On Ethical Literary Criticism and Game Theory--An Interview with Professor Nie Zhenzhao

In 2014,Huang Kaihong,a professor at School of Foreign Languages and Cultures,Southwest University of Science and Technology,interviewed the Doctoral advisor Professor Nie Zhenzhao during the period of his academic visiting to Central China Normal University.As early as in 2005,Huang Kaihong conducted an interview with Professor Nie Zhenzhao on the topic of the general introduction of ethical literary criticism.So around 11 years later,the second interview mainly covers not only the ethical literary criticism theory,but the game theory and the relationship between them as well.Professor Nie thinks whether the game theory can be applied to literature research is still under discussion.The theory of ethical literary criticism is a kind of methodology based on science and it can get the attention of literary critics at home and abroad,which is because it fits the practical needs of literary criticism,draws the literary criticism away from only emphasizing criticism genres and the research of criticism terms,and pays attention to the true nature of the literary text in literature research.After consulting Professor Nie Zhenzhao about some related questions from the perspective of game theory.Huang Kaihong gets some significant information concerning literature research and understands the latest core terms and the concrete application method of ethical literary criticism,especially the relationship between the instructing and aesthetic functions of literature.

Reading of The Guiltless from the Perspective of Ethical Literary Criticism

The Guiltless is Hermann Broch’s last novel,and it is also a work that embodies Broch’s literary and artistic view.The novel takes place in a period of social and historical change,and the conflict between the old and the new ethical relations leads to the confusion of the ethical relations,which causes the relationship between the characters to become distorted.This paper tries to analyze the relationship between Baroness W and her family from the perspective of Ethical Literary Criticism in aspects of ethical environment,ethical selection and ethical identity.It reveals that in the period of social and historical change,in the environment of social ethics disorder,the distorted ethical selection of characters and the loss of ethical identity.Hermann Broch attempts to arouse readers’ethical reflection by depicting such an era and such characters.

Reading the Iraqi War Narrative Sand Queen from the Perspective of Ethical Literary Criticism

An US woman soldier and an Iraqi medical student were given a voice to their feelings in Helen Benedict’s Iraqi war Narrative Sand Queen.It was the first time war stories had been told by two women from different nations.Character-narrator Kate Brady,a female American soldier,tells the story about how she tried to be an independent woman respected in American society by the way of being a female soldier,but failed in the end.The thesis focuses on Kate’s narration and analyzes her ethical choices from the perspective of Ethical Literary Criticism.By probing into the ethical situation Kate faces,and exploring the ethical conflicts among rational will and natural will on Kate,this thesis attempts to reveal what led to Kate’s ethical choices and caused her ethical confusion,and more importantly,what made her dreams shatter.

The Latest Development of Ethical Literary Criticism in the World

The series A Study on Ethical Literary Criticism exhibits key achievements in the major program of national social sciences by scholars headed by Professor Nie Zhenzhao,who are devoted to the research of foreign literatures,studies in philosophy and social sciences,and interdisciplinary study of world literature,who dedicated themselves to the construction of the ethical literary critical theory and methodology with the application of ethical literary criticism in practice.This series organically combine the generality of ethical literary criticism with the individuality of specific writers and combine the theoretical guidance with realistic practicality in academic research,which will be conducive to the development of world literary criticism and region and country-specific studies in the new era.