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This dissertation seeks to illustrate the evolution of humanism between modernism and postmodernism through discussion of Louis I. Kahn and the humanist qualities in his architecture. Through its prevalence of Marxist social movements and mechanization, modernism has complicated our reference points for studying the development of humanism. By heralding new technology and democracy, it has also introduced a type of purism in design, the chief purpose of which is to destroy bourgeois humanism and thus pave the way for humanism''s integration with society. The diligence of modernist architects to change the destiny of architecture has not, however, succeeded in resolving mankind''s perennial conflict between thought and emotion. The humaism in Kahn''s work symbolizes a personal reflection on modern architecture. It has confronted modernists with their fundamental defeat and initiated change in the chaos brought by their mechanical and industrial values. To achieve this, Kahn applies the Beaux Arts tradition in his work, reconstructing a classical, static, and stable architectural order in which rationality serves as a conduit.But just as reflections on modemism have led Kahn back to the Beaux Arts tradition, they have also allowed him to transcend that tradition. In this sense, his form of humanism is a unique aesthetic concept that resolves the contradictions between modemism and Beaux Arts. adding new aspects to both schools in the process. Since the 1960s, however, philosophical critique of the concept of subjectivity has engendered a type of "post-humanism." This trend has shifted the course of architectural development by giving rise to deconstructuralist architecture. From a dialectical point of view, it is still too early to announce the death of traditional humanism at the hand of its radical counterpart, or to suggest that Kahn''s architectural concepts have lost currency under strong critique. What we are witnessing rather is a new architectural concept in the making, even as the inherent logical crises of that concept become more apparent. If these crises cannot be effectively overcome, designs to eradicate the concept of subject from architecture will likely remain nothing more than a protective amulet for achieving self-satisfaction in architectural creation. One of the unmistakable traits of deconstructuralist architecture is its incongruity between architectural creation and philosophical discourse. This disparity compels us to reexamine the relation between philosophical interpretation and architecture in the postmodern world. It also demands further creative speculation on the position of subjectivity in architecture. The framework for such speculation must not only vertically cohere with historical change, but also horizontally consider the complex relation between humanity and environment as well as the social orders ungovernable by mankind. Only in this manner can we conceive a third subjective position beyond modernism and post-modernism.
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