Middlebury

CMLT 0286

Philosophy & Literature

Philosophy & Literature
In this course we will explore the border both separating and joining philosophy and literature. How does literature evoke philosophical problems, and how do philosophers interpret such works? How does fiction create meaning? Beginning with Greek tragedy, we investigate Plato’s “quarrel” with, and Aristotle’s defense of, poetry. Then we will turn to modern works, mostly European, on topics such as: tragedy and ethics; style and rhetoric; author and reader; time and temporality; mood and emotion; existence and mortality. Literary readings after Sophocles will be selected from Borges, Calvino, Camus, Kafka, Tolstoy, and Woolf. Philosophical readings after Plato and Aristotle will be selected from Bergson, Danto, Freud, Murdoch, Ricoeur, and Nussbaum. Not open to students who have taken PHIL/CMLT 1014.
Subject:
Comparative Literature
Department:
Comparative Literature
Division:
Humanities
Requirements Fulfilled:
CW EUR LIT PHL
Equivalent Courses:
CMLT 1020
PHIL 1020
FYSE 1081 *
PHIL 1063
PHIL 1014
CMLT 1014
PHIL 0286 *

Sections in Fall 2020

Fall 2020

CMLT0286A-F20 Lecture (Woodruff)