Samuel Johnson’s Pragmatism and Imagination

Download or read book Samuel Johnson’s Pragmatism and Imagination written by Stefka Ritchie and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2018-11-07 with total page 361 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The central theme of this book is an under-studied link between the canon of Francis Bacon’s and Isaac Newton’s scientific and philosophical thought and Samuel Johnson’s critical approach that can be traced in a textual study of his literary works. The interpretive framework adopted here encourages familiarity with the history and philosophy of science, confirming that the history of ideas is an entirely human construct that constitutes an integral part of intellectual history. This further endorses the argument that intermediality can only be of benefit to future research into the richness of Johnson’s literary style. As perceived boundaries are crossed between conventionally distinct communication media, the profile of Johnson that emerges is of a writer of passionate intelligence who was able to combine a pragmatic approach to knowledge with flights of imagination as a true artist.