Document Type : Research paper
Author
Assistant professor of Farhangian University
Abstract
Within the field of contemporary Arabic literary criticism, the question of how to unite aesthetic experience with analytical reflection and social responsibility remains one of the central challenges for literary theorists. Among twentieth-century critics and intellectuals, Mohamed Mandour is recognized for his focus on aesthetic perception, critical self-awareness, and commitment to human and social values. Through these principles, he sought to move criticism beyond its traditional boundaries and connect it with the achievements of modern literary thought. This study gains importance through its concentration on Mandour’s essay “Madhhabi fi al-Naqd” (“My Approach to Criticism”), examining his intellectual framework, theoretical bases, epistemological system, and methodological rules of impressionistic criticism, while reinterpreting and evaluating them in light of Edmund Husserl’s phenomenological notions, including consciousness, intentionality, lived experience, epoché (suspension of judgment), and intersubjectivity. To pursue this aim, the research applies an analytical–descriptive method supported by a comparative approach. The comparison shows that Mandour’s critical model, despite its innovation and new perspectives, faces three major issues: first, the absence of intersubjective measurability in aesthetic experience, which—due to dominant subjectivism—reduces it to a personal and non-replicable perception; second, methodological tension caused by combining impressionistic and socially committed criticism, leading to a hybrid and inconsistent framework; and third, epistemological relativism, where the lack of fixed standards fragments literary understanding into diverse and occasionally conflicting interpretations. The results indicate that although Mandour made a significant contribution to the modernization of Arabic literary criticism, a critical reconsideration of his theoretical bases through philosophical inquiry—especially in the light of Husserl’s ideas—remains essential and unavoidable. ……, ……………, ……………., ……………, ………………..
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