DOCSLIB.ORG

The Phenomenological Ontologies of Kierkegaard and Sartre: an Existential Theory of Addiction

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Phenomenological Ontologies of Kierkegaard and Sartre: an Existential Theory of Addiction Loyola University Chicago Loyola eCommons Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 1994 Love and Addiction: The Phenomenological Ontologies of Kierkegaard and Sartre: An Existential Theory of Addiction Ross Channing Reed Loyola University Chicago Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss Part of the Philosophy Commons Recommended Citation Reed, Ross Channing, "Love and Addiction: The Phenomenological Ontologies of Kierkegaard and Sartre: An Existential Theory of Addiction" (1994). Dissertations. 3461. https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss/3461 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. Copyright © 1994 Ross Channing Reed LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO "LOVE" AND ADDICTION: THE PHENOMENOLOGICAL ONTOLOGIES OF KIERKEGAARD AND SARTRE AN EXISTENTIAL THEORY OF ADDICTION A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY BY ROSS CHANNING REED CHICAGO, ILLINOIS MAY 1994 Copyright by Ross Channing Reed, 1994 All rights reserved. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to thank the following people and institutions for their support, encouragement, and prayer during the many years that led up to the production of this dissertation, as well as its actual writing: Texas A&M University Library, Millersville University Library, Franklin and Marshall College Library, Dr. John Ellsworth Winter, John Albert Cavin III, Christopher John Broniak, Richard J. Westley, John D. and Cynthia A. Cox, Brian Glenn Ressler, Jay William Rhodes, R. David Cooper, Bethany Bennett Graham, Rebecca Susan Jones, as well as my parents, Mr. and Mrs. James Rutherford Reed. And as the superstructure of it all, I thank the Great Spirit. iii As modern men, we proudly proclaim that we have been freed from the bonds of superstition that have plagued man since antiquity. This is a fallacy, however, due to the aesthetic refinement of our worship. For just as the ancient Jews, Egyptians, and Romans worshiped idols made with human hands, so we worship idols made with human minds. Truly our culture prizes above all others before it the freedom from metaphysical tutelage; but, sadly, we have not freed ourselves from any forms of superstition, but merely have become partakers in them all. We no longer have a basis to believe anything, so instead we believe nothing, which is simply a backwards way of believing anything, only we don't know it. And when a man does not know that he believes something, this does not prevent him from doing so, nor allow him to stop doing so. He becomes a slave to his nothingness. He becomes a slave to himself. Ross Channing Reed 12 July 1982 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS • •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• iii Chapter 1. ADDICTION: DEFINITIONS AND ONTOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS. • 7 I.11.tre>ci\lcti<>ri...................... • • • • • • • • • • . • 7 Part one. 9 Section A: A "Subjective" Definition of Addiction. 9 Section B: An "Objective" Definition of Addiction ....................... 19 Section C: Addiction and Love •••.•••.•••.....• 25 Part Two: Ontological Underpinnings Operative in the Theory of Addiction ••...••••. 27 2. SARTREAN THEORIES OF LOVE ........•••••••..••.......• 33 Introduction . .................................... 3 3 Part One: Being and Nothingness and Related Writings: The Generally Accepted View, or Sartrean Love Type One ..••• 43 Part Two: Conversion and Authenticity: An Alternate View of Love in Sartre, or Sartrean Love Type Two ••.•••••••. 75 Part Three: On the Possibility of a Synthesis of Sartrean Love Type~ One and Two .•• 88 3. AN EXISTENTIAL THEORY OF ADDICTION .•••.•••..••••.... 99 Introduction: The Culling of a Theory .••...••••.• 99 Part One: Kierkegaard and Addiction .•..•••...•.•• 102 Section A: Addiction is a Function of Missing One'sSelf ••....•••.••..••••.... 103 Section B: Addiction Involves the Sacrifice of the Real . ................... 124 Section C: Addiction Involves Freedom's Auto- iv entanglement and the Refusal to Face One's own Anxiety ••••.•..•• 13 o Section D: Addiction Involves One in the Contradictory Effort of Attempting to Absolutely Will the Finite •••••••••••..•••• 13 9 Section E: The Mutual Exclusivity of Addicted and Nonaddicted Modes of Being .. 