Misplaced Pages

#484515

67-475: Mediterranean Revival is an architectural style introduced in the United States, Canada , and certain other countries in the 19th century. It incorporated references to Spanish Renaissance , Spanish Colonial , Italian Renaissance , French Colonial , Beaux-Arts , Moorish architecture , and Venetian Gothic architecture . Peaking in popularity during the 1920s and 1930s, the movement drew heavily on

134-419: A "protection against chaos". The concept of style was foreign to architects until the 18th century. Prior to the era of Enlightenment , the architectural form was mostly considered timeless, either as a divine revelation or an absolute truth derived from the laws of nature, and a great architect was the one who understood this "language". The new interpretation of history declared each historical period to be

201-532: A case of idealistic fallacy in The Structure of Social Action (1937). Post-structuralism uses the term new historicism , which has some associations with both anthropology and Hegelianism. In Christianity , the term historicism refers to the confessional Protestant form of prophetical interpretation which holds that the fulfillment of biblical prophecy has occurred throughout history and continues to occur; as opposed to other methods which limit

268-564: A complete critique of historicism as it emerges in the works of Hegel, Marx, and Heidegger . Many believe that Strauss also found historicism in Edmund Burke , Tocqueville , Augustine , and John Stuart Mill . Although it is largely disputed whether Strauss himself was a historicist, he often indicated that historicism grew out of and against Christianity and was a threat to civic participation, belief in human agency, religious pluralism, and, most controversially, an accurate understanding of

335-417: A continuum. While these theories were espoused by Charles Darwin and many of his students, their application as applied in social Darwinism and general evolution characterized in the theories of Herbert Spencer and Leslie White , historicism was neither anti-selection, nor anti-evolution, as Darwin never attempted nor offered an explanation for cultural evolution. However, it attacked the notion that there

402-430: A different meaning. Historical Particularism is associated with the work of Franz Boas . His theory used the diffusionist concept that there were a few "cradles of civilization" which grew outwards, and merged it with the idea that societies would adapt to their circumstances. The school of historicism grew in response to unilinear theories that social development represented adaptive fitness, and therefore existed on

469-451: A greater emphasis on the role of process and contingency. Historicism is often used to help contextualize theories and narratives, and may be a useful tool to help understand how social and cultural phenomena came to be. The historicist approach differs from individualist theories of knowledge such as strict empiricism and rationalism , which does not take into account traditions . Historicism can be reductionist , often tends to be, and

536-404: A historical epoch ( Renaissance style ), geographical location ( Italian Villa style ), or an earlier architectural style ( Neo-Gothic style ), and are influenced by the corresponding broader artistic style and the "general human condition". Heinrich Wölfflin even declared an analogy between a building and a costume : an "architectural style reflects the attitude and the movement of people in

603-537: A manner which is conformable to nature and rational. We see a universal, comprehensible connection, and with that individuality likewise attains another character and nature, for it is no longer the plastic individuality of the ancients. This connection is of such power that every individuality is under its dominion, and yet at the same time can construct for itself an inward world. This opinion that entanglement in society creates an indissoluble bond with expression, would become an influential question in philosophy, namely,

670-522: A number of styles which have acquired other names. Architectural styles often spread to other places, so that the style at its source continues to develop in new ways while other countries follow with their own twist. For instance, Renaissance ideas emerged in Italy around 1425 and spread to all of Europe over the next 200 years, with the French, German, English, and Spanish Renaissances showing recognisably

737-448: A person is the way he is, you must examine that person in his society: and to understand that society, you must understand its history, and the forces that influenced it. The Zeitgeist , the "Spirit of the Age", is the concrete embodiment of the most important factors that are acting in human history at any given time. This contrasts with teleological theories of activity, which suppose that

SECTION 10

#1732786654485

804-444: A phenomenon, such as for example a social form , by providing reasoned arguments about how that social form fulfills some function in the structure of a society. In contrast, rather than taking the phenomenon as a given and then seeking to provide a justification for it from reasoned principles, the historical approach asks "Where did this come from?" and "What factors led up to its creation?"; that is, historical explanations often place

