Literary universals

Literary Universals
Patrick Colm Hogan
A presentation by Léon Dijkman
Literature Theory II, 02-04-’09


Presentation Overview
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Hogan’s project of literary universals
Common objections to universalism
Explanation of Hogans theory
How and why universals work
Further research & utility of universals to
literature and society
• Questions


Hogan’s Theory
• Every culture knows (verbal) art
• Envisions a project that embodies both empirical
studies as well as close readings of the text
▫ Again, the study of literary universals, like the study of linguistic
universals, is a project that can progress only through the cooperative
efforts of a broad range of researchers engaged in an ongoing process
of empirical reevaluation of theories and theoreti- cal reorientation of
empirical research. (Hogan p.244)

• Hogan is trying to find secondary principles in
cross-language literature that are universal,
which can then be analyzed further so as to come
to a broader understanding of art and humanity.


Common objections to universalism
• Today there is little enthusiasm for universalism as the focus shifts
to cultural theory; universalism is seen as opressive
▫

When universalism is mentioned at all in humanistic writing, it is most often
denounced as a tool of oppression. (Hogan p.224)

• Hegemonic and empathic universalism (Pandit)
▫

Empathic universalism, in contrast, is based on the as- sumption that all people
share ethical and experiential subjectivity, and that universality must both
derive from and contribute to this sense of shared subjectivity, with all that it
entails in terms of allowing each set of subjective experiences equal weight, etc.
(Hogan, p.224)

• Hence, universals do not preclude historical and cultural
research
▫

Thus, to isolate and test universal patterns, we often require a good deal of
cultural and historical knowledge. At the same time, however, in order to gain

any understanding of cultural particularity, we necessarily presuppose a
background of commonality . (Hogan, p.226)


Explanation of Hogans Theory
▫ More exactly, a property or relation may be considered a universal
only if it is found in distinct bodies of literature that do not share a
common ancestor having that property or relation (Hogan, p.228)

• Statistical and absolute universals (heart v hair)
• Literary techniques and nontechnical correlatives
▫ Techniques include all universal matters of "form" and "content"-including poetic meters, rhetorical devices, etc.-that an author may draw
upon in composing a literary work. (Hogan, p.229)

▫ Nontechnical correlations comprise universal principles that are
not, so to speak, devices or elements or structures that can be
taken up and used in the making of literature, though they may
define a range of or limits on usable devices. (Hogan, p.229)

• Composed into schemata (“sonnet”); “the most broadly
encompassing schema is verbal art itself” 
absolute universal


Explanation of Hogan’s theory II
• Universality of a technique or nontechnical correlation
does not imply universality of all of its specifications
• We should seek for the ‘highest’ abstractions (birds  metaphor
 symbolism)

▫ At the highest level, the specifically literary universals should indicate
what is at the origin of the development of literature, what defines the
human urge to make and experience verbal art (Hogan, p.234)

• … which can then be explained further with other
disciplines such as psychology etc.
• Striving to form statistical universals into absolute
universals through reformulation – typologies (sonnet)

▫ However, the goal of absolute universality may be pursued
further through the delineation of specific conditions in which
statistically universal techniques or correlations occur.
(Hogan, p.234)


How and why universals work
• The project won’t ever be finished
▫

Rather, an empirically based theory is always and necessarily part of a project, an
ongoing, broadly collaborative research program (Hogan, p.236)

• Two examples are mentioned:
▫ Technique

 Aims at conveying “secondary principles”
 Therefore, a differentia of literature is the maximization of patterning
(Hogan, p.238)
 Problem I: some features are patterned while others are not. Solution:
encoding.

 Problem II: certain linguistic features reach a “maximum”. Solution:
refinement of general principle, normative maximum

▫ Nontechnical correlative

 Linking of average line length to rehearsal memory

 Conclude that the correlative is a statistical absolute
 Change the predicate of the universal


Further Research & Uses
• As shown, all findings related to universals lead
to more research in other humanities fields
▫ In any event, each possible outcome would point to areas of further
research and theorization in an ongoing program (Hogan, p.244)

• This further research may:
▫ Generate understanding of art creation
▫ Generate broader understanding of the human mind
▫ Have political consequences as universalist rhetoric is breached and
more general principles are discovered


Questions?