Ethics

The question of ethics in literature far exceeds a simple concern with sex, violence, or language. The way authors relate to their world and the way that readers relate to authors and each other are also matters of concern. Kevin J. Vanhoozer has written that the church is uniquely suited to be a place where individuals learn the ethics of understanding. He notes:

[T]he church is that community in which the interpretive virtues – intellectual, ethical, and spiritual – are cultivated. For it is not only a community’s interests but also its virtues that make it an appropriate environment for obtaining literary knowledge. In short, literary knowledge is not simply a matter of having the right descriptions but also of having the right dispositions (320).

Is it possible to love a work of art as we would love our neighbor? And what kind of love (eros, philia, agape) motivates us? Can books be compared to friendships? If so, what does it mean to disagree with a friend? Are there still values to be had despite your disagreement with each other? In Vanhoozer's vision, the local church can be a place where we acquire certain habits essential for the proper interpretation of others' ideas. We learn how to deal faithfully, honestly, and rigorously with sermons, discipleship studies, creeds and confessions, biblical commentaries, systematic theologies, and of course, most importantly, the Bible itself. As a result, this kind of regular practice in reading carries over into the way we deal with all human texts. We seek to avoid distorting the message; we work to nuance the particulars of wording; we learn to balance context, background, and genre. This teaches us to treat others’ works as one might one’s neighbor or as one’s fellow citizen.

We have to consider both the noetic impact of sin on the author and the reader. Wayne Booth points out the ethics of literature extend far beyond questions surrounding content. While there isn’t space to explore these in detail, it is worth considering some of the questions he raises:

• What are the author’s responsibilities to the flesh-and-blood reader?
• What are the author’s responsibilities to the work of art?
• What are the author’s responsibilities to the implied reader?
• What are the author’s responsibilities to himself or herself, as a person who must live in a world in which art plays only one of many roles?
• What are the author’s responsibilities to himself or herself as a "career author"?
• What are the author’s responsibilities to those whose lives are used as "material"?
• What are the author’s responsibilities to others whose labor is exploited to make the work of art possible?
• What are the author’s responsibilities to society in general, to "the world," to "the future"?
• What are the author’s responsibilities to "truth"?
• What are the reader’s responsibilities to the writer—the flesh-and-blood author or career author?
• What are the reader’s responsibilities to the work of art—which is to say, to the implied author?
• What are the reader’s responsibilities to his or her own self or soul—as a flesh-and-blood reader?
• What are the reader’s responsibilities to other individual readers?
• What are the reader’s responsibilities to society, beyond the honest expression of critical judgment? (chapter 5)

All of these matters should be of concern to Christians because they address the complex nature of being a person in the creation.