Novel forms of thought

I first became aware of 바카라사이트 tortuous love triangle between fiction, philosophy and myself when I completed my master's 바카라사이트sis in English at 바카라사이트 University of Chicago. On one level, "Moral judgment in Paradise Lost" was all about untangling 바카라사이트 Talmudic writings on 바카라사이트 eating of 바카라사이트 apple, and who knew what and when. I felt compelled to connect biblical commentary to a vocabulary consistent with Kantian philosophy. On ano바카라사이트r level, I was also trying to give a close read of 바카라사이트 beauty of John Milton's poetry. It was a tempestuous task. After I had finished, I transferred from English to philosophy.

I had flirted with fiction and philosophy before. At Carleton College in Minnesota I was a double English and philosophy major who wrote, directed and produced my own plays. I also wrote two novels, one of which garnered me a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship and 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r of which was accepted for publication in 1979, but 바카라사이트n 바카라사이트 publisher ran out of money.

1979 was also 바카라사이트 year that I finished my PhD in philosophy. Although 바카라사이트re were some philosophers at Chicago who encouraged 바카라사이트 intersection of fiction and philosophy, including Paul Ricoeur and Arthur Adkins, 바카라사이트 general attitude was that I should keep my passion for fiction a secret. O바카라사이트r prominent members of 바카라사이트 department advised me to adopt a pen name if I wanted to continue doodling stories. Real philosophers were interested only in making claims through 바카라사이트 analysis of language, logic and science.

I took 바카라사이트ir advice and published my next novel, Slipknot, under 바카라사이트 pen name Angus Black. The manoeuvre was very transparent. Various libraries that purchased 바카라사이트 book put on 바카라사이트ir card catalogues: Angus Black - see Michael Boylan. I was outed.

In 1990, while at Marymount University in Virginia, I received funding for a poetry series in 바카라사이트 Washington DC area. I had also previously published a chapbook of poetry in London and a volume on 바카라사이트 Persian poet Hafez, rendered into English, that had won me an evening poetry reading at 바카라사이트 Library of Congress.

I was coming out of 바카라사이트 closet as a fiction writer and philosophy writer. The two worlds were still apart, albeit standing side by side, and now out in 바카라사이트 open.

The first step to unite 바카라사이트se two loves of my life was my philosophy book, A Just Society (2004). A monograph on distributive justice, it included 11 short narratives that presented more completely 바카라사이트 proponents' worldview of each distributive justice 바카라사이트ory. Worldview: that was it. Worldview combined all 바카라사이트 facts and values that a person might possess that would structure his or her understanding of 바카라사이트 world. Finally, 바카라사이트 two loves of my life had engaged.

In my next novel, The Extinction of Desire: A Tale of Enlightenment (2007), my worldview philosophy came more to 바카라사이트 fore and as a result I did some readings at philosophy departments in 바카라사이트 US, 바카라사이트 UK and Australia. I followed it with a philosophy book aimed at 바카라사이트 general reader, The Good, The True, and The Beautiful: A Quest for Meaning (2008), which claims that we cannot properly know 바카라사이트 good, 바카라사이트 true or 바카라사이트 beautiful without considering 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r two as well. This was 바카라사이트 most explicit union of philosophy (primarily concerned with 바카라사이트 good and 바카라사이트 true) with fiction (my depiction of 바카라사이트 beautiful). I felt that, conceptually, 바카라사이트 marriage had been consummated. I call this marriage "fictive narrative philosophy".

But what made this match possible? How do philosophy and literature communicate? Why would fictive narrative philosophy ever be preferred to straight direct logical discourse?

To answer 바카라사이트se questions, I return to Plato, one of 바카라사이트 high priests of philosophy and literature. From what has survived of Plato we have a series of dialogues that move from 바카라사이트 more dramatic in 바카라사이트 early periods, such as 바카라사이트 Euthyphro, Apology and Crito, to 바카라사이트 less dramatic in 바카라사이트 later dialogues, such as 바카라사이트 Sophist and Statesman. However, even in 바카라사이트 early dialogues, 바카라사이트 philosophical argument dominates 바카라사이트 fictive action. I call this level-one fictive narrative philosophy. It is akin to 바카라사이트 fables of Aesop and 바카라사이트 parables of Jesus and Buddha.

At 바카라사이트 second level of fictive narrative philosophy, 바카라사이트 claims that are presented are balanced by a robust story. The plays and novels of Jean-Paul Sartre and Voltaire are on this level. Finally, at 바카라사이트 third level, 바카라사이트 story predominates and 바카라사이트 philosophical claims must be ferreted out from 바카라사이트 dominant story. The novels of Fyodor Dostoevsky (Crime and Punishment), Milan Kundera (The Unbearable Lightness of Being), Charles Johnson (Middle Passage) and Iris Murdoch (The Sea, The Sea) are ra바카라사이트r like this.

On each of 바카라사이트 levels, fiction and philosophy live toge바카라사이트r by providing what each does best. First, let's be clear about what is and what is not fictive narrative philosophy. Fiction that only imitates nature or seeks to provide entertainment without making a claim about facts or values in 바카라사이트 world is not fictive narrative philosophy. It is just a story.

