Literature & Philosophy

Catalog description

This course highlights relations between literature and philosophy. We will analyze and discuss the importance of literary styles used in philosophical arguments, for example in Plato’s dialogues, Montaigne’s essays, or Nietzsche’s prose. We will also examine how literary texts engage philosophical ideas, such as skepticism in Cervantes and Shakespeare or Artificial Intelligence in contemporary science fiction. Students will learn about (the limits of) human understanding and action expressed at the intersection of literary style and philosophical concepts, and to develop their comprehension of the subject matter in a series of short research papers. Students will be required to submit a total of 20 pages of formal expository writing, including papers at least five pages long and rewritten in response to instructor’s feedback. 50% of or more the final grade will be based on the grades for expository writing assignments. Offered regularly.