Susanne Langer
Encyclopedia
Susanne Katherina Langer (née Knauth) (20 December 1895 - 17 July 1985) was an American philosopher of mind and of art who was influenced by Ernst Cassirer
and Alfred North Whitehead
. She was one of the first women to achieve an academic career in philosophy and the first to be popularly and professionally recognized as an American philosopher. Langer is best known for her 1942 book Philosophy in a New Key
.
, the daughter of German immigrants Antonio Knauth, a lawyer, and Else M. (Uhlich) Knauth. German was spoken exclusively at home and she never completely lost her accent. As a girl, Langer learned to play both the cello and piano and for her early education attended Veltin private school. She studied at Radcliffe College
, receiving her bachelors degree in 1920, and her doctorate in 1926. Alfred North Whitehead was her dissertation adviser. She taught at Radcliffe, Wellesley College, Smith College
, and Columbia University
and was visiting lecturer at a number of other institutions. In 1941 she met Ernst Cassirer whose work The Philosophy of Symbolic Forms she had read in the 1920s and had greatly influenced her thinking. Recognizing their common ground, Cassirer remained in close contact with Langer until his death in 1945.
In 1921 she married William L. Langer
who later became a history professor at Harvard. They had two sons, Leonard born in 1922 and Bertrand born in 1925. In the late 1930s they drifted apart and were divorced in 1942.
From 1952 to 1962, Langer was professor of philosophy at Connecticut College
. She was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
in 1960. In 1956 she was awarded a grant from the Edgar J. Kaufmann
Foundation which allowed her to devote the remaining 25 years of her life to research and writing.
Langer died in Old Lyme, Connecticut
on July 17, 1985 after finishing the third volume of her magnum opus, Mind: An Essay on Human Feeling.
put forth an idea that has become commonplace today: that there is a basic and pervasive human need to symbolize, to invent meanings, and to invest meanings in one’s world. Beginning with a critique of positivism
, the work is a study of human thought progressing from semantic theory
through philosophy of music
sketching a theory for all the arts. For Langer, the human mind “is constantly carrying on a process of symbolic transformation of the experiential data that come to it,” causing it to be “a veritable fountain of more or less spontaneous ideas”.
Langer's distinction between discursive versus presentational symbols is one of her better known concepts. Discursive symbolization arranges elements (not always words) with stable and context invariant meanings into a new meaning. Presentation symbolization operates independently of elements with fixed and stable meanings. The presentation cannot be comprehended by progressively building up an understanding of its parts in isolation. It must be understood as a whole. For example, an element used in one painting may be used to articulate an entirely different meaning in another. The same principle applies to a note in a musical arrangement- such elements independently have no fixed meaning except in the context of their entire presentation.
Langer believed symbolism is the central concern of philosophy because it underlies all human knowing and understanding. As with Ernst Cassirer
, Langer believed that what distinguishes man from animal is the capacity for using symbols. While all animal life is dominated by feeling, human feeling is mediated by conceptions, symbols and language. Animals respond to signs, but humans' stimulus from a sign is significantly more complex. The perspective is also associated with symbolic communication
where animal societies are studied to help understand how symbolic communication affects the conduct of members of cooperating group.
In her later years, Langer came to believe that the decisive task of her work was to construct a science and psychology based theory of the "life of the mind" using process philosophy
conventions. Langer's final work, Mind: An Essay on Human Feeling represents the culmination of her attempt to establish a philosophical and scientific underpinning of aesthetic experience, relying on a three volume survey of a comprehensive set of relevant humanistic and scientific texts.
Ernst Cassirer
Ernst Cassirer was a German philosopher. He was one of the major figures in the development of philosophical idealism in the first half of the 20th century...
and Alfred North Whitehead
Alfred North Whitehead
Alfred North Whitehead, OM FRS was an English mathematician who became a philosopher. He wrote on algebra, logic, foundations of mathematics, philosophy of science, physics, metaphysics, and education...
. She was one of the first women to achieve an academic career in philosophy and the first to be popularly and professionally recognized as an American philosopher. Langer is best known for her 1942 book Philosophy in a New Key
Philosophy in a New Key
Philosophy in a New Key: A Study in the Symbolism of Reason, Rite and Art is the main work of American philosopher Susanne K. Langer , first published in 1941...
.
Life
Langer was born in ManhattanManhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, the daughter of German immigrants Antonio Knauth, a lawyer, and Else M. (Uhlich) Knauth. German was spoken exclusively at home and she never completely lost her accent. As a girl, Langer learned to play both the cello and piano and for her early education attended Veltin private school. She studied at Radcliffe College
Radcliffe College
Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was the coordinate college for Harvard University. It was also one of the Seven Sisters colleges. Radcliffe College conferred joint Harvard-Radcliffe diplomas beginning in 1963 and a formal merger agreement with...
, receiving her bachelors degree in 1920, and her doctorate in 1926. Alfred North Whitehead was her dissertation adviser. She taught at Radcliffe, Wellesley College, Smith College
Smith College
Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is the largest member of the Seven Sisters...
, and Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and was visiting lecturer at a number of other institutions. In 1941 she met Ernst Cassirer whose work The Philosophy of Symbolic Forms she had read in the 1920s and had greatly influenced her thinking. Recognizing their common ground, Cassirer remained in close contact with Langer until his death in 1945.
In 1921 she married William L. Langer
William L. Langer
William Leonard Langer was the chair of the history department at Harvard University and the World War II volunteer head of the Research and Analysis branch of the Office of Strategic Services...
who later became a history professor at Harvard. They had two sons, Leonard born in 1922 and Bertrand born in 1925. In the late 1930s they drifted apart and were divorced in 1942.
