Ethics of Criticism

Tobin Siebers

Description

Tobin Siebers asserts that literary criticism is essentially a form of ethics. The Ethics of Criticism investigates the moral character of contemporary literary theory, assessing a wide range of theoretical approaches in terms of both the ethical presuppositions underlying the critical claims and the attitudes fostered by the approaches. Building on analyses of the moral legacies of Plato, Kant, Nietzsche, and Freud, Siebers identifies the various fronts on which the concerns of critical theory impinge on those of ethics.

Sujets

• Literary theory

Informations

• Publié par: Cornell University Press
• Date de parution: 15 mars 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781501721410
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

of The EthicS CriticiSm

ALSO bY TObïn SïEbERS

The Mirror of Medusa The omantic antastic

e EthcS of Citsm

TOBIN SIEBERs

cORNeLL UNïVeRSïtY pReSS

îTHACA AnD LOnDOn

Open access edition funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities/ Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Humanities Open Book Program.

Copyright © 1988 by Cornell University

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850, or visit our website at cornellpress.cornell.edu.

First published 1988 by Cornell University Press. First published, Cornell Paperbacks, 1990.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Siebers, Tobin. The ethics of criticism. Includes index. 1. Criticism—Moral and ethical aspects. 2. Literary ethics. I. Title. PN98.M67S54 1988 174′.98 87-47820 ISBN-13: 978-0-8014-2128-0 (cloth) ISBN-13: 978-0-8014-9712-4 (pbk.)

The text of this book is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

In memoy of Marion Siebers 

AcKnOWLedGMenTS

Coes

 The Character of Criticism: ïntroduction 2 Éthical Criticism: rom Plato to Pluralism  The Éthics ofAutonomy: Biography and the ew Criticism 4 Éthics in the Age ofousseau rom LèviStrauss to Derrida 5 Paul de Man and the Triumph of alling 6 esentment and the Genealogy of Morals: rom ietzsche to Girard  The Éthical Unconscious: rom reud to Lacan 8 The Éthics of Sexual Dierence 9 The Éthics of ulear Criticism Conclusion

ïndex

îx

 4 44 69 98

24 59 186 220

241

Açkowedgmes

 began Workîng on CriticismThe Éthics of durîng mY Las monhs as a FeLLoW of he Mîchîgan ŚocîeY of FeLLoWs, and î îs Wîh a specîaL sense of compLeîon ha  fînd mYseLf fînîshîng he Book a he ÛnîversîY of Mîchîgan afer a hree-Year saY a ÇoLumBîa ÛnîersîY. oh însîuîons have pLaYed a maJor roLe în formîng hîs bookÄ he Mîchîgan ŚocîeY of FeLLoWs provîded earLY suppor for he proJec, and he ÇoLumbîČ ÇouncîL for e­ search în he umanîîes generousLY aîded mY effors durîng he summer of 985 . he rîp from Ann Arbor o eW ork ÇîY and back measures a geographîcaL cîrcLe ha has aLso Become a cîrcLe f sudens, coLLeagues, and frîends. Much of hîs maerîaL receîved he scru­ înY of mY graduae sudens în Çomparaîve îeraure 5004 durîng he Wo Years ha  augh he course a ÇoLumbîa Ûnî­ versîY. he dîscussîon and LeveL of acîvîy Were înense, and  onLY hope ha he members of he semînar profîed fom my remarks as much as  dîd from heîrs. Among mY coLLeagues and frîends č ÇoLumbîa, KarL Kroeber Was a consîsen and devoed reader of he manuscrîp, and  profîed from hîs good sense and demands for cLarîY. ÇaroLYn eîLbrun, Marîn MeîseL, ÇarL oodrîng, ÇharLoe onîca, and Śusan înne aLso had heîr