141 Section F: Addiction is a Function of Despair, Which is a Disrelationship in One's Inmost Being ••.•••....•••• 142 Part Two: Sartre and Addiction ••••••••••••••••... 146 Section A: Addiction as a Phenomenon "Undergone" By an "Imprisoned" Consciousness: The Addict Experiences the Spontaneity that is Consciousness as "Beyond Freedom" •••.•••••.•.• 146 Section B: Addiction is a Habitual Way of Being Emotional and a Phenomenon of Belief •••••.....•. 151 Section C: Addiction is a Function of the Imagination By Way of Self­ induced Hypnagogic Imagery: The Quest for Simultaneous and Symbiotic Self-real-ization and Self-dereal-ization, or How Consciousness Creates for Itself Believable Belief .••••.•. 160 Section D: Addiction is a Phenomenon of Bad Faith ........................... 181 Section E: Addiction is a Basic Fear of the Human Condition: The Addict Prepares Her Own Death •.•...•••. 184 Section F: Addiction: The Illicit Illusion ..•• 191 Reed's Theory of Addiction: A Summation •••..•• 195 4. SARTRE'S THEORY OF LOVE: A THEORY OF ADDICTION •••... 200 Introduction ..................................... 200 v l?Clr"t C>11E! •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 204 Section A: The Phenomenological Reduction in SClrtrE! •••••••••••••••••••••••••• 2 o4 Section B: Conversion and Authenticity in Sartre ••••••••••••• .216 Part Two: Sartrean Love as an Addiction. .234 BIBLIOGRAPHY • . .. .279 VITA .••••...• . .. • 300 vi CHAPTER 1 ADDICTION: DEFINITIONS AND ONTOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS Introduction A wise man once told me that I should write about only that which has got me by the throat. Without a doubt, the phenomenon of addiction and Sartre's notion of love are just such topics. So I am writing, so to speak, my way out of a stranglehold. Writing under such conditions, you may be sure, involves both pain and a sense of exigency, with a searing telos of truth. What I write about has been and is a matter of existence for me, and it is for this pressing and weighty reason that I could do none other than employ phenomenologi­ cal/existential methodology. Before giving a general overview of my methodological commitments operative within this dissertation, I feel it necessary to give a broad overview of what I seek to accom­ plish during the course of this work. In the present chapter, my aim is twofold: (1) To introduce the reader to the subject matter of the dissertation, and (2) To introduce the reader to the methodological underpinnings employed throughout the course of the dissertation. In chapter two, I explicate and analyze Sartre's philosophy of love. Drawing from the vast 8 gamut of his works, I show that he develops two distinct theories of love, and I raise the question concerning the compatibility of these two theories. I conclude that, given Sartre's ontology, no synthesis of the two is possible. Furthermore, I conclude that one of Sartre's theories of love is, within his own ontological framework, an unrealizable ideal. In chapter three, I wish to lay out a comprehensive theory of addiction. I shall draw upon numerous phenomenolog­ ical/existential texts to accomplish this aim. Primarily, I will utilize the writings of Soren Kierkegaard and Jean-Paul Sartre, but I will also employ in a tangential role the thoughts of Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Camus, the Marquis de Sade, Ortega y Gasset, and Friedrich Nietzsche. None of the latter five thinkers are necessary for the coherence and legitimation of my theory of addiction, but serve as addition­ al voices of wisdom, hopefully serving to further illuminate the recesses of the hidden caverns of a dark problem. The voices of de Beauvoir, Camus, Sade, Ortega, and Nietzsche shall be contained in the footnotes of the theory of addic­ tion. These voices embody various intra and inter-paradigma­ tical perspectives on the text, and proffer a meta-level of discourse. Since none of the seven thinkers represented focused on the phenomenon of addiction or offered an analysis of the issue, I must develop my own theory, utilizing the ontological tools they have provided. I have as of yet not 9 seen any thinker off er a philosophical theory of addiction, and it is for this reason as well as those stated in the opening paragraph that I have set before myself this task. Or, possibly better said, I have attended to the task that has been set before me. In chapter four, I show that Sartre's remaining theory of love, given the phenomenological/existential theory of addiction developed in chapter three, is in fact a theory of addiction. I wish to do this by way of addressing and critiquing Sartre's notions of "conversion," "authenticity," and the "phenomenological reduction." In the Sartrean world, I demonstrate, all love is but a species of covert addiction. The Sartrean cosmos, peopled with naught but bad dreams, is found to be a loveless one indeed. Part One Section A A "Subjective" "Definition" of Addiction1 1The following "subjective" "definition" of addiction is written in the first person
