Examines how three books demonstrate that reading literature can help persons achieve greater moral understanding. 'Literature and Moral Understanding,' by Frank Palmer; 'On Moral Personhood: Philosophy, Literature, Criticism, and Self-Understanding,' by Richard Eldridge; 'Love's Knowledge: Essays on Philosophy and Literature,' by Martha Nussbaum.
Frank Palmer, Richard Eldridge, and Martha Nussbaum explore the contributions that imaginative literature can make to ethics. From three different moral philosophical perspectives, they argue that reading literature can help persons to achieve greater moral understanding. This essay examines how each author conceives of moral understanding, particularly in its emotional dimension, and how each thinks that reading literature can promote moral understanding. The essay also considers some implications of this work for religious ethics.