This book argues that the writing of autobiography raises crucial issues of conscience as an author tries to know, assess, and represent character. Individual chapters explore such issues as the nature of truthfulness, characterization, the virtues, shame, and the religious dimensions of conscience.

Autorentext

JOHN D. BARBOUR is Associate Professor of Religion a St Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, where he has taught since 1982. He has published articles in The Journal of Religion, The Journal of Religious Ethics and The Journal of the American Academy of Religion, and Tragedy as a Critique of Virtue: The Novel and Ethical Reflection.

Inhalt

General Editor's Preface - Acknowledgements - Introduction - Conscience and Truthfulness - Character and Characterization - Conscience in the Essays of Montaigne and Johnson - Franklin and the Critics of Individualism - Ressentiment, Public Virtues, and Malcolm X - Shame in the Autobiographies of Mary McCarthy - Conclusion - Notes - Index