Abstract
Literary theories are epistemological truth/prescriptions or principles on literature. The reception of literature calls for not only implicit understandings so as to achieve its realization in individuals, but also a reinvention in the epistemological arena, e. g. a rational construction concerning the interactions between literature and society, cognition as well as ideology. The major epistemological attributes of literary theories are being non-empirical, describable, interpretative and parasitic. Literary theories are non-empirical knowledge, because their major concerns are human souls, values and significances; literary theories are describable knowledge because as reflections on literature and related areas, they are conveyed by languages, which is comprenhensible; literary theories are parasitic because they do not always invent themselves — on the contrary, they are heavily dependent on knowledge of other disciplines. Parasitism, a limitation at first sight, actually tells us more about the uniqueness of this epistemological field.
First Page
139
Last Page
146
Recommended Citation
Xing, Jianchang. 2017. "The Epistemological Attributes of Literary Theories." Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art 37, (6): pp.139-146. https://tsla.researchcommons.org/journal/vol37/iss6/20
