English and drama

Literature and Philosophy

Module code: Q3269
Level 5
15 credits in spring semester
Teaching method: Seminar, Lecture
Assessment modes: Coursework

Tristram Shandy, the protagonist of Laurence Sterne’s novel of the same title, says that a man’s body and his mind are like a jacket and its lining: ‘rumple the one—you rumple the other’. This joke riffs on a long-running philosophical debate about the relation between mind and body; it is just one example of how eighteenth-century literature engages philosophy.

This module examines the relationship between literature and philosophy during the Enlightenment – a period equally marked by an emphasis on rationality as by a turn to feeling – by considering how some of the major questions that preoccupy eighteenth-century authors are philosophical questions about the mind, the body, the self, and one’s responsibility to others. Literature from this period is full of scenes in which characters find themselves impersonated, or hurt others by accident, or have incomplete control of their bodies. Such scenes address topics that continue to preoccupy us today concerning identity (what makes us ourselves?), responsibility (are we responsible for things we do in altered states?), and social and political obligation (how should we respond when we see others suffer?).

We will discuss works of literature that raise philosophical issues in their own right, and we will read them alongside short selections from contemporary philosophical writings. Though we will be working across disciplines, our primary focus will be on the literary works, and this module assumes no prior knowledge of philosophy.

Module learning outcomes

• Engage critically with texts on the module and place them in relation to their historical and cultural context.
• Display an understanding of some of the connections between literature and philosophy in the eighteenth century.
• Analyse texts on the module in light of different disciplines (literature, philosophy).