By Donald Nordberg, manuscript of a paper published in Philosophy and Literature (2023), Vol. 47, Issue 1, pp. 108-127; doi:10.1353/phl.2023.a899681; © Johns Hopkins University Press, please cite published version
Abstract. I examine the often-denigrated concept of the novel of ideas from its inception and critical decline to its relatively recent revival. Using a variant of the exploitation-exploration dilemma in psychology, I suggest that early usage referred to works that exploit philosophical principles—or better, enact them—by setting philosophical positions in conflict. By contrast, use of the concept for more recent works sees characters and plots exploring philosophical stances. The shift corresponds with the greater attention paid to complexity and ambiguity that are hallmarks of continental philosophy and neopragmatism, and with it greater need to explore philosophical stances through fiction.
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