Katherine Elkins is Professor of Comparative Literature and Humanities at Kenyon College and an affiliated faculty member in Computing. She is the Founding Co-Director of Kenyon's Digital Humanities Lab, {K}DH, and co-creator of the world's first human-centered AI curriculum. Address: Kenyon College
Machine translation metrics often fall short in capturing the challenges of literary translation ... more Machine translation metrics often fall short in capturing the challenges of literary translation in which translators play a creative role. Large Language Models (LLMs) like GPT o and Mistral o er new approaches to assessing how well a translation mirrors the reading experience from one language to another. Our case study focuses on the first volume of Marcel Proust's "A la recherche du temps perdu," a work known for its lively translation debates. We use stylometry and emotional arc leveraging the newest multilingual generative AI models to evaluate loss in translation according to di erent translation theories. AI analysis reveals previously undertheorized aspects of translation. Notably, we uncover changes in authorial style and the evolution of sentiment language over time. Our study demonstrates that AI-driven approaches leveraging advanced LLMs yield new perspectives on literary translation assessment. These methods o er insight into the creative choices made by translators and open up new avenues for understanding the complexities of translating literary works.
Applications of Generative AI (Gen AI) are expected to revolutionize a number of different areas,... more Applications of Generative AI (Gen AI) are expected to revolutionize a number of different areas, ranging from science & medicine to education. The potential for these seismic changes has triggered a lively debate about the potential risks of the technology, and resulted in calls for tighter regulation, in particular from some of the major tech companies who are leading in AI development. This regulation is likely to put at risk the budding field of opensource generative AI. Using a three-stage framework for Gen AI development (near, mid and long-term), we analyze the risks and opportunities of open-source generative AI models with similar capabilities to the ones currently available (near to mid-term) and with greater capabilities (long-term). We argue that, overall, the benefits of open-source Gen AI outweigh its risks. As such, we encourage the open sourcing of models, training and evaluation data, and provide a set of recommendations and best practices for managing risks associated with open-source generative AI.1
In the next few years, applications of Generative AI are expected to revolutionize a number of di... more In the next few years, applications of Generative AI are expected to revolutionize a number of different areas, ranging from science & medicine to education. The potential for these seismic changes has triggered a lively debate about potential risks and resulted in calls for tighter regulation, in particular from some of the major tech companies who are leading in AI development. This regulation is likely to put at risk the budding field of open source Generative AI. We argue for the responsible open sourcing of generative AI models in the near and medium term. To set the stage, we first introduce an AI openness taxonomy system and apply it to 40 current large language models. We then outline differential benefits and risks of open versus closed source AI and present potential risk mitigation, ranging from best practices to calls for technical and scientific contributions. We hope that this report will add a much needed missing voice to the current public discourse on near to mid-term AI safety and other societal impact.
With the rise of individual and collaborative networks of autonomous agents, AI is deployed in mo... more With the rise of individual and collaborative networks of autonomous agents, AI is deployed in more key reasoning and decision-making roles. For this reason, ethics-based audits play a pivotal role in the rapidly growing fields of AI safety and regulation. This paper undertakes an ethics-based audit to probe the 8 leading commercial and open-source Large Language Models including GPT-4. We assess explicability and trustworthiness by a) establishing how well different models engage in moral reasoning and b) comparing normative values underlying models as ethical frameworks. We employ an experimental, evidence-based approach that challenges the models with ethical dilemmas in order to probe human-AI alignment. The ethical scenarios are designed to require a decision in which the particulars of the situation may or may not necessitate deviating from normative ethical principles. A sophisticated ethical framework was consistently elicited in one model, GPT-4. Nonetheless, troubling findings include underlying normative frameworks with clear bias towards particular cultural norms. Many models also exhibit disturbing authoritarian tendencies. Code is available at https://github.com/jonchun/llm-sota-chatbots-ethics-based-audit.
Drawing from classical philosophical discourse, including Plato's reflections on knowledge and me... more Drawing from classical philosophical discourse, including Plato's reflections on knowledge and memory, this essay navigates the transition from traditional memory repositories to modern insights from Proust and Wordsworth to digital platforms. With the rise of AI, particularly Large Language Models (LLMs), new generative technologies challenge our traditional notions of memory and knowledge. Integrating Ong's concept of "secondary orality," the essay explores how technology, especially AI, might be ushering in a new era reminiscent of oral traditions, yet distinct in its digital nature. How do these AI models, which mimic human cognition, influence our understanding of knowledge and wisdom? And as these technologies become more integrated into our daily lives, what does it mean for the future of human knowledge?
