Philosophical novels are works of fiction in which a significant proportion of the novel is devoted to a discussion of the sort of questions normally addressed in discursive philosophy. These might include: the function and role of society; the purpose of life; ethics or morals; the role of art in human lives; and, the role of experience or reason in the development of knowledge. Philosophical novels would include the so-called novel of ideas, including a significant proportion of science fiction, utopian/dystopian novels, and Bildungsroman. This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... The philosopher Socrates about to take poison hemlock as ordered by the court. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Left panel (The Earthly Paradise, Garden of Eden), from Hieronymus Boschs The Garden of Earthly Delights. ... This article is about the philosophical concept and literary form. ... A Bildungsroman (IPA: /, German: novel of personal development) is a novelistic form which concentrates on the spiritual, moral, psychological, or social development and growth of the protagonist usually from childhood to maturity. ...

There is no universally acceptable definition of the philosophical novel, but certain novels would be of key importance in its history. Voltaire's Candide (1759) is the first clear example in literary history. Thomas Carlyle's Sartor Resartus, Goethe's Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship, and Tolstoy's War and Peace are all canonical examples of the philosophical novel. Later examples would include such among the novels of Aldous Huxley as After Many a Summer and Island, as well as novels by Iris Murdoch and Anthony Burgess. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Candide, ou lOptimisme, (Candide, or Optimism) (1759) is a French language picaresque novel by the Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire. ... The most familiar view of Carlyle is as the bearded sage with a penetrating gaze. ... Sartor Resartus, Oxford Worlds Classics edition 1999 Thomas Carlyles major work, Sartor Resartus (meaning The tailor re-tailored), first published as a serial in 1833-34, purported to be a commentary on the thought and early life of a German philosopher called Diogenes Teufelsdröckh (which translates as... Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (pronounced [gø tə]) (August 28, 1749–March 22, 1832) was a German writer, politician, humanist, scientist, and philosopher. ... Wilhelm Meisters Apprenticeship (in German, Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre) is the second novel by Goethe, published in 1795. ... Coat of arms of the Tolstoy family Tolstoy, or Tolstoi (Russian: ) is a prominent family of Russian nobility, descending from one Andrey Kharitonovich Tolstoy (i. ... War and Peace (Russian: Voyna i mir; in original orthography: Война и миръ) is a novel by Leo Tolstoy, first published from 1865 to 1869 in Russki Vestnik, which tells the story of Russian society during the Napoleonic Era. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... After Many a Summer is a novel by Aldous Huxley. ... Dame Jean Iris Murdoch DBE (July 15, 1919 – February 8, 1999) was an Irish-born British writer and philosopher, best known for her novels, which combine rich characterization and compelling plotlines, usually involving ethical or sexual themes. ... Anthony Burgess (February 25, 1917 – November 22, 1993) was a British novelist, critic and composer. ...

Novels that might qualify as philosophical novels in terms of subject matter but which proceed by non-discursive means (such as allegory) would be excluded. Richard Adams's Watership Down, for example, would qualify as having social structures as its subject matter but would be excluded on the grounds that the exploration of these subjects is entirely inferred rather than being the subject of overt discussion or debate. This kind of script is to use a normal story to explain easily difficult, or dark, ways of human life. For example, in "The lie of god", the English version of the French author Laurent Granier, "Le Mensonge de dieu", you can discover through the life of the hero an allegory for the acts of all mankind. Richard George Adams (born May 9, 1920) is an English novelist who is best known for two novels with animal characters, Watership Down and The Plague Dogs. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ...