The ancient quarrel between poetry and philosophy / Thomas Gould.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gould, Thomas, author.

Series:

Princeton Legacy Library

Princeton Legacy Library ; 1172

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Greek drama (Tragedy)--History and criticism--Theory, etc.

Greek drama (Tragedy).

Poetics--History--To 1500.

Poetics.

Suffering in literature.

Sympathy in literature.

Literature--Philosophy.

Literature.

Pathos in literature.

Philosophy, Ancient.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (347 p.)

Edition:

Course Book

Place of Publication:

Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, [1990]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

Affecting audiences with depictions of suffering and injustice is a key function of tragedy, and yet it has long been viewed by philosophers as a dubious enterprise. In this book Thomas Gould uses both historical and theoretical approaches to explore tragedy and its power to gratify readers and audiences. He takes as his starting point Plato's moral and psychological objections to tragedy, and the conflict he recognized between "poetry"--the exploitation of our yearning to see ourselves as victims--and "philosophy"--the insistence that all good people are happy. Plato's objections to tragedy are shown to be an essential feature of Socratic rationalism and to constitute a formidable challenge even today. Gould makes a case for the rightness and psychological necessity of violence and suffering in literature, art, and religion, but he distinguishes between depictions of violence that elicit sympathy only for the victims and those that cause us to sympathize entirely with the perpetrators. It is chiefly the former, Gould argues, that fuel our responses not only to true tragedy but also to religious myths and critical displays of political rage.Originally published in 1990.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INTRODUCTION

PART I. THE ANCIENT QUARREL

1. "Philosophy" in Socratism

2. Socratism in Plato

3. Socratism in Aristotle

4. Plato's First Attack: Republic II

5. Pathos in Greek Religion

6. Plato's Second Attack: Republic X

7. Pathos in Greek Tragedy

9. Plato, Aristotle, and the "Shudder"

10. Pathos, pathos, passion, and Passion

11. The Quarrel Today

12. Two Case Histories

13. Plato/Aristotle and Freud/Jung

PART II: PATHOS AND THE APPEAL OF TRAGEDY

14. Justice and Injustice in Homer

15. Justice and Injustice in the Oresteia

16. Aeschylus the Eleusinian

17. Pathos and the "Shudder" in Sophocles

18. The Anger of the Gods and Heroes

19. Sophocles or Socrates?

20. Euripides against the Myths

21. Our Euripides

PART III: HAVING IT BOTH WAYS

22. Was Plato Serious?

23. The True Dionysus

24. The Trouble with Psychological Explanations

25. The Trouble with Aristotle's Alternative

26. The Nature of Tragedy

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [300]-309) and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 08. Jul 2019)

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-4008-6186-1

OCLC:

884013065