Exemplarity and reflexivity in literature: Towards an elucidation of the knowledge embedded in the literary text

Abstract

The question of the relation between philosophy and literature is, in the present contribution, approached from the notion of reflexivity as it appears in the thinking of Herder and Gadamer. Following up on Gadamer's critique of the Kantian and post‐Kantian idea of the autonomy of art, literature is considered a reflective discourse that at an existential level harvests insights that can be used in a fruitful exchange with philosophy. As an example of the reflexivity of literature, an analysis of Julio Cortázar's short story ‘The Continuity of Parks’ appears at the end of the article.