After Thomas Kuhn: The Structure of Aesthetic Revolutions

This book reflects the most recent research devoted to a systematized perspective and a critical (re)construction of previous theoretical attempts of explaining, justifying and continuing Kuhn’s ingenious hypothesis in arts. Hofstadter, Clignet and Habermas revealed to be the most engaged scholars in solving this aesthetic "puzzled-problem". In this context, the structural similarities between science and arts are attentively evaluated, thus satisfying an older concern attributed to the historical Kuhn-Kubler dispute, extensively commented along the pages of this book.

How can we track the matter of rationality and truth in art and aesthetics, inspired by scientific perspectives? Are artistic styles similar to scientific paradigms? Are we entitled to pursue paradigms and masterpieces as rational models in science, respectively in arts? On what possible grounds can we borrow from science notions such as progress and predictability, in the study of the evolution of art and its aesthetic backgrounds? Are the historical dynamics of science and art affected by political factors in the same manner? This book will be of interest to philosophers, but also to historians of science and historians of art alike in the reassessment it provides of recent debates on reshaping the art world using Kuhn''s "paradigm shift".

"After Thomas Kuhn is an outstanding addition to the state-of-the-art, a back-and-forth
exercise that crisscrosses multiple disciplines, niches, and literature, having the potential of
delivering a stable point of reference to any philosopher, historian, or sociologist of art engaged in the Kuhnian meta-puzzle of commutability." Daian Bica in: Rev. Roum. Philosophie, 67, 1, 2023

"[...] for someone who belongs to more analytical philosophical communities, this book is an invitation to think
outside of the box and to question as much as possible the nature of interdisciplinarity in reference
to the works of Thomas Kuhn. [...] I don’t think we will find a better manner of philosophically addressing the
distinctions between aesthetic and artistic contents or their capacity for producing cultural revolutions
than we find in Oana Șerban’s exploration of aesthetic validity and its connection to the ideas of
Kuhn." Diana Ghinea in: Balkan Journal of Philosophy, 15, 1, 2023

„[...] reading Oana Șerban''s work is like listening to
a jazz concert in a cathedral. As for the methodology, the way in
which the author combines the research methods, from the
hermeneutic ones (genealogy, archaeology) to the
phenomenological approach, in order to support with a variety of
references her working hypotheses, remains exemplary.” Delia Casiana Florea in: META, 2023/2

"Thorough and detailed, the book provides a relevant and convincing argumentative reflection on the
debate between Kubler and Kuhn. With its distinctive category of aesthetic
validity, it introduces a new perspective relevant to a variety of social,
aesthetic, and philosophical audiences. " Andrea Miškocová in: The Slovak Journal of Aesthetics 2/23

BOOK AWARD

"Prize of the Senat of the University of Bucharest for the best book of the year in the domain of humanities": https://unibuc.ro/cea-de-a-vii-a-editie-a-premiilor-senatului-universitatii-din-bucuresti-si-a-desemnat-castigatorii/?lang=en (28.05.24)