Personal statement:What does literature have to do with respect? The connection between these two areas might not be immediately obvious. However, the philosophical tradition of reflecting on the relationship between literature and ethics can be traced back to Plato and Aristotle. Recently, ethical questions have been met with renewed interest, a phenomenon which can partly be explained by the increased complexity and individualisation of our society. I am particularly interested in the question of how literature, beyond merely reflecting ethical issues, can contribute to this discussion. Narrative literary texts do not only present actions, they also give the reader access to other people’s minds and emotions. Therefore, part of the experience of reading a literary text is an encounter with the Other; an encounter which, according to Emmanuel Lévinas, is the basis of ethics. If we consider a literary text to be a paradigm for our ways of dealing with the world, literature becomes relevant on a very practical level: it allows us to establish a basis for more openness towards the Other, with which we are constantly confronted in our everyday lives, and thus can lead to greater mutual respect.
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