From 1952 to 1962, Langer was professor of philosophy at Connecticut College
Connecticut College
Connecticut College is a private liberal arts college located in New London, Connecticut.The college was founded in 1911, as Connecticut College for Women, in response to Wesleyan University closing its doors to women...
. She was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
in 1960. In 1956 she was awarded a grant from the Edgar J. Kaufmann
Edgar J. Kaufmann
Edgar J. Kaufmann was a prominent Jewish German-American businessman and philanthropist. He owned and directed Kaufmann's Department Store, the most prominent one in 20th century Pittsburgh and western Pennsylvania...
Foundation which allowed her to devote the remaining 25 years of her life to research and writing.
Langer died in Old Lyme, Connecticut
Old Lyme, Connecticut
Old Lyme is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The Main Street of the town is a historic district. The town has long been a popular summer resort and artists' colony...
on July 17, 1985 after finishing the third volume of her magnum opus, Mind: An Essay on Human Feeling.
Philosophy
Langer's philosophy explored the human mind's continuous process of meaning-making through the power of “seeing” one thing in terms of another. Langer's first major work, Philosophy in a New KeyPhilosophy in a New Key
Philosophy in a New Key: A Study in the Symbolism of Reason, Rite and Art is the main work of American philosopher Susanne K. Langer , first published in 1941...
put forth an idea that has become commonplace today: that there is a basic and pervasive human need to symbolize, to invent meanings, and to invest meanings in one’s world. Beginning with a critique of positivism
Positivism
Positivism is a a view of scientific methods and a philosophical approach, theory, or system based on the view that, in the social as well as natural sciences, sensory experiences and their logical and mathematical treatment are together the exclusive source of all worthwhile information....
, the work is a study of human thought progressing from semantic theory
Semantics
Semantics is the study of meaning. It focuses on the relation between signifiers, such as words, phrases, signs and symbols, and what they stand for, their denotata....
through philosophy of music
Philosophy of music
Philosophy of music is the study of fundamental questions regarding music. The philosophical study of music has many connections with philosophical questions in metaphysics and aesthetics.Some basic questions in the philosophy of music are:...
sketching a theory for all the arts. For Langer, the human mind “is constantly carrying on a process of symbolic transformation of the experiential data that come to it,” causing it to be “a veritable fountain of more or less spontaneous ideas”.
Langer's distinction between discursive versus presentational symbols is one of her better known concepts. Discursive symbolization arranges elements (not always words) with stable and context invariant meanings into a new meaning. Presentation symbolization operates independently of elements with fixed and stable meanings. The presentation cannot be comprehended by progressively building up an understanding of its parts in isolation. It must be understood as a whole. For example, an element used in one painting may be used to articulate an entirely different meaning in another. The same principle applies to a note in a musical arrangement- such elements independently have no fixed meaning except in the context of their entire presentation.
Langer believed symbolism is the central concern of philosophy because it underlies all human knowing and understanding. As with Ernst Cassirer
Ernst Cassirer
Ernst Cassirer was a German philosopher. He was one of the major figures in the development of philosophical idealism in the first half of the 20th century...
, Langer believed that what distinguishes man from animal is the capacity for using symbols. While all animal life is dominated by feeling, human feeling is mediated by conceptions, symbols and language. Animals respond to signs, but humans' stimulus from a sign is significantly more complex. The perspective is also associated with symbolic communication
Symbolic communication
Symbolic communication is exchange of messages that change a priori expectation of events. Examples of this are modern communication technology as also exchange of information amongst animals....
where animal societies are studied to help understand how symbolic communication affects the conduct of members of cooperating group.
In her later years, Langer came to believe that the decisive task of her work was to construct a science and psychology based theory of the "life of the mind" using process philosophy
Process philosophy
Process philosophy identifies metaphysical reality with change and dynamism. Since the time of Plato and Aristotle, philosophers have posited true reality as "timeless", based on permanent substances, whilst processes are denied or subordinated to timeless substances...
conventions. Langer's final work, Mind: An Essay on Human Feeling represents the culmination of her attempt to establish a philosophical and scientific underpinning of aesthetic experience, relying on a three volume survey of a comprehensive set of relevant humanistic and scientific texts.
Books
- The Cruise of the Little Dipper, and Other Fairy Tales (1924 illustrated by Helen Sewall)
- The Practice of Philosophy (1930, foreword by Alfred North WhiteheadAlfred North WhiteheadAlfred North Whitehead, OM FRS was an English mathematician who became a philosopher. He wrote on algebra, logic, foundations of mathematics, philosophy of science, physics, metaphysics, and education...
) - An Introduction to Symbolic Logic (1937) ISBN 978-0486601649
- Philosophy in a New Key: A Study in the Symbolism of Reason, Rite, and Art (1942) (online copy) ISBN 978-0674665033
- Language and Myth (1946), translator, from Sprache und Mythos (1925) by Ernst Cassirer ISBN 978-0486200514
- Feeling and Form: A Theory of Art (1953)
- Problems of Art: Ten Philosophical Lectures, 1957
- Reflections on Art (1961) editor.
- Philosophical Sketches, 1962 ISBN 978-1435107632
- Mind: An Essay on Human Feeling (1967/82) three volumes, vol. 3: ISBN 9780801825118
External links
Multiple essays by and about Langer.- Harvard University Press Philosophy in a new key overview