Gesturing Toward Reality: David Foster Wallace and Philosophy

by Robert K. Bolger (Editor), Scott Korb (Editor)

Asked in 2006 about the philosophical nature of his fiction, the late American writer David Foster Wallace replied, "If some people read my fiction and see it as fundamentally about philosophical ideas, what it probably means is that these are pieces where the characters are not as alive and interesting as I meant them to be."

Gesturing Toward Reality looks into this quality of Wallace's work―when the writer dons the philosopher's cap―and sees something else. With essays offering a careful perusal of Wallace's extensive and heavily annotated self-help library, re-considerations of Wittgenstein's influence on his fiction, and serious explorations into the moral and spiritual landscape where Wallace lived and wrote, this collection offers a perspective on Wallace that even he was not always ready to see. Since so much has been said in specifically literary circles about Wallace's philosophical acumen, it seems natural to have those with an interest in both philosophy and Wallace's writing address how these two areas come together.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

296 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Bruce · Rating 5 out of 5]

My head is about to explode with all that I learned from this book.

This amazing collection of essays on the philosophy of David Foster Wallace provides insights to David's thinking and writing which I had not seen before, and I've read a lot of DFW and DFW analysis. I learned that David was strongly influenced by Schopenhauer, which I had suspected but did not know, and I certainly didn't know the extent of the influence.

And while it is well-known that David admired Wittgenstein, it is less well-known (or was to me) that David actually misinterpreted Wittgenstein with regard to what language can do. This made me realize that, when God created the universe, the first law he put in place is that "everyone misunderstands some aspect(s) of Wittgenstein," with the second law being, of course, E=m*c*c.

I also have a much better understanding of how David fit into the "new sincerity" movement and what the real aims of that movement have been.

What amazed and pleased me the most was that every essay was presented in a way that I could actually understand it, and didn't have to go out and get a philosophy degree to do so. The writing, by every contributor, is really well-done.

I'll be reading through this one again.

[Kevin Hinman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of these essays in this collection are tedious, some present an under-baked thesis, some are blatant question beggars, and a couple are barely about David Foster Wallace at all, but the final essay, Patrick Horn's "Does Language Fail Us?" is really, really good. It's the sort of essay that elucidates aspects of Wallace's work (and a lesser discussed work at that!) without simply reiterating the text.

Instead of squeezing DFW's concepts into a pre-existing philosophical model, Horn naturally extrapolates from the themes raised in "Good Old Neon," toward a poignant space beyond the story. That this is the same literary tool Wallace employs in his best works seems no coincidence. Horn seems to "get" what Wallace's writing was about on a base level that many of the philosophers in this volume don't. Furthermore, I think it's the sort of essay that Wallace would have actually enjoyed reading, that may have even brought him some solace. And isn't that the real point of philosophy, not just explication but assuagement? There is pleasure found in the mystery. The rest is simply academic.

[David Markwell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was quite excited for this book as a long time reader of DFW and philosophy. Ultimately the book was a bit disappointing. Many of the essays were far too similar in content and on the source materials that they drew from. The essays mostly center on the posthumously published 'This is Water,' and The Pale King, both of which are very well written and philosophically rich, and eschew much of the rest of Wallace's body of work. Infinite Jest gets a bit of attention in a couple of essays (in my opinion it is wildly misinterpreted in these few essays where it is mentioned), but the short fiction is almost entirely untouched (with the exception of Good Old Neon). Most of the essays are well written and decently argued, but the collection is unbalanced.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the essays are spectacular, particularly the last three.

[Tobias · Rating 3 out of 5]

not the most accessible book for a generalist - very much by and for philosophers - but still useful in highlighting themes to consider when reading DFW.