Literature and Moral Feeling: A Cognitive Poetics of Ethics, Narrative, and Empathy

Description

An influential body of recent work on moral psychology has stressed the interconnections among ethics, narrative, and empathy. Yet as Patrick Colm Hogan argues, this work is so vague in its use of the term 'narrative' as to be almost substanceless, and this vagueness is in large part due to the neglect of literary study. Extending his previous work on universal story structures, Hogan argues that we can transform ill-defined intuitions about narrative and ethics into explicit and systematic accounts of the deep connections between moral attitudes and narratives. These connections are, in turn, inseparable from empathy, a concept that Hogan proceeds to clarify and defend against a number of widely read critiques. In the course of the book, Hogan develops and illustrates his arguments through analyses of global narratives, constructing illuminating ethical interpretations of literary works ranging from Shakespeare to Chinese drama and the Bhagavad Gita. Cover Half-title Series information Title page Copyright information Dedication Contents List of Figures Acknowledgments Introduction: What (Comparative) Literature Tells Us about Ethics Chapter 1 Defining Ethics Some Complications of Descriptive Ethics Some Distinctions That Complicate Both Projects So, What Is Ethics, Then? Specifying a Fundamental Ethical Orientation The Scope Parameter The Valence Parameter The Method Parameter A Brief Note on Blame: Character versus Action Conclusion Chapter 2 The Implied Ethics of Julius Caesar Ethics and Revolution Shakespeare's Words Conclusion Chapter 3 Narrative Universals, Emotion, and Ethics On Political Morality A Partial Digression on the Supposed Negativity Bias of Right-Wing Political Views Haidt on Moral Foundations and the Limits of Liberalism Ethics, Affects, and Stories Emotions and Genres Moral Foundations Narrative, Politics, and Evolution Conclusion Chapter 4 Ethics and Narrative Genre: Some Illustrative Cases Some Disclaimers Heroic Narrative (Mahabharata) Revenge (Hamlet and The Zhao Orphan) Criminal Investigation (Selling Rice in Chenzhou) Romantic Stories Seduction and Sexual Assault (All's Well That Ends Well and Hamlet) Family Separation and Reunion (Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence and Nectar in a Sieve) Sacrificial Narrative (Nosferatu, a Symphony of Horror) Spiritual Realization (Atsumori) Conclusion Chapter 5 Emotion and Empathy Emotion Reason versus Emotion? Empathy Some Related Concepts A Note on Peter Goldie's Objections to Some Forms of Empathy A Literary Example Conclusion Chapter 6 The Dynamics of Empathic Response: Simulation and Inference in A Midsummer Night's Dream A Note on Simulation A Midsummer Night's Dream Conclusion Chapter 7 Evaluating Empathy Humanists against Empathy? Some Recurring Claims False Empathy: Richard Delgado Cognitive Science against Empathy (I): Jesse Prinz Cognitive Science against Empathy (II): Paul Bloom Empathy and Ethical Motivation Empathy versus Compassion and Care? False Empathy and Failed Empathy The Uses of Simulation: A Note on Fritz Breithaupt Conclusion Chapter 8 The Critical Empathy of Angels in America Kushner's Characters and Their Roles in Empathy Attachment Betrayal, Trust, and Critical Empathy Out-Grouping Moral Emotions: Guilt and Shame Conclusion Afterword: The Limits of Ethics: On Free Will and Blame Conclusion References Index