Melville’s Philosophies

Melville’s Philosophies
Author: Branka Arsic
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 425
Release: 2017-05-18
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 150132103X

Melville's Philosophies departs from a long tradition of critical assessments of Melville that dismissed his philosophical capacities as ingenious but muddled. Its contributors do not apply philosophy to Melville in order to detect just how much of it he knew or understood. To the contrary, they try to hear the philosophical arguments themselves-often very strange and quite radical-that Melville never stopped articulating and reformulating. What emerges is a Melville who is materialistically oriented in a radical way, a Melville who thinks about life forms not just in the context of contemporary sciences but also ontologically. Melville's Philosophies recovers a Melville who is a thinker of great caliber, which means obliquely but dramatically reversing the way the critical tradition has characterized his ideas. Finally, as a result of the readings collected here, Melville emerges as a very relevant thinker for contemporary philosophical concerns, such as the materialist turn, climate change, and post-humanism.

Melville among the Philosophers

Melville among the Philosophers
Author: Corey McCall
Publisher: Lexington Books
Total Pages: 254
Release: 2017-10-18
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1498536751

For more than a century readers have found Herman Melville’s writing rich with philosophical ideas, yet there has been relatively little written about what, exactly, is philosophically significant about his work and why philosophers are so attracted to Melville in particular. This volume addresses this silence through a series of essays that: (1) examine various philosophical contexts for Melville’s work, (2) take seriously Melville’s writings as philosophy, and (3) consider how modern philosophers have used Melville and the implications of appropriating Melville for contemporary thought. Melville among the Philosophers is ultimately an intervention across literary studies and philosophy that carves new paths into the work of one of America’s most celebrated authors, a man who continues to enchant and challenge readers well into the twenty-first century.

Melville�s Philosophies

Melville�s Philosophies
Author: Branka Arsic
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 425
Release: 2017-05-18
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1501321013

"Brings together some of the most eminent Melville scholars in academia today in the first book devoted to exploring Melville and philosophy"--

One Foot in the Finite

One Foot in the Finite
Author: K. L. Evans
Publisher: Northwestern University Press
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2017-12-15
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0810136147

One Foot in the Finite inspires a radical shift in our view of Melville’s project in Moby-Dick, for its guiding notion is that Melville uses his book to call into question the naturalism that distinguishes the early modern period in Europe. Naturalism is not only the idea that reality is exhausted by nature, or that there exists a domain of physical entities subject to autonomous laws and unaffected by human ingenuity; it also implies a counterpart, a world of pretense and deception, a domain of mental entities ontologically distinct from physical entities and therefore constituting a different realm. To naturalists, whales are part of the background of existing objects against which man assembles his various, subjective, rather arbitrary interpretations. But in Moby-Dick Melville casts upon the world a more ingenious eye, one free of the dualist veil. He confronts a basic misconception: that the contents of consciousness comprise a different order from physical life. He rubs out the dividing line modernity has drawn between the human world of names or concepts and the nonhuman world of plants, creatures, geological features, and natural forces. Melville’s philosophizing, carried by fiction, has dramatic consequence. It overturns our view of language as a system of mental representations that might turn out to represent falsely.

Melville's Philosophies

Melville's Philosophies
Author: Branka Arsić
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2017
Genre: Philosophy in literature
ISBN: 9781501321047

"Brings together some of the most eminent Melville scholars in academia today in the first book devoted to exploring Melville andphilosophy"--

A Political Companion to Herman Melville

A Political Companion to Herman Melville
Author: Jason Frank
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
Total Pages: 456
Release: 2014-01-07
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0813143888

Herman Melville is widely considered to be one of America's greatest authors, and countless literary theorists and critics have studied his life and work. However, political theorists have tended to avoid Melville, turning rather to such contemporaries as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau to understand the political thought of the American Renaissance. While Melville was not an activist in the traditional sense and his philosophy is notoriously difficult to categorize, his work is nevertheless deeply political in its own right. As editor Jason Frank notes in his introduction to A Political Companion to Herman Melville, Melville's writing "strikes a note of dissonance in the pre-established harmonies of the American political tradition." This unique volume explores Melville's politics by surveying the full range of his work -- from Typee (1846) to the posthumously published Billy Budd (1924). The contributors give historical context to Melville's writings and place him in conversation with political and theoretical debates, examining his relationship to transcendentalism and contemporary continental philosophy and addressing his work's relevance to topics such as nineteenth-century imperialism, twentieth-century legal theory, the anti-rent wars of the 1840s, and the civil rights movement. From these analyses emerges a new and challenging portrait of Melville as a political thinker of the first order, one that will establish his importance not only for nineteenth-century American political thought but also for political theory more broadly.