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Racism and Bad Faith
    AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF Gregory Alan Jones for the degree ofMaster ofArts in Interdisciplinary Studies in Philosophy, Philosophy and History presented on May 5, 2000. Title: Racism and Bad Faith. Redacted for privacy Abstract approved: Leilani A. Roberts Human beings are condemned to freedom, according to Jean-Paul Sartre's Being and Nothingness. Every individual creates his or her own identity according to choice. Because we choose ourselves, each individual is also completely responsible for his or her actions. This responsibility causes anguish that leads human beings to avoid their freedom in bad faith. Bad faith is an attempt to deceive ourselves that we are less free than we really are. The primary condition of the racist is bad faith. In both awarelblatant and aware/covert racism, the racist in bad faith convinces himself that white people are, according to nature, superior to black people. The racist believes that stereotypes ofblack inferiority are facts. This is the justification for the oppression ofblack people. In a racist society, the bad faith belief ofwhite superiority is institutionalized as a societal norm. Sartre is wrong to believe that all human beings possess absolute freedom to choose. The racist who denies that black people face limited freedom is blaming the victim, and victim blaming is the worst form ofracist bad faith. Taking responsibility for our actions and leading an authentic life is an alternative to the bad faith ofracism. Racism and Bad Faith by Gregory Alan Jones A THESIS submitted to Oregon State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies Presented May 5, 2000 Commencement June 2000 Redacted for privacy Redacted for privacy Redacted for privacy Redacted for privacy Redacted for privacy Redacted for privacy Acknowledgment This thesis has been a long time in coming and could not have been completed without the help ofmany wonderful people.
    [Show full text]
  • Seriously Playful and Playfully Serious: the Helpfulness of Humorous Parody Michael Richard Lucas Clemson University
    Clemson University TigerPrints All Dissertations Dissertations 5-2015 Seriously Playful and Playfully Serious: The Helpfulness of Humorous Parody Michael Richard Lucas Clemson University Follow this and additional works at: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations Recommended Citation Lucas, Michael Richard, "Seriously Playful and Playfully Serious: The eH lpfulness of Humorous Parody" (2015). All Dissertations. 1486. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/1486 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations at TigerPrints. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TigerPrints. For more information, please contact [email protected]. SERIOUSLY PLAYFUL AND PLAYFULLY SERIOUS: THE HELPFULNESS OF HUMOROUS PARODY A Dissertation Presented to the Graduate School of Clemson University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Rhetorics, Communication, and Information Design by Michael Richard Lucas May 2014 Accepted by: Victor J. Vitanza, Committee Chair Stephaine Barczewski Cynthia Haynes Beth Lauritis i ABSTRACT In the following work I create and define the parameters for a specific form of humorous parody. I highlight specific problematic narrative figures that circulate the public sphere and reinforce our serious narrative expectations. However, I demonstrate how critical public pedagogies are able to disrupt these problematic narrative expectations. Humorous parodic narratives are especially equipped to help us in such situations when they work as a critical public/classroom pedagogy, a form of critical rhetoric, and a form of mass narrative therapy. These findings are supported by a rhetorical analysis of these parodic narratives, as I expand upon their ability to provide a practical model for how to create/analyze narratives both inside/outside of the classroom.
