Literary form, philosophical content: historical studies of philosophical genres

268 Pages·2010·1.394 MB·English

by  Lavery, Jonathan;Groarke, Louis

Literary Form,
Philosophical Content
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Literary Form,
Philosophical Content
Historical Studies of
Philosophical Genres
Edited by
Jonathan Lavery and
Louis Groarke
•
Madison Teaneck
FairleighDickinsonUniversityPress
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(cid:2)2010byRosemontPublishing&PrintingCorp.
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AssociatedUniversityPresses
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ThepaperusedinthispublicationmeetstherequirementsoftheAmerican
NationalStandardforPermanenceofPaperforPrintedLibraryMaterials
Z39.48-1984.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Literaryform,philosophicalcontent:historicalstudiesofphilosophicalgenres/
editedbyJonathanLaveryandLouisGroarke.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-0-8386-4260-3(alk.paper)
1.Philosphicalliterature—Historyandcriticism. 1.Lavery,JonathanAllen,
1965– II.Groarke,Louis.
B52.7.L58 2010
190—dc22 2009033843
printedintheunitedstatesofamerica
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Theeditors dedicatetheirworkonthisbooktotheirmothers:
ElizabethJoyceLavery
CharlotteMaryGroarke
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Contents
Preface 9
Introduction:GenreasaTool ofPhilosophical
InterpretationandAnalysis 13
JonathanLaveryandLouisGroarke
Part I: PlatonicPreludes
Plato’sUseof theDialogueForm: Skepticismand
Insemination 41
KennethDorter
SomeCautionaryRemarks onPlatonicDialogue 53
David Gallop
Part II:BeyondDialogue
TheLifeofAesop: RhetoricandthePhilosophicalLife 63
LeoGroarke
FromParmenidesto Anselm:PhilosophyasPrayer 77
KevinCorrigan
ACompilationof Arguments:TheSkeptic’sMedicineChest 90
GlenKoehn
Aristotlethrough theLookingGlass:AquinasasaHistorian
ofPhilosophy 104
J. L.A.West
Aquinas’sDisputationalFormat andtheCommunityof
Philosophy 115
JillLeBlancandJonathanLavery
7
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8 CONTENTS
Machiavelli’sPrince:TheSpeculumPrincipisGenreTurned
UpsideDown 126
JosephKhoury
ARhapsodyVoidofOrderorMethod:Mandeville’sTheFable
oftheBees 142
JenniferWelchman
WhyNietzscheTries toKillSocratesin TheBirthofTragedy 155
LouisGroarke
The Lecturesof J.L. Austin:Doing SensibleThingswith
Words 170
PaulGroarke
Speculatingabout WeirdWorlds:PhilosophyasScience
Fiction 188
JosephNovak
Genealogy,Narrative,andCollectiveSelf-Examinationin
DisciplineandPunish 201
PaulGroarke
PartIII:Epilogue
The Ethicsof Stylein PhilosophicalDiscourse 219
BerelLang
Bibliography 235
NotesonContributors 249
Index 253
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Preface
L
ITERARY FORM, PHILOSOPHICAL CONTENT: HISTORICAL STUDIES OF PHILO-
sophicalGenresaimsatawideaudienceandisintendedtobeservice-
able for undergraduate and graduate students, while making a sub-
stantive contribution to scholarly research. It is difficult to serve all
thesemastersinasinglebook,butthisseemsto beaspecialcase.
There has been so little research on the plethora of genres that
have been used by philosophers that most of the work presented in
this book can be described as a beginning—not at square one, but
pretty close. Each chapter of Literary Form, Philosophical Content casts
fresh light on the work of Plato, Thomas Aquinas, Friedrich Nietz-
sche, J. L. Austin, and others. Yet, the corners into which we have
directed these lights are not so dark that central features are indis-
cernible to students reading these authors for the first time. So it
does seem possible to speak to professors and their students at the
sametime andto presentinnovative researchto specialistswhile in-
structing students and generalists. Still, we do not expect students
andresearcherstohavethesameexperienceinreadingthebookor
thateveryonewill readit inexactlythe sameway.
Specialistsmaybeconfidentthatourauthorsarefamiliarwithex-
isting scholarly work on the subject of their respective chapters.
Afterall,researchontheliteraryformsofphilosophyisnotsoinno-
vativethatcontributorscanturntheirbacksonexistingscholarship.
Indeed, existing scholarly debates are always in the background of
our chapters, even as the focus remains concentrated on the pri-
mary sources. Specialists will find something original in every chap-
ter. Scholars whose interest lies in the area broadly defined as
intellectualhistory will find itworthwhileto read the bookin itsen-
tirety.
We hope that students will appreciate our efforts to make the
book accessible. Each chapter is modest in length, and neither the
analysis nor the interpretation depends on any special theoretical
apparatus or esoteric school of interpretation. Each contribution is
a reliable guide to the primary sources and the genres represented
by our selected texts. Senior undergraduates and graduate students
9
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10 PREFACE
willfindhereahistoricalsurveyofauthorsandtextsthatcanberead
coverto cover,andjunior undergraduateswill find individualchap-
ters to be illuminating introductions to particular texts, philoso-
phers, andgenres.
Advancedscholars,intheircapacityasteachers,aswellasstudents
may find that their interests often converge. In a number of cases
part of what distinguishes the philosophical genre examined is its
pedagogical potential. Plato’s dialogues, Aquinas’s commentaries,
the disputatio format of Aquinas’s Summa Theologiae, Machiavelli’s
Prince,andAustin’slecturesareeither primarilyorpartlyshapedby
apedagogicalpurpose.Theaccountscontainedinthisbookexplore
howan author’schoiceofgenrehelpstoaccomplishthispurpose.
Theeditorswouldliketo thanktheCanadianPhilosophicalAsso-
ciation for hosting a panel on genres of philosophy as part of their
conference at the University of Toronto in 2002—at which some of
ourcontributors firstpresentedchaptersof thisbook.Wealsomust
thank the individual contributors for their patience and dedication
duringthepreparationofthemanuscript.WearegratefultoWilfrid
Laurier University for financially supporting this project at various
stages, in particular the work of Evan Habkirk, Peter Aloussis, and
Dr. Darryl Murphy. Evan prepared the first complete draft of the
manuscript.Peterpreparedthebibliographyandcompletedseveral
otherimportanttasks.Darryldidsomeinitialworkonthefinaldraft
while completing his doctoral dissertation; a timely and much ap-
preciated book preparation grant from the Wilfrid Laurier Univer-
sity Research Office supported this work. A second grant from the
WLUResearchOfficepaidforthepreparationofanindex.Theedi-
tors would like to especially thank Marcy Baker of the St. Francis
Xavier University Philosophy Department who, at various stages of
production,assistedus ablyandcheerfully.
Finally,wewishtoexpressoursinceregratitudetoFairleighDick-
insonUniversity Pressand the Associated UniversityPresses fordili-
gentlyshepherdingthisbookthroughthefinalstagesofproduction,
especially Harry Keyishian, the Director at FDUP, and our copy edi-
tor,Margaret Roeske.
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