Table Of Content

Uttering the Unutterable 3333222233__GGrrooaarrkkee..iinndddd 11 22002222--1100--1177 0088::2211 3333222233__GGrrooaarrkkee..iinndddd 22 22002222--1100--1177 0088::2211 Uttering the Unutterable Aristotle, Religion, and Literature Louis Groarke McGill- Queen’s University Press Montreal & Kingston London Chicago • • 3333222233__GGrrooaarrkkee..iinndddd 33 22002222--1100--1177 0088::2211 © McGill-Queen’s University Press 2023 ISBN 978-0-2280-1423-2 (cloth) ISBN 978-0-2280-1522-2 (ePDF) ISBN 978-0-2280-1523-9 (ePUB) Legal deposit first quarter 2023 Bibliothèque nationale du Québec Printed in Canada on acid-free paper that is 100% ancient forest free (100% post-consumer recycled), processed chlorine free This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, through the Awards to Scholarly Publications Program, using funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts. Nous remercions le Conseil des arts du Canada de son soutien. Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Title: Uttering the unutterable: Aristotle, religion, and literature / Louis Groarke. Names: Groarke, Louis, author. Description: Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: Canadiana (print) 20220414327 | Canadiana (ebook) 20220414351 | ISBN 9780228014232 (cloth) | ISBN 9780228015222 (ePDF) | ISBN 9780228015239 (ePUB) Subjects: LCSH: Literature—Philosophy. | LCSH: Reading—Philosophy. | LCSH: Religion and literature. | LCSH: Criticism. | LCSH: Aristotle. Classification: LCC PN45 .G76 2023 | DDC 801—dc23 This book was typeset by Marquis Interscript in 10.5/13 Sabon. 3333222233__GGrrooaarrkkee..iinndddd 44 22002222--1100--1177 0088::2211 With grateful thanks to the Department of Philosophy at St Francis Xavier University, old and new, and to our wise and able chair, William Sweet 3333222233__GGrrooaarrkkee..iinndddd 55 22002222--1100--1177 0088::2211 3333222233__GGrrooaarrkkee..iinndddd 66 22002222--1100--1177 0088::2211 Contents Acknowledgments ix 1 Wondering about Transcendence 3 2 Metaphysical Realism and Antirealism 35 3 Wisdom Epistemology 72 4 Anti-definitionalism 136 5 Definition by Four Causes 178 6 Morality and Literature 242 Notes 269 Bibliography 289 Index 309 3333222233__GGrrooaarrkkee..iinndddd 77 22002222--1100--1177 0088::2211 3333222233__GGrrooaarrkkee..iinndddd 88 22002222--1100--1177 0088::2211 Acknowledgments The author would like to recognize the assistance of others who contributed to this effort. He would like to thank, in particular: McGill-Queen’s University Press and its staff for their help and for this publishing opportunity, Khadija Coxon for her patience throughout the vicissitudes of manuscript preparation, two anonymous referees for their supportive and insightful comments, Susan Glickman and especially Matthew Kudelka for their reliable and enthusiastic editing, the Philosophy Department and the Plato Centre at Trinity College, Dublin, for hospitality while in Ireland, St Francis Xavier University for its continued academic support, and fellow members of my department – William Sweet, Christopher Byrne, Steven Baldner, Doug Al-Maini, Ed Carty, and Michael Szlachta – for their frequent help and friendship, as well as Jude Dougherty (†), Paolo Biondi, Joseph Novak, Peter Haskett, and Suzanne Stewart. Also, my brother Leo Groarke and my wife Marie-Andrée. I owe a debt of gratitude to many others who have selflessly encouraged me throughout my a cademic career. 3333222233__GGrrooaarrkkee..iinndddd 99 22002222--1100--1177 0088::2211