An influential body of recent work on moral psychology has stressed the interconnections among ethics, narrative, and empathy. Yet as Patrick Colm Hogan argues, this work is so vague in its use of the term 'narrative' as to be almost substanceless, and this vagueness is in large part due to the neglect of literary study. Extending his previous work on universal story structures, Hogan argues that we can transform ill-defined intuitions about narrative and ethics into explicit and systematic accounts of the deep connections between moral attitudes and narratives. These connections are, in turn, inseparable from empathy, a concept that Hogan proceeds to clarify and defend against a number of widely read critiques. In the course of the book, Hogan develops and illustrates his arguments through analyses of global narratives, constructing illuminating ethical interpretations of literary works ranging from Shakespeare to Chinese drama and the Bhagavad Gita.
"Ethics has been a central concern in literature since the earliest works treating the purposes of poetry and stories. Plato famously criticized poets for their inculcation of morally improper inclinations, advocating an extensive state censorship that would enable literature to contribute to the development of ethically upstanding citizens. Plato was not alone. Over the centuries, political and religious figures have sought to control what stories were written or read, in part for moral reasons. In a more liberal vein, the Medieval Muslim literary theorists sought to explain the processes by which literary works could cultivate the Islamic virtues (see Cantarino, Ibn Sinåa, and Ibn Rushd). The close relation between literature and ethics has not always been viewed as involving the guidance of literature by philosophers or theologians. Sometimes, writers did not privilege philosophy over literature, but rather viewed the two as contributing more equally to a program of understanding ethics and behaving morally, and some gave literature a place of particular esteem. Thus, the ancient Sanskrit Nåaòtya âSåastra (roughly, Treatise on Drama) asserts that "drama teaches the path of virtue" (9) and that the study of drama is "conducive to righteousness" (2). More strikingly, Kéongzæi (Confucius) urged his followers to study the Classic of Poetry (Shåijåing), explaining that "The Odes serve to stimulate the mind. They may be used for purposes of self-contemplation"--
'The morality tale in literature, and the thought experiment in moral philosophy, remind us that ethics and narrative are deeply entwined. In a superb example of consilience, breaching arbitrary disciplinary boundaries, Patrick Colm Hogan provides important new insights into how members of our species make sense of our feelings and obligations to one another.' Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and the author of How the Mind Works and Rationality
