It is the purpose of the present investigation to make an examination of the moral content of literature taught in the schools from 1600 to 1800, from 1800 to 1900, and from 1900 to 1940, and to draw conclusions as to the values of such literature. In the literature examined in this study, both the moral content and the methods used in presentation will be considered.

Violent content in film has been extensively debated from a myriad of different perspectives, and both within and across a number of different disciplines. Oftentimes, the more violent the content that a film contains, the more likely such content is considered to negatively detract from the value of the work in question. However, this dissertation provides an argument to the contrary with respect to a specific set of cinematic examples and a particular way in which violent content is represented within them. In what follows, I argue that there are grounds to believe in the philosophical value of engaging with works that “morally shock” their audiences through the representation of violent content. First, by analyzing a combination of works ranging from the more conservative American classic Deliverance (1972) to the more controversial French avant-garde Irréversible (2002), I provide a case for reclassifying violent films into different genres, only one of which contains films which elicit a particular kind of response that I single out for further examination. In considering the implications of our responses to these “morally shocking” films, I provide a foundation against which such films can be considered to have a distinct kind of philosophical value by exploring their significance with respect to: (1) issues of interpretation and value in the philosophy of film, (2) recent developments in research on moral judgment, and (3) arguments both for and against the idea that film can be thought of as a kind of philosophy. Ultimately, I argue that our response of moral shock to the content of these films has the subversive effect of destabilizing our moral orientation and consequently motivating philosophical reflection in innovative ways. / Philosophy