An interdisciplinary roundtable with participants Ned Block, Kyunghyun Cho, Katherine Elkins, Noa... more An interdisciplinary roundtable with participants Ned Block, Kyunghyun Cho, Katherine Elkins, Noah Giansiracusa, Francesca Rossi and Dennis Yi Tenen
A roundtable on emotion with Katherine Elkins alongside Mabel Berezin, Rob Hopkins, Jospeh Ledoux... more A roundtable on emotion with Katherine Elkins alongside Mabel Berezin, Rob Hopkins, Jospeh Ledoux and Rosalind Picard
In honor of the 100th anniversary of Capek's R.U.R., footage of our live improvisation between an... more In honor of the 100th anniversary of Capek's R.U.R., footage of our live improvisation between an actress and our transformer-based AI, Divabot. Created and coded by Jon Chun.
The role of AI in narrative studies is not a question of if but of when and of how we humans prep... more The role of AI in narrative studies is not a question of if but of when and of how we humans prepare for such a future. The if claim is addressed with a detailed rebuttal to Angus Fletcher’s ‘Why Computers Will Never Read (or Write) Literature.” A counter-argument based upon key AI concepts, the historical progress of AI, and landmark failures and breakthroughs brings readers up to date on the current state of AI as it relates to narrative studies. Numerous examples explain why the cycle of AI winters and springs is now broken, and there is a new global AI arms race. Scholars now have a windfall of increasingly sophisticated, multi-million dollar models that can analyze and generate narrative. Still, in light of the inherent complexity of natural language and the current limitations of even these state-of-the-art AI models, a human-in-the-loop is essential for the foreseeable future. We attempt to allay common yet misplaced concerns by reasserting the centrality of the human scholar to guide and interpret while using these tools. Leveraging these new AI models will yield new insights for narrative studies, and this important work will include shaping the language of fairness, equality, and ethics of models that increasingly impact the lives of billions. We invite narrative scholars to participate in this growing interdisciplinary movement that chooses active engagement over passive critique.
Sentiment analysis has gained widespread adoption in many fields, but not—until now—in literary s... more Sentiment analysis has gained widespread adoption in many fields, but not—until now—in literary studies. Scholars have lacked a robust methodology that adapts the tool to the skills and questions central to literary scholars. Also lacking has been quantitative data to help the scholar choose between the many models. Which model is best for which narrative, and why? By comparing over three dozen models, including the latest Deep Learning AI, the author details how to choose the correct model—or set of models—depending on the unique affective fingerprint of a narrative. The author also demonstrates how to combine a clustered close reading of textual cruxes in order to interpret a narrative. By analyzing a diverse and cross-cultural range of texts in a series of case studies, the Element highlights new insights into the many shapes of stories.
Machine translation metrics often fall short in capturing the challenges of literary translation ... more Machine translation metrics often fall short in capturing the challenges of literary translation in which translators play a creative role. Large Language Models (LLMs) like GPT o and Mistral o er new approaches to assessing how well a translation mirrors the reading experience from one language to another. Our case study focuses on the first volume of Marcel Proust's "A la recherche du temps perdu," a work known for its lively translation debates. We use stylometry and emotional arc leveraging the newest multilingual generative AI models to evaluate loss in translation according to di erent translation theories. AI analysis reveals previously undertheorized aspects of translation. Notably, we uncover changes in authorial style and the evolution of sentiment language over time. Our study demonstrates that AI-driven approaches leveraging advanced LLMs yield new perspectives on literary translation assessment. These methods o er insight into the creative choices made by translators and open up new avenues for understanding the complexities of translating literary works.
