John, Eileen (2017) Empathy in literature. In: Maibom, Heidi, (ed.) The Routledge Handbook to Philosophy of Empathy. Routledge Handbooks in Philosophy . London: Routledge, pp. 306-316. ISBN 9781138855441

PDF WRAP-literature-empathy-John-2017.pdf - Accepted Version Embargoed item. Restricted access to Repository staff only - Requires a PDF viewer. Download (573Kb)

Request Changes to record.

Abstract

Literature is a form of art, using the medium of language. The experience of its medium is essential to understanding and appreciation of a given literary work. This basic conception of literature allows for both fictional and non-fictional literary works; the literary kinds associated with fiction -- the novel, short story, drama, and much poetry -- raise issues of particular interest in relation to empathy, so fiction will be the focus here. Literary works do not lend themselves easily to generalization, but one thing they do fairly universally is use the resources of language to offer and portray possibilities of experience. Literary works typically explore what can be undergone, done, sensed, felt, and thought by conscious beings. These possibilities can be grasped as belonging to an author, a narrating agent, and to explicitly depicted persons or fictional characters. A literary work can thus produce a complex layering or interrelation of experiential perspectives (see Feagin 1996 on readers’ mental “shifts and slides”: 59-82; Robinson 2005: 175-88; Goldie 2012: 30). Readers can give uptake to, and link and compare, diverse perspectives in the course of a single work. In the very broad sense of offering experiential shifts issuing from perspectives other than one’s own, literature seems to be rather pervasively in the empathy business.

Item Type:	Book Item
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN0080 Criticism
Divisions:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Philosophy
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Fictitious characters, Empathy
Series Name:	Routledge Handbooks in Philosophy
Publisher:	Routledge
Place of Publication:	London
ISBN:	9781138855441
Book Title:	The Routledge Handbook to Philosophy of Empathy
Editor:	Maibom, Heidi
Official Date:	14 February 2017
Dates:	Date Event 14 February 2017 Published
Number of Pages:	396
Page Range:	pp. 306-316
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Publication Status:	Published
Reuse Statement (publisher, data, author rights):	"This is an Accepted Manuscript of a book chapter published by Routledge in The Routledge Handbook to Philosophy of Empathy on 14/02/2017, available online: http://www.routledge.com/The-Routledge-Handbook-of-Philosophy-of-Empathy-1st-Edition/Maibom/p/book/9781138855441
Access rights to Published version:	Restricted or Subscription Access
Date of first compliant deposit:	29 April 2019
Related URLs:	Other

Request changes or add full text files to a record

Repository staff actions (login required)

View Item