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Idiots
The History of the Homo Nullus
Series: The German List
Brief Description
In a world obsessed with expertise and control, the figure of the idiot illuminates deeper truths about society. Dostoevsky and Nietzsche wrote about him; Dadaists and punks idolised him; artists like Warhol and Beuys made him their icon. From holy fool to punk rebel, the idiot—a...
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Description
In a world obsessed with expertise and control, the figure of the idiot illuminates deeper truths about society.
Dostoevsky and Nietzsche wrote about him; Dadaists and punks idolised him; artists like Warhol and Beuys made him their icon. From holy fool to punk rebel, the idiot—a figure that traces its roots back to the Greek idiotes, a person who was alienated from public life—has always challenged society's norms from the margins.
Far from a simple madman, the idiot is a powerful subversive, a person who disregards norms and finds profound insight in a state of unmediated inspiration. Using a cross-disciplinary approach bridging literature, religion, art, and philosophy, this volume traces a rich journey up to the present, where the idiot reemerges in a dramatic twist: a public figure who inverts social norms, confounds the boundary between private and public, and declares a new, paradoxical view of the world.
Idiots by Leonhard Emmerling captures this complex and enduring figure, illuminating its role in challenging societal conventions and offering a unique perspective on the human condition.
Series: The German List
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Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781803096551
Publisher: Seagull Books London Ltd
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 05 May 2026
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Seagull Books London Ltd
Contributors:
- Translated by Parnal Chirmuley
Audience: Professional and scholarly
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 25.0mm
Width: 152.0mm
Height: 229.0mm
Weight: 454g
Pages: 292
About the Author
Leonhard Emmerling has worked as an art historian in different capacities: as curator and director of art institutions in Germany and New Zealand; as teacher at art academies in Auckland, Düsseldorf, and Munich; and as advisor and director for the Goethe-Institut. His most recent publication is Aesthetics: What For?. Parnal Chirmuley is associate professor at the Centre of German Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi.
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