Literary opacity as literary knowledge

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15448/1984-6746.2022.1.40357

Keywords:

Philosophy of Literature, Narrative opacity, Literary knowledge, Kafka

Abstract

This contribution aims to elucidate a dilemma involved in the debate on the relationship between the practical and theoretical knowledge, on the one hand, and the aesthetic value of literature, on the other. To achieve that objective, Peter Lamarque’s arguments against the epistemic reduction of literary value will be analyzed. Firstly, it is argued that the defense of the cognitive value of literature does not necessarily imply an engagement with a propositional truth theory of literary value. Secondly, it is also argued that it is the specific manner by which literature plays a role in “the battle for the ideas” that determines its particular aesthetic value. Therefore, according to our interpretation of that dilemma, the narrative opacity thesis argued by Lamarque not only does not exclude our knowledge of the world, but it is what explains the aesthetic value of literary works.

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Author Biography

Washington Morales Maciel, Universidade da República (Udelar), Montevidéu, Uruguai.

Doutor em Filosofia pela Universidade da República (Udelar), em Montevidéu, Uruguai; mestre em Filosofia pela mesma instituição. Professor na Universidade da República (Udelar), em Montevidéu, Uruguai, nas disciplinas de Estética, da Faculdade de Humanidades; Estética e Design, da Faculdade de Arquitetura; e Epistemologia, da Faculdade de Psicologia.

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Published

2022-08-11

How to Cite

Maciel, W. M. (2022). Literary opacity as literary knowledge. Veritas (Porto Alegre), 67(1), e40357. https://doi.org/10.15448/1984-6746.2022.1.40357

Issue

Vol. 67 No. 1 (2022): Single Volume

Section

Philosophy & Interdisciplinarity

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