Reclaiming Wonder

Abstract

A philosophical exploration of wonder: its history, its present condition and its future potential Genevieve Lloyd illuminates and challenges some perplexing aspects of contemporary attitudes to wonder. Central to her argument is the claim that wonder has come to be largely eclipsed by the allure of the notion of the Sublime – a concept closely associated with Romantic Idealism. Lloyd offers us a renewed sense of wonder, reconnected with its philosophical history, that plays a significant role in contemporary social critique. In her path to reclaim wonder, she moves between philosophical and literary sources. She draws especially on Flaubert's responses to Romanticism and his related treatment of stupidity, which influenced the thought of Jean-Paul Sartre, Gilles Deleuze and Jacques Derrida. She also reaches into contemporary debates on refugees, secularisation and climate change.

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