Literature and Philosophy: An unavoidable relationship. Fiodor Dostoievski: Crime and Punishment (original) (raw)
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Literature in the Light of Philosophy
In the literary tradition covering more than two and a half thousand years, philosophy has been frequently mentioned in close proximity to literature, often as different ways of engaging more or less the same activity. We shall look at this matter briefly in the paper. What is not often said, even though many would probably not object to the idea is that literary criticism is a philosophical, rather than a scientific discipline, insofar as it is exercised by the need to understand, lacking the means to explain the phenomenon it is faced with. Three things really are at issue here: literature, literary studies/criticism, and philosophy. There are interrelationships among them, which is why some of the most important works relevant to the study of literary phenomena are by philosophers, normally the very greatest ones among them. We will not be exploring this history in detail, but only the engendering of literary criticism as a result of the philosophical interest in the literary, of which Plato and Aristotle were apparently the first to devote to it sustained attention. But we shall find that evolution and change within the history of criticism have been by following, sometimes without a conscious decision, the methods of reflection inaugurated in Aristotelian metaphysics in which philosophy is established as the knowledge of things through their ultimate causes.
Philosophy and Literature: Two Lines of Fusion
In the article “The Fusion of Philosophy and Literature in Nihilist Thought” (Problemos 2010, 77) I argued that post-metaphysical philosophy should intensify its dialogue with literature to the point of their eventual fusion. In this paper I will start from the conclusions of my previous article and will highlight two possible lines of this fusion: 1) The disappearance of the boundary between reality and fiction. Once we let go of the correspondence theory of truth, as Vattimo recommends, we will arrive at the principled possibility of the truthfulness of any and all narratives. Nihilist thought is characterised by a weakened sense of reality, a renouncement of common sense and naturalism. This condition, described by Nietzsche, where making a distinction between the real world and tall tales is impossible in principle, has several far-reaching epistemological and ethical consequences. 2) In its fusion with literature, nihilist thought seeks for a language to articulate the nothing, to represent the unrepresentable. In the paper I will analyse this pursuit by way of the concepts of postmodernity, the space of literature, and anxiety. I will draw on the views of Maurice Blanchot, Roland Barthes and Jean-François Lyotard. By fusing with literature, nihilist philosophy can continue in a situation where it has nothing to say.
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Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed guests, and fellow intellectual enthusiasts, thank you for joining me today. Today, I am excited to embark on a journey through the realms of literature, philosophy, and the intricate tapestry of human thought. In the spirit of intellectual exploration, I will be introducing you to a curated selection of influential works that have left an indelible mark on the landscape of ideas. In the pages of these books, we encounter the echoes of minds that have shaped the way we perceive the world-minds that have challenged the status quo, dissected the complexities of power and morality, and illuminated the path to personal and societal understanding. We begin with timeless classics such as "Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius, "The Republic" by Plato, and "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli. These works, dating back centuries, remain beacons of wisdom in the realms of philosophy and political thought, guiding us through the intricacies of individual virtue, the ideal state, and the pragmatism of governance. Venturing into the 19th and 20th centuries, we encounter existentialist masterpieces like "Being and Nothingness" by Jean-Paul Sartre and Nietzsche's "Thus Spoke Zarathustra." These texts invite us to grapple with the very essence of our existence, the freedom we possess, and the eternal recurrence of ideas that continue to resonate across time. From political philosophy to psychology, we explore the profound impact of "The Communist Manifesto" by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels and the psychological insights of Ernest Becker in "The Birth and Death of Meaning." These works, though divergent in focus, collectively contribute to our understanding of societal structures and the human quest for meaning. Transitioning into the realm of literature, we delve into narratives that transcend genres. George Orwell's "Animal Farm" serves as a powerful allegory, unmasking the pitfalls of political corruption, while Mario Puzo's "The Godfather" immerses us in the intricate web of power, loyalty, and morality within the world of organized crime.
Philosophy and Literature: So Close, yet so Distant
Possible Worlds of Contemporary Aesthetics: Aesthetics Between History, Geography and Media, 2019
I analize the relationship between Philosophy and Literature. First, there is an essencial historical summary, then, I analize the contrasting positions of Derrida and Habermas about this topic. Finally, I use their considerations to give an answer to three fundamental questions regarding the relation between Philosophy and Literature: 1) Is philosophy still able to be a useful tool for describing the truth? 2) Is literature capable to describe contingent realities and not just universal ones? 3) Is it possible to conceive a relationship between Philosophy and Literature without subordinating one to another?
