Jane Austen and the ethics of life / Brett Bourbon.
| Author/creator | Bourbon, Brett, 1963- |
| Format | Electronic |
| Publication Info | New York, NY : Routledge, 2023. |
| Description | volumes cm |
| Supplemental Content | Full text available from Taylor & Francis eBooks |
| Subjects |
| Series | Routledge studies in nineteenth century literature |
| Contents | Jane Austen and the powers of description. Disciplines of description -- Reading ignorance into sense -- Elizabeth Bennet, the Socrates of descriptive reason -- Frank and impertinent: paradiastolic descriptions -- An excursus on Richard Rorty and Lady Catherine -- Fanny's garden thoughts -- Reasoning by description -- Coda: "Part hawk, part man" -- The apprehension of power and life. The cook and the count: a psychological anthropology of tyranny -- Is power coercive? -- A parable of action and event -- The afflictions of life: Montale's poetic description of flux -- What is a life? -- A concluding postscript. |
| Abstract | "Jane Austen and the Ethics of Description demonstrates that Elizabeth Bennet and her creator are misunderstood, and often unrecognized, geniuses of moral philosophy, but not simply because of their virtue or wit or natural skills in game theory. The engine driving the moral judgement and growth of Austen's protagonists consists of a particular and not well-understood ability to reason by description, a skill which we moderns must recover and remaster in order to negotiate the complexities of contemporary life. The forms of rational description this volume derives from Austen will be of great interest to not only literary critics and theorists, but also to philosophers and anyone interested in ethics, the dynamics of power, and practical reasoning. Written in a clear style, the book is for those who love Austen and for those who want to understand how we should reason about our lives. The book is written for those who love Austen, of course, but also for those who are interested in questions about how to live and in fundamental and practical questions about power, social conflict, self-awareness, and practical reasoning. It is a literary analysis, a philosophical argument, and a practical guide to ethical thinking"-- Provided by publisher. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Access restriction | Available only to authorized users. |
| Technical details | Mode of access: World Wide Web |
| Genre/form | Electronic books. |
| LCCN | 2022024307 |
| ISBN | 9781032363387 (hardback) |
| ISBN | 9781032363394 (paperback) |
| ISBN | (ebook) |