Philosophy in Fiction
John Perry

19 January 2012

Some famous and not-so-famous pieces of philosophy are, strictly speaking, fiction: the Dialogues of Plato, Hume and Berkeley and Nietzsche’sZarathustra, for example. And Rousseau’sEmilehas some novel-like elements. Among the less famous are my own Dialogues. (In case you are interested, the areDialogues on Personal Identity and Immortality, andDialogue on Good, Evil and the Existence of God.Both published by Hackett publishing. Small and inexpensive, they make great gifts.)

我的对话有三个角色，这给了我三个声音来玩，每个人都可以被自己的观点所包围，这在通常的哲学写作中是很难的。但我的对话，以及我提到的其他对话，都是小说的边缘案例。剧情不多，角色发展也有限。

With all due respect to us dialogue writers, something likeMoby Dick是小说中更有趣的哲学例子。三个主要的伙伴——斯达巴克、斯塔布和弗拉斯克——似乎代表着柏拉图主义、伊壁鸠鲁主义和斯多葛主义。这些哲学不仅在他们说什么，而且在他们做什么。整部小说都在探索是什么赋予了生命意义。It’s a very philosophical novel, but clearly anovel, written by a great novelist.

说句题外话，既然我们应该享受他们的咖啡，星巴克似乎应该称自己为“斯塔布”。享乐主义咖啡听起来比柏拉图主义咖啡更有前途。

Be that as it may, let’s ask the question whether philosophical truths, or any kind of truths, can be conveyed better in fiction than in straightforward prose of the sort that most philosophers favor?

An important part of fiction is to get across what it’slike成为某一种人;一个好的小说家或剧作家能让你进入虚构人物的思维、感觉、推理和决定方式。I have no doubt that certain truths can bemore effectively以这种方式传达的But are there truths than can be conveyedonlyin this way? How could that be?

Think of that moment inHuckleberry Finnwhen Huck agonizes because his conscience tells him he should turn Jim in, but some deeper grasp of humanity prevents him from doing it. There's a philosophical lesson there, and the novel is a superb way of getting it across. But the only way?

Let’s see if we can make sense of that. You cantell有人感受疼痛或听到小号是什么感觉，但可以说有一种方法可以知道疼痛或小号的爆发是什么样的只有通过感受疼痛或听到小号的经历才能知道。也许一个天才小说家能做的就是这样的事情。她能让我们生动地想象成为这样或那样的人——成为一个有神论者或无神论者，一个勇敢的人或一个懦夫，一个女人在一个男人的世界里，否则——除非我们碰巧是那些生物中的一员，否则我们无法做到。

Of course, a good novelist can also convey falsehoods in this special way, too. Teenagers read Ayn Rand’sThe Fountainheadand get a completely distorted idea of what it’s like to be creative, at least in my humble opinion.

In Sunday’s broadcast, well be joined by Rebecca Goldstein, author of the brilliant new novel36 Arguments for the Existence of God: A work of fiction.

Comments(8)

Guest's picture

Guest

Friday, January 20, 2012 -- 4:00 PM

Without belaboring any point,

Without belaboring any point, why would anyone of faith be worried over thirty-six (more or less) arguments for (or against) the existence of God? It is a cute approach, that may well sell a few books. The gullible public will buy anything---and regret spending the $12.95 on the trade paperback. I'll wait bit. And get it from my local library. Unless I see it first at my favorite halr-price, for, oh, say four dollars. In which case, I'll know I have missed nothing...and can safely save my four dollarrs. There are many books to read, and so little time.

Guest's picture

Guest

Saturday, January 21, 2012 -- 4:00 PM

Got to thinking about your

Got to thinking about your theme:Philosophy in Fiction. Upon meditative reflection, I thought I'd offer some thoughts. Or observations. Or opinions...experiences, for me, are private. No one ever quite interprets similar experiences the same way(s) anyhow, so why share these with strangers? Precisely my point. So here it is, take or leave---I'm not worried:
1. Philosophy shows up in both fictive and non-fictive works. Authors always have an underlying philosophy of one sort or another. Ayn Rand's (I know how some hate her---a pity, that...) philosophy was well-documented in her best works. And, to a degree, it evolved, for better or worse.
2. We all make philosophical decisions everyday. Some of those are based on fact (non-fictive inputs); some are based upon lies (fictive inputs or worse). Some of us may get to write about this---most will not.
3. I happen to write some things that might be classified as philosophical. I do not think of them as fictional, but, see the first paragraph of this comment, fifth sentence, for clarification.

Guest's picture

Guest

Saturday, January 21, 2012 -- 4:00 PM

I think some truths and

I think some truths and insights are conveyed best in fiction; good fiction contains a great deal of truth and thought-provocation. For example, a significantly deeper understanding of the tragic story of Cain and Abel might come from reading Steinbeck's, East of Eden.
Or consider the profundity in Tolkien's, The Lord of the Rings, in which a despairing Frodo says, " I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened." To which Gandalf replies, "So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."
詹姆斯·米切纳(James Michener)的小说《源头》(The Source)超越了我所见过的任何一部讲述中东历史的直白小说，因为它看起来相当准确，而且有助于关键人物(一位罗马天主教考古学家和他的犹太和阿拉伯同事)以及叙述者对历史事件的不同解读。

Guest's picture

Guest

Sunday, January 22, 2012 -- 4:00 PM

我像往常一样认为……

我像往常一样认为……
A good example of philosophy and fiction is Plato's use of a fictitious character name Socrates to tell the truth he was working so hard to find and share without the threat of prosecution or even the sentence of death.
Now granted no One is entirely certain that Socrates was real or not, but if he was only a fictitious person and voice for Plato, I think of Plato then and probably only then to be the wiser of most and also of the two.
And in that case also also, fiction works nicely for me.
I wish I was so smart,
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Harold G. Neuman's picture

Harold G. Neuman

Monday, January 23, 2012 -- 4:00 PM

As I thought more about your

As I thought more about your blog post and its title, something crossed my mind, twice. According to certain opinions, philosophy IS fiction. Science is fiction which BECOMES fact, with the methods of repetition, replication and so on. The more we try to get hold of philosophy, the more it screams: no, you won't!----now, then: there are pretty smart commenters contributing to this blog. I challenge you this: think about the beginnings of a thought experiment I have suggested in this comment. Then, take it into your own OEOs, mush it around a bit---and tell us where your thoughts take you.

Guest's picture

Guest

Thursday, January 26, 2012 -- 4:00 PM

Dear Harold,

Dear Harold,
Rather than trying to get hold of truth, why not simply let go,
Let go of everything you know.
自由就是这样。
Just be true, free,
You,
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Harold G. Neuman's picture

Harold G. Neuman

Monday, January 30, 2012 -- 4:00 PM

Namaste, Michael. Namaste. I

Namaste, Michael. Namaste. I said nothing about getting hold of truth. Philosophy might invlove truthful elements, but it ain't necessarily so. Look---I'm not crazy about complexity either. But it is here amongst us whether we like it or no. Try to understand it or hope it will go away---everyone's choice. I doubt that it will be going away. Who knows, though. Mankind is slowly chipping away at reality, so...

Guest's picture

Guest

Wednesday, February 8, 2012 -- 4:00 PM

Namaste

Namaste
"I honour the place in you that
Is the same in me.
I honour the place in you where
The whole universe resides.
I hounor the place in you
Of love, of light, of peace and of truth.
I honour the place in you
that is the same in me.
There is but One
Namaste"
=