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Never Out of Style: On the Critique of Literary Devices in Political Philosophy
Kuppens,Charlie Robb,Catherine
Kuppens,Charlie
Robb,Catherine
Abstract
Philosophers and literary critics share a deep-rooted suspicion towards the use of literary devices in philosophical texts. More often than not, these stylized texts are condemned as ‘unphilosophical’ and seen as undermining the more important philosophical content. In this chapter, we object to the critique of ‘non-philosophical’ literary style, especially with regards to works of ethical and political philosophy. We propose that in certain texts, the stylistic features generate philosophical content by evoking in the reader an immersive and engaged reading experience. This allows for the expression of philosophical ideas that would otherwise be inexpressible, and serves to stimulate a deeper understanding of the ‘ethical’ and ‘political’. We conclude that the use of literary devices in philosophical texts is not necessarily ‘unphilosophical’, but has the potential to constitute an indispensable part of a text’s philosophical content.
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Publisher Copyright: © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024.
Date
2024-05-22
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Palgrave Macmillan
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never_out_of_style.pdf
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Keywords
Corruption, Political literature, Political possibility, Power, Violence, SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Citation
Kuppens, C & Robb, C 2024, Never Out of Style : On the Critique of Literary Devices in Political Philosophy. in G L Hagberg (ed.), Fictional Worlds and the Political Imagination. Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 29–47. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-52026-6_3