Is That Real, or Did You Just Make It Up?: Philosophy, Fiction and Humor
Location
Beaman A&B
Presentation Type
Presentation
Start Date
26-10-2010 7:00 PM
Description
Beginning with the ancient Greeks, philosophers have often illustrated their ideas in stories. In the fifth century BCE, Parmenides asked us to imagine a young man spirited by a flying chariot to the palace of the gods where he is taught about reality and illusion. Plato infused his dialogues with appropriations of popular myths as well as his own fictional vignettes. In fact, nearly all of Plato’s writing was in dialogue form, giving a narrative structure to his work. Over the centuries, other thinkers, such as Berkeley and Hume, wrote dialogues, and even today many of our most important philosophers pride themselves on their imaginative scenarios.
Extended fictional works by philosophers, however, are quite rare. Voltaire’s Candide is a fine example of fiction that presents philosophical notions, but Voltaire was not a philosopher in the strict sense. In fact, when asked to name philosophical writers, people often mention Dostoyevsky, Franz Kafka, Thomas Mann, Walker Percy, and others, but rarely a philosopher. Jean-Paul Sartre is one of only a handful of philosophers who have had success writing fiction. Iris Murdoch was a bona fide philosopher who published philosophical work but was far more famous as a novelist. Oddly, her novels are not very philosophical; she even said that fiction was a poor form for philosophy.
Ron Cooper, Professor of Humanities at the College of Central Florida, believes that the imaginative worlds created in fiction can be excellent vehicles for exploration of philosophical issues. In particular, fictional characters can exemplify philosophical concepts while struggling to transform thought into action and to establish their own sense of identity. To do this well, one element is essential: humor. Cooper will discuss a number of philosophical novels and will read from his own Hume’s Fork, which was called by philosopher-novelist Rebecca Goldstein a “mix of zaniness and erudition, satire and insight . . . as delicious as it is original,” and his new novel Purple Jesus. A book signing will follow his presentation.
Recommended Citation
Cooper, Ron, "Is That Real, or Did You Just Make It Up?: Philosophy, Fiction and Humor" (2010). Humanities Symposium. 26.
https://repository.belmont.edu/humanities_symposium/2010/2010/26
Is That Real, or Did You Just Make It Up?: Philosophy, Fiction and Humor
Beaman A&B
Beginning with the ancient Greeks, philosophers have often illustrated their ideas in stories. In the fifth century BCE, Parmenides asked us to imagine a young man spirited by a flying chariot to the palace of the gods where he is taught about reality and illusion. Plato infused his dialogues with appropriations of popular myths as well as his own fictional vignettes. In fact, nearly all of Plato’s writing was in dialogue form, giving a narrative structure to his work. Over the centuries, other thinkers, such as Berkeley and Hume, wrote dialogues, and even today many of our most important philosophers pride themselves on their imaginative scenarios.
Extended fictional works by philosophers, however, are quite rare. Voltaire’s Candide is a fine example of fiction that presents philosophical notions, but Voltaire was not a philosopher in the strict sense. In fact, when asked to name philosophical writers, people often mention Dostoyevsky, Franz Kafka, Thomas Mann, Walker Percy, and others, but rarely a philosopher. Jean-Paul Sartre is one of only a handful of philosophers who have had success writing fiction. Iris Murdoch was a bona fide philosopher who published philosophical work but was far more famous as a novelist. Oddly, her novels are not very philosophical; she even said that fiction was a poor form for philosophy.
Ron Cooper, Professor of Humanities at the College of Central Florida, believes that the imaginative worlds created in fiction can be excellent vehicles for exploration of philosophical issues. In particular, fictional characters can exemplify philosophical concepts while struggling to transform thought into action and to establish their own sense of identity. To do this well, one element is essential: humor. Cooper will discuss a number of philosophical novels and will read from his own Hume’s Fork, which was called by philosopher-novelist Rebecca Goldstein a “mix of zaniness and erudition, satire and insight . . . as delicious as it is original,” and his new novel Purple Jesus. A book signing will follow his presentation.
Comments
Convo: AL