Gudomligt kaos och mänsklig ordning. Om filosofi, litteratur och teologi

Abstract

It can be said that literary texts do not have any obligation to reality, and that literature destabilises our relation to the normal use of words and to established perspectives. Literature is in relation with something that cannot be explained or conceptualised. In this respect literature is close to religion. Literature invites us to believe in something that is unreal and beyond ordinary life. In literature we are confronted with something dif-ferent and hence the ordinary meaning of words, normal understandings and every clear defintion of concepts are shaken and brought to the field of uncertainties. In this particular respect, literature is very close to religion. At least that is so in Elisabeth Løvlie’s reading of Jacques Derrida and literature. This could be seen as standing in radical contrast to philosophy as an activity aiming at clarity and a rigorous use of concepts. I argue that many of the characteristics of literature that Løvlie underlines also apply to philosophical writing. Concurrently, I argue that literature is indeed connected to reality and indeed wants to say something about our world. I contend that philosophy can benefit from a deeper understanding of the parallels and similarities between philosophical writing and literature.