Philosophy and poetry as styles of thought

Abstract

The present work aims to clarify the relations between philosophy and poetry. These two forms of human expression have long been characterized by a hiatus that, according to some approaches, makes them irreconcilable. Nonetheless, the approach here taken does not focus exclusively on their differences, nor on the primacy of one form over the other, but rather investigates those specific characteristics that would seem to isolate the two in their own spheres, after which it questions the limits that seem to split them. The starting point is a recognition that both forms are, in their fundamental nucleus, linguistic experiences and productions that consequently entail an exercise in style, which is not a minor aspect but, on the contrary, a defining key of both activities as a manifestation of thought (and therefore, of ways of approaching reality). Ultimately, it is argued, poetry as well as philosophy are styles of thought, which means that each of these activities thinks in its own way by saying something about reality that is irreducible to any other saying.