Joyce's Ulysses: Philosophical Perspectives

by Philip Kitcher (editor)

Though James Joyce was steeped in philosophy and humanism, he has received too little attention from contemporary philosophers in comparison to many of the other titans of modernist fiction. This book probes the possibilities for thinking philosophically about Joyce's masterpiece, Ulysses , presenting readings by renowned scholars such David Hills, Garry L. Hagberg, Vicki Mahaffey, Martha C. Nussbaum, Sam Slote, Wendy J. Truran, and Philip Kitcher, who also provides an introduction to the volume that considers broader themes and situates Ulysses as a work of philosophical interest.

For the central characters of Ulysses --Leopold Bloom, Molly Bloom, and Stephen Dedalus, "How to live?" is an urgent question. Each must either start anew, or attempt to recover lost paths. Chapters plumb the depths of the philosophical quandaries that present themselves to these characters--reflections on death and overcoming disgust, Leopold Bloom's evocations of conscious thought, the dominance of vision in our thinking about the senses, identity, and the possibility of revising one's values are only a handful of the subjects covered in the volume.

Ulysses is an intrinsically and deeply philosophical work, and these readings provide new inroads and firm orientation for Joyce's project. Readers will come away with renewed appreciation for one of our greatest works of literature in the English language, and deepened understanding of Joyce's attempt to offer alternative ways of structuring and enriching the world of our experience.

280 pages, Paperback

Published July 9, 2020

About the author

Philip Kitcher is John Dewey Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University. He was the first recipient of the American Philosophical Association's Prometheus Prize for his work to expand the frontiers of science and philosophy.

Reviews

[Andrew Pitkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good god Philip Kitcher, I salute you for assembling a rag-tag A-Team bunch of literary-philosophy superstars on a book about my favourite book - James Joyce's 'Ulysses'!

All the papers were great in their own way, but the stand out soaring above the rest of the collection was Drs. Mahaffey and Truran's paper entitled "Feeling Ulysses." This was a powerful essay that provided centralized perspective on the numerous strands of the book. It says that to best know 'Ulysses', we have to 'feel' and 'touch' the book in all the senses of 'touch'. You come away feeling changed by the essay, and by how you have read and will read (again) 'Ulysses'. The book says Joyce's book reconstitutes you through the act of touch, being touched by characters, seeing how Joyce's framework touches each part of itself, and so much more. Touch becomes a sense that extends to all other senses - when you think about it under Mahaffey and Truran's framing, ALL our five senses touch in a certain way, with touch itself being the most fundamental of the senses. All in all, a brilliant essay that makes 'Ulysses' a more intuitive reading experience - something I have longed for people to write because it will make it more open to those who haven't yet read the book! Forget all the intellectual bullshit, it's got heart!

Nussbaum wrote a memorable paper as well, and the others on perspective and epistemology are mind-numbingly brilliant. This was a super-star collection that was aching to be written. I am so glad that it was - kudos to Kitcher and co. for their work, it has made a glorious rediscovery of my FAVOURITE book period a comfort as we head into Bloomsday 2021 in June!