Literary Forms in Philosophical Writings

Paper Summary:

Throughout its history, philosophical writings have primarily been conventional expositions of arguments. However, there have been exceptions, notably the literary forms of the dialogue, the aphorism, the poem, and others. Sometimes, the chosen format functioned specifically to convert the reader, but sometimes not. This paper looks at the relationship, or the lack of one, between literary forms and intent. There is specific scrutiny of Lucretius' "Of the Nature of Things" and Spinoza's "Ethics".

From the Paper:

"Perhaps, the geometrical form was pedagogical, or a reaction to the imprecision of the prevailing Renaissance style, or a way of avoiding the traditional Scholastic "disputations and questions" format. (Wolfson 32-60) As Wolfson, a major Spinoza interpreter suggests, he "had something new to say, and he wished to say it in a new way." (59) It may have simply been a "desire to produce a book which externally would be different from all other books on philosophy." (59) Or in Martha Nussbaum's interesting discussion about literary form and content, she specifically cites the example of Spinoza's Ethics and offers the suggestion that this project of writing craft expressed a joy that accompanies the peace of mind found in his philosophy. "Spinoza cultivates the intellectual joy of which he will speak. (35)"

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