This chapter discusses a range of approaches to the intersections of literature and ethics. After a brief historical perspective on debates waged in relation to literature and ethics, a number of approaches are presented that are characteristic of the ethical turn: criticism
inspired by the neo-Aristotelian humanist tradition in moral
philosophy; rhetorical criticism; poststructuralist and deconstructive
criticism; social and cultural criticism; and criticism rooted in
philosophical hermeneutics. The chapter then sketches a number of
sociological, cognitive and psychological approaches that seek to
support or qualify claims about literature’s ethical potential, or
position these within broader negotiations of value in culture. The concluding remarks address among others the value-laden nature of most of these approaches, and the need for interdisciplinary research in this area.