoxЍHzr'F~ت&3AR^KHM,y gEGj<>&ppL H7*Uel[YO˔.Z1Ⱦ2aX4VC ,l>I肪  ZNf̈?fRe3]#|@/bUʡehKƯ54`RU}>ZI+*3#t~m}(>Ųjb Ge,U<"T*N(ء 䛊7]e53Hrj'&Ʈ_~i*43h|PQE1 ~ъ[waA;z7nqWt-Wm[K[l& kMvk4eW34%UAo"(wn+:H싙썰HfF8Op "hJVSfb:@U@97=*.ZfT;RWn#~ ^pGӾ(8.60#naq0ԇ# NV0Ŋ >nQ u%#*%OMI!j Bl𸣙BҧX8dIw ь<w@[ #pK6i8"쓼@d9.!MIpעgTׂ7o/(;Ȏ{g`hUNTʣT ]f̓_PWl8aa )Z3 oAp6-~k>F.0ĦCEDMX9b(M"rB" -0!h2":iLn4ۉD;0|z>E-k ,Pۆް6Sv*Z+1*&L'F+jtBBPF5%zQ~;Sz?iqtN ḘL] l<De uC˜a<`2>.7: aA(31@.^<b.pz`2Eiʌ(ouI: ؈{01+2Փ8nj qd CK>vr\Y.F"kajAYuB&~ЩR]]^@#'ޗV/"py1PlE,"Tfh4?WeQv>AOf@5!JŸVz~VCA kb/ϸ % th@Z#_%QYTh3yCJȐ?w~rQ?A˱'k-gS3=G/A6mCMA>{༡\]!T$jk X*5 hh1~Cʒ5J >QC٣Q(GDOhxc$/nA JA*S$M BhI.jهj~cW':Zf _Y ; _8Ԃ((U@:2zy RuAGllΖ3-5-0IXv#j 4.YCv3xhUR۝Gϧjlͬ0$:hݾc|J*SOV?]maLO\epdآ F|QɫN*RD*@YެQ<'dNkOp؉,)G h ƀaD*1MbF{4%\ꏔ b5GFMeH,|GΧ⥔[KhMH{Mo[hᨾBwܧ*SFw] :o兤{Biie/x;UEVKbG(4bLG}gP.4vDR6/}ڔE]EilF*_DBC_!;n!mþo@@S :+Kݵ5\L7,68 OO,˄ꖺBF@|VaJdy?Op:eĻ1`mX1lmӨXCZ ySU8;+O}]I޲멺֐뼩_e!וFW?ڪɡFr!Q,FNiU0]X@xb[tb)*Dj4: Id;{5mI${5TW> 1Eɋ/s`QFp $2*MCe-ͺSBΥJ\pۈ;YO+s^[W=Gx3% Jׇ* .܉6rɧC6ԧE05s1E|D!G%BXޮoy \:Jpf=C:䩷؂l& +k: ˊ1ePf4EuMd4;@`u' 1-'koyo V(oLKNOfAz؞Sa?)ؐo Xn%9_E8ijUU+z]Yyb#OV7&%^,+>4\,9#CuQ} qEΏS> NtQPGW߽.v#V|iڈ !Z , 3DP"lBD5d*V vLLZ_Y9zMC\XAyQr,n[?,$?9F!A&9 @a?!Oj9QOaftwQ&-@y9+HeEi=^ aZ du' 丝~aʘFe|uNd`?!Vl|"OS0t8Bޡ.kљ[ mݴkZ10@N*I <̮ U_senC9DyHLn+miQH.̄hMVϱv1ю|h91${=6YE%C7N a3wm{NAz 7iǡЗnsavLWi `0MX6PqDo?"q2u(,f2WlҨו'hYゃ*g#< ɕvR%ASK%Ty HאH]?ȁv`(Ӛ@ư~~8 k7 95~`~IC֜L6niRBO߳b0alٯY@_9A‰W܏vA4c_`>Ol#gE1qn& S5 Er01vFztKkU5C*y@R⹀֊^ 8 r׼?NpjY9~!8]'p((=FVʓۭ iu,jqˍ,qIϨt̨C ?