Applications of Generative AI (Gen AI) are expected to revolutionize a number of different areas,... more Applications of Generative AI (Gen AI) are expected to revolutionize a number of different areas, ranging from science & medicine to education. The potential for these seismic changes has triggered a lively debate about the potential risks of the technology, and resulted in calls for tighter regulation, in particular from some of the major tech companies who are leading in AI development. This regulation is likely to put at risk the budding field of opensource generative AI. Using a three-stage framework for Gen AI development (near, mid and long-term), we analyze the risks and opportunities of open-source generative AI models with similar capabilities to the ones currently available (near to mid-term) and with greater capabilities (long-term). We argue that, overall, the benefits of open-source Gen AI outweigh its risks. As such, we encourage the open sourcing of models, training and evaluation data, and provide a set of recommendations and best practices for managing risks associated with open-source generative AI.1
In the next few years, applications of Generative AI are expected to revolutionize a number of di... more In the next few years, applications of Generative AI are expected to revolutionize a number of different areas, ranging from science & medicine to education. The potential for these seismic changes has triggered a lively debate about potential risks and resulted in calls for tighter regulation, in particular from some of the major tech companies who are leading in AI development. This regulation is likely to put at risk the budding field of open source Generative AI. We argue for the responsible open sourcing of generative AI models in the near and medium term. To set the stage, we first introduce an AI openness taxonomy system and apply it to 40 current large language models. We then outline differential benefits and risks of open versus closed source AI and present potential risk mitigation, ranging from best practices to calls for technical and scientific contributions. We hope that this report will add a much needed missing voice to the current public discourse on near to mid-term AI safety and other societal impact.
With the rise of individual and collaborative networks of autonomous agents, AI is deployed in mo... more With the rise of individual and collaborative networks of autonomous agents, AI is deployed in more key reasoning and decision-making roles. For this reason, ethics-based audits play a pivotal role in the rapidly growing fields of AI safety and regulation. This paper undertakes an ethics-based audit to probe the 8 leading commercial and open-source Large Language Models including GPT-4. We assess explicability and trustworthiness by a) establishing how well different models engage in moral reasoning and b) comparing normative values underlying models as ethical frameworks. We employ an experimental, evidence-based approach that challenges the models with ethical dilemmas in order to probe human-AI alignment. The ethical scenarios are designed to require a decision in which the particulars of the situation may or may not necessitate deviating from normative ethical principles. A sophisticated ethical framework was consistently elicited in one model, GPT-4. Nonetheless, troubling findings include underlying normative frameworks with clear bias towards particular cultural norms. Many models also exhibit disturbing authoritarian tendencies. Code is available at https://github.com/jonchun/llm-sota-chatbots-ethics-based-audit.
Drawing from classical philosophical discourse, including Plato's reflections on knowledge and me... more Drawing from classical philosophical discourse, including Plato's reflections on knowledge and memory, this essay navigates the transition from traditional memory repositories to modern insights from Proust and Wordsworth to digital platforms. With the rise of AI, particularly Large Language Models (LLMs), new generative technologies challenge our traditional notions of memory and knowledge. Integrating Ong's concept of "secondary orality," the essay explores how technology, especially AI, might be ushering in a new era reminiscent of oral traditions, yet distinct in its digital nature. How do these AI models, which mimic human cognition, influence our understanding of knowledge and wisdom? And as these technologies become more integrated into our daily lives, what does it mean for the future of human knowledge?
An interdisciplinary roundtable with participants Ned Block, Kyunghyun Cho, Katherine Elkins, Noa... more An interdisciplinary roundtable with participants Ned Block, Kyunghyun Cho, Katherine Elkins, Noah Giansiracusa, Francesca Rossi and Dennis Yi Tenen
A roundtable on emotion with Katherine Elkins alongside Mabel Berezin, Rob Hopkins, Jospeh Ledoux... more A roundtable on emotion with Katherine Elkins alongside Mabel Berezin, Rob Hopkins, Jospeh Ledoux and Rosalind Picard
In honor of the 100th anniversary of Capek's R.U.R., footage of our live improvisation between an... more In honor of the 100th anniversary of Capek's R.U.R., footage of our live improvisation between an actress and our transformer-based AI, Divabot. Created and coded by Jon Chun.
The role of AI in narrative studies is not a question of if but of when and of how we humans prep... more The role of AI in narrative studies is not a question of if but of when and of how we humans prepare for such a future. The if claim is addressed with a detailed rebuttal to Angus Fletcher’s ‘Why Computers Will Never Read (or Write) Literature.” A counter-argument based upon key AI concepts, the historical progress of AI, and landmark failures and breakthroughs brings readers up to date on the current state of AI as it relates to narrative studies. Numerous examples explain why the cycle of AI winters and springs is now broken, and there is a new global AI arms race. Scholars now have a windfall of increasingly sophisticated, multi-million dollar models that can analyze and generate narrative. Still, in light of the inherent complexity of natural language and the current limitations of even these state-of-the-art AI models, a human-in-the-loop is essential for the foreseeable future. We attempt to allay common yet misplaced concerns by reasserting the centrality of the human scholar to guide and interpret while using these tools. Leveraging these new AI models will yield new insights for narrative studies, and this important work will include shaping the language of fairness, equality, and ethics of models that increasingly impact the lives of billions. We invite narrative scholars to participate in this growing interdisciplinary movement that chooses active engagement over passive critique.
