From Art as a Science to the Death of Poetry

Abstract

This article reflects on the contacts and dialogues between literature and scientific thought in the works of Austrian writer Hermann Broch in the first half of the 20th century. His first novel, The Sleepwalkers [Die Schlafwandler] (1931-1932), points to certain interpretations, allusions and similarities in connection with thinkers such as Max Weber, Walter Benjamin and Hannah Arendt, which suggest the incorporation of literature to scientific and philosophical knowledge. Conversely, in his last fiction work, The Death of Virgil [Der Tod des Vergil] (1945), Broch seems to question and even to doubt the importance of literature as a way of reflecting on contemporary life. While prioritizing Broch’s early works, this article follows his trajectory as he incorporates philosophical, scientific, and religious considerations to fiction, while reflecting on the time in which he lived.