Finding Philosophers in Global Fiction

"The academic discipline of philosophy may tell us, too rigidly, what a philosopher is or should be; but fictional narration often upholds the core conundrums of humankind in which philosophy germinates. This book explores whether a study of 'philosophers' on a broad cross-cultural spectrum can decouple philosophy from its academic aspect and lend it a more inclusive domain. Taken together, these essays insist on the need to 'de-elitize' and democratize the concept of a 'philosopher' by reflecting on the possibility of seeing a philosopher as one who sees things clearly, from any vantage point"--