Introduction : ethics, literature, and the forms of encounter
Feeling for philosophy : the limits of sentimental certainty
Knowing before loving : Rousseau and the ethics of exposure
Sentimental justice : Hume, Wordsworth, and the ends of sympathy
Respecting emotion : Austen's gratitude
Alone together : romanticism, psychoanalysis, and the interpretation of silence
Coda : sitting with strangers.