Fiction, Philosophy and the Ideal of Conversation

• Combines new analyses of canonical works of British fiction with rigorous scholarship in ordinary language philosophy, aesthetic theory, ethics, and political philosophy
• Bridges recent work in both literary studies and political philosophy, where scholars are reviving interest in ordinary language philosophy. Lays groundwork for future work at the intersection of literary studies, political philosophy, and ordinary language philosophy
• Departs from period-bound and historicist approaches typical of literary studies and shows that this manner of reading makes the philosophical resources of canonical works of British fiction newly legible
• Develops a framework for interdisciplinary scholarship that integrates literary criticism and philosophy on the model of conversation

The ideal of ‘conversation’ recurs in modern thought as a symbol and practice central to ethics, democratic politics, and thinking itself. Interweaving readings of fiction and philosophy in a ‘conversational’ style inspired by Stanley Cavell, Fiction, Philosophy, and the Ideal of Conversation clarifies this lofty yet vague ideal, while developing a revitalizing model for interdisciplinary literary studies. It argues that conversation is key to exemplary responses to sceptical doubt in ordinary language and political philosophy – where scepticism threatens ethics and democratic politics – and in works of British fiction spanning from Jane Austen through Ali Smith. It shows that for these writers, conversation can shift attention from metaphysical doubts regarding our capacity to know ‘reality’ and other people, to ethical, democratic, and aesthetic action. The book moreover proposes – and models – ‘conversational criticism’ as a framework linking literary studies to broader political and ethical commitments, while remaining responsive to aesthetic form.