“Sketches of landscapes”: On philosophical poems

Troy Jollimore

doi:10.1080/23311983.2015.1123081

Abstract

AbstractIs it possible to do philosophy by writing lyric poems—or reading them? How can a poem be genuinely philosophical, and can a philosophical poem do something that straightforward philosophical writing cannot do? Some have suggested that poems and philosophical writings have different aims and are subject to different and conflicting demands, which would render it difficult if not impossible to write a successful philosophical poem. I suggest that while this is true with respect to the aims of the standard academic philosophical journal essay, there is a different way of doing philosophical work—one that pays close attention to actual thought processes and that dramatizes the interplay of ideas—that lyric poetry is quite well suited to take on. Such work may be significant not only in helping us better understand human consciousness, but in letting us grasp insights and aspects of our experience of the world which the philosophical demand for simple, unified theories might otherwise tempt us to mini...

Highlights

Is it possible to do philosophy by writing lyric poems—or reading them? How can a poem be genuinely philosophical, and can a philosophical poem do something that straightforward philosophical writing cannot do? Some have suggested that poems and philosophical writings have different aims and are subject to different and conflicting demands, which would render it difficult if not impossible to write a successful philosophical poem
This paper considers whether lyric poems can be viewed as a kind of philosophical writing
We should not overlook the possibility that poems can do philosophical work in a different sense, both by providing detailed accounts of human experiences and thought processes, and by dramatizing ideas in a way that acknowledges and helps us explore a world whose inherent complexity sometimes seems to resist being captured in the sort of linear, maximally coherent theories philosophical theories often favor

Summary

Introduction

Is it possible to do philosophy by writing lyric poems—or reading them? How can a poem be genuinely philosophical, and can a philosophical poem do something that straightforward philosophical writing cannot do? Some have suggested that poems and philosophical writings have different aims and are subject to different and conflicting demands, which would render it difficult if not impossible to write a successful philosophical poem.

Results

Conclusion