Irving Babbitt (August 2, 1865 – July 15, 1933) was an American academic and

literary critic Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

, noted for his founding role in a movement that became known as the New Humanism, a significant influence on literary discussion and

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization ...

thought in the period between 1910 and 1930. He was a

cultural critic A cultural critic is a critic of a given culture, usually as a whole. Cultural criticism has significant overlap with social and cultural theory. While such criticism is simply part of the self-consciousness of the culture, the social positions of ...

in the tradition of Matthew Arnold and a consistent opponent of romanticism, as represented by the writings of

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revol ...

. Politically he can, without serious distortion, be called a follower of Aristotle and Edmund Burke. He was an advocate of classical humanism but also offered an ecumenical defense of religion. His humanism implied a broad knowledge of various moral and religious traditions. His book '' Democracy and Leadership'' (1924) is regarded as a classic text of political conservatism. Babbitt is regarded as a major influence over American cultural and political conservatism.

Early career

Babbitt was born in Dayton, Ohio, the son of Augusta (Darling) and Edwin Dwight Babbitt. He moved with his family over much of the USA while a young child. He was brought up from age 11 in Madisonville, a neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio. He entered Harvard College in 1885. On graduation in 1889 he took a post teaching

classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classi ...

at the

College of Montana The College of Montana was a private liberal arts college that existed in Deer Lodge, Montana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Founded in 1878 as the "Montana Collegiate Institute", the school was the first institution of higher learnin ...

. After two years, he went to study in France, at the ''École Pratique des Hautes-études'' linked to the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

. There he studied

Pali literature Pali literature is concerned mainly with Theravada Buddhism, of which Pali is the traditional language. The earliest and most important Pali literature constitutes the Pāli Canon, the authoritative scriptures of Theravada school. Pali literat ...

and

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

, for a year. Then he took a master's degree at Harvard, including Sanskrit.

Harvard

At this point, he moved away from a career as a

classical scholar Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

, taking a teaching position at Williams College in romance languages — just for one year, as it turned out. He then was offered in 1894 an instructor's position, again at Harvard, in French. He was to stay at Harvard, rising from the ranks to become a full professor of French literature in 1912. He is credited with introducing the study of

comparative literature Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across linguistic, national, geographic, and disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role similar to that of the study ...

there. He was elected a fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

in 1921. The position of ''Irving Babbitt Professor of Comparative Literature'' was endowed by Harvard University in 1960 and awarded to its first recipient, Harry Levin. The National Humanities Institute runs an ''Irving Babbitt Project''.

New Humanism

It was in the early 1890s that he first allied himself with

Paul Elmer More Paul Elmer More (December 12, 1864 – March 9, 1937) was an American journalist, critic, essayist and Christian apologist. Biography Paul Elmer More, the son of Enoch Anson and Katherine Hay Elmer, was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He was educ ...

in developing the core doctrines that were to constitute what he called the "New Humanism". In 1895 he gave a lecture ''What is Humanism?'', which announced his attack on Rousseau. At the time, Babbitt had switched out of classical studies. He would later declare his opposition to contemporary textual and philological scholarship, associated with German scholarship, as a finite task, which he was unhappy to see placed above teaching based on what he felt was the "eternal" moral and spiritual content of literary masterpieces. His ideas, and More's, were characteristically written as short pieces or essays that were later gathered into books. Babbitt's ''Literature and the American College'', although assembled from writings already circulated, caused a stir when published in 1908. He continued to publish in the same vein, often denouncing authors from his avowed specialty, French literature. He also criticized Francis Bacon and denounced literary naturalism and utilitarianism. His central emphasis was on the individual moral character and human reason. He put stress on self-discipline and the need to control impulses seeking liberation from all restraints. He opposed naturalism on the grounds that it emphasizes the dominance of external natural forces over the strength of character and individual conscience. He denounced romanticism; and especially its chief propagator,

. He warned that Rousseau was the chief negative influence over modern culture. He opposed overt sentimentalism, celebration of human perfection and utopian thinking of romanticism. His views were in the tradition of classical pre-romantic literature.

''Democracy and Leadership''

In 1924, Babbitt published, which is perhaps his best-known work; '' Democracy and Leadership''. The book deals with his political views from his humanistic outlook. In it, he discussed and criticized political theories which derives from naturalism. Babbitt criticized two sides of naturalistic thought

mechanistic The mechanical philosophy is a form of natural philosophy which compares the universe to a large-scale mechanism (i.e. a machine). The mechanical philosophy is associated with the scientific revolution of early modern Europe. One of the first expo ...

or utilitarian side, propagated by Francis Bacon and the sentimental side, represented by

. Babbitt attacked both for giving too much importance to forces of nature and unrestrained human passion and impulses; while ignoring the fundamental importance of individual conscience and moral character. He rejected historical deterministic theories from Saint Augustine to

Bossuet Bossuet is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet Jacques-Bénigne Lignel Bossuet (; 27 September 1627 – 12 April 1704) was a French bishop and theologian, renowned for his sermons and other addr ...

. He stated high moral character as the most important quality of leadership in a democratic society. He warned against the dangers of unchecked majoritarianism in democracies. Babbitt's political views are in the tradition of classical liberalism, from Aristotle and Edmund Burke. His book is considered as a classic

political work. Conservative scholars like

Russell Kirk Russell Amos Kirk (October 19, 1918 – April 29, 1994) was an American political theorist, moralist, historian, social critic, and literary critic, known for his influence on 20th-century American conservatism. His 1953 book ''The Conservative ...

were influenced by Babbitt. Kirk praised the book as ''"...one of the few truly important works of political thought."'' His political views originated from his belief in the supreme importance of moral character. He rejected socio-political activism and sentimentalism as no substitute for individual conscience and character. He put stress on individual responsibility and opposed ''"everybody's interference in everybody else's business."''

