Philosophies

A number of prominent philosophers have recently been drawn to J. M. Coetzee’s works. They have focused in particular on the problems of human relations to animals, and, more generally, on questions of ethics. However, the interest of philosophers in Coetzee’s oeuvre is only one dimension of his encounter with philosophy. This chapter will consider some of Coetzee’s own philosophical engagements, in terms of his formation and institutional affiliations. It will then consider how his fictions confront and offer provocations to philosophy. Finally, it will consider how and why philosophers and literary theorists have responded to these confrontations and provocations.