Sentiment analysis has gained widespread adoption in many fields, but not—until now—in literary s... more Sentiment analysis has gained widespread adoption in many fields, but not—until now—in literary studies. Scholars have lacked a robust methodology that adapts the tool to the skills and questions central to literary scholars. Also lacking has been quantitative data to help the scholar choose between the many models. Which model is best for which narrative, and why? By comparing over three dozen models, including the latest Deep Learning AI, the author details how to choose the correct model—or set of models—depending on the unique affective fingerprint of a narrative. The author also demonstrates how to combine a clustered close reading of textual cruxes in order to interpret a narrative. By analyzing a diverse and cross-cultural range of texts in a series of case studies, the Element highlights new insights into the many shapes of stories.
Perhaps one of the most surprising things about Proust at home is that, in fact, Proust's narrato... more Perhaps one of the most surprising things about Proust at home is that, in fact, Proust's narrator rarely is. Titles even clue us in to the mobility of the long narrative, since the narrator often seeks shelter elsewhere, whether in the shadow of young girls or by way of the Guermantes. Even when he's home, in Le Côté de Guermantes, his family has just moved to this new home, which is both home and not home. While home, moreover, he expends much effort to cross the doormat of the Guermantes apartment, a mat which represents the threshold, he tells us, of the magic world of names. 1 So, too, the Combray childhood, which is also in the shadow of others, in this case, of his extended family far from his Parisian home. In both volumes, the narrator muses on the nature of the great aristocratic Guermantes family-whose name is also a place-from his own family's home, whether the apartment in Paris or the more ordinary house in an ordinary village.
Dedicated to Victor Hugo and opening with thoughts of Virgil’s
Andromache, Baudelaire’s “Le Cygne... more Dedicated to Victor Hugo and opening with thoughts of Virgil’s Andromache, Baudelaire’s “Le Cygne”1 situates poetic memory within a world of multiple influences. At first glance, the poem seems to follow a well-worn structure. It opens with the traditional nod to precursors— remembrances of both Hugo and Virgil—before progressing to the speaker’s own personal memory of a past event—the remembrance of seeing a swan in the heart of Paris.2 And yet, the significance of the swan continues to puzzle critics. Perhaps the most interesting question surrounding the poem remains that posed by Richard Terdiman: “What’s the swan doing in Baudelaire’s ‘Le Cygne’?”3 Despite numerous hypotheses, critics have overlooked the possibility that even this most personal memory is the glimpse of yet another precursor: Horace’s swan from Ode 2.20.
This essay explores a modernist revision of influence distinct from a Bloomsian model of struggle... more This essay explores a modernist revision of influence distinct from a Bloomsian model of struggle and misprision. Marcel Proust and Virginia Woolf articulate new representations of composite memory that suggest an alternative. When memories of past works collide with a changed present, they inspire creative adaptation and forgetful recombination. This revision of influence also challenges viral theories of cultural transmission by positing a more active role for the artist. More important than Harold Bloom's anxiety of influence is an anxiety of significance emerging from the self's confrontation with a world of fast-paced change.
In this series of lectures, Professor Katherine Elkins details the lives and works of the premier... more In this series of lectures, Professor Katherine Elkins details the lives and works of the premier French writers of the last two centuries. With keen insight into her subject material, Professor Elkins discusses the attributes that made classics of such works as Balzac's Human Comedy, Flaubert's Madame Bovary, Proust's In Search of Lost Time, and Camus' The Stranger. Literary immortals all, these authors produced works that reflected their times and exerted a continuing and lasting influence on all the generations that followed.
A recipient of the Whiting Foundation Teaching Fellowship, Katherine Elkins is also the co-direct... more A recipient of the Whiting Foundation Teaching Fellowship, Katherine Elkins is also the co-director of the Integrated Program in the Humane Studies at Kenyon College. In this lecture series, Elkins examines the development of the modern novel by investigating four great modernist authors: James Joyce, Franz Kafka, Marcel Proust, and Virginia Woolf. The lectures explore the authors' most respected works and illustrate how each author's unique style and vision made a major contribution to the look and shape of the novel today.