Criticism, influence and legacy

He met with increasing criticism down the years: those provoked into announcing their opposition included R. P. Blackmur,

Oscar Cargill Oscar Cargill (19 March 1898, Livermore Falls, Maine – 18 April 1972, Montclair, New Jersey) was a writer, editor, and professor of English. He graduated in 1922 from Wesleyan University and became an English instructor at Marietta College and th ...

, Ernest Hemingway, Harold Laski, Sinclair Lewis,

H. L. Mencken Henry Louis Mencken (September 12, 1880 – January 29, 1956) was an American journalist, essayist, satirist, cultural critic, and scholar of American English. He commented widely on the social scene, literature, music, prominent politicians, ...

Joel Elias Spingarn Joel Elias Spingarn (May 17, 1875 – July 26, 1939) was an American educator, literary critic, civil rights activist, military intelligence officer, and horticulturalist. Biography Spingarn was born in New York City to an upper middle-class ...

Allen Tate John Orley Allen Tate (November 19, 1899 – February 9, 1979), known professionally as Allen Tate, was an American poet, essayist, social commentator, and poet laureate from 1943 to 1944. Life Early years Tate was born near Winchester, K ...

, and

Edmund Wilson Edmund Wilson Jr. (May 8, 1895 – June 12, 1972) was an American writer and literary critic who explored Freudian and Marxist themes. He influenced many American authors, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, whose unfinished work he edited for publi ...

. In the case of Mencken, at least, Babbitt gave as good as he got; he branded Mencken's writing as "intellectual vaudeville." He had an early influence on T. S. Eliot, a student of his at Harvard. Eliot in his 1926 essay ''The Humanism of Irving Babbitt'', a review of ''Democracy and Leadership'', had become equivocal, finding Babbitt's humanism not sufficiently receptive to Christian dogma; his position ''vis-à-vis'' religion is still debated. The identifiable figures of the New Humanist movement, besides Babbitt and More, were mostly influenced by Babbitt on a personal level and included G. R. Elliott (1883-1963), Norman Foerster (1887-1972),

Frank Jewett Mather Frank Jewett Mather Jr. (6 July 1868 – 11 November 1953) was an American art critic and professor. He was the first "modernist" (i.e., post-classicist) professor at the Department of Art and Archaeology, Princeton University. He was a direct desc ...

(1868-1953), Robert Shafer (1889-1956) and Stuart Pratt Sherman (1881-1926). Of these, Sherman moved away early, and Foerster, a star figure, later reconsidered and veered towards the New Criticism. More peripherally, Yvor Winters and the

Great Books A classic is a book accepted as being exemplary or particularly noteworthy. What makes a book "classic" is a concern that has occurred to various authors ranging from Italo Calvino to Mark Twain and the related questions of "Why Read the Cla ...

movement are supposed to have taken something from New Humanism. Scholars influenced by Babbitt include Milton Hindus,

, Nathan Pusey,

Peter Viereck Peter Robert Edwin Viereck (August 5, 1916 – May 13, 2006) was an American poet and professor of history at Mount Holyoke College. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1949 for the collection ''Terror and Decorum''.Richard M. Weaver, Claes G. Ryn, and

George Will George Frederick Will (born May 4, 1941) is an American libertarian-conservative political commentator and author. He writes regular columns for ''The Washington Post'' and provides commentary for NBC News and MSNBC. Gold, Hadas (May 8, 2017)." ...

. A relationship has been traced between Babbitt and

Gordon Keith Chalmers Gordon Keith Chalmers (7 February 1904 in Waukesha, Wisconsin – 8 May 1956 in Hyannis, Massachusetts) was a scholar of seventeenth-century English thought and letters, president of Rockford College and Kenyon College, and a national leader i ...

, Walter Lippmann,

Louis Mercier Reverend Lewis Page Mercier (9 January 1820 – 2 November 1875) is known today as the translator, along with Eleanor Elizabeth King, of three of the best-known novels of Jules Verne: ''Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Seas'', ''From the Earth to ...

, and Austin Warren; however, claims of influence where it is not acknowledged are not easy to sustain, and Babbitt was known to advise against public tributes. From a position of high prominence in the 1920s, having the effective but questionable support of '' The Bookman'', New Humanism experienced a drop from fashionable status after Babbitt died in 1933 and modernist and progressive currents became increasingly dominant in American intellectual, cultural and political life. By the 1940s its enemies pronounced it nearly extinct, but Babbitt continued to exercise a partly hidden influence, and a marked revival of interest was seen in the 1980s and ensuing decades. Babbitt is often name-checked in discussions on cultural conservatism. Babbitt's influence in China, which was notable in the 1930s and 40s, is again on the rise with the publication of many books by or about Babbitt.

Personal life

Babbitt married Dora May (née Drew) Babbitt on June 12, 1900, with whom he had two children: Esther and Edward Sturges.

Bibliography

* Literature and the American College (1908) * The New Laokoön (1910) * The Masters of Modern French Criticism (1912) * Rousseau and Romanticism (1919) * Democracy and Leadership (1924) * On Being Creative (1932) * The Dhammapada (1936) – translator, with essay * Spanish Character, and other essays (1940) – reprinted as Character & Culture: Essays on East and West * Representative Writings (ed. George A. Panichas, 1981)

References

External links

Papers of Irving Babbitt : an inventory
(Harvard University Archives)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Babbitt, Irving 1865 births 1933 deaths American literary critics Rocky Mountain College faculty Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Harvard College alumni Harvard University faculty Writers from Dayton, Ohio University of Paris alumni Williams College faculty American expatriates in France Journalists from Ohio American humanists Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters