"An Estimate of the Value and Influence of Works of Fiction in Modern Times" by Thomas Hill Green is a philosophical analysis from the 1800s that considers how novels affected the way people experienced life, understood what was right and wrong, and shaped their overall culture. Green studies the qualities that make up a novel's art and compares novels to things like classic poems and plays. He says that novels, even though they show us familiar settings and characters, don't always reach the level of higher art found in epic poems and tragedies, because novels focus more on everyday concerns rather than inspiring people to achieve greater things . Green points out that novels are good at helping us understand and feel for others by showing us different ways people live; however, he worries that novels sometimes make life seem overly emotional instead of showing genuine deeper meanings. According to Green, novels can make our understanding broader and increase our compassion, yet they also might give us simple moral lessons instead of more meaningful and life-changing wisdom that can be found in more profound art forms.
An Estimate of the Value and Influence of Works of Fiction in Modern Times
By Thomas Hill Green
A philosophical look at the role of novels in shaping modern society questions whether these stories truly elevate the human spirit or simply offer sentimental views of ordinary life.
Summary
About the AuthorThomas Hill Green, known as T. H. Green, was an English philosopher, political radical and temperance reformer, and a member of the British idealism movement. Like all the British idealists, Green was influenced by the metaphysical historicism of G. W. F. Hegel. He was one of the thinkers behind the philosophy of social liberalism.
Thomas Hill Green, known as T. H. Green, was an English philosopher, political radical and temperance reformer, and a member of the British idealism movement. Like all the British idealists, Green was influenced by the metaphysical historicism of G. W. F. Hegel. He was one of the thinkers behind the philosophy of social liberalism.
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