{6fjPSNgS7]L;1GfޕI[3~1`"a[LIԖȔ LXoք{{+N>V]ڊz6niÒXd3VcMGYU};VA(CwgZUCFۻ0!kCO:y8l﨑}SEFZSSIZ LɺA8a[|+.q54SlPԎas@$uJtAjePj +6ZyY[dw;'1O{M̱"yLMp'qq(M)6 c*:'dS7lJcZR6^kNŠ!D_G)Z8ۚ\Dg׵նVvB bc=n-+ bqa(ާa*DQD0APǬQ{ *;̣'sq}HNFPY(@;v3N&ܲtǃ3F3OB| z奨fet9o0bwW"l'C. Y+atĩ4y{0cv vr*Vvg>ōl&"8L'-WP:NQ}y Y~rCCYLGPc}N/$. } Frfe|Nς W 2>x:3,|ZQ!GA&I# l=e5!59~='<ﲤMo})G}uZrqt%Jp=.r hՔT*[؊kNd#y,F{s-bʮa2;MF虞.AR@5Ft.z $g) S5znNۚ #d!Vb9bBTX2ZOLQ<08>LMs'R{Q  dg sF G{g}ԗ jeټW1^ Ĩ)P6t'ߪnJqGrc=1{jiU;[ELN*< * ۶pi?DžjJ庲#.gejt)"SșDc 'pR( P'Cs6m6TЭ !?oHobl^XØy1B[=d,Bt67ɮД,x<<GmFDʆ鈨2r\Rb6L[ON pq12\k,ZZez3Qzӊ813Z ?XV1h$]=cKT13EuqE|yHO,Hr{J,:W<=@$C󹨉^Emj-Q99!`a͒]Raz=)kL3o􎓍悌q) *+ǂa[̥cZzwVbj3x&HEpAvqG*#G̚Oc8xD <4[jBE=t}\ǐnodF)]g] f8b/~l`w'I댯2&8<2ڂ#0H6]:S n̼P . G|qsXCJ՟Yǘs@ϲ-\<1?G m:h}F/ Ԥ! Sj-0Ϭ$&\Cuu򽥰͔8x^NNT}Ű? >Udi`3vbMunË~f?~=&L|g˄VAތ(>e~}g%+|-O|O@ۯQ̏]s^Q=Q}\>a*/˥"3XՓ Q^[ҿ N5RH$Hx^ H-~:?mۏa05, t2)J ~"XR-:IJ_8 ;nl"aGoY}nUbzErqgctE):f'f8|8FkKMWދ~9lԳfUI>UR~/m헊^hm( y%9n˜/ݍ[9A 0 o;-=,Y dVpUɓZ%2l' ·T5ٵ;q/J [YE,q=srƉn[D8 eEڲcHt7x9Z@=G'޲֑'_WIg"6%$:ա^'?z.ף~͗5"%"acV"NM&oN:EQ]hZ; xH/d:`GJDZ۵X3nKA*+ڀAZ[pPOa =OWke-%{_ŸW "=sa޽#.v>7hq,@1\ƌ€Fl+lIFD<-ITK,5Y8nC#-!zPME{[Sr h`ԵP64'tH|zo1$}ryd0`28_N#yp"m/T K[VGv4 "J9eP\y-Hk! >,{˟KY 3ǓhC$;fC?mFj7XR:4a XX*-(_芖۰ LHYn6~壱_X׵5u !O^~1}} '9<NX@ckm{LQ !%-"&Iٻ=G P Z$w/#mǣYXw`x|OW2qq~߇Ў7p ☯4oi0 EH$u2 d*8E76 nTl?.sJ4b3 AJ$53U,8E5iB:(%ʵ"?T/aj6Aی[JON3ouRa@g:[`3ɂ.fZN n;I tp=Y+G*: {d7 !uhN,èw!?8_;ZDs+% !q8o8͓f 󶨐9 IbDy yp|'++@F7.Rx6Z
    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1