Literature Examines Philosophy

When I posted my previous blog, I told people, "This is why we need to study literature." I agree with it, but it got me thinking. Ultimately, literature examines philosophy.

Philosophy, for the record, is a belief or collection of beliefs that determine how things ought to work (at least, that's what I mean when I say it).

Simple stories, like fairy tales, examine philosophy. In general, they say that greedy people are punished and selfless people are rewarded. They say that intelligence is more valuable than strength. They say that lying is bad and honesty is good.

Complex stories are ones that do not have clearly defined goods and bads. They explore not what is definitely good, but what an individual thinks is good. And this is where literature comes in. It is a tool that we have to look at fictional stories and see the different morals that people can have, and then exploring ourselves and seeing which of those beliefs resonates with us.

If you see a character and you think he's just the most reprehensible guy ever, it's a clear sign that you disagree with his beliefs. But does it mean that they're wrong? Ask other people how they feel about the character. You might find somebody who sympathizes with him. And from here, your horizons have the chance to open up. You can see that the world is a more complicated place, full of uncertainty, and that just because you have one view of the world does not make it the only view of the world.

That's not always an easy lesson to learn, but that is precisely why we must study literature: so we can learn that lesson sooner.