871-664: A place in history that is independent of its author. The subject of study no longer was the ideas that Borromini borrowed from Maderno who in turn learned from Michelangelo , instead the questions now were about the continuity and changes observed when the architecture transitioned from Renaissance to Baroque . Semper, Wölfflin, and Frankl, and later Ackerman, had backgrounds in the history of architecture, and like many other terms for period styles, "Romanesque" and "Gothic" were initially coined to describe architectural styles, where major changes between styles can be clearer and more easy to define, not least because style in architecture

938-407: A specific outcome. Karl Popper used the term historicism in his influential books The Poverty of Historicism and The Open Society and Its Enemies , to mean: "an approach to the social sciences which assumes that historical prediction is their primary aim, and which assumes that this aim is attainable by discovering the 'rhythms' or the 'patterns', the 'laws' or the 'trends' that underlie

1005-414: A stage of growth for the humanity (cf. Johann Gottfried Herder 's Volksgeist that much later developed into Zeitgeist ). This approach allowed to classify architecture of each age as an equally valid approach, "style" (the use of the word in this sense became established by the mid-18th century). Style has been subject of an extensive debate since at least the 19th century. Many architects argue that

1072-405: Is a building; Lincoln Cathedral is a piece of architecture" ( Nikolaus Pevsner , 1943). Nonetheless, the traditional and popular approach to the architectural history is through chronology of styles, with changes reflecting the evolution of materials, economics, fashions, and beliefs. Works of architecture are unlikely to be preserved for their aesthetic value alone; with practical re-purposing,

1139-465: Is a depressing affair indeed". According to James Elkins "In the later 20th century criticisms of style were aimed at further reducing the Hegelian elements of the concept while retaining it in a form that could be more easily controlled". In the middle of the 19th century, multiple aesthetic and social factors forced architects to design the new buildings using a selection of styles patterned after

1206-437: Is also associated with the empirical social sciences and with the work of Franz Boas . Historicism tends to be hermeneutic because it values cautious, rigorous, and contextualized interpretation of information; or relativist , because it rejects notions of universal, fundamental and immutable interpretations. Hegel viewed the realization of human freedom as the ultimate purpose of history, which could be achieved only through

1273-400: Is an approach to explaining the existence of phenomena , especially social and cultural practices (including ideas and beliefs), by studying the process or history by which they came about. The term is widely used in philosophy , anthropology , and sociology . This historical approach to explanation differs from and complements the approach known as functionalism , which seeks to explain

1340-418: Is an inevitable and deterministic pattern to history, evade the responsibility of the individual to make free contributions to the evolution of society, hence leading to totalitarianism . Throughout this work, he defines his conception of historicism as: "The central historicist doctrine—the doctrine that history is controlled by specific historical or evolutionary laws whose discovery would enable us to prophesy

1407-466: Is and how it is practiced have developed different and divergent meanings. Elements of historicism appear in the writings of French essayist Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592) and Italian philosopher G. B. Vico (1668–1744), and became more fully developed with the dialectic of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831), influential in 19th-century Europe. The writings of Karl Marx , influenced by Hegel, also occasionally include historicism. The term

SECTION 20

#1732786654485

1474-414: Is easier to replicate by following a set of rules than style in figurative art such as painting. Terms originated to describe architectural periods were often subsequently applied to other areas of the visual arts, and then more widely still to music, literature and the general culture. In architecture stylistic change often follows, and is made possible by, the discovery of new techniques or materials, from

1541-871: Is necessarily one of self-discovery. Hegel saw progress toward freedom as conducted by the "spirit" ( Geist ), a seemingly supernatural force that directs all human actions and interactions. Yet Hegel makes clear that the spirit is a mere abstraction that comes into existence "through the activity of finite agents". Thus, Hegel's determining forces of history may not have a metaphysical nature, though many of his opponents and interpreters have understood him as holding metaphysical and determinist views. Hegel's historicism also suggests that any human society and all human activities such as science , art , or philosophy , are defined by their history. Consequently, their essence can be sought only by understanding said history. The history of any such human endeavor, moreover, not only continues but also reacts against what has gone before; this