    [Show full text]
  • The Note-Books of Samuel Butler
    The Note−Books of Samuel Butler Samuel Butler The Note−Books of Samuel Butler Table of Contents The Note−Books of Samuel Butler..........................................................................................................................1 Samuel Butler.................................................................................................................................................2 THE NOTE−BOOKS OF SAMUEL BUTLER...................................................................................................16 PREFACE....................................................................................................................................................17 BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT...............................................................................................................20 I—LORD, WHAT IS MAN?.......................................................................................................................24 Man........................................................................................................................................................25 Life........................................................................................................................................................26 The World..............................................................................................................................................27 The Individual and the World................................................................................................................28
    [Show full text]
  • The Suspension of Seriousness
    CHAPTER ONE Matters of Life and Death And López Wilson, astigmatic revolutionist come to spy upon his enemy’s terrain, to piss on that frivolous earth and be eyewit- ness to the dying of capitalism while at the same time enjoying its death-orgies. —Carlos Fuentes, La región más transparente (1958) Introduction wentieth-century Mexican philosophy properly considered boasts Tof a number of great thinkers worthy of inclusion in any and all philosophical narratives. The better known of these, Leopoldo Zea, José Vasconcelos, Antonio Caso, Samuel Ramos, and, to a great extent, Octavio Paz, have received their fair share of attention in the United States over the last fifty years, partly due to a concerted effort by a few philosophy professors in the US academy who find it necessary to dis- combobulate the Eurocentric philosophical canon with outsiders. For reasons which I hope to make clear in what follows, Jorge Portilla is not one of these outsiders to which attention has been paid—even in his homeland, where he is more likely to be recognized, not as one of Mex- ico’s most penetrating and attuned minds, but rather by his replicant, López Wilson, a caricature of intelligence and hedonism immortalized by Carlos Fuentes in his first novel. This oversight is unfortunate, since Portilla is by far more outside than the rest; in fact, the rest find approval precisely because they do not stray too far afield, keeping to themes and methodologies in tune with the Western cannon. One major reason for 1 2 The Suspension of Seriousness the lack of attention paid to Portilla has to do with his output, restricted as it is to a handful of essays and the posthumously published text of his major work, Fenomenología del relajo.
    [Show full text]
  • Scaling Seriousness: an Evaluation of Magnitude and Category Scaling Techniques George S
    Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology Volume 66 | Issue 2 Article 8 1975 Scaling Seriousness: An Evaluation of Magnitude and Category Scaling Techniques George S. Bridges Nancy S. Lisagor Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/jclc Part of the Criminal Law Commons, Criminology Commons, and the Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons Recommended Citation George S. Bridges, Nancy S. Lisagor, Scaling Seriousness: An Evaluation of Magnitude and Category Scaling Techniques, 66 J. Crim. L. & Criminology 215 (1975) This Symposium is brought to you for free and open access by Northwestern University School of Law Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology by an authorized editor of Northwestern University School of Law Scholarly Commons. TMI JoURNAL OFCRImINAL LW & CRIMINOLOGY Vol. 66, No. 2 Copyright g 1975 by Northwestern University School of Law Printed in U.S.A. SCALING SERIOUSNESS: AN EVALUATION OF MAGNITUDE AND CATEGORY SCALING TECHNIQUES GEORGE S. BRIDGES* AND NANCY S. LISAGOR** Unidimensional attitude scaling in social re- by delinquency should be measured by scaling search encompasses a variety of measurement attitudes. It was argued: techniques. A relevant issue in the application The criteria for determining degrees of s- of any of these, however, is the extent to riousness must ultimately be determined by which different procedures yield similar re- someone's or some group's subjective interpre- sults. For example, one might expect that since tation. If weights were assigned by a few crim- magnitude and category scales represent two inologists engaged in the task of construct- distinct and different types, of scaling, each ing a mathematical model, we should regard would generate different sets of results.
