Kirjallisuus & filosofia

“To say that philosophy and literature have, or ought to have, nothing to do with each other suggests, firstly, that we know precisely what, in every single instance, they both are, and, secondly, that we have a clear notion of what is implied by ‘having nothing to do with each other’. To put it positively: there are beyond any doubt some works of literature that have a great deal to do with some philosophies. We need only remind ourselves of Lucretius and Epicurus, Dante and St. Thomas Aquinas. But, of course, ‘a great deal’ need not be what our literary understanding of such work gains by understanding of its philosophical connections. Again, it would be easier to arrive at a decision about this, if we were, in fact, surer of the precise difference, in every respect, between literary and philosophical comprehension. It is very likely that there is such a difference, but whatever it is, I have no doubt that it is more relevant to the comprehension of poetry than to the appreciation of a work in prose.”

Erich Heller: Thomas Mann. The Ironic German (Cambridge University Press 2010, ensimmäinen painos 1958)
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