1608-440: Is one of the more influential reactions to this part of Hegel's thought. Significantly, Karl Marx's theory of alienation argues that capitalism disrupts traditional relationships between workers and their work. Hegelian historicism is related to his ideas on the means by which human societies progress, specifically the dialectic and his conception of logic as representing the inner essential nature of reality. Hegel attributes

1675-447: Is only by the way, a sort of luxury and superfluity. This difference is really to be found in the manner in which outward conditions have taken shape after the building up of the inward world of religion. In modern times, namely, on account of the reconciliation of the worldly principle with itself, the external world is at rest, is brought into order — worldly relationships, conditions, modes of life, have become constituted and organized in

1742-505: Is relativist in its orientation—that is, it sees each culture as its own frame of reference—a large number of thinkers have embraced the need for historical context, not because culture is self-referential, but because there is no more compressed means of conveying all of the relevant information except through history. This opinion is often seen as deriving from the work of Benedetto Croce . Recent historians using this tradition include Thomas Kuhn . Talcott Parsons criticized historicism as

1809-561: Is revived, it is different. The Spanish mission style was revived 100 years later as the Mission Revival , and that soon evolved into the Spanish Colonial Revival . Early writing on the subjects of architectural history, since the works of Vitruvius in the 1st century B.C. , treated architecture as a patrimony that was passed on to the next generation of architects by their forefathers. Giorgio Vasari in

1876-503: Is strongly criticised by the structural Marxist Louis Althusser , who affirms that Marxism is an objective science, autonomous from interests of society and class. Marxism is, therefore, often associated with deterministic claims of future historical development, but these are not structural parts of Marxism as a style of critique which requires distinction between various critical registers, which at once develops an understanding of broad historical-geographical tensions without prophesying

1943-494: Is the significance of historicism's rejection of "natural right" or "right by nature"). Strauss argued that historicism "rejects political philosophy" (insofar as this stands or falls by questions of permanent, trans-historical significance) and is based on the belief that "all human thought, including scientific thought, rests on premises which cannot be validated by human reason and which came from historical epoch to historical epoch." Strauss further identified R. G. Collingwood as

2010-472: Is the source of Hegel's famous dialectic teaching usually summarized by the slogan " thesis, antithesis, and synthesis ". (Hegel did not use these terms, although Johann Fichte did.) Hegel's famous aphorism , "Philosophy is the history of philosophy", describes it bluntly. Hegel's position is perhaps best illuminated when contrasted against the atomistic and reductionist opinion of human societies and social activities self-defining on an ad hoc basis through

2077-436: Is usually contrasted with theories that posit that historical changes occur entirely at random. David Summers , building on the work of E. H. Gombrich , defines historicism negatively, writing that it posits "that laws of history are formulatable and that in general the outcome of history is predictable," adding "the idea that history is a universal matrix prior to events, which are simply placed in order within that matrix by

Mediterranean Revival architecture - Misplaced Pages Continue

2144-502: Is what he terms "moral historicism", the attempt to infer moral values from the course of history; in Hegel's words, that "history is the world's court of justice". Popper says that he does not believe "that success proves anything or that history is our judge". Futurism must be distinguished from prophecies that the right will prevail: these attempt to infer history from ethics, rather than ethics from history, and are therefore historicism in

2211-629: The 16th century shifted the narrative to biographies of the great artists in his " Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects ". Constructing schemes of the period styles of historic art and architecture was a major concern of 19th century scholars in the new and initially mostly German-speaking field of art history . Important writers on the broad theory of style including Carl Friedrich von Rumohr , Gottfried Semper , and Alois Riegl in his Stilfragen of 1893, with Heinrich Wölfflin and Paul Frankl continued

2278-470: The Gothic rib vault to modern metal and reinforced concrete construction. A major area of debate in both art history and archaeology has been the extent to which stylistic change in other fields like painting or pottery is also a response to new technical possibilities, or has its own impetus to develop (the kunstwollen of Riegl), or changes in response to social and economic factors affecting patronage and

