Leavis and Lonergan - by Joseph Fitzpatrick (Paperback)

About the Book

This book explores the ways in which Bernard Lonergan's philosophy provides exactly the kind of support F.R. Leavis was hoping to find when looking for support for his critical approach to literature after failing to find the support he sought for his argument in the dominance...

Book Synopsis

This book illustrates the value of the cross-fertilisation of literary criticism with philosophy, something Leavis advocated in his later writings. Lonergan's epistemology of Critical Realism supports Leavis's account of how we reach a valid judgment concerning the worth of a poem or literary text and his exploration of the relationship between subjectivity and objectivity illustrates how close engagement with serious literature can be considered morally beneficial, something Leavis passionately believed in. Leavis and Lonergan are at one in providing convincing arguments against Cartesian dualism and the dominant positivist philosophies of their times. And Leavis's method and practice as a literary critic, which he developed independently of Lonergan, exemplify Lonergan's epistemology as applied to literature and, in this way, illustrate its versatility and fruitfulness.

Review Quotes

"It is a rare pleasure to find a book in which literary and philosophical themes are treated with equal competence and lucidity. Joseph Fitzpatrick's study of F.R. Leavis and Bernard Lonergan sheds new light on both and on some important issues in modern culture." --Colin F. Wood, principal lecturer in English, Leeds Trinity University

"A fascinating comparison of two figures, both hugely influential in their separate worlds. Fitzpatrick makes us feel at home in both, and his lucid and sympathetic presentations of Leavis's and Lonergan's fundamental ideas brings them surprisingly close together." --William Charlton

"The Benedictine monk, Dom Sebastian Moore, who knew both Leavis and Lonergan, felt his life twice brushed by genius. Joseph Fitzpatrick identifies a commonality of vision, and an enduring potency, in these two influential thinkers." --Michael Bell, professor emeritus in English and Comparative Literary Studies, University of Warwick

About the Author

Joseph Fitzpatrick has worked as a teacher of English, a lecturer in higher education specializing in English literature, and as an English specialist member of Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Schools. He has published extensively on the subject of philosophy and literature.