Historicism as an aspect of a pragmatist theory of architecture A. Coetzee January 1999. Department of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002. Tel: (011) 646-2605 (home) Tel: (011) 406-2184 (work) Abstract interpreters of architecture should value region­ al and cultural differences. It is observed that the In this essay an attempt is made to validate the beliefs and habits of life at a particular time and historicist theories that architectural practices place inform architects and that architecture change over time and that architecture can be could be interpreted as the products of regional interpreted as manifestations of the beliefs exist­ and temporal interests. Lastly the ideas are 4 ing in particular communities at a specific time. advanced that interpretations of architectural To support these theses comparisons are made practices vary according to the purposes of vari­ between the philosophy of Hegel and the archi­ ous communities and that the aims of architec­ tectural theories of Pugin and Ruskin. The aspect tural practitioners are' conditioned by the goals of Hegel's philosophy that is studied is his con­ of the communities that they work for. viction that arbitrary and contingent aspects of a particular historical existence influenced human beliefs. Pugin postulated that the beliefs and Abstrak customs of the communities that architectural designers worked for influenced their designs. In hierdie artikel word 'n poging aangewend om Ruskin also theorised that architecture was die historistiese teorie te ondersteun dat argitek­ informed by local beliefs of a particular time. The tuurpraktyke verander met tyd en dat argitektu­ results of the comparisons between the theories ur ge'lnterpreteer kan word as manifestasies van of Hegel, Pugin and Ruskin are used in the essay dit waarin bepaalde gemeenskappe glo op 'n to formulate guidelines for present-day architec­ sekere tyd. Om hierdie stellings te ondersteun tural practices and for interpretations of current word die filosofie van Hegel vergelyk met die architecture. It is suggested that designers and argitektuurteorie van Pugin en Ruskin. Die Digitised by the University of Pretoria, Library Services bepaalde aspek van Hegel se filosofie wat Curriculum vitae of the author bestudeer word is sy oortuiging dat arbitrere en voorwaardelike aspekte van In spesifieke histo­ Anton Coetzee obtained a Bachelorls degree in riese bestaan menslike oortuiginge bernvloed. Architecture with distinction from the University Pugin het gepostuleer dat die oortuiginge en of Pretoria in 1981. In 1987 he obtained a gewoontes van die gemeenskappe waarvoor Bachelorls degree in Fine ·Arts from the University argitektuurpraktisyns werk In invloed uitoefen of South Africa. He obtained a Masterls Degree op hulle ontwerpe. Ruskin het ook geskryf dat in Architecture from the University of the plaaslike sienings wat bestaan gedurende In spe­ Witwatersrand in 1989. The title of his disserta­ sifieke tyd In invloed het op argitektuur. Die tion was Postmodern aesthetic theory with ref­ resultate van die vergelykings tussen die teorie erence to South African architecture. In 1998 he van Hegell Pugin en Ruskin word gebruik in die was awarded the degree Doctor of Philosophy artikel om riglyne te formuleer vir hedendaagse (in Architecture) by the Department of argitektuurpraktyke en vir interpretasies van Architecture and Landscape Architecturel 5 teenwoordige argitektuur. Die voorstel word University of Pretorial for the thesis A pragmatist gemaak dat ontwerpers en interpreteerders van theory of current architecture using Rortis per­ geboue die verskille wat bestaan tussen streke spective on Hegel. en kulture moet waardeer. Die opmerking word gemaak dat die menings en die lewensge­ woontes wat deel is van In spesifieke plek en tyd Historicism as an aspect of a argitektuurpraktisyns inlig en dat argitektuur pragmatist theory of architec­ gernterpreteer kan word as die produkte van ture belangstellings wat hoort by In streek en In tyd. Die laaste idees wat voorgehou word in die The aim of writing this essay is to seek support artikel is dat interpretasies van argitektuurprak­ for the historicist theory that architectural prac­ tyke verskil na aanleiding van die doelwitte van tices are temporal and not timeless. Historicist verskillende gemeenskappe en dat die mikpunte theories are in contrast with theories in which van argitektuurpraktisyns bernvloed word deur immutable principles are sought for architecture. die oogmerke van die gemeenskappe vir wie This essay is part of an attempt to develop a hulle werk. pragmatist architectural theory in which archi- Digitised by the University of Pretoria, Library Services tecture is conceived of as constituted through that