Shakespeare and Philosophy

Lust, Love, and Law
Erscheinungsjahr 2012
ISBN: 978-90-420-3597-3
Verlag: Brill | Rodopi

Buch, Englisch, Band 256, 232 Seiten, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 235 mm

Reihe: Value Inquiry Book Series / Philosophy, Literature, and Politics

This book is an interdisciplinary work that weaves literary interpretation, legal theory, and philosophical doctrine about sex and love into a coherent mosaic in the context of two of Shakespeare’s plays: The Merchant of Venice and Measure for Measure. In the process, the work advances literary interpretations of the plays including character studies of some of the main protagonists. The aim is partly theoretical but mostly practical: to demonstrate what we can learn about living a robustly meaningful and significant human life by taking Shakespeare’s work seriously from contemporary philosophical and legal vantage points. Shakespeare does not reveal a tightly defined moral system that he is trying to urge upon his audience. Instead, Shakespeare challenges his audience to struggle with moral complexity as they confront conflicting elements surrounding legal and moral issues presented in his work and within the souls of his characters. His issues and their conflicts are also ours. Much of Shakespeare’s work consists of raising weighty questions inextricably connected to the human condition and inviting his audience to ponder possible answers. The philosophical lessons about living our lives meaningfully and significantly that we can derive from Shakespeare are simple yet powerful.

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Rezeption, literarische Einflüsse und Beziehungen
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Ästhetik
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Englische Literatur
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Einzelne Autoren: Monographien & Biographien
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Literarische Stoffe, Motive und Themen

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Editorial Foreword by Leonidas Donskis
Acknowledgments
Introduction
The Merchant of Venice: Tests of Our Humanity
The Merchant of Venice: The Trial and Judicial Decision Making
The Merchant of Venice: Bonds Repaired
Measure For Measure: Law and Order
Measure For Measure: Lust and Death
Measure For Measure: Law and Marriage
Notes
Bibliography
About the Author
Index

Über Autor(innen)

Raymond Angelo Belliotti is SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor of Philosophy at the State University of New York at Fredonia. He has published thirteen other books including Justifying Law (1992), Good Sex (1993), What is the Meaning of Human Life? (2001), Happiness is Overrated (2004), Dante’s Deadly Sins (2011), and Shakespeare and Philosophy (2012). Belliotti has received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, the William T. Hagan Young Scholar/Artist Award, the Kasling Lecture Award for Excellence in Research and Scholarship, and the SUNY Foundation Research and Scholarship Recognition Award.