    [Show full text]
  • Exploring Existential Angst, and the Self in Social Media Existentialism of Jean-Paul Sartre in Nausea
    Exploring Existential Angst, and the Self in Social Media Existentialism of Jean-Paul Sartre in Nausea By Kelly Mansfiled and Christine Onofrey Subjects: ELA, Philosophy, French Grade: 9-12 Introduction: Students will be introduced to Existentialism through discussion and excerpts from Jean-Paul Sartre’s novel, Nausea, which describes a certain vague feeling the main character, Roquentin, calls “nausea”. This feeling is basically a result of suspecting that there is a reality behind what we perceive as reality, an objective and subjective reality or Self. Realizing that upon piercing the veil of existence, there’s a subjective reality that we alone are responsible for creating - this creates a freedom, but also a burden and anxiety or nausea. That subjectivity (or the word “contingency” is used in Nausea) is the 1st principle of Existentialism. You may want to read some additional information to become more familiar with these ideas yourself. We recommend Sartre’s Existentialism is a Humanism for you, or even as extended reading for students. Roquentin’s revelations about reality and human consciousness lead him to his understanding that “existence precedes essence”. We exist first, and then do stuff and define who we are after the fact of existing.The implications of this are that we are all free to define our own essence. We exist, therefore we have anxiety about what to do with ourselves now that we exist. This overwhelming freedom is highly relatable to our students who are coping with their first waves of existential angst, as well as trying to construct their virtual Self/ Selves through multiplying social media and other online platforms.
    [Show full text]
  • What Makes a Crime Serious? Testing Warr's Model of Offence
    Ceza Hukuku ve Kriminoloji Dergisi-Journal of Penal Law and Criminology 2020; 8(1):1-31 ISSN: 2148-6646 / E-ISSN: 2602-3911 http://jplc.istanbul.edu.tr Research Article DOI: 10.26650/JPLC2020-0006 What Makes a Crime Serious? Testing Warr’s Model of Offence Seriousness Bir Suçu Ağır Yapan Nedir? Warr’un Suç Ağırlığı Modelinin Bir Testi Galma AKDENİZ1 1Dr. Öğr. Üyesi, İstanbul Bilgi Üniversitesi, Hukuk Fakültesi, İstanbul, Türkiye ORCID: G.A. 0000-0002-7255-8260 ABSTRACT Warr (1989) proposed that the perceptions of seriousness of different criminal offences are a function of perceptions of harmfulness caused by a crime (consequences of the crime), and perceived wrongfulness of a crime (normative evaluations regarding the crime). The study reported in this paper tested this model and examined the perceptions of seriousness of different offences in a sample of university students in Turkey. It was found that the degree of consensus regarding offence seriousness was much higher for offences judged as more serious. It was further found, when using wrongfulness and harmfulness assessments, that offences clustered into three larger groups: offences that present threat/risk of physical harm/death, property offences, and “minor” offences. Further, Warr’s model was tested on both the offence and the individual level of analysis. The findings suggest that the model indeed holds, however relative strength of harmfulness and wrongfulness, as predictors of crime seriousness, are different in Turkey, compared to findings from the USA and Westernest European countries. On an individual level, it was found that harmfulness was a stronger predictor than wrongfulness in a much larger number of offences, and that on the level of the offence, harmfulness was as strong a predictor of seriousness as wrongfulness.
