Jean-Marie Guyau's Sociological Art Theory Reissued

The recent reissue of Jean-Marie Guyau's (1854-1888) work in the "Corpus des œuvres de philosophie en langue française" series, edited by Michel Serres, highlights its importance in 19th-century sociology. Unlike Hippolyte Taine, who emphasized individual artworks, Guyau regarded art as a vehicle for socialization and collective consciousness. His approach to the sociology of art was rooted in the physiology of emotions, aiming to differentiate between balanced and decadent art. Although his universalist sociology, which blends Kantianism, positivism, and a belief in experimental science, is now seen as outdated, it primarily focuses on transcendental values of universal harmony, neglecting the social dimensions that would later be crucial in the following century's structural reforms.