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Ethics and Literature: Introduction

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Notes

  1. Related research is extensive. Many discuss the role of literature in shaping human experiences (DePaul 1988; McCormick 1983; Nussbaum 1983, 1990; Palmer 1992 and Swanger 1993). For the educational perspective see Parr (1982). Philosophy and Literature Vol. 22, No. 1 (Mearsheimer 1998) has published a debate regarding moral education in universities (see Booth, Barnn, Mearsheimer, and Nussbaum). For the development of the concept of literature as thought experiment see Currie (1995, 1998); McGinn (1997) and Carrol (1998, 2000, 2002). For the concept of literature as moral laboratory see Hakermulder (2000).

  2. See Nussbaum (1990), Kronick (2006).

  3. Referred sometimes as moralism and autonomism/aestheticism.

  4. The renewed study of literature and ethics deals intensively with Levinas (see Eaglestone 1997; Gibson 1999, and Robbins 1999). Levinas himself, in his paper “Reality and its Shadow” (1948) was very skeptic about the place of literature as a source of ethical insights.

  5. Rorty’s pragmatism (1982, 1989), which suggests a new meaning to the dichotomy between science and poetry, objective and subjective, and truth and fiction, provides further justification to discuss ethics and literature.

  6. The rise of ethical criticism is impressive. Several journals devoted special issues to the subject: New Literary History 1983 (Diamond, Murray, Nussbaum, Putnam, and Raphael), Ethics 1988 (Backer, Booth, Diamond, Nussbaum), PMLA (Publications of the Modern Language Association of America) 1991 (Attridge and Buell), Yale French Studies 1999 (Nouvet), and Poetics Today 2004 (Askin). Philosophy & Literature has devoted an issue to a Symposium on Morality and Literature (hosting the debate between Nussbaum and Posner) in 1998, and deals with ethical criticism almost in every volume. Examples of Survey articles include Buell (1999), Fahraeus (2005), Parker (1998), and Stow (2000). Many volumes and books have been published in the last two decades. Volumes include Adamson, Freadman, Parker (eds.) 1998; Cascardi (ed.) 1987; Davis, Womack (eds.) 2001; Fahraeus, Jonsson (eds.) 2005; Hadfield, Rainsford, Woods (eds.) 1999; Levinson (ed.) 1998, Nelson (ed.) 1997; Phelan (ed.) 1989, Toker (ed.) 1994, Wihl, Williams (eds.) 1988. Books include Barbour 1984; Berthoff 1986; Booth 1988; Clausen 1986; Cunningham 2001; Eaglestone 1997; Gibson 1999; Goldberg 1993; Harpham 1992, 1999; Johnson 1993; McGinn 1997; Nussbaum 1990, 1995; Newton 1995; Palmer 1992, Parker 1994, Price 1983, Robbins 1999, Siebers 1988, 1992.

  7. The list of specific references is outside the scope of this introduction.

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  1. The Open University of Israel, 108 Ravutski Street, POB 808, Raanana, 43107, Israel

    Adia Mendelson-Maoz

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  1. Adia Mendelson-Maoz
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Correspondence to Adia Mendelson-Maoz.

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In 2006, Philosophia published a Call for Papers on Ethics and Literature. As the field is very rich, we received numerous submitted papers, dealing with many different topics and texts. It has therefore been decided to launch a series of papers on this topic, to appear in the following volumes of Philosophia in a special section.

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Mendelson-Maoz, A. Ethics and Literature: Introduction. Philosophia 35, 111–116 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11406-007-9068-6

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