    [Show full text]
  • MIAMI UNIVERSITY the Graduate School
    MIAMI UNIVERSITY The Graduate School Certificate for Approving the Dissertation We hereby approve the Dissertation of Daniel J. Ciamarra Candidate for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy ______________________________ Director (Tom S. Poetter) ______________________________ Reader (Richard A. Quantz) ______________________________ Reader (Denise Baszile) _____________________________ Graduate School Representative (Bob Burke) ABSTRACT SPEAKING UP: USING A PEDAGOGY OF LOVE TO DEBUNK TECHNICAL TEACHING AND LEARNING PRACTICES by Daniel J. Ciamarra At present, our students are valued for their capacities to thoughtlessly absorb and regurgitate standardized facts and figures. Meanwhile, the affective facets of schooling, such as love, relationality, compassion, acceptance, integrity, and altruism are overlooked by politicians and educational decision makers, who claim these elements lack academic rigor. In this study, I use the dominant views of the educational elect to accentuate the current push for a more standardized, accountable, and scientific approach to schooling. Then, I employ the counternarrative as a methodological tool for talking back, offering up personal stories and experiences that frame the power of agapic love to demystify the normative views of schooling. More specifically, I employ personal narrative as means for providing teachers a voice, one which aims to debunk confounding generalizations or refute common claims about what education is or ought to be. Finally, I analyze the divergent stories through multiple theoretic and practical lenses in order to make meaning of my experiences. Moreover, the counternarratives in this study focus on how agapic love can be utilized in pedagogical and curricular efforts to transcend the present conditions that hinder many students and teachers from being and becoming who they really are.
    [Show full text]
  • "Pierre Loves Horranges": Sartre and Malabou on the Fantastic in Philosophy
    LABYRINTH Vol. 17, No. 2,Winter 2015 CONSTANCE L. MUI (New Orleans) JULIEN S. MURPHY (Portland, Maine) "Pierre Loves Horranges": Sartre and Malabou on the Fantastic in Philosophy Abstract In "Pierre Loves Horranges ", a little noticed essay on Sartre's existential psychoanalysis, emerging French philosopher Catherine Malabou offers a new reading of "Doing and Having", in Sartre's Being and Nothingness for her philosophy of the fantastic. We compare Sartre and Malabou on the fantastic, focusing on their analyses of quality, viscosity and ontological difference. We argue that Malabou's reinterpretation of Sartre's symbolic schema, which serves to make visible the change and exchange in the ontological difference, is valuable for a psychoanalysis of the future, one that comes after metaphysics and deconstruction. Key Words: Sartre, Malabou, ontology, psychoanalysis, plasticity, fantastic Interest in Sartre's existential psychoanalysis has declined in recent years with one notable exception, Catherine Malabou, a rising voice in recent continental philosophy.1 Sartre would no doubt be surprised at how few French women philosophers have garnered attention more than thirty-five years after his death. For instance, Ian James's recent collec- tion, The New French Philosophy, includes only one woman, Catherine Malabou, while other recent French philosophy volumes turn up no other names (Badiou 2012; Gutting 2013, and Mullarkey 2006). Certainly, after Sartre's longstanding encouragement of Beau- voir – she credits him for the idea of The Second Sex – he would pause to learn that the related question of women's subjectivity and autonomy would remain unsettled as Malabou shows in Changing Difference, her work on feminist philosophy and essentialism.
    [Show full text]
  • Why Should a Doctor Read Nausea? a Philosophical Analysis of Depression for Health- Science Majors Sophie Shogren St
    St. Catherine University SOPHIA Antonian Scholars Honors Program School of Humanities, Arts and Sciences 4-2015 Why Should a Doctor Read Nausea? A Philosophical Analysis of Depression for Health- Science Majors Sophie Shogren St. Catherine University Follow this and additional works at: https://sophia.stkate.edu/shas_honors Recommended Citation Shogren, Sophie, "Why Should a Doctor Read Nausea? A Philosophical Analysis of Depression for Health-Science Majors" (2015). Antonian Scholars Honors Program. 34. https://sophia.stkate.edu/shas_honors/34 This Senior Honors Project is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Humanities, Arts and Sciences at SOPHIA. It has been accepted for inclusion in Antonian Scholars Honors Program by an authorized administrator of SOPHIA. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Why Should a Doctor Read Nausea ? A Philosophical Analysis of Depression for Health-Science Majors Sophie Shogren St. Catherine University April 7, 2015 Shogren 2 Acknowledgements My sincerest thanks go to my project adviser, Anne Maloney, who initially encouraged me to pursue a philosophy minor. Her Philosophy of Religion course validated my wonderings about the universe and existence, while Philosophy and Women introduced me to inspiring feminist philosophers, and Philosophy in Literature showed me that literature helps us learn things about ourselves and was the driving factor behind my project. I am grateful to my project committee for their continued feedback and support throughout this process: Geri Chavis, who sparked my interest in bibliotherapy and the profound sense of fulfillment that novels and poetry can instill in us; Susan Hawthorne, whose scientific and philosophical advice helped me focus my project and keep it rooted in philosophy and literature; and Amy Hilden, whose Biomedical Ethics course got me thinking about the intersection of medicine and philosophy.