Melville's Art of Democracy

Melville's Art of Democracy
Author: Nancy Fredricks
Publisher: University of Georgia Press
Total Pages: 174
Release: 1995
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9780820316826

This challenging and timely study demonstrates that the problems Melville faced as a writer - the relationship between politics and aesthetics and the representation of the marginalized without appropriation - are similar to issues faced in the academy today.

HERMAN MELVILLE Ultimate Collection: 50+ Adventure Classics, Philosophical Novels & Short Stories

HERMAN MELVILLE Ultimate Collection: 50+ Adventure Classics, Philosophical Novels & Short Stories
Author: Herman Melville
Publisher: Good Press
Total Pages: 5539
Release: 2024-01-15
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN:

HERMAN MELVILLE Ultimate Collection: 50+ Adventure Classics, Philosophical Novels & Short Stories is truly a treasure trove for lovers of Melville's work. This comprehensive collection includes iconic titles such as Moby-Dick, Typee, Billy Budd, and Bartleby, the Scrivener, showcasing Melville's mastery of both adventure narratives and deep philosophical themes. Readers will be captivated by Melville's intricate storytelling, rich character development, and exploration of existential questions that continue to resonate today. Each work in this collection offers a unique perspective on the human condition and the complexities of life, making it a must-read for any literature enthusiast. Melville's blend of adventure and introspection creates a compelling literary experience that is both timeless and thought-provoking. The collection also includes lesser-known gems that are sure to delight readers with their profound insights and engaging narratives. HERMAN MELVILLE Ultimate Collection is a priceless addition to any bookshelf, offering a glimpse into the brilliant mind of one of America's greatest literary figures.

The Complete Novels of Herman Melville: Sea Tales, Maritime Adventures & Philosophical Novels

The Complete Novels of Herman Melville: Sea Tales, Maritime Adventures & Philosophical Novels
Author: Herman Melville
Publisher: Good Press
Total Pages: 3880
Release: 2024-01-15
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN:

Herman Melville's 'The Complete Novels' is a collection of sea tales, maritime adventures, and philosophical novels that showcase the author's mastery of language and storytelling. From the classic 'Moby-Dick' to lesser-known works like 'White-Jacket' and 'Billy Budd', Melville's writing is characterized by rich symbolism, complex characters, and profound themes of isolation, obsession, and the struggle between good and evil. His intricate narratives draw readers into the tumultuous world of the sea, exploring the depths of human nature and the mysteries of existence. Melville's literary style is both poetic and philosophical, inviting readers to reflect on the complexities of life and the inherent ambiguities of morality. Hailed as a literary genius, Melville's works continue to captivate audiences with their timeless relevance and profound insights. Herman Melville's own experiences as a sailor and his deep fascination with the sea inspired much of his writing, infusing his novels with an authentic sense of adventure and authenticity. His personal struggles and existential inquiries are reflected in his works, making them a compelling exploration of the human condition and the mysteries of the universe. Melville's literary legacy is characterized by his innovative storytelling techniques and his profound philosophical inquiries, which continue to intrigue readers and scholars alike. Recommended for readers interested in literary classics, maritime adventures, and philosophical reflections, 'The Complete Novels of Herman Melville' is a timeless collection that offers a profound exploration of human nature, morality, and the enigmatic forces that shape our lives.

Melville: A Novel

Melville: A Novel
Author: Jean Giono
Publisher: New York Review of Books
Total Pages: 129
Release: 2017-09-12
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1681371383

Originally published to promote his French translation of Moby-Dick, Jean Giono's Melville: A Novel is an astonishing literary compound of fiction, biography, personal essay, and criticism. In the fall of 1849, Herman Melville traveled to London to deliver his novel White-Jacket to his publisher. On his return to America, Melville would write Moby-Dick. Melville: A Novel imagines what happened in between: the adventurous writer fleeing London for the country, wrestling with an angel, falling in love with an Irish nationalist, and, finally, meeting the angel’s challenge—to express man’s fate by writing the novel that would become his masterpiece. Eighty years after it appeared in English, Moby-Dick was translated into French for the first time by the Provençal novelist Jean Giono and his friend Lucien Jacques. The publisher persuaded Giono to write a preface, granting him unusual latitude. The result was this literary essay, Melville: A Novel—part biography, part philosophical rumination, part romance, part unfettered fantasy. Paul Eprile’s expressive translation of this intimate homage brings the exchange full circle. Paul Eprile was a co-winner of the French-American Foundation's 2018 Translation Prize for his translation of Melville.