Karl Popper and literary theory : : critical rationalism as a philosophy of literature / / Trzyna Thomas.

• Superior document: Schriftenreihe Zur Philosophie Karl R. Poppers und des Kritischen Rationalismus / Series in the Philosophy of Karl R. Popper and Critical Rationalism ; v. 22
• Author: Trzyna, Thomas.
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden : : BRILL,, 2017.
• Year of Publication: 2017
• Language: English
• Series: Schriftenreihe zur Philosophie Karl R. Poppers und des Kritischen Rationalismus / Series in the Philosophy of Karl R. Popper and Critical Rationalism 22.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (224 pages).
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.

Karl Popper’s philosophy of science, with its focus on falsifiability and critical rationalism, provides a firm foundation for a theory of literary interpretation that avoids the pitfalls of many contemporary theories. Building on the work of Popper, John Eccles, Imre Lakatos, Ernst Gombrich, Louise DeSalvo and James Battersby, this study outlines the approach, sets it in a theoretical context, and applies the theory to challenging works by Anne Finch, Countess of Winchelsea, Jean Toomer, Shakespeare, Henry Fielding, J-M.G. LeClézio, J.M. Coetzee, Jonathan Littell, Patrick Modiano, Albert Schweitzer, Popper’s protégé William Warren Bartley III and the Gospel of Mark. The book concludes with a set of general principles for understanding literature as a mode of investigation in what Popper called the unended quest.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material -- A Theoretical Framework -- Applying a Popperian Framework -- Deconstruction, Pragmatic Pluralism, and Comprehensively Critical Rationalism: The Critical Theory of James Battersby -- Reading Jean Toomer -- Henry Fielding and the Problem of Forgiveness -- Le Clézio, Levinas, Popper and the Problem of Parmenides -- J.M. Coetzee and The Childhood of Jesus -- “Like a Sea of Wax:” The Problem of Timon of Athens -- The Eumenides: We Suffer into Truth -- The Limits of the Theory: The Gospel of Mark and the Ineffable -- Patrick Modiano and the Bucket: A Note -- Conclusion: How does Literature Work? -- Bibliography -- Index.