    [Show full text]
  • The Romance of the Rose
    The Romance of the Rose 179 The Romance of the Rose The Romance of the Rose, an allegorical dream-vision poem stemming from the troubadour tradition of courtly love and written in medieval French, was perhaps the most widely read book in 14th- and 15th-century Europe. During the century of high scholasticism (the 13th), this most influential of all works of medieval romance emerged. It was composed in two stages. Around 1230, Guillaume de Lorris came out with the first 4,058 lines, without quite finishing it. Around 1275 (the year after the death of both Aquinas and Bonaventure), Jean de Meun, a very different personality who studied at the University of Paris and who warred against the mendicant orders, produced a massive amplification of Guillaume’s work, adding 17,724 lines, shifting towards the encyclopedic and dialectic, changing its character from earnest to satiric. C. S. Lewis’s scholarly work The Allegory of Love helped to revive modern interest in the work. Lewis argues for the realism of the allegorical method employed in The Romance: “[This method] was originally forced into existence by a profound moral revolution occurring in the latter days of paganism. For reasons of which we know nothing at all. , men’s gaze was turned inward. But a gaze so turned sees, not the compact ‘character’ of modern fiction, but the contending forces which cannot be described at all except by allegory.” 181 Guillaume de Lorris/Jean de Meun Prologue In the twentieth year of my life, at the time when Love exacts his tribute from young people, I lay down one night, as usual, and slept very soundly.
    [Show full text]
  • Nausea and the Adventures of the Narrative Self Ben Roth1
    How Sartre, Philosopher, Misreads Sartre, Novelist: Nausea and the Adventures of the Narrative Self Ben Roth1 Besides, art is fun and for fun, it has innumerable intentions and charms. Literature interests us on different levels in different fashions. It is full of tricks and magic and deliberate mystification. Literature entertains, it does many things, and philosophy does one thing. Iris Murdoch (1997, p. 4) If there is something comforting—religious, if you want—about paranoia, there is still also anti-paranoia, where nothing is connected to anything, a condition not many of us can bear for long. Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow (p. 434) Both those who write in favor of and against the notion of the narrative self cite Sartre and his novel Nausea as exemplary opponents of it. Alasdair MacIntyre, a central proponent of the narrative self, writes: “Sartre makes Antoine Roquentin argue not just [...] that narrative is very different from life, but that to present human life in the form of a narrative is always to falsify it” (1984, p. 214). Galen Strawson, a critic of narrativity, writes that “Sartre sees the narrative, story-telling impulse as a defect, regrettable. [...] He thinks human Narrativity is essentially a matter of bad faith, of radical (and typically irremediable) inauthenticity” (2004, p. 435). I think that this type of interpretation of Nausea is blindered and bad and relies on an impoverished approach to reading fiction typical of philosophers: of taking one character at one moment as mouthpiece for both a novel as a whole and author behind it. Beginning as it does in description, the novel challenges these conceptual orders rather than taking one side or the other; it thus invites us to rethink the terrain of narrativity.
    [Show full text]