UID:
almahu_9949420013602882
Format:
1 online resource (xvi, 176 pages).
ISBN:
9781003331445
,
1003331440
,
9781000780796
,
1000780791
,
100078083X
,
9781000780833
Series Statement:
Routledge Studies in Nineteenth Century Literature
Content:
Jane Austen and the Ethics of Description demonstrates that Elizabeth Bennet and her creator are misunderstood, and often unrecognized, geniuses of moral philosophy, but not simply because of their virtue or wit or natural skills in game theory. The engine driving the moral judgement and growth of Austen⁰́₉s protagonists consists of a particular and not well-understood ability to reason by description, a skill which we moderns must recover and remaster in order to negotiate the complexities of contemporary life. The forms of rational description this book derives from Austen will be of great interest not only to literary critics and theorists, but also to philosophers and anyone interested in ethics, the dynamics of power, and practical reasoning. Written in a clear style, the book is for those who love Austen and for those who want to understand how we should reason about our lives, how we should understand power, social conflict, and our own motives and prejudices. It is a literary analysis, a philosophical argument, and a practical guide to ethical thinking.
Note:
Preface Part I: Jane Austen and the Powers of Description1 Disciplines of Description 2 Reading Ignorance into Sense3 Elizabeth Bennet, the Socrates of Descriptive Reason4 Frank and Impertinent: Paradiastolic Descriptions 5 An Excursus on Richard Rorty and Lady Catherine 6 Fanny⁰́₉s Garden Thoughts 7 Reasoning by Description 8 Coda: "Part Hawk, Part Man" Part II: The Apprehension of Power and LifePrologue9 The Cook and the Count: A Psychological Anthropology of Tyranny10 Is Power Coercive?11 A Parable of Action and Event12 The Afflictions of Life: Montale⁰́₉s Poetic Description of Flux13 What Is a Life?14 A Concluding Postscript
Language:
English
Keywords:
Criticism, interpretation, etc.
DOI:
10.4324/9781003331445
URL:
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781003331445
Bookmarklink
