Alan H. Goldman presents an original and lucid account of the
relationship between philosophy and the novel. In the first part,
on philosophy of novels, he defends theories of literary value and
interpretation. Literary value, the value of literary works as
such, is a species of aesthetic value. Goldman argues that works
have aesthetic value when they simultaneously engage all our mental
capacities: perceptual, cognitive, imaginative, and emotional. This
view contrasts with now prevalent narrower formalist views of
literary value. According to it, cognitive engagement with novels
includes appreciation of their broad themes and the theses these
imply, often moral and hence philosophical theses, which are
therefore part of the novels' literary value. Interpretation
explains elements of works so as to allow readers maximum
appreciation, so as to maximize the literary value of the texts as
written. Once more, Goldman's view contrasts with narrower views of
literary interpretation, especially those which limit it to
uncovering what authors intended. One implication of Goldman's
broader view is the possibility of incompatible but equally
acceptable interpretations, which he explores through a discussion
of rival interpretations of Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises.
Goldman goes on to test the theory of value by explaining the
immense appeal of good mystery novels in its terms. The second part
of the book, on philosophy in novels, explores themes relating to
moral agency-moral development, motivation, and disintegration-in
Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn,
John Irving's The Cider House Rules, and Joseph Conrad's Nostromo.
By narrating the course of characters' lives, including their inner
lives, over extended periods, these novels allow us to vicariously
experience the characters' moral progressions, positive and
negative, to learn in a more focused way moral truths, as we do
from real life experiences.
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