“Proust at Home: A Centennial Celebration of Le Côté de Guermantes”
Edited by:
Patrick Bray, Uni... more “Proust at Home: A Centennial Celebration of Le Côté de Guermantes” Edited by: Patrick Bray, University College London Jennifer Rushworth, University College London
Fictional Worlds and Philosophical Reflections, Ed. Garry Hagberg , 2022
Critics have long argued over the nature of Wordsworth's sublime. Is it egotistical or impersonal... more Critics have long argued over the nature of Wordsworth's sublime. Is it egotistical or impersonal? Does he write about history or evade history? Is his lens ideological or unmediated? This essay weighs in on the debate by outlining a uniquely literary sublime.
We know that Kafka was fascinated by pictures,1 and they play a prominent role in his work. In De... more We know that Kafka was fascinated by pictures,1 and they play a prominent role in his work. In Der Prozeß, visual art is elevated to a privileged position when K. visits a painter for advice about his trial.2 Many scholars have explored Kafka's interest in visual media,3 but none has described in detail the picture lessons that take place in the novel. This may be because many take their cue from the end, when K. wonders if people will say he's learned nothing. But does K. really learn nothing from pictures? In fact, there are many picture lessons in the novel—from the sketch K. examines on the judge's desk to the painting that K scrutinizes in the cathedral.
ABSTRACT After the fall of the Soviet Union, market capitalism replaced socialism in Eastern Euro... more ABSTRACT After the fall of the Soviet Union, market capitalism replaced socialism in Eastern Europe. Supposedly, the new economic logic would allocate resources impartially, allowing the possibility of prosperity for those who worked hard. What happened instead is that citizens from Russia to Romania, Serbia to Albania poured billions of dollars into pyramid schemes advertising astronomical returns. These investment vehicles never explained how they would produce such wealth. In fact, the leaders commonly employed religious rhetoric to convince people to simply have faith and turn over their cash. When the schemes inevitably crashed, riots broke out. Following Michael Taussig’s work with newly proletarianized workers in South America, anthropologists like Katherine Verdery and Jean and John Comaroff have documented how magic and the occult always accompany the cool calculus of modern life. A baker’s dozen of humanities scholars have now brought that insight to the fields of literature, history, and philosophy. They argue that for as much as scientific rationality has characterized the post-Enlightenment west, whenever God has been erased, a secular re-enchantment has emerged to fill the space. The authors collected in The Re-Enchantment of the World take as a point of departure Max Weber’s 1917 pronouncement that religious authorities and mystical explanations no longer guide the industrial world. While they agree with the decreasing influence of the Church in public life, the contributors claim that Weber missed a simultaneous trend. New venues for contemplating the sacred and invoking awe have proliferated across society. They depict these strategies not as atavistic throwbacks or nihilistic critiques of science. Rather, the forces of disenchantment and re-enchantment depend on one another in a messy, contradictory tangle. The examples of secular strategies of re-enchantment in the volume range from Thoreau’s encounter with nature to Wittgenstein’s embrace of detective stories. Though most of the chapters focus on an intellectual figure from Europe or the United States, there are also two short reflective essays on the wonder evoked by gardens and sporting events. The reader learns how stage magicians came to dress in formal wear and that one of William James’s colleagues in a society for the study of the paranormal was a future British prime minister. The diversity of the cases illustrates the argument about the inconsistency of modernity, but it is never clear if these examples are the best representations of the trend or just arbitrary data points. Almost all the authors build their arguments on literary analysis and historical interpretation. Even the two essays about contemporary gardens and spectator sports quote Heidegger more than they give ethnographic description. The evidence for re-enchantment is thorough and convincing, though the standard for persuasion is low. Re-enchantment as the volume uses it seems to include anything more emotional than Spock in “Star Trek.” It is easy to make the case that a poem or novel inspires imagination or that a theorist rejects scientific determinism. What is not so clear is what those conclusions reveal about the book’s subtitle: “Secular Magic in a Rational Age.” Since Malinowski, magic has possessed a specific meaning for anthropologists as a body of practical acts performed to achieve a desired outcome. It differs from science, yes, but it is also distinct from religion. The humanists in The Re-Enchantment of the World seem to conflate the withdrawal of ecclesiastical authority with a decline in magic. But the rise of scientific rationality that Weber noticed need not mean the disappearance of magic. To the contrary, research like the participant-observation Hugh Gusterson conducted with nuclear testers has shown that magic often coincides with the most sophisticated science. Moreover, the authors uncritically accept the idea that modernity has left a “God-shaped void.” Their obituary for religion recalls the secularization thesis popular in the 1960s. While anthropologists and religious studies scholars have revised that idea in light of the extraordinary explosion of faith since the 1980s, none of the authors in the volume mentions the re-enchantment taking place in congregations across the globe. Even if they seek to confine their analysis to secular expressions of re-enchantment, there is ample evidence from the sociology of religion that any clear...
