Abstract

Much recent criticism of the legacy of rationalism and so-called "system's thought" has made use of the arguments of either Johann Georg Hamann or Mikhail Bakhtin . This dissertation seeks to uncover the assumptions and interests common to both, and it examines the philosophical, political, and theological underpinnings and ramifications of their thought. ;The first chapter tries to motivate the discussion by examining a series of recent articles which characterize the on-going debate about the nature and goals of the European Enlightenment. Hamann and Bakhtin are introduced as two thinkers who not only offer trenchant critiques of the rationalist and Kantian projects, but who develop alternative positions based on different conceptions of truth and human agency in the world. ;Chapter 2 examines Hamann's critique of Kant's Kritik der reinen Vernunft. Hamann attacks what he sees as the culmination of a trend in philosophy towards increasing abstraction, one that gives priority to truths stripped of practically everything concrete. ;Chapter 3 presents a summary of Bakhtin's notion of the "chronotope," which, it is argued, can be seen as a reply to Kant that incorporates many of the objections that Hamann had raised and which presents an alternative narrative of the evolution of subjectivity and experience. ;Chapter 4 contains an investigation of the relationship between "method" and "truth." The influence of Peter Ramus is discussed--his work was a major factor leading to a shift away from approaches based on rhetoric, dialogue and inter-personal communication to those based on logic and the application of rule-based methods. This legacy is then contrasted with Hamann's and Bakhtin's critique. ;Chapters 5 and 6 are devoted to two pivotal components of Hamann's and Bakhtin's thinking regarding language and speech: addressivity and intonation. ;The concluding chapter examines features of Hamann's style from a Bakhtinian perspective. Such an approach reinforces the conclusion of more recent Hamann scholarship that Hamann must not be dismissed as an irrationalist and Anti-Enlightenment thinker, but must instead be considered a representative of a group of thinkers striving for a more inclusive concept of rationality