Paul Kent Alkon’s Samuel Johnson and Moral Discipline provides reading of Johnson that emphasizes his moral discourse. Shortly after its publication, Alkon’s book became first of all the standard reading of Johnsons essays, contrasting them with the moral ideas Johnson discussed in his sermons, as moral writings, and second, as one of the first books on Johnson to explore the essayist’s focus on moral thinking as central to his writing.
About the Author
PAUL KENT ALKON, born in 1935, received his Ph.D. in English literature from the University of Chicago in 1962. He has taught English literature at the University of California-Berkeley, the University of Maryland, the University of Minnesota, and the University of Southern California. He researches and writes on 18th century English and French literature, utopian writing, and science fiction.