With the story of a madeleine dipped in tea, Marcel Proust makes famous moments that transport on... more With the story of a madeleine dipped in tea, Marcel Proust makes famous moments that transport one to an earlier time thought lost forever. His In Search of Lost Time announces a quest narrative with lost time as its goal. We follow the journey of a young man as he strives to become the writer he longs to be, and his journey entails discovering a sense of self in which past and present intertwine. The narrator is delayed in his goal by various digressions, including journeys into the worlds of the salons and of art. For this reason, the novel offers far more avenues for philosophical reflection than simply a meditation on time and identity. In Search of Lost Time includes reflections on love and jealousy, joy and suffering, the enchantments of art and the disillusionments of friendship.
This volume brings together prominent philosophers and critics to illuminate these many themes. Eight essays treat a wide range of topics including fiction, biography, temporality, music, love, jealousy, weather, and consciousness. One of the longest and most complex novels ever written, In Search of Lost Time has fascinated philosophers for decades. The contributors in this volume build upon earlier approaches to offer new avenues and directions for philosophical thought.
Sentiment analysis has gained widespread adoption in many fields, but not—until now—in literary s... more Sentiment analysis has gained widespread adoption in many fields, but not—until now—in literary studies. Scholars have lacked a robust methodology that adapts the tool to the skills and questions central to literary scholars. Also lacking has been quantitative data to help the scholar choose between the many models. Which model is best for which narrative, and why? By comparing over three dozen models, including the latest Deep Learning AI, the author details how to choose the correct model—or set of models—depending on the unique affective fingerprint of a narrative. The author also demonstrates how to combine a clustered close reading of textual cruxes in order to interpret a narrative. By analyzing a diverse and cross-cultural range of texts in a series of case studies, the Element highlights new insights into the many shapes of stories.
Drawing from classical philosophical discourse, including Plato's reflections on knowledg... more Drawing from classical philosophical discourse, including Plato's reflections on knowledge and memory, this essay navigates the transition from traditional memory repositories to modern insights from Proust and Wordsworth to digital platforms. With the rise of AI, particularly Large Language Models (LLMs), new generative technologies challenge our traditional notions of memory and knowledge. Integrating Ong's concept of "secondary orality," the essay explores how technology, especially AI, might be ushering in a new era reminiscent of oral traditions, yet distinct in its digital nature. How do these AI models, which mimic human cognition, influence our understanding of knowledge and wisdom? And as these technologies become more integrated into our daily lives, what does it mean for the future of human knowledge?
Uploads
Andromache, Baudelaire’s “Le Cygne”1
situates poetic memory within a
world of multiple influences. At first glance, the poem seems to follow a
well-worn structure. It opens with the traditional nod to precursors—
remembrances of both Hugo and Virgil—before progressing to the
speaker’s own personal memory of a past event—the remembrance of seeing a swan in the heart of Paris.2
And yet, the significance of the swan
continues to puzzle critics. Perhaps the most interesting question surrounding the poem remains that posed by Richard Terdiman: “What’s
the swan doing in Baudelaire’s ‘Le Cygne’?”3
Despite numerous hypotheses, critics have overlooked the possibility that even this most personal
memory is the glimpse of yet another precursor: Horace’s swan from Ode
2.20.
Edited by:
Patrick Bray, University College London
Jennifer Rushworth, University College London
he longs to be, and his journey entails discovering a sense of self in which past and present intertwine. The narrator is delayed in his goal by various digressions, including journeys into the worlds of the salons and of art. For this reason, the novel offers far more avenues for philosophical
reflection than simply a meditation on time and identity. In Search of Lost Time includes reflections on love and jealousy, joy and suffering, the enchantments of art and the disillusionments of friendship.
This volume brings together prominent philosophers and critics to illuminate these many themes. Eight essays treat a wide range of topics including fiction, biography, temporality, music, love, jealousy, weather, and consciousness. One of the longest and most complex novels ever written, In Search of Lost Time has fascinated philosophers for decades. The contributors in this volume build upon earlier approaches to offer new avenues and directions for philosophical thought.