Beschreibung
This volume explores the concepts of wonder and the marvelous in literary and philosophical texts from the fourth and third centuries BCE. It argues that wonderan emotion whose distinct cognitive significance was recognized early in Greek cultureis depicted by Hellenistic writers as the defining emotion of knowledge acquired through literature. In this context, these authors use wonder as a means of engaging allusively with the relationship between knowledge, literature, and philosophy, in close dialogue with Platos and Aristotles theories of wonderthe earliest theoretical conceptualization of this emotion in Western culture and a key element in these philosophers critique of literatures cognitive value. By examining the works of Theopompus, Callimachus, Aratus, and Apollonius of Rhodeswhile also considering important figures such as Xenophon, Chrysippus, and the Historians of Alexanderthis book reconstructs this important cultural debate. It demonstrates how wonder functions as a literary tool to reaffirm literatures capacity to convey cognitively and ethically meaningful content, bridging a gap in modern studies on wonder - a crucial topic for understanding the history of Western civilization.
Autorenporträt
Alessandro Giardini, Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, Italy.
Herstellerkennzeichnung:
Walter de Gruyter GmbH
De Gruyter GmbH
Genthiner Strasse 13
10785 Berlin
DE
E-Mail: productsafety@degruyterbrill.com
