Introduction: The Fact and Fiction of Television: Stanley Cavell and the Terms of Television Philosophy

This collection of new work on the philosophical importance of television starts from a model for reading films proposed by Stanley Cavell, whereby film in its entirety—actors and production included—brings its own intelligence to its realization. In turn, this intelligence educates us as viewers, leading us to recognize and appreciate our individual cinephilic tastes, and to know ourselves and each other better. This reading is even more valid for TV series. Yet, in spite of the progress of film-philosophy, there has been a paucity of concurrent analysis of the ethical stakes, the modes of expressiveness, and the moral education involved in television series. Perhaps most conspicuously, there has been a lack of focus on the experience of the viewer. 

Cite this book chapter: Laugier, S. "Introduction: The Fact and Fiction of Television: Stanley Cavell and the Terms of Television Philosophy", dans David LaRocca et Sandra Laugier (dir.), Television with Stanley Cavell in Mind, Exeter, University of Exeter Press, 2023, pp. 1-28. https://doi.org/10.47788/BMYM9359