What, if anything, distinguishes works of fiction such as Hamlet and Madame Bovary from biographies, news reports, or office bulletins? Is there a “right” way to interpret fiction? Should we link interpretation to the author’s intention? Ought our moral unease with works that betray sadistic, sexist, or racist elements lower our judgments of their aesthetic worth? And what, when it comes down to it, is literature?

The readings in this collection bring together some of the most important recent work in the philosophy of literature by philosophers such as Martha Nussbaum, John Searle, and David Lewis. The readings explore philosophical issues such as the nature of fiction, the status of the author, the act of interpretation, the role of the emotions in the act of reading, the aesthetic and moral value of literary works, and other topics central to the philosophy of literature.

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David Davies is Professor of Philosophy at McGill University. He is the author of Art as Performance (Blackwell, 2004).

“Contemporary Readings in the Philosophy of Literature is a comprehensive anthology of analytic approaches to the study of literary texts, ideal for use in upper-division undergraduate and graduate courses. The volume offers excellent coverage of the puzzles and problems associated with fictional truth, classification, interpretation, belief and emotional response, and the moral significance of literary works.” — Catherine Wilson, CUNY Graduate Center

“This is a wonderful, comprehensive collection of analytic essays which displays the breadth and depth of the philosophical puzzles with which philosophers of literature deal. It is the book I have been waiting for to teach philosophy of literature to undergraduates.” — Sarah Worth, Furman College