Type
Text
Type
Dissertation
Advisor
Craig, Megan | Rawlinson, Mary C | Casey, Edward | Harvey, Robert.
Date
2014-12-01
Keywords
Philosophy | Literature, Marcel Proust, Philosophy
Department
Department of Philosophy.
Language
en_US
Source
This work is sponsored by the Stony Brook University Graduate School in compliance with the requirements for completion of degree.
Identifier
http://hdl.handle.net/11401/76619
Publisher
The Graduate School, Stony Brook University: Stony Brook, NY.
Format
application/pdf
Abstract
Through a comparative reading of philosophical and literary texts, I examine the distinction between the projects and practices of philosophy and literature. I argue that, like philosophy, novels make arguments and explicitly engage the range of philosophical questions; and like literature, essential elements of philosophy include aesthetic considerations. Moreover, the presumed distinction between philosophy and literature does a disservice to both. If we overlook the literary qualities of philosophy, we risk relegating to the margins important contributions to traditional philosophical problems; and if we overlook the philosophical qualities of literature, we risk passing over some of the most profound elements of art and culture. This claim, however, implies far more than that philosophers should aspire to be better writers, or that scholars should read more fiction and poetry. I conclude with a sketch of the ethical and political implications of this project. If " literature" is shorthand for essential philosophical considerations, philosophy will need to redraw the cultural boundaries of the philosophical community, and reevaluate what kinds of discourses and texts contribute to traditional theoretical projects. Specifically, voices explicitly defined by their particularity--e.g. race, gender, sexuality, nationality, socio-economic position, and historical situation--will increase prominence, and productively decentralize and democratize the practice and project of philosophy. | 210 pages
Recommended Citation
Jaima, Amir Rauf Alduha, "Questionable Form: An Inquiry into the Relationship between Philosophy and Literature" (2014). Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions). 2509.
https://commons.library.stonybrook.edu/stony-brook-theses-and-dissertations-collection/2509