| This project joins and attempts to expand the discussion involving the work of Ralph Waldo Emerson and the observations of the latter by contemporary philosopher Stanley Cavell. The confluence of the writing of these two thinkers yields not only a study of the differences between literary criticism and philosophy, but also a discussion of the ethical nature of literature. Where Emerson, Cavell, literary criticism, and philosophy converge, ethics emerges as a significant by-product. Ultimately, the action of reading and analyzing literature offers the potential for an ethical response, a response made possible by the literary imagination. |
