Brian Stock

In three lectures, Professor Brian Stock explores the ethical component found in reading. From Plato to Schopenhauer, the ascetic and the aesthetic at different times are in the ascendency. The different approaches seem to play off one another or perhaps enfold one another. A formidable scholar, Professor Stock demonstrates a remarkable facility with ancient and medieval texts that may overwhelm those not equally well versed (which was my experience). But his patient explications bring even obscure texts to life (I suspect he is/was a great teacher). And seeing some of these ancient notions reflected even in Virginia Woolf’s To The Lighthouse was thoroughly illuminating.

Those with a background in classicism or medieval literature will better appreciate the kind of textual analysis at play here. I found myself longing for a more direct engagement with the philosophical bases for these apparent aspects of reading, not as historical footnotes but as live ideas worthy of scrutiny. But my misapprehensions do not constitute a criticism of a book that accomplishes what it sets out to accomplish.… (meer)