Stanley Cavell and Literary Studies Consequences of Skepticism

Stanley Cavell and Literary Studies is a groundbreaking work that makes clear the relevance of Cavell's ideas for literary criticism. Arguably no other living philosopher has done as much as Cavell to show the common cause shared by literature and philosophy. It would seem, therefore, that literary critics in particular would have much to gain by seriously engaging with Cavell's work. Yet widespread admiration for Cavell by literary critics has only infrequently resulted in real intellectual influence. Though held in great esteem and widely taught in both philosophy and literature, the extent to which Cavell has been overlooked by literary theorists, in comparison to the palpable influence upon literary studies of Cavell's philosophical contemporaries (Derrida, Foucault, and Deleuze, to name only the most obvious) is striking indeed. Stanley Cavell and Literary Studies is not only timely but, indeed, long past due. As the discipline of literary studies struggles to move beyond the suspicious skepticisms and anti-humanisms that have dominated the field for the past many decades, Cavell's writings and ideas will only become more pertinent.