On the Use of Literature in Philosophy. Considerations on Angelica Nuzzo’s Approaching Hegel’s Logic Obliquely: Melville, Molière, Beckett

Abstract

One of the most original and exciting aspects of Angelica Nuzzo’s Approaching Hegel’s Logic, Obliquely: Melville, Molière, Beckett is the author’s confrontation with literature, that is, the fact that the proposed interpretation requires both «a philosophical and a poetical endeavor». Indeed, the volume is full of quotations from literary artworks, discussions of literary passages, references to authors, works and approaches that belong primarily to the literary sphere. This sphere is fruitfully made to interact with the philosophical and Hegelian one, producing very interesting results. What I would like to ask Professor Nuzzo for is a further examination of this pivotal aspect of the volume and a reflection with respect to the value and use of literature, starting with the way literature is treated in the book.