2345-402: The builder. The concept of architectural style is studied in the architectural history as one of the approaches ("style and period") that are used to organize the history of architecture (Leach lists five other approaches as "biography, geography and culture, type, technique, theme and analogy"). Style provides an additional relationship between otherwise disparate buildings, thus serving as

2412-445: The change to the "modern" need to interact with the world, whereas ancient philosophers were self-contained, and medieval philosophers were monks. In his History of Philosophy Hegel writes: In modern times things are very different; now we no longer see philosophic individuals who constitute a class by themselves. With the present day all difference has disappeared; philosophers are not monks, for we find them generally in connection with

2479-465: The classical philosophers and religious prophets themselves. Throughout his work, he warns that historicism, and the understanding of progress that results from it, expose us to tyranny , totalitarianism, and democratic extremism . In a collection of his works by Kenneth Hart entitled Jewish Philosophy and the Crisis of Modernity , he argues that Islam , traditional Judaism , and ancient Greece, share

2546-482: The conditions of the artist, as current thinking tends to emphasize, using less rigid versions of Marxist art history. Although style was well-established as a central component of art historical analysis, seeing it as the over-riding factor in art history had fallen out of fashion by World War II, as other ways of looking at art were developing, and a reaction against the emphasis on style developing; for Svetlana Alpers , "the normal invocation of style in art history

2613-453: The confines of the norms and forms that phrase the question. This version of historicism holds that there are only the raw texts, markings and artifacts that exist in the present, and the conventions used to decode them. This school of thought is sometimes given the name of New Historicism . The same term, new historicism is also used for a school of literary scholarship which interprets a poem , drama , etc. as an expression of or reaction to

2680-420: The creation of the perfect state. Historical progress toward this state would occur through a dialectical process: the tension between the purpose of humankind (freedom) and humankind's current condition would produce the attempt by humankind to change its condition to one more in accord with its nature. However, because humans are often not aware of the goal of humanity and history, the process of achieving freedom

2747-483: The debate into the 20th century. Paul Jacobsthal and Josef Strzygowski are among the art historians who followed Riegl in proposing grand schemes tracing the transmission of elements of styles across great ranges in time and space. This type of art history is also known as formalism , or the study of forms or shapes in art. Wölfflin declared the goal of formalism as German : Kunstgeschichtliche Grundbegriffe , "art history without names", where an architect's work has

Mediterranean Revival architecture - Misplaced Pages Continue

2814-464: The destiny of man." As mentioned above, such characterizations of Marx in particular are not entirely accurate to Marx in his own right, and has drawn criticism from philosophers such as Lakatos for mischaracterizing the defense of induction in historical materialism . Other philosophers such as Walter Kaufmann have also been critical of Popper, calling his reading of Hegel a “myth,” “known largely through secondary sources…” Another of his targets

2881-428: The different teachings and opinions that have arisen over the course of the centuries." "There is also a certain historicism, which attributing value only to the events of man's life, overthrows the foundation of all truth and absolute law, both on the level of philosophical speculations and especially to Christian dogmas." Western Marxists such as Karl Korsch , Antonio Gramsci and the early Georg Lukacs emphasise

2948-405: The end is the determining factor of activity, as well as those who believe in a tabula rasa , or blank slate, opinion, such that individuals are defined by their interactions. These ideas can be interpreted variously. The Right Hegelians , working from Hegel's opinions about the organicism and historically determined nature of human societies, interpreted Hegel's historicism as a justification of

3015-631: The evolution of history". Popper condemned historicism along with the determinism and holism which he argued formed its basis, claiming that historicism had the potential to inform dogmatic, ideological beliefs not predicated upon facts that were falsifiable . In The Poverty of Historicism , he identified historicism with the opinion that there are "inexorable laws of historical destiny", an opinion he warned against. If this seems to contrast with what proponents of historicism argue for, in terms of contextually relative interpretation, this happens, according to Popper, only because such proponents are unaware of

