142 Philosophy and Literature

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/philosophy-and-literature. What can we learn from studying philosophy? What can we learn from reading great (or not-so-great) literature? Some philosophers and literary theorists believe that philosophy and literature converge in a number of places. Great literature is often deeply philosophical, and great philosophy is often great literature, sometimes in the form of fictional narrative. Perhaps we can learn many of the same lessons from philosophy and literature. Can the methods of philosophy and literary criticism be combined? Are the truths they shed light upon complementary? John and Ken are joined by fellow Stanford philosopher Lanier Anderson to discuss the intersection of philosophy and literature.