Sunday Meditation: The Purpose of Literature is to Please and Instruct

Philosopher Peter Kreeft, a man on a mission -- to teach the truth!

I'm always a little puzzled by those who say they never read fiction and consider it a waste of time. I think I've found just as much (or more) food for meditation in a great novel than many books of non-fiction and their didactic manner of teaching the same thing. Am I more likely to remember the lessons about good and evil, friendship and treachery, courage and cowardice from a book of psychology or from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings or Shakespeare's Macbeth? 

Philosopher Peter Kreeft describes the purpose of literature as to please and to instruct. His presentation on Lost in the Cosmos, Abolition of Man and several other books is tremendous and well worth a listen -- or two -- or even three. He demonstrates how literature can be either direct or indirect to make a point and teach a lesson. Abolition is an example of direct literature, Lost indirect. Lewis uses logic and reasoning; Percy uses satire, irony, and humor. But both works explain the crisis of modern man, men without chests, that is men who have lost the heart of things.

Question for the Day: Are You Lost in the Cosmos?

Currently I'm reading Walker Percy's Lost in the Cosmos: the Last Self Help Book. I was intrigued to find out that it's one of philosopher Peter Kreeft's favorite books. Percy is a favorite of mine as well. His novels, in my opinion, fit the description "southern writers weird" -- like Flannery O'Connor. Percy didn't like to think of himself as a southern writer and, in fact, parodied the tradition through the character, Sam Yerger, in The Moviegoer. Nevertheless, I can never separate him from the southern genre.

The Wisdom of Walker Percy

We were in a restaurant in Meridian, Mississippi recently and on the stairs leading to the second floor there were photographs of Mississippi's favorite sons (and daughters). Among them were Walker Percy, the MD turned novelist and his Uncle Will whom Percy often mentions in his essays. Uncle Will (who was really a cousin) raised Walker and his brother after their dad committed suicide and their mother died two years later. Walker had great affection for him. Seeing Percy's photo on the wall got me thinking about him. I'm a big fan and have a goal to read all his work, both fiction and non-fiction.