The aim of this thesis is to explore the ethical value of literature that I will call ‘transgressive’. That is, literature which depicts morally condemnable characters and their behavior while adopting a perspective that does not condemn them. When readers engage imaginatively with this kind of literature, responding emotionally as solicited by the text, they may end up caring for these morally condemnable characters, and thus be forced to go beyond their habitual moral attitudes. This can be experienced by many readers when reading Lolita (1955) by Vladimir Nabokov, In Cold Blood (1966) by Truman Capote, and A Clockwork Orange (1962) by Anthony Burgess, the works that are the focus of this thesis. The unexpected emotional responses of care, such as empathic feelings, sympathy, or compassion, that may appear as one engages with such transgressive novels can be ethically valuable as one transcends, in the fictive world, one’s often limiting norms of acceptability and expectations, and thus begins to understand and learn about so-called alien minds. Bridging the gap between fiction and reality, reading can become a transformative experience as the insight gained in a novel can impact one’s views and judgments in real life. Through imagination, one’s moral realm can be enhanced and refined to possibly train tolerance towards all aspects of humanity, even the most puzzling and disturbing ones. Importantly, by connecting us with people who at first seem not only separated but opposed to us in significant ways, fiction can be a place to question our own dangerous capacity to think, judge, and act in morally outrageous ways. / published_or_final_version / Philosophy / Master / Master of Philosophy

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1983. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 173-185).

Thesis (p11.9)--Catholic University of America, 1945. / "List of the magazines mentioned by the students as having had good or bad effects": p. 84-88. "List of books given by the students as having a good or bad effect": p. 88-95. "Selected bibliography of motion picture studies": p. 103-107. "Selected bibliography of pertinent reading studiies": p. 107-111. "Selected bibliography of studies of the comics": p. 112-114.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--The University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1972. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 241-250).

Issued also as thesis, Catholic Univ. of America. / Includes bibliographical references.

The thesis examines the novels of the young British writer, Kingsley Amis, and attempts to assess his contribution to the modern novel in terms of the moral code which he presents and in terms of his success in presenting it. Chapter One dissociates Amis from the myth of the "Angry Young Men" and shows that he himself will not be placed in any movement. The chapter goes on to discuss his position as a satirist and illustrates his requirement that satire have a moral basis. At this point certain parallels with the work of Fielding are discussed. The chapter shows how much the moral position depends upon seeing Amis's heroes as decent, and tentatively defines decency as it appears to him. Chapter Two shows how much the hero of each novel conforms to the definition of decency and examines his behaviour in order to establish the code that he actually follows. The development of the hero is discussed, as is the extent to which Amis allows him to exceed the limits of decency. The chapter concludes by suggesting that Amis cannot present any ultimate solution to the problem of how the decent man is to find a place in society and maintain loyalty to his code. Amis's increased understanding of the influence of love is discussed and the chapter suggests that any future development will be dependent upon the acknowledgement of this aspect of human relations. Chapter Three deals with the effectiveness of Amis's technique and argues that, although the comic technique aids in the presentation of the hero as l'homme moyen sensual, flat language and the repetition of certain devices distracts the reader from the complexities of the moral problems faced by Amis's heroes. Chapter Four concludes the thesis by reassessing the moral position and the technique used in presenting it. It suggests that Amis has a tenable moral position, but that he does not succeed in presenting it to the reader in such a way that it can be seen to be of value as it applies to the way that men like his heroes can operate within their society. / Arts, Faculty of / English, Department of / Graduate

No description available.

Thesis (Th. M.)--Western Seminary, Portland, OR, 2005. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 151-161).

Inaug.-Diss.--Cologne. / Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Bibliography: p. 252-266.