Can Fiction Teach Us to Be Good? (IN-PERSON)
In this class, we will learn philosophical theories and examine them in fiction that explicitly addresses ethical issues: utilitarianism in Ursula K. Le Guin; deontology in Kazuo Ishiguro; virtue ethics in E. M. Forster and Zadie Smith; systemic injustice in Toni Morrison; and theodicy in Ted Chiang. We will focus on discussion rather than craft, but students will write brief responses to class prompts in fiction or prose. Via her novel On Beauty, Smith raises the question we will address: Should fiction be a thing of beauty or a thing of justice?
This class may be moved online for some or all sessions depending on the COVID-19 public health guidelines and Hugo House’s current in-person program policy. We are monitoring the situation daily. Hugo House prioritizes the health of students and staff.
Read about our COVID policies here.
Kascha Semonovitch
Kascha Semonovitch’s poems and essays have appeared in journals including Quarterly West, The Bellingham Review, Zyzzyva, The Kenyon Review and others, and in the chapbook Genesis by Dancing Girl Press. She has a PhD in philosophy from Boston College, an MFA in poetry from Warren Wilson College. She has fellowships at the MacDowell Colony and the Ucross Foundation, and her creative nonfiction was recently nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Kascha has edited two collections of philosophical essays on early twentieth century European thought, and published academic essays, mostly recently Attention and Expression in Simone Weil. She has taught philosophy at Boston College, Seattle University, and Hugo House in Seattle. She runs an art gallery in Seattle. Teaching Philosophy: I believe that we learn by reading – whether the work of our classmates, contemporary authors or canonical works. The work of a teacher lies in asking –and re-asking –questions that motivate us to pay attention to these texts. In class, we think together by articulating our interpretations. When we reach a conflict of interpretation – “Oh, I thought Robert Hass was talking about beauty” or “I thought Descartes meant his elbow”– then we inquire into the reasons for the conflict. After such careful reading, we are ready to re-read our own writing. We are better at paying attention to what is happening in syntax and semantics. As a faculty member at Seattle University for over seven years, I taught the history of philosophy, critical thinking, and ethics. Philosophers pay attention to the history and internal consistency of systems and concepts. This type of paying attention is also invaluable to writers. For example, we might ask whether poet thought through the connections between the terms in a text and the deep history of texts that precede it? Does a fictional or poetic world hold together consistently? I love learning by reading with students.
Website: kaschasemonovitch.com
