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Article: Response to Joseph Carroll.(Responses)
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- June 22, 2008
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Joseph Carroll's writing has been enormously important to me. Everything I say here is meant with the deepest appreciation for his energy, kindness, intelligence, and sheer dogged persistence in advancing the cause of literary Darwinism. My remarks are skeptical, but only because I think appreciating art and explaining it are two somewhat distinct activities. Darwinian literary study aims to improve the ways we explain art and to improve the content of our explanations. I heartily support this effort. I only doubt that it will make much difference to what English professors do, which is to help people touch the terrible danger and power of art.
When I started ...