The uses of poetry and other imaginative literature for the education of virtuous sentiment and character

In an age of modern science in which evidence-based enquiry into all aspects of human nature, mind and body is far advanced, there may seem little epistemic room for the creative and imaginative fictions and narratives of poetry and other literature, other than as entertaining diversions. Still, it is no less evident that those aspects of human experience that past and present-day novelists, dramatists, and poets have often sought to explore—such as the role and implications of reason, passion, and character in moral life—are those with which imaginative literature deals most effectively and that make us distinctively human. In this light, this chapter aims to clarify the contribution of poetry and other literature to the refinement of emotion and sentiment for human moral character.