Fiction as Philosophically Interpreted in the Modern and Contemporary Western World

Considers the traditional role of literary criticism in which philosophy explains a literary work and confers philosophical meaning. The critics chosen for this chapter come from the Modern Period to the Contemporary World. The chapter begins with an examination of Kant’s Critique of Judgment. Kant’s approach and some examples are put forth. This is followed by Hume’s standard of taste. This audience-based (critic-oriented) approach is examined via strengths and weaknesses. Among the contemporary thinkers put forth (mid-nineteenth century onward) the first to be examined is Nietzsche’s distinction between Apollo and Dionysus. This is followed by an examination of Clive Bell on emotion and significant form. Next, is Martin Heidegger and how art as truth fits into his general philosophical approach. Finally, Jacques Derrida is brought forward as a paradigm of a contemporary Continental philosophical approach.