Philosophy as Inspiration
Blaise Pascal and the Epistemology of Aphorisms
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4376262 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Louis Groarke (0000-0003-1319-1814, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2007 |
| Volume | 28 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 393-441 |
| Publication date | 2007-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Poetics Today (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0333-5372 • E-ISSN: 1527-5507 |
| Publisher | Duke University Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1215/03335372-2007-003 |
| OpenAlex | W2158967198 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 6 |
In five stages, this essay works out an account of the aphorism as a philosophical genre. First, I outline a preliminary, general strategy for elucidating the aphorism as an expression of "aphoristic consciousness." Then I discuss Blaise Pascal's aphoristic style, concentrating on exegetical issues surrounding his Pensées. Next, I demonstrate that aphoristic consciousness (understood in an appropriately epistemological sense) has been a constant (though now largely unrecognized) theme in the history of Western philosophy. Following this survey of Pascal's predecessors, I show how Pascal's own epistemological account of the aphorism reiterates and encapsulates this traditional understanding in its own distinctive way. And finally, I provide a new theoretical account of the aphorism as a literary and philosophical form, for which Pascal's thought provides both a theoretical framework and an excellent example
Aphorism · Art · Consciousness · Epistemology · Literature · Pascal (unit · Theme (computing · Computer Science · Historical and Literary Analyses · Historical and Literary Studies · Historical Linguistics and Language Studies · Philosophy
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |