Between literature and science : Poe, Lem, and explorations in aesthetics, cognitive science, and literary knowledge / Peter Swirski.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Swirski, Peter, 1966-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Literature and science.

Aesthetics, American.

Cognitive science.

Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809-1849--Knowledge--Science.

Poe, Edgar Allan.

Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809-1849. Purloined letter.

Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809-1849. Eureka.

Lem, Stanisaw--Knowledge--Science.

Lem, Stanisaw.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (203 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Montreal ; Ithica, [N.Y.] : McGill-Queen's University Press, c2000.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Through close analysis of Eureka and The Purloined Letter, Swirski evaluates Poe's epistemological theses in the light of contemporary philosophy of science and presents literary interpretation as a cooperative game played by the author and reader, thereby illuminating how we read fiction. The analysis of Poe's little-studied Eureka provides the basis for his discussion of Lem's critique of scientific reductionism and futurological forecasts. Drawing on his own interviews with Lem as well as analysis of his works, Swirski considers the author's scenarios involving computers capable of creative acts and discusses their socio-cultural implications. His analysis leads to bold arguments about the nature of literature and its relation to a broad range of other disciplines.

Contents:

Front Matter

Contents

Introduction

The Pragmatic Side of Aesthetics

Towards a New Epistemology

An Essay in Cosmology

There Is Science in My Philosophy

The Future History of Biterature

Of Machines and Men

Conclusion: No Discipline Is an Island

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. [153]-180) and index.

ISBN:

1-282-85856-4

9786612858567

0-7735-6837-9

OCLC:

123470259