3082-411: The historian." This approach, he writes, "seems to make the ends of history visible, thus to justify the liquidation of groups seen not to have a place in the scheme of history" and that it has led to the "fabrication of some of the most murderous myths of modern times." The term historicism ( Historismus ) was coined by German philosopher Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel . Over time, what historicism

3149-598: The historical ones (working "in every style or none"), and style definition became a practical matter. The choice of an appropriate style was subject of elaborate discussions; for example, the Cambridge Camden Society had argued that the churches in the new British colonies should be built in the Norman style , so that the local architects and builders can go through the paces repeating the architectural history of England. Historicism Historicism

3216-409: The human animal. Post-structuralism would argue that since history is not present, but only the image of history, that while an individual era or power structure might emphasize a particular history, that the contradictions within the story would hinder the very purposes that the history was constructed to advance. In the context of anthropology and other sciences which study the past, historicism has

3283-735: The most coherent advocate of historicism in the English language. Countering Collingwood's arguments, Strauss warned against historicist social scientists' failure to address real-life problems—most notably that of tyranny—to the extent that they relativize (or "subjectivize") all ethical problems by placing their significance strictly in function of particular or ever-changing socio-material conditions devoid of inherent or "objective" "value". Similarly, Strauss criticized Eric Voegelin 's abandonment of ancient political thought as guide or vehicle in interpreting modern political problems. In his books, Natural Right and History and On Tyranny , Strauss offers

3350-504: The normal sense rather than moral historicism. He also attacks what he calls " Historism ", which he regards as distinct from historicism. By historism, he means the tendency to regard every argument or idea as completely accounted for by its historical context, as opposed to assessing it by its merits. Leo Strauss used the term historicism and reportedly termed it the single greatest threat to intellectual freedom insofar as it denies any attempt to address injustice-pure-and-simple (such

3417-494: The notion of "style" cannot adequately describe the contemporary architecture, is obsolete and ridden with historicism . In their opinion, by concentrating on the appearance of the building, style classification misses the hidden from view ideas that architects had put into the form. Studying history of architecture without reliance on styles usually relies on a " canon " of important architects and buildings. The lesser objects in this approach do not deserve attention: "A bicycle shed

SECTION 50

#1732786654485

3484-510: The only means of explaining it was in terms of the historical particulars of the culture itself. Since the 1950s, when Jacques Lacan and Michel Foucault argued that each epoch has its own knowledge system, within which individuals are inexorably entangled, many post-structuralists have used historicism to describe the opinion that all questions must be settled within the cultural and social context in which they are raised. Answers cannot be found by appeal to an external truth, but only within

3551-552: The original intent of the original architect, sometimes his very identity, can be forgotten, and the building style becomes "an indispensable historical tool". Styles emerge from the history of a society. At any time several styles may be fashionable, and when a style changes it usually does so gradually, as architects learn and adapt to new ideas. The new style is sometimes only a rebellion against an existing style, such as postmodern architecture (meaning "after modernism"), which in 21st century has found its own language and split into

3618-423: The period concerned. The 21st century construction uses a multitude of styles that are sometimes lumped together as a " contemporary architecture " based on the common trait of extreme reliance on computer-aided architectural design (cf. Parametricism ). Folk architecture (also "vernacular architecture") is not a style, but an application of local customs to small-scale construction without clear identity of

3685-455: The power-structures of its society. Stephen Greenblatt is an example of this school. Within the context of 20th-century philosophy, debates continue as to whether ahistorical and immanent methods were sufficient to understand the meaning (that is to say, "what you see is what you get" positivism) or whether context, background and culture are important beyond the mere need to decode words, phrases and references. While post-structural historicism

3752-492: The requirements for individuality. It would be considered by Nietzsche , John Dewey and Michel Foucault directly, as well as in the work of numerous artists and authors. There have been various responses to Hegel's challenge. The Romantic period emphasized the ability of individual genius to transcend time and place, and use the materials from their heritage to fashion works which were beyond determination. The modern would advance versions of John Locke's infinite malleability of