Literary Form, Philosophical Content: Historical Studies of Philosophical Genres
The European Legacy
The editors of this collection point out at the start of the Preface that remarkably little has been written about the variety of literary genres used in philosophical writing. One notable exception is the Introduction of Martha C. Nussbaum's Love's Knowledge: Essays on Philosophy and Literature, which remains the best short discussion of the topic, and which is required reading for many "Philosophy and Literature" courses. Like Nussbaum's book, Literary Form, Philosophical Content opens with a general treatment of the theme announced in its title, and then proceeds to give readings of specific literary and philosophical texts in each of its later chapters. A particular virtue of this collection, edited by Lavery and Groarke, is its emphasis on the way that different genres and styles of philosophical writing are shaped by differing pedagogic aims: for instance, Joseph Butler's sermons are geared toward the faithful who seek to clarify and deepen their beliefs, whereas a Platonic dialogue might be more interested in awakening a reader's reflective faculties than in persuading him or her to accept a certain view. In spite of the often acknowledged links between form and content (i.e., what you say is not independent of how you say it), it nonetheless remains common practice in teaching philosophy to abstract arguments from the form in which they were written. The editors achieve their admirable goal of opposing this habit of disregard by showing the value of attending to the literary style of selected philosophical texts, assembling a series of chapters that address "the full range of genres available to philosophers in the tradition" (23). Virtually all of the major Western philosophers, by anyone's count, are authors of one sort or another; and the rare exception, such as Socrates, is remembered as a philosopher mainly because he was admired and memorialized by a very good writer. Yet few people in the discipline of academic philosophy today seem to think of themselves as authors, even if they have written books, received royalties, and so forth. This is a fairly recent development, since it's clear that figures such as Hume and Schopenhauer regarded philosophical writing as a literary art-not only for authors of philosophical novels and dialogues, but even for those who were working in more straightforward prose genres such as the essay or the systematic treatise. Within the past century or so, both Russell and Bergson were awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, primarily for the literary quality of their nonfiction philosophical works: so this is not an honor restricted to more obviously "literary" authors such as Camus and Sartre. If present-day academic philosophers tend to pay
Facta Universitatis, Series: Linguistics and Literature
This paper looks into the literary forms of expressing philosophemes. Starting from the difference between scientific and literary forms of presenting philosophical ideas, we focus on discussing various literary forms that are present in philosophy. Philosophical works of poetry, prose, and drama are differentiated and considered, beginning with antiquity up to contemporary philosophy. Within this topic, we analyse the fundamental thematic orientation of representatives of the Enlightenment and existentialist philosophy, as well as the relationship between form and content in their works. The objective of this paper is to emphasize and expound on the thesis about the close correlation between literary forms and certain philosophical content, especially the correlation between literature and the philosophy of existentialism. The conclusion reached in the end is that literary works can be interpreted philosophically, but above all, that philosophical texts can be shaped in a literary ...
Rethinking the philosophy - literature distinction
Rivista di Estetica 70/1, 2019
Contemporary debates within analytic philosophy regarding the relation between literature and philosophy focus on the capacity of some literary works to engage with philosophical problems. While some philosophers see literature as a welcome contribution to philosophy, or as an alternative to pursuing philosophical questions, some are more sceptical with respect to its capacity to tackle philosophical concerns. As a contribution to this debate, in this paper I look at similarities and dissimilarities between the two practices, with the aim of mitigating some views which see them as too diverse to allow for literary treatment of philosophical issues. As points of contact, I focus on the shared thematic concerns of the two practices, i.e. on the fact that literature and philosophy both deal with issues that humans generally care for. I argue that both practices, despite the stylistic, linguistic and methodological differences in their approach, manage to fulfil ‘the recognition requirement’, namely, recognize and engage with those issues, situations and context of human predicament in the world which are in need of intellectual refinement. I then move on to dismiss arguments which purport to discredit literary treatments of philosophy on the basis of literature’s alleged subjectivity and emotional dimension, which are contrasted with philosophical objectivity and rationality. I end by emphasizing the impact of academic constraints on professional philosophy, in order to suggest that pursuing philosophical concerns is not an invention of the practice, but a natural inclination of reflective, inquisitive human mind.