<!doctype html public «-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en»> http-equiv=content-type> Kafka has been widely praised for his rendering of a universal human condition. Yet his work is also considered to have given voice to the singularity of experience. This paradox in the reception of Kafka engenders questions concerning the interplay between philosophy and literature, especially pertaining to the meaning of the universal and its transformation, which the contributions of this volume address from a variety of perspectives.