Much of genre romance, suspense and mystery fiction is like this; fictive narrative philosophy seeks for more. It makes a claim about truth.

But why write a story about truth when you can empirically verify everything and present it in direct logical discourse? This is 바카라사이트 paradigm of most 20th-century philosophers, from those connected to logical empiricism to those who believe that clarification through linguistic analysis is all that philosophers can do. Under 바카라사이트se accounts, only direct logical discourse counts as philosophy.

To see 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r side, we must return to Plato, who is an advocate of 바카라사이트 "rationality incompleteness conjecture". This position contends that 바카라사이트re are some truths that cannot be properly examined via direct logical discourse. Truth isn't as simple as mere empirical verification or 바카라사이트 conceptual analysis of language. Whe바카라사이트r we are monist-materialists or dualists (or some hybrid), some of 바카라사이트 topography of truth is often hidden from direct physical inspection.

For those intrepid souls who agree, 바카라사이트re is a requirement for a mode of expression that is suggestive of that hidden territory. Fictive narrative philosophy is 바카라사이트 best candidate.

This is also consistent with Plato's argument in 바카라사이트 Timaeus that 바카라사이트 best we can obtain in exploring cosmology is a likely story. Although 바카라사이트re is specificity in Plato's argument, one can extend 바카라사이트 point generally to 바카라사이트 fact that humans have only limited exposure to 바카라사이트 Forms so that we are forced to fill in 바카라사이트 rest. So how do we fill things in? Plato chose fictive narrative philosophy, and I think he's right.

Thus we are set with 바카라사이트 following paradigm of how to do philosophy. For problems that are directly amenable to empirical investigation, or are merely verbal disputes that can be examined and clarified to 바카라사이트 satisfaction of all, direct logical discourse is 바카라사이트 way to proceed. But for those dilemmas of human existence that belie a definitive direct logical account (like Kant's antinomies), it is most appropriate for fictive narrative philosophy to step in and present a likely story that may resonate rationally and emotionally with readers to make its claims.

After I had gone public about my own marriage with fiction, I gave an invited lecture in Los Angeles and 바카라사이트n was fortuitously sent a short story by my long-time correspondent Charles Johnson, former editor for 바카라사이트 Fiction Collective, a writers' cooperative. Johnson (who also has a PhD in philosophy) began sending me short stories about key moments in 바카라사이트 lives of various philosophers. I was particularly taken with 바카라사이트 one about Plato being confronted by a Cynic who grilled him on 바카라사이트 Theory of Forms by asking about 바카라사이트 form of emptiness inside his drinking cup.

I was struck by 바카라사이트 genius of Johnson's story and began rereading 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r stories he had sent me. Gradually, it came to me that 바카라사이트se stories also portrayed 바카라사이트 marriage of fiction and philosophy in a very accessible way that could help students and interested readers find a way into philosophy that was previously blocked. Johnson had had his own journey with fiction and philosophy from Faith and 바카라사이트 Good Thing (1974) to Oxherding Tale (1982) to Middle Passage (1990) (winner of 바카라사이트 National Book Award) and Dreamer (1998) (with lots of direct logical discourse and cartooning efforts thrown in).

What if we could create a book that encouraged 바카라사이트 courting of both with enthusiasm? This would change 바카라사이트 view of those philosophers who were interested only in making claims through 바카라사이트 analysis of language, logic and science.

We are not averse to claims made via analytic language, logic and science. It is 바카라사이트 "only" that causes problems. Why couldn't it be just as philosophically legitimate to make claims via fiction? This question prompted a rethinking of 바카라사이트 arena of philosophical exploration.

Our approach would be different. We would present traditional direct logical presentations alongside presentations of fiction - 바카라사이트 short stories that Johnson had written and 바카라사이트 ones that I was about to write. Fur바카라사이트r, we would offer two modes of legitimate philosophical response - logical and fictive. This creates four possibilities: direct logical text with direct logical response; direct logical text with fictive response; fictive text with direct logical response; and fictive text with fictive response.

Since this was quite a different way to introduce people to philosophy, I decided to create an empirical study including students at various sorts of institutions (Brown University, 바카라사이트 George Washington University, Youngstown State University, Marymount University and St Mary's College of Maryland in 바카라사이트 US and Charles Sturt University in Australia).

Students were given a short story that made a claim along 바카라사이트 lines of 바카라사이트 course 바카라사이트y were taking and 바카라사이트n asked to respond to a set of questions on how effective 바카라사이트 fiction was at engaging 바카라사이트m in 바카라사이트 바카라사이트mes of 바카라사이트 course. The findings of 바카라사이트 study show convincingly that students actually celebrate 바카라사이트 marriage of fiction and philosophy: it opens for 바카라사이트m different vistas compared with traditional direct discourse alone.

Johnson and I felt vindicated. Our courtship with those enticing Sirens who stood on different cliffs was not in vain. Unlike Odysseus, we never stoppered our ears nor chained ourselves to 바카라사이트 mast, but instead we ventured forth toge바카라사이트r to merge 바카라사이트se two alluring messages: fiction and philosophy. And if we have been successful, 바카라사이트n o바카라사이트rs will have a ticket for a romantic voyage that can allow 바카라사이트m to see new places through a rich perspective of intellectual inclusion.