Overview

Fiction lies in order to tell the truth and seeks reality through shadows. Philosophy attempts to dispel false realities; it pursues clear understanding of things as they are. While the relation of philosophy and fiction is, perhaps, paradoxical, they implicate one another's picture of human experience. This book uses fiction to help readers process philosophical themes, and the philosophical reflection, in turn, helps clarify the fiction. The study moves through roughly a hundred years of modern fiction, from Washington Irving's ""The Devil and Tom Walker"" (1824) through James M. Cain's Double Indemnity (1936). Several ""classic"" works of literary fiction are examined, a few largely forgotten stories and several popular novels. Reading fiction through the lens of philosophy helps readers perceive the complexity and richness of fiction, reinvigorating the pursuit of wisdom that lies just beneath the surface of the words on the page.

Full Product Details

Author:   Schuy R. Weishaar
Publisher:   McFarland & Co Inc
Imprint:   McFarland & Co Inc
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 1.00cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.263kg
ISBN:  

9781476688473

ISBN 10:   1476688478
Pages:   190
Publication Date:   22 November 2022
Recommended Age:   From 18 years
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Temporarily unavailable  
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Table of Contents

Table of Contents Acknowledgments Preface Reading and Writing about Literature 1 Introduction “Philosophy and Fiction” and “Thinking through Literature” 5 delete• deleteModern Fiction 7 delete• deleteWhy Philosophy? 9 delete• deleteThemes and Chapters 11 Chapter One. Nature Introduction 13 delete• delete“Travelling during thunderstorms”: “The ­Lightning-Rod Man” (1854) by Herman Melville 16 delete• delete“An animal that has a bad reputation”: “How I Killed a Bear” (1878) by Charles Dudley Warner 22 delete• delete “The undying life of the world”: “The Storm” (1898) by Kate Chopin 29 delete• delete “A glitter in his eyes which I had often seen in the eyes of wild beasts”: “The Leopard Man’s Story” (1903) by Jack London 35 delete• delete“The bitterest conclusion”: “The White Silence” (1899) by Jack London 40 delete• deleteConclusions 45 Chapter Two. Metaphysics Introduction 48 delete• delete“The facts … stand on an altogether different footing”: “The Remarkable Case of Davidson’s Eyes” (1895) by H.G. Wells 52 delete• delete “Oh, I go by various names”: “The Devil and Tom Walker” (1824) by Washington Irving and “Young Goodman Brown” (1835) by Nathaniel Hawthorne 56 delete• delete“Who art thou?” “The Selfish Giant” (1888) by Oscar Wilde 63 delete• delete“What you mistake for madness”: “The ­Tell-Tale Heart” (1843) by Edgar Allan Poe 67 delete• deleteConclusions 72 Chapter Three. Time The Time Machine (1895) by H.G. Wells: “I shall controvert one or two ideas….” 76 delete• delete“Social triumphs”: Politics, Time, and the Limits Subjectivity 79 delete• delete“An altogether new relationship”: Class, Species, and Survival 82 delete• deleteConclusions: Status, the Future, and the Irony of Social Darwinism 84 Chapter Four. Social Cont(r)acts Introduction 86 delete• delete“Father, father, don’t kill me!” “Mateo Falcone” (1829) by Prosper Mérimée 89 delete• delete“My father is still a giant”: “The Judgement” (1913) by Franz Kafka 95 delete• delete“The evil consequences of pernicious neglect”: “Nobody’s Story” (1853) by Charles Dickens and “The Happy Prince” (1888) by Oscar Wilde 102 delete• delete“I must not only punish, but punish with impunity”: “The Cask of Amontillado” (1846) by Edgar Allan Poe 111 delete• deleteConclusions 117 Chapter Five. The Life of the Mind Introduction 120 delete• delete“Not born for ordinary life”: “Looking Back” (1900) by Guy de Maupassant 125 delete• delete“Just look at you”: “A Hunger Artist” (1922) by Franz Kafka 129 delete• delete“To Touch the Heart of God”: “The Tables of the Law” (1897) by W.B. Yeats 137 delete• delete“You perceive?” “Pink Flannel” (1919) by Ford Madox Ford and “The Mark on the Wall” (1921) by Virginia Woolf 145 delete• deleteConclusions 153 Chapter Six. Love and Death Loving Death: Double Indemnity (1936) by James M. Cain 156 delete• deleteFraud, Murder, and Intrigue 157 delete• deleteA Grim Courtship 158 delete• deleteThe Femme Fatale into Monstrous Feminine 159 delete• deleteThe Serpent in the Self 161 delete• deletePsychos and Psychoanalysis 163 delete• deleteMore Than Just Business 165 delete• delete­Death-Drive: The End 169 Chapter Seven. The Ends of Fiction and Philosophy Morality, Madness, and (Un)freedom 170 delete• deleteSlippery Subjects 171 Works Cited Index

Reviews

I loved reading this book. I found it interesting, engaging, and illuminating! --Emily Dial-Driver, professor of English ...reaches well beyond literature and philosophy and delves into the human tendency to reduce writings to preset, cultural categories, while providing a way beyond--to read and think beyond what may appear to be known or knowable. --William Daniel, author of Inhabited by Grace and Christ the Liturgy

"""I loved reading this book. I found it interesting, engaging, and illuminating!""--Emily Dial-Driver, professor of English"

Author Information

Schuy R. Weishaar teaches English and philosophy at Richland Community College in Decatur, Illinois; he also teaches writing and literature at Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, Tennessee. He lives in Illinois.

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