Edgar Allan Poe et les meubles de la philosophie

According to Stanley Cavell, America has “never ever expressed itself philosophically,” unless it be “in the metaphysical riot of its greatest literature.” What is this odd coupling, this strange union of literature and philosophy? What does it mean for philosophy to move in with literature? What do...

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Main Author: Thomas Constantinesco
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Association Française d'Etudes Américaines 2014-02-01
Series:Transatlantica
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/6370
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author Thomas Constantinesco
author_facet Thomas Constantinesco
author_sort Thomas Constantinesco
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description According to Stanley Cavell, America has “never ever expressed itself philosophically,” unless it be “in the metaphysical riot of its greatest literature.” What is this odd coupling, this strange union of literature and philosophy? What does it mean for philosophy to move in with literature? What does it mean to set up house in someone else’s home? With what furniture? Does philosophy have its own furniture? Is there a philosophy of furniture? These questions find a surprising echo, and maybe a few answers, in a short text by Edgar Allan Poe precisely entitled “The Philosophy of Furniture” (1840). Poe may not be a philosopher, but his texts surely are food for thought and his philosophy of furniture is an invitation to reflect on the materialist craze that drives nineteenth-century America, but also to think about what our furniture reveal of our relationship to ourselves and to others, and to consider the paradoxical link that unites philosophy and literature.
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spelling doaj-art-9836a78f843c44dfa4452a5feb317f4d2025-01-30T10:43:59ZengAssociation Française d'Etudes AméricainesTransatlantica1765-27662014-02-01110.4000/transatlantica.6370Edgar Allan Poe et les meubles de la philosophieThomas ConstantinescoAccording to Stanley Cavell, America has “never ever expressed itself philosophically,” unless it be “in the metaphysical riot of its greatest literature.” What is this odd coupling, this strange union of literature and philosophy? What does it mean for philosophy to move in with literature? What does it mean to set up house in someone else’s home? With what furniture? Does philosophy have its own furniture? Is there a philosophy of furniture? These questions find a surprising echo, and maybe a few answers, in a short text by Edgar Allan Poe precisely entitled “The Philosophy of Furniture” (1840). Poe may not be a philosopher, but his texts surely are food for thought and his philosophy of furniture is an invitation to reflect on the materialist craze that drives nineteenth-century America, but also to think about what our furniture reveal of our relationship to ourselves and to others, and to consider the paradoxical link that unites philosophy and literature.https://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/6370Edgar Allan PoeStanley Cavellphilosophyliteraturefurniture
spellingShingle Thomas Constantinesco
Edgar Allan Poe et les meubles de la philosophie
Transatlantica
Edgar Allan Poe
Stanley Cavell
philosophy
literature
furniture
title Edgar Allan Poe et les meubles de la philosophie
title_full Edgar Allan Poe et les meubles de la philosophie
title_fullStr Edgar Allan Poe et les meubles de la philosophie
title_full_unstemmed Edgar Allan Poe et les meubles de la philosophie
title_short Edgar Allan Poe et les meubles de la philosophie
title_sort edgar allan poe et les meubles de la philosophie
topic Edgar Allan Poe
Stanley Cavell
philosophy
literature
furniture
url https://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/6370
work_keys_str_mv AT thomasconstantinesco edgarallanpoeetlesmeublesdelaphilosophie