Literature against Philosophy, Plato to Derrida

Defence of literary art against the centuries-old drive to subsume literature into theory and philosophy.

This timely book argues that the institutionalisation of literary theory has led to an intellectual sterility which ignores the actual power and scope of literature. The book demands to be read by all teachers of literature and theory, and by anyone concerned with the future of literary studies.This timely book argues that the institutionalisation of literary theory, particularly within American and British academic circles, has led to a sterility of thought which ignores the special character of literary art. Mark Edmundson traces the origins of this tendency to the ancient quarrel between philosophy and poetry, in which Plato took the side of philosophy; and he shows how the work of modern theorists - Foucault, Derrida, de Man and Bloom - exhibits similar drives to subsume poetic art into some 'higher' kind of thought. Challenging and controversial, this book should be read by all teachers of literature and of theory, and by anyone concerned about the future of institutionalised literary studies.