Moral of the Novel: Rorty and Nussbaum on the Ethical Role of Literature

Autor: Maciej Bednarski
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: Eidos. A Journal for Philosophy of Culture, Vol 4, Iss 4, Pp 175-189 (2021)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2544-302X
DOI: 10.14394/eidos.jpc.2020.0046
Popis: This paper’s aim is to provide a new interpretation of Martha C. Nussbaum’s and Richard Rorty’s views on the ethical role of literature. I pursue this aim in a threefold manner. First of all, I shortly discuss and provide a critique of previous comparisons by other authors. Afterwards, based on the presented critique of other comparisons, I present concise summaries of their respective views. Finally, I propose a double context for interpreting and assessing their views together. The main claim of the paper is the following: despite several differences in their philosophical underpinnings, Nussbaum’s and Rorty’s views on literature can be interpreted together using the context of John Rawls and Jacques Rancière. This interpretation consists of showing how uncovering a shared Rawlsian characteristic of Nussbaum’s and Rorty’s views paves a way for explaining how literature actually does ethical work, using some concepts of Rancière. Such a contextual reading allows for both a more thorough understanding of their respective projects and assessing their shared shortcomings.
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