Introductory description

Philosophy and literature are alike in being practices in which language is used as a central medium for reflecting on fundamental questions about reality. While their concerns thus overlap, these practices also seem to differ in their priorities, achievements and methods. This module combines two ways of studying these practicies: (1) the philosophy of literature, looking at how philosophers understand key elements of literature, such as fiction, narrative, ethical and emotional engagement; and (2) study of works that combine philosophical and literary projects. Think for instance of Plato's dialogues and Nietzsche's epigrams. Putting these kinds of study together will allow us to think about the deeper relations between philosophy and literature. Do these ways of pursuing fundamental questions complement or conflict with each other? How do their respective methods and achievements illuminate our needs for experience and understanding? We wil read some classic and contemporary research in philosophy of literature, as well as some short literary and literary-philosophical works. The topics will vary, to allow focus on texts and questions relevant to lecturers' research expertise and interests; substantive issues that could be addressed include conceptions of truth and knowledge, the value of empathy, the nature of fictional characters, and relations between narrative and self.

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

After an introduction to the goals of the module, with reference to historically influential sources, the module will focus on a series of topics, devoting 1-2 weeks to each topic. The topics will address both methodological and substantive issues relevant to philosophy and literature. Each unit will include study of one or two literary-philosophical texts that engage with the issues. Possible topics include: The nature of fiction, Narrative and self, Imagination and thought experiment, Epistemic values, Dialogue and argument, Emotion and fiction, Authors and authority, Ethical value of literature, Representation and reality.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Key Skills: use written communication skills to analyse and respond critically to main issues; use research skills, drawing on print and electronic resources, to initiate and de-limit a scholarly project; take responsibility for learning, showing ability to manage time and prepare for class meetings and assignments
• Subject knowledge and understanding: develop and communicate knowledge of exemplars that combine philosophical and literary projects; consolidate complex understanding of methodological and substantive issues that emerge from study of key texts and theories
• Cognitive Skills: ability to distinguish relevant features of texts and to consider underlying questions raised by them; ability to apply abstract concepts; ability to seek and use forms of evidence relevant to theoretical questions; ability to develop an argument that addresses a key question in a focused way
• Subject-Specific Skills/Professional Skills: ability to carry out close reading of texts of different kinds, showing sensitivity to forms of language and discourse; ability to consider connections and contrasts between literary and philosophical methods and goals; competence in consistent, scholarly citation of research sources

Indicative reading list

The following shows some clusters of readings suitable for a set of representative topics.
Note: when a book is listed, normally a chapter or excerpt from the book will be selected.

Epistemic values:
Catherine Elgin, True Enough; ‘Understanding: art and science’
Stacie Friend, ‘Believing in stories’
Peter Lamarque, ‘Cognitive values in the arts: marking the boundaries’
Richard Eldridge, 'The question of truth in literature'
Martha Nussbaum, Love's Knowledge
Hilary Putnam, ‘Literature, science, and reflection’
Catherine Wilson, ‘Literature and knowledge’
Gregory Currie, Imagining and Knowing
Literary-philosophical sources, e.g., Heraclitus, Charles Bernstein, Italo Calvino, Charles Johnson, Emily Dickinson, James McPherson, Elizabeth Bishop, Plato

Narrative and self:
Daniel Dennett, ‘The self as a center of narrative gravity’
Peter Lamarque, ‘On not expecting too much from narrative’
Paul Ricoeur, ‘Life in quest of narrative’
Marya Schechtman, The Constitution of Selves; ‘Life imitating art imitating life’
Galen Strawson, ‘Against narrative’
John Christman, 'Telling Our Own Stories: Narrative Selves and Oppressive Circumstance'
Literary-philosophical sources, e.g., Augustine, Nikolai Gogol, J. L. Borges, Gabrielle Evans, Gish Jen, J-J Rousseau

The nature of fiction:
Margaret Macdonald, 'The Language of Fiction'
Amie Thomasson, Fiction and Metaphysics
Peter van Inwagen, 'Fiction and Metaphysics'
Stacie Friend, 'Imagining Fact and Fiction'
Catharine Abell, Fiction
Peter Lamarque and Stein Haugom Olsen, Truth, Fiction and Literature
Literary-philosophical sources: e.g., Julio Cortazar, Alice Munro, Nana Nkweti, Franz Kafka, Søren Kierkegaard, Nietzsche

Representation, consciousness and reality
Erich Auerbach, Mimesis
Jaakko Hintikka, ‘Virginia Woolf and our knowledge of the external world’
David Lodge, Consciousness and the Novel
Kendall Walton, ‘Thought-writing—in poetry and music’
Virginia Woolf, ‘Modern fiction’
Lisa Zunshine, Why We Read Fiction: Theory of Mind and the Novel
Dorrit Cohn, Transparent Minds
Literary-philosophical sources, e.g., John Ashbery, Lydia Davis, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Virginia Woolf, William Wordsworth, Anne Carson

Literature and ethical formation:
Wayne Booth, The Company We Keep
Joshua Landy, How to Do Things with Fictions
Jacques Rancière, The Ignorant Schoolmaster
Jenefer Robinson, Deeper than Reason
Suzanne Keen, Empathy and the Novel
Derek Attridge, 'A Yes Without a No'
Cora Diamond, 'Having a rough story about what moral philosophy is'
Literary-philosophical sources, e.g., Biblical parables, Anton Chekhov, Jenny Erpenbeck, Mahasweti Devi, Herman Melville, Muriel Spark, J. M. Coetzee

Research element

Essay assignment, requiring research

Interdisciplinary

Incorporates study of philosophy and literature

International

Source texts will be drawn from international literary and philosophical traditions (working in translation with texts written in languages other than English).

Subject specific skills

Subject-Specific Skills/Professional Skills: ability to carry out close reading of texts of different kinds, showing sensitivity to forms of language and discourse; ability to consider connections and contrasts between literary and philosophical methods and goals; competence in consistent, scholarly citation of research sources

Transferable skills

Key Skills: use written communication skills to analyse and respond critically to main issues; use research skills, drawing on print and electronic resources, to initiate and de-limit a scholarly project; take responsibility for learning, showing ability to manage time and prepare for class meetings and assignments
Cognitive Skills: ability to distinguish relevant features of texts and to consider underlying questions raised by those features; ability to work with abstract concepts and show understanding of forms of evidence relevant to theoretical questions; ability to develop a focused argument that addresses a question