Narrative In Culture: The Uses Of Storytelling In The Sciences, Philosophy, And Literature (warwick Studies In Philosophy And Literature)

WARWICK STUDIES IN PHILOSOPHY AND LITERATURE General editor: David Wood In both philosophical and literary studies much of the best original work today explores both the tensions and the intricate connections between what have often been treated as separate fields. In philosophy there is a widespread conviction that the notion of an unmediated search for truth represents an oversimplification of the philosopher’s task, and that the language of philosophical argument requires its own interpretation. Even in the most rigorous instances of the analytic tradition, a tradition inspired by the possibilities of formalization and by the success of the natural sciences, we find demands for ‘clarity’, for ‘tight’ argument, and distinctions between ‘strong’ and ‘weak’ proofs which call out for a rhetorical reading—even for an aesthetic of argument. In literature many of the categories presupposed by traditions which give priority to ‘enactment’ over ‘description’ and oppose ‘theory’ in the name of ‘lived experience’ are themselves under challenge as requiring theoretical analysis, while it is becoming increasingly clear that to exclude literary works from philosophical probing is to trivialize many of them. Further, modern literary theory necessarily looks to philosophy to articulate its deepest problems and the effects of this are transmitted in turn to critical reading, as the widespread influence of deconstruction and of a more reflective hermeneutics has begun to show. When one recalls that Plato, who wished to keep philosophy and poetry apart, actually unified the two in his own writing, it is clear that the current upsurge of interest in this field is only re-engaging with the questions alive in the broader tradition. The University of Warwick pioneered the graduate study of the intertwinings of philosophy and literature, and its recently established Centre for Research in Philosophy and Literature has won wide respect. This new Series brings the work of the Centre to a larger public in volumes which combine a sense of new direction with traditional standards of intellectual rigour. The Series will be further developed by the inclusion of monographs by distinguished academics. WARWICK STUDIES IN PHILOSOPHY AND LITERATURE Edited by Andrew Benjamin Books in the series include: EXCEEDINGLY NIETZSCHE Edited by David Farrell Krell and David Wood POST-STRUCTURALIST CLASSICS Edited by Andrew Benjamin THE PROVOCATION OF LEVINAS Edited by Robert Bernasconi and David Wood THE PROBLEMS OF MODERNITY: Adorno and Benjamin Edited by Andrew Benjamin ABJECTION, MELANCHOLIA, AND LOVE: The work of Julia Kristeva Edited by John Fletcher and Andrew Benjamin THE BIBLE AS RHETORIC Edited by Martin Warner WRITING THE FUTURE Edited by David Wood PHILOSOPHERS’ POETS Edited by David Wood JUDGING LYOTARD Edited by Andrew Benjamin ON PAUL RICOEUR: Narrative and interpretation Edited by David Wood NARRATIVE IN CULTURE The Uses of Storytelling in the Sciences, Philosophy, and Literature Edited by CRISTOPHER NASH London and New York First published 1990 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” © 1990 University of Warwick Centre for Research in Philosophy and Literature All rights reserved. No part