“As I read Mann in German for the first time, the full achievement - both literary and philosophical - of Death in Venice struck me forcefully, so that, when I was invited to give the Schoff Lectures at Columbia, the opportunity to reflect on the contrasts between novella and opera seemed irresistible.” GivingFirstsOpportunityAchievementFirst TimePhilosophicalOperaContrastInvitedLecturesIrresistibleVeniceColumbiaDeath In Venice Author:Philip Kitcher
“First, my frame of reference for the Britten opera shifted. I'd always thought of Britten's approach in Death in Venice as another exploration of the plight of the individual whose aspirations are at odds with those of the surrounding community: his last opera returning to the themes of Peter Grimes. As I read and listened and thought, however, Billy Budd came to seem a more appropriate foil for Death in Venice.” FirstsSeemsLastsIndividualCommunityApproachAspirationThemeAppropriateExplorationOperaPeterOddsVenicePlightFoilsFrame Of ReferenceGrimeDeath In Venice Author:Philip Kitcher
“We know that he gave Aschenbach Mahler's first name, and also his facial features. So Visconti picks up on something interesting. That led me to think about ways of developing further the Aschenbach-Mahler connection.” ThinkingKnowsWayFirstsNamesInterestingPicksConnectionsDevelopingFeaturesFacialSomething InterestingMahlerFacial Features Author:Philip Kitcher
“I would like to undermine the stereotype of "strict philosophy." J.L. Austin remarked that, when philosophy is done well, it's all over by the bottom of the first page. I take him to have meant that the real work comes in setting up the problem with which you are dealing, and thus getting your reader to take particular things for granted.” FirstsWellsRealDonePhilosophyProblemParticularReaderPagesBottomSettingSettingsGrantedStrictStereotypeAustinReal Work Author:Philip Kitcher
“Many of the greatest works of philosophy seem to me to be valuable not because of their arguments, but because they offer us perspectives that open up new possibilities. They show us how we might start in different places, and not buy into the assumptions tacitly made on the first pages of the philosophical works that have influenced us.” FirstsMadeDifferentPhilosophyShowsSeemsMightPossibilityPerspectiveOffersPagesArgumentPhilosophicalValuableAssumptionDifferent PlaceNew Possibilities Author:Philip Kitcher
“One of the things I want to do in the book is to explore how philosophy can be done in literature. I start doing that in the first chapter, by introducing the idea of "philosophy by showing". What literature/philosophy shows is how to look at some important facets of life in a new way, thus changing the frame in which subsequent philosophical argument proceeds.” WayWantFirstsLooksImportantBookIdeasDonePhilosophyShowsLiteratureArgumentPhilosophicalIntroducingChaptersNew WaysFacets Author:Philip Kitcher
“There are actually two separate issues here. The first is whether (as ancient philosophers and Nietzsche assume) only the privileged elite can live a worthwhile life. The second is whether it's possible to fulfill the roles of both serious artist and upstanding citizen. It seems to me that philosophy can dissect both questions, by delineating clearly the anatomy of the good life and the structural conditions of the roles.” FirstsTwoPhilosophySeemsArtistRolesIssuesConditionsSeriousCitizensAssumingAncientPhilosopherGood LifeWorthwhileElitesPrivilegedAnatomy Author:Philip Kitcher
“Critics who perceive the first level of Mann's irony recognize that the second voice is giving us reasons to be dubious about various aspects of Aschenbach's life and work. But many of them don't appreciate the second level of irony, the one exemplified in setting this narrative voice alongside the more sympathetic one, and inviting us to choose.” GivingFirstsReasonVoiceLevelsAspectAppreciateCriticsVariousSettingSettingsNarrativePerceiveIronySympatheticInvitingDubiousNarrative Voice Author:Philip Kitcher
