Literature and Knowledge: A Problematic Relationship?
Literature and Knowledge: A Problematic Relationship?

Summary/Abstract: This paper addresses the question of the relationship between literature and knowledge, a question that has interested philosophers since antiquity. After a brief historical introduction, I provide an overview of some of the key issues and positions in the contemporary debate, beginning with the question of whether the fictionality of literary works creates an insurmountable gulf between literature and knowledge. The distinction between propositionalism and non-propositionalism is central to the paper. Can the knowledge content of literary works be expressed propositionally – that is, in the form of sentences – or does it involve non-propositional elements that cannot be fully captured by language? Among the different versions of non-propositionalism, I focus on so-called literary humanism and on the idea of experiential knowledge, which holds that literary works can offer knowledge of what it is like to undergo certain experiences. I conclude by looking at the other side of the epistemic coin – namely, the question of what justifies literary knowledge – and argue that this issue should receive more attention than it has thus far.

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