Edited by Wolfgang G. Müller and Rainer Thiel

Even though the relation between literature und philosophy has been the subject of ceaseless reflection and debate, central questions have been left undecided, particularly the relation between the principally aesthetic composition of literary texts and the likewise principally rational-logical mode of argument of philosophical texts. A central question discussed concerns the constitutive factors of fruitful interdependence of philosophy and literature, which can be regarded as a sign of a culture in which literary and philosophical production coexist and frequently converge. The present volume addresses the manifestations and variations of the interaction between philosophy and literature: for instance, the concept of mimesis from antiquity to modern theory; the thinking of the Pre-Socratics, which was significantly taken up in modern times; and the genre of the thought-experiment and its actuality in modern theory and literature and various media. Plato’s ring of Gyges is discussed as the source for the idea of the invisible man. Further articles investigate the ethical dimension of literature and Frege’s interpretation of the language of poetry. Case studies are devoted to Cicero’s intricate use of the literary form of dialogue, Hölderlin’s conversion of philosophy into literature, Hegel’s spiritualization of art, Schopenhauer’s literarization of philosophy, Wallace Stevens’ lyrical philosophizing, the assimilation of Derrida’s thought in Francis Ponge, the impact of modern scientific theories on Samuel Beckett and other postmodern authors, and the adaptation of Asian philosophy in the American poet Gary Snyder.

ISSN 2698-492X  (Print)
ISSN 2698-4938  (Online)
Trier 2022