Can Fiction be Philosophy? Essay -- Literature Papers

This paper examines the relation between philosophy and literature through an analysis of claims made by Martha Nussbaum regarding the contribution novels can make to moral philosophy. Perhaps her most controversial assertion is that some novels are themselves works of moral philosophy. I contrast Nussbaum’s view with that of Iris Murdoch. I discuss three claims which are fundamental to Nussbaum’s position: the relation between writing style and content; philosophy’s inadequacy in preparing agents for moral life because of its reliance on rules; and the usefulness of the moral work engaged in by readers of novels. The evaluation of these claims requires a discussion of the nature of philosophy. I find that Murdoch and Nussbaum agree on the ability of literature to contribute to moral understanding, but disagree on the issue of what philosophy is. Therefore, they disagree on the question of whether certain works of fiction are also works of philosophy. I argue tha t the task Nussbaum assigns philosophy is too broad. Through the use of critical and reflective methods, philosophy should examine and sort moral claims. Literary, philosophical and religious texts contribute to moral eduction; keeping them separate helps us appreciate their distinct contributions, as well as respect their distinct aims and methods. Therefore, I conclude that Nussbaum’s inclusion of certain novels in philosophy cannot be sustained. In a recent article, Richard Posner examines the notion, advanced by scholars in the law and literature movement, that "...immersion in literature ... make[s] us better citizens or better people." (1) The focus of his discussion is a set of assertions, including a number made by Martha Nussbaum, concerning the moral influenc... ...h draws the following distinctions: literature does many things, philosophy does one thing (has one aim); literature is natural, philosophy is counter-natural; literature arouses emotion, philosophy tries to eliminate emotional appeal; literature is indirect, philosophy is direct; literature has no problem to solve, philosophy seeks to solve a few technical and abstract problems; literature is concerned with aesthetic form, philosophy does not aim at formal perfection. Murdoch says that she sees "no 'general role' of philosophy in literature" (p. 242). (15) See Frank Palmer, Literature and Moral Understanding (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992), chapter 8. (16) In considering what is characteristic of philosophy, I was helped by reading Derrida and Wittgenstein, by Newton Garver and Seung-Chong Lee, (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1994), chapter 6.

Dominant Management Philosophy of Whirlpool Corporation Essay

I hereby present the analysis of the dominant management philosophy of Whirlpool Corporation for evaluating whether our company shall acquire Whirlpool. Whirlpool’s management is strongly committed to build strong brands and a growing loyal consumer base via its brand value creation strategy based on diversity, innovation, cost productivity and corporate social responsibility. Whirlpool knows the art of leveraging its wide array of strong brands to serve strategically different & geographically widespread markets. Innovation is Whirlpool Corporation’s differentiating strategy giving it a significant competitive advantage. Every Whirlpool Brand aims at understanding the unique consumer needs and converting them into products and services, thus, creating unmatched customer loyalty resulting in high revenue growths and superior return to the global investors. Whirlpool’s revenue has grown by 7. 3 % ; it has returned $ 502 million to shareholders, during the year ended December 2007. Apart from strong brands, Whirlpool has a well diversified customer, product and employee base. A wide range of products allows the company to cater to a large and diverse range of consumers all across the globe, thus, providing it with diversified range of revenue streams. It strategically explores new markets and then uses its strong brands ; value creation strategies to enter those markets where product penetration level is still low. For example, India with a population of 1. billion and an expected home appliances market size of $ 4 billion clicked as a high growth market. Whirlpool has already captured 25% of Indian market. It has well defined code of ethics covering 14 aspects of business and the same is well-embedded throughout the organization. Whirlpool is listed 18th on World 100 Best Corporate Citizens by Business ethics magazine and among the Top 25 Most Respected U. S. Companies by the Reputation Institute. This demonstrates strong consumer trust, which can be leveraged to fuel higher turnover.

Emmanuel Kant, Anthropology from the Pragmatic Point of...

Emmanuel Kant, Anthropology from the pragmatic point of view (1798) This text is an extract from the Antropologie from the pragmatic point of view of Kant is about the importance of the power of saying  « I  » for the human subject. Indeed, for Kant, this force â€Å"raises Man on top of all other living beings†. This power is the founding of the superiority and of the dignity of Man, it is thanks to consciousness that Man becomes a moral being, in other words a being able to think himself and thus to wonder about the nature and the value of his acts. In the first part, from â€Å"Que l’Homme† [that Man] (line 1) to â€Å"sur la terre† [on earth] (line 2), Kant formulates his thesis while in the second part, from â€Å"il est par la† [it is by that] (line†¦show more content†¦In other words, a unity, which is beyond any possible experiment. We could then establish the fact that this human unity, which distinguishes itself from animals and other living beings, results from self-consciousness. According to Kant, how does Man distinguish himself from the animal? Quite simply by â€Å"son rang et sa dignite† [his rank and his dignity]. Man is different from animal and from the â€Å"chose† [thing] by his self-consciousness. He knows when he makes good and bad acts, he is conscious of his acts in general. Indeed Man cannot live like the animal and satisfy only his vital needs, nor can he live like the thing which does not have any need, Man lives by satisfying his needs and more than his vital needs. Certain needs can appear superfluous like Art, but Hegel in his Esthà ©tique work show that Art is vital for Man’s well being. Moreover Kant said that music was â€Å"the language of emotions†. Man needs to give a reason to his existence as by reflexion or the application moral values which come from reason like being solitary. These moral values are notably found in the Old Testament as in Leviticus 19:18 â€Å"loves your neighbour as yourself†. Kant then says that even if the â€Å"je† is not pronounced, the individual can think. We could notably refer to the cave men who indicated their opinion and their engagement with gestures and signs even if they did not pronounce words having a syntax. The author is then pointing out that all languages, in