such processes are governed by laws. Those human concepts that are developed historically subscribing to this belief think that history is and within a particular social context. immune from human agency and choice. Such a historicist view is sometimes ascribed to Hegel The pragmatist theme for this essay has been (Rorty 1980: 391 n.29), because he believed that provided by the opposition sketched by Rorty history developed out of necessity towards the (1991: 55-6) between a realist view of science - fulfilment of the destiny of Spirit. Hegel's deter­ as theoretical convictions guided by how things ministic views are suppressed by pragmatists. really are - and a pragmatist view of science - as Interpretations of human beliefs as temporal are an account of how beliefs and desires succeed­ also found in Hegel, and this aspect is empha­ ed one another and interacted in the course of sised by pragmatists. Rorty (1982: xli), for time. In Rorty's pragmatist view scientific expla­ instance, is interested in Hegel primarily because nations depend more on intellectual history than of his "temporalization of rationality", in the 6 on "non perspectival", objective terms. sense that he showed how conceptual frame­ works became outdated and were replaced by The term" historicism" is problematic because it other new "vocabularies" as time went by (see seems to have diametrically opposite meanings. also Hall 1994: 120). The sense in which it is used by pragmatist archi­ tectural theorists is the view that phenomena The contents of this essay are narrated according such as architecture are manifestations of the to a historicist method, in which comparisons beliefs of a particular community at a specific are made between theories of historical figures. time. The aim of the comparisons between historical theories is not to describe some inevitable or The term" historicism" refers to the theory that necessary historical progress of ideas. It is to social phenomena such as architecture are inter­ compare past theories in a playful and experi­ preted against the background of local beliefs mental way, thereby acknowledging the trans­ and customs. parency of the reconstructed historical narrative. A function of the process is to select aspects of Another sense of "historicism" is the belief in theories that are useful to formulate a pragma­ the necessity of historical processes, or the belief tist theory of architecture. Hegel has been cho- Digitised by the University of Pretoria, Library Services sen as a character for the essay because Rorty cussion of historical truths in his "Preface: on sci­ (1980: 136-209) uses him in his description of entific cognition" in Phenomenology of Spirit. historical changes in philosophy. The aim of According to him, historical truths were con­ Rorty's historicist narrative is to show how ideas cerned with contingent and arbitrary aspects of about theoretical foundations for philosophy a particular existence . Such truths were not sta­ have been undermined in various historical tic, but were interpretations derived from com­ examples. In this essay Hegel's philosophy will be parisons between histories of different historical compared with the architectural theories of communities. Pugin and Ruskin to substantiate the thesis that architecture is not based on some essential prin­ The activities of particular individuals were part­ ciples, but that architectural theories and prac­ ly determined by the "skill and customary prac­ tices are historically determined. tice" of "a particular people or nation", accord­ ing to Hegel ([1807] 1977: 213). His theory was that communal customs were particularised in 7 1. Spirit of the age: Hegel individual actions and consciousne~s . One aspect of social actions was architectural practices, The idea that will be investigated in this section which Hegel ([1835] 1975, 2: 640) believed is found in Rorty's (1991: 120) philosophy, could not be based on a priori principles, namely that human beliefs and desires are tem­ because they were derived from accidental and poral, instead of being based on permanent contingent "actual historical views of life and principles. An aspect of this historicist thesis is religious pictorial ideas ". found in Hegel's philosophy, namely that differ­ ent historical cultures - such as Greeks and According to Hegel ([1835] 1975, 1: 30, 603-5) Christians - have different beliefs and aspirations art was informed by artists' positions in frame­ that should be interpreted according to their works of ideas, and their artistic practices were particular objectives . based on thei r understanding of humanity's place in "the scheme of things" (see also The historicist conception of architectural prac­ Crowther 1990: 66). His thesis was that