Ethical Criticism of Literature. The Debate between R. Posner and M. C. Nussbaum about the Public Role of Literature

Članak želi doprinijeti tzv. etičkom preokretu koji se u zadnjim desetljećima legitimirao na mnogim društveno-humanističkim područjima, i to s obzirom na književnu kritiku koja se na anglosaksonskom području sve više dovodi u vezu s etičkim preokupacijama teksta, dok je kod nas taj trend još uvijek gotovo neprimijećen. Nakon kratkog uvoda u povijest složenog i turbulentnog odnosa etike i književnosti, autorica predstavlja dvije suprotstavljene tendencije, odnosno dva različita stava spram etičke funkcije koju književnost u sebi integrira. S tim ciljem predstavlja stajališta Richarda Posnera, koji zastupa autonomističko stajalište o isključivom primatu estetike kada se govori o književnosti, te Marthe C. Nussbaum koja zastupa stav da književnost u sebi ima veliki etički potencijal te može služiti kao nadopuna teorijama filozofije morala kao i društveno-pravnim teorijama. Autorica se priklanja Nussbauminoj koncepciji zbog njezinog pluralističkog pristupa književnosti i šireg shvaćanja moralnosti.The article has intention to contribute to the so-called “ethical turn”, which in the last decades has been legitimated in many social and humanistic fields, especially with regard to the literary criticism of the Anglo-Saxon area that is more associated with the ethical concerns of the text, while in Croatia this trend is still practically overlooked. After a brief introduction to the complex and turbulent history of relations between ethics and literature, the author presents two opposing tendencies or two different attitudes towards the ethical function that literature integrates. For this purpose, author introduce a view of Richard Posner, who represents the autonomist position on the exclusive primacy of aesthetics when it comes to literature, and Martha C. Nussbaum, which represents the view that literature in itself has great ethical potential and can serve as a supplement to theories of moral philosophy as well as socio-legal theories. The author is inclined to Nussbaum’s concept because of its pluralistic approach to literature and the broader conception of morality