Hello and welcome back to Lady Disdain Reads. Today we discuss a book of literary criticism on Austen by Sarah Emsley. I really enjoyed her work on Austen and philosophy, which expands on ideas proposed by Alasdair MacIntyre, and this video is my comprehensive overview of what I agree (which is most of the book) and disagree with. I hope you enjoy!
Sarah Emsley: Jane Austen and the Philosophy of the Virtues (2005)
Aristotle: Greek Philosopher (384-322 BC). My videos on Jane Austen and Ethics all contain information about Aristotle’s conception of the virtues, from which virtues he considers to which vices he places as the two extremes on either side of the virtuous mean.
Thomas Aquinas: medieval philosopher, theologian, and Doctor of the Church (1225-1274).
Virtuous mean: the Aristotelean idea that a virtue (e.g. temperance) is the middle quality between two vices, one being the lack or deficiency of that quality (e.g. insensibility), the other its extreme or excess (e.g. self-indulgence).
Irene Collins: British historian, author of Jane Austen: The Parson’s Daughter (1998) and Jane Austen and the Clergy (1994)
Frances Burney: English novelist and playwright (1752-1840)
Samuel Richardson: English novelist and printer (1689-1761)
Starting quotation from Pride and Prejudice: ‘I am only resolved to act in that manner, which will, in my own opinion, constitute my happiness, without reference to you, or to any person so wholly unconnected to me.'
4 сен 2024