Scientific and artistic truth in John Banville's fiction

[N. Miljković]

159 listova

Nauka o književnosti - Engleska književnost / Literary studies - English literature

Cilj istraživanja je da se ispitivanjem odnosa naučne i umetničke istine u izabranim delima Banvilove proze proveri valjanost početne hipoteze o njihovoj suštinskoj povezanosti. Primenom analitičkog metoda obrađuje se teorijska i kritička literatura o problemu istine u estetici, teoriji književnosti i kritičkoj recepciji proze ovog irskog pisca. Istraživanje predstavlja sintezu saznanja o datom problemu, uz osvrt na njegov istorijski razvoj i primenu na odabrana Banvilova dela: naučnu tetralogiju (Doktor Kopernik, Kepler, Njutnovo pismo i Mefisto) i umetničku trilogiju (Knjiga dokaza, Duhovi i Atena). Istraživanje je prevashodno zasnovano na trojnom mimetičkom modelu Pola Rikera, koji je proširen kako bi bio primenjen, osim na književna, na naučna i likovna dela. Razmatranje povezanosti naučne i umetničke istine u prvoj mimetičkoj fazi (mimesis I) potpomognuto je idejama iz domena fenomenologije (najpre Hajdegerovim i Liotarovim), zatim shvatanjem poznatim kao solipsizam (čije se potkrepljenje, između ostalih, može pronaći kod Ničea), kao i idejom o antropomorfnom teretu, koja se javlja kod teoretičara nauke Hajzenberga i Holtona. Od potonjeg je preuzet i proširen dvojaki naučni model, u vezi s kojim se ukazuje na to da privatna nauka/nauka u nastajanju (S1) i privatna umetnost/umetnost u nastajanju (A1) pripadaju prvom mimetičkom stupnju. Istraživanje povezanosti naučne i umetničke istine u drugoj mimetičkoj fazi (mimesis II) oslanja se u najvećoj meri na teoriju fikcionalnih svetova Lubomira Doležela. Ovaj rad preispituje da li i u kojoj meri osobine ovih svetova važe za sva tri konfigurativna entiteta koja su predmet istraživanja, naime, za naučne, književne i likovne svetove, kako bi se utvrdio stepen njihove konvergencije, odnosno divergencije. Zatim se istraživanje ponovo oslanja na fenomenologiju i fenomenološko shvatanje istine, kao i na Holtonov model, kojim se nastoji utvrditi povezanost S2 (nauke kao institucije/javne nauke) i A2 (umetnosti kao institucije/javne umetnosti). U trećoj mimetičkoj fazi (mimesis III) istraživanje započinje pozivanjem na Gadamerovu hermeneutiku i tzv. stapanje horizonata, kako bi se istakao značaj čina recepcije i uloga recipijenta. Upoređuju se naučna i umetnička dela iz više aspekata, počev od njihove kognitivne vrednosti i (praktične) primene, preko postupka poznatog kao ekfraza, poststrukturalističkih ideja o neprekidnom označavanju, diskursu kao igri, intertekstualnosti i priči, do povratka fenomenologiji u činu individualne recepcije. Primenom trojnog mimetičkog modela i ukazivanjem na stepen konvergencije, odnosno divergencije sva tri konfigurativna entiteta u ispitivanim karakteristikama, potvrđuje se početna hipoteza istraživanja o suštinskoj povezanosti naučne i umetničke istine.

The aim of this research is to check the validity of the initial hypothesis about the fundamental correlation between scientific and artistic truth by examining it in the selected works of Banville’s fiction. The analytical method is applied to a study of the theoretical and critical literature on the problem of truth in aesthetics, literary theory and critical reception of the fiction by this Irish writer. The research is a synthesis of knowledge about this problem, with special reference to its historical development, and applied to the selected prose by Banville: the scientific tetralogy (Doctor Copernicus, Kepler, Newton Letter and Mefisto) and the artistic trilogy (The Book of Evidence, Ghosts and Athena). The research is primarily based on the triple mimetic model by Paul Ricoeur, which has been expanded to be applied to science and painting, as well as to literature. The examination of the correlation between scientific and artistic truth in the first mimetic phase (mimesis I) is aided by phenomenological ideas (particularly those of Heidegger and Lyotard), then by solipsism (expounded upon by Nietzsche, among others), and the idea of anthropomorphic burden, which is present in the work of the theoretical scientists Heisenberg and Holton. A twofold scientific model has been taken from the latter and expanded to prove that private science/science-in-the-making (S1) and private art/art-in-the-making (A1) belong to the first mimetic level. The research into the correlation between scientific and artistic truth in the second mimetic phase (mimesis II) is mostly based on Lubomir Dolezel’s theory of fictional worlds. This study examines whether and to what extent the characteristics of these worlds apply to all three configurative entities which are the subject of this research, that is, the worlds of science, literature and painting, in order to determine the degree of their convergence and/or divergence. The focus of the research then shifts back to phenomenology and the phenomenological view of truth, and to Holton’s model, with the aim of establishing the correlation between S2 (science-as-an-institution/public science) and A2 (art-as-an-institution/public art). Concerning the third mimetic phase (mimesis III) the research opens with Gadamer’s hermeneutics and the so-called fusion of horizons, in order to emphasize the importance of reception and the role of the recipient. Scientific and artistic works are compared from multiple viewpoints, starting from their cognitive value and (practical) application, the method known as ekphrasis, poststructuralist ideas of endless signification, discourse as play, intertextuality and narrative, to a return to phenomenology in the act of individual reception. By applying the triple mimetic model and indicating the degree of convergence and/or divergence of all the three configurative entities based on the examined characteristics, the initial hypothesis about the essential correlation between scientific and artistic truth was proven.

nauka, umetnost, književnost, slikarstvo, fikcija, istina, trojna mimeza, fenomenologija

science, art, literature, painting, fiction, truth, triple mimesis, phenomenology

821.111(415).09-31 Banville J.(043.3)

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