3819-407: The roots of Marx's thought in Hegel. They interpret Marxism as a historically relativist philosophy, which views ideas (including Marxist theory) as products of the historical epochs that create them. In this view, Marxism is not an objective social science, but rather a theoretical expression of the class consciousness of the working class within a historical process. This understanding of Marxism

3886-666: The same style, but with unique characteristics. An architectural style may also spread through colonialism , either by foreign colonies learning from their home country, or by settlers moving to a new land. One example is the Spanish missions in California , brought by Spanish priests in the late 18th century and built in a unique style . After an architectural style has gone out of fashion, revivals and re-interpretations may occur. For instance, classicism has been revived many times and found new life as neoclassicism . Each time it

3953-567: The style of palaces and seaside villas and applied them to the rapidly expanding coastal resorts of Florida and California. Structures are typically based on a rectangular floor plan, and feature massive, symmetrical primary façades. Stuccoed walls, red tiled roofs, windows in the shape of arches or circles, one or two stories, wood or wrought iron balconies with window grilles, and articulated door surrounds are characteristic. Keystones were occasionally employed. Ornamentation may be simple or dramatic. Lush gardens often appear. The style

4020-426: The sum of dozens of interactions. Yet another contrasting model is the persistent metaphor of a social contract . Hegel considers the relationship between individuals and societies as organic, not atomic: even their social discourse is mediated by language , and language is based on etymology and unique character. It thus preserves the culture of the past in thousands of half-forgotten metaphors . To understand why

4087-444: The time-frame of prophecy-fulfillment to the past or to the future. There is also a particular opinion in ecclesiastical history and in the history of dogmas which has been described as historicist by Pope Pius XII in the encyclical Humani generis . "They add that the history of dogmas consists in the reporting of the various forms in which revealed truth has been clothed, forms that have succeeded one another in accordance with

SECTION 60

#1732786654485

4154-425: The type of causality they ascribe to history. Popper wrote with reference to Hegel 's theory of history , which he criticized extensively. In The Open Society and Its Enemies , Popper attacks "historicism" and its proponents, among whom he identifies and singles out Hegel, Plato and Marx —calling them all "enemies of the open society". The objection he makes is that historicist positions, by claiming that there

4221-571: The unique destiny of national groups and the importance of stability and institutions. Hegel's conception of human societies as entities greater than the individuals who constitute them influenced nineteenth-century romantic nationalism and its twentieth-century excesses. The Young Hegelians , by contrast, interpreted Hegel's thoughts on societies influenced by social conflict for a doctrine of social progress , and attempted to manipulate these forces to cause various results. Karl Marx's doctrine of "historical inevitabilities" and historical materialism

4288-441: The world, participating with others in some common work or calling. They live, not independently, but in the relation of citizens, or they occupy public offices and take part in the life of the state. Certainly they may be private persons, but if so, their position as such does not in any way isolate them from their other relationship. They are involved in present conditions, in the world and its work and progress. Thus their philosophy

4355-487: Was empirical, namely that there were so many requisite inputs into a society or event, that only by emphasizing the data available could a theory of the source be determined. In this opinion, grand theories are unprovable, and instead intensive field work would determine the most likely explanation and history of a culture, and hence it is named "historicism". This opinion would produce a wide range of definition of what, exactly, constituted culture and history, but in each case

4422-677: Was most commonly applied to hotels, apartment buildings, commercial structures, and residences. Architects August Geiger and Addison Mizner were foremost in Florida, while Bertram Goodhue , Sumner Spaulding , and Paul Williams were in California. There are also examples of this architectural style in Cuba , such as the Hotel Nacional de Cuba , in Havana . Architectural style Architectural styles are frequently associated with

4489-573: Was one normative spectrum of development, instead emphasizing how local conditions would create adaptations to the local environment. Julian Steward refuted the viability of globally and universally applicable adaptive standards proposing that culture was honed adaptively in response to the idiosyncrasies of the local environment, the cultural ecology , by specific evolution. What was adaptive for one region might not be so for another. This conclusion has likewise been adopted by modern forms of biological evolutionary theory. The primary method of historicism

#484515