Existentialism in the Age of Fear Michael S
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A Guide to Deconstruction
A GUIDE TO DECONSTRUCTION January 2003 Prepared by: Bradley Guy, Associate Director University of Florida Center for Construction and Environment M. E. Rinker, Sr., School of Building Construction College of Design, Construction and Planning 101 FAC PO Box 115703 Gainesville, FL 32611-5703 [email protected] And Eleanor M. Gibeau, Environmental Specialist Resource Management Group, Inc. 1143 Central Avenue Sarasota, FL 34236 [email protected] This “Guide for Deconstruction” was made possible by a grant to Charlotte County Florida from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection Innovative Recycling Grant Program. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction.........................................................................................................7 Deconstruction Overview...................................................................................9 Safety First ...................................................................................................................9 Survey ..........................................................................................................................9 Environmental Health and Compliance ........................................................................9 Asbestos Abatement ..................................................................................................10 Contracts and Specifications......................................................................................10 Historic Preservation ..................................................................................................10 -
Problems of Mimetic Characterization in Dostoevsky and Tolstoy
Illusion and Instrument: Problems of Mimetic Characterization in Dostoevsky and Tolstoy By Chloe Susan Liebmann Kitzinger A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Slavic Languages and Literatures in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Irina Paperno, Chair Professor Eric Naiman Professor Dorothy J. Hale Spring 2016 Illusion and Instrument: Problems of Mimetic Characterization in Dostoevsky and Tolstoy © 2016 By Chloe Susan Liebmann Kitzinger Abstract Illusion and Instrument: Problems of Mimetic Characterization in Dostoevsky and Tolstoy by Chloe Susan Liebmann Kitzinger Doctor of Philosophy in Slavic Languages and Literatures University of California, Berkeley Professor Irina Paperno, Chair This dissertation focuses new critical attention on a problem central to the history and theory of the novel, but so far remarkably underexplored: the mimetic illusion that realist characters exist independently from the author’s control, and even from the constraints of form itself. How is this illusion of “life” produced? What conditions maintain it, and at what points does it start to falter? My study investigates the character-systems of three Russian realist novels with widely differing narrative structures — Tolstoy’s War and Peace (1865–1869), and Dostoevsky’s The Adolescent (1875) and The Brothers Karamazov (1879–1880) — that offer rich ground for exploring the sources and limits of mimetic illusion. I suggest, moreover, that Tolstoy and Dostoevsky themselves were preoccupied with this question. Their novels take shape around ambitious projects of characterization that carry them toward the edges of the realist tradition, where the novel begins to give way to other forms of art and thought. -
The Relativism of Blame and Williams' Relativism of Distance
ABSTRACT: Bernard Williams is a sceptic about the objectivity of moral value, embracing instead a certain qualified moral relativism—the ‘relativism of distance’. His attitude to blame too is in part sceptical (he thought it often involved a certain ‘fantasy’). I will argue that the relativism of distance is unconvincing, even incoherent; but also that it is detachable from the rest of Williams’ moral philosophy. I will then go on to propose an entirely localized thesis I call the relativism of blame, which says that when an agent’s moral shortcomings by our lights are a matter of their living according to the moral thinking of their day, judgements of blame are out of order. Finally, I will propose a form of moral judgement we may sometimes quite properly direct towards historically distant agents when blame is inappropriate—moral-epistemic disappointment. Together these two proposals may help release us from the grip of the idea that moral appraisal always involves the potential applicability of blame, and so from a key source of the relativist idea that moral appraisal is inappropriate over distance. The Relativism of Blame and Williams’ Relativism of Distance Must I think of myself as visiting in judgement all the reaches of history? Of course, one can imagine oneself as Kant at the court of King Arthur, disapproving of its injustices, but exactly what grip does this get on one’s ethical or political thought?1 Bernard Williams famously argued for a distinctive brand of moral relativism, which he regarded as capturing the truth in relativism, and which he called the relativism of distance. -
On the Coherence of Sartre's Defense of Existentialism Against The
Untitled 7/12/05 3:41 PM On the Coherence of Sartre’s Defense of Existentialism Against the Essentialist Charge of Ethical Relativism in His “Existentialism and Humanism” Brad Cherry I.Introduction Although its slim volume may suggest otherwise, Jean-Paul Sartre’s “Existentialism and Humanism” treats a wealth of existentialist themes. Indeed, within its pages, Sartre characterizes many of the hallmarks of existentialist thought, including subjectivity, freedom, responsibility, anguish, forlornness, despair, and so on. Perhaps most importantly, however, Sartre’s “Existentialism and Humanism” occasions a defense of existentialism against its most frequently dealt criticisms, particularly the essentialist charge that existentialism necessarily gives rise to ethical relativism. And while this defense may seem convincing at first, in many places, it also seems to abandon, for the sake of its project, the fundamental commitments of existentialism, at least as Sartre understands them. Thus, in this essay, I critically examine the coherence of Sartre’s defense of existentialism against the essentialist charge of ethical relativism. To the extent that that defense relies largely upon his espousal of an existentialist ethics, I examine, in particular, whether that ethics coheres with the fundamental commitments of existentialism as he understands them. Following this examination, I conclude that (a) the fundamental commitments of existentialism preclude Sartre from coherently positing objectively valid normative ethical statements, that (b) because he nonetheless posits such statements in his espousal of an existentialist ethics, his defense of existentialism against the essentialist charge of ethical relativism breaks down, and finally, that (c) although this incoherence presents a substantial problem for Sartre, one may still defend his attempt to espouse an existentialist ethics. -
Spiritual Ecology: on the Way to Ecological Existentialism
religions Article Spiritual Ecology: On the Way to Ecological Existentialism Sam Mickey Theology and Religious Studies, University of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94117, USA; [email protected] Received: 17 September 2020; Accepted: 29 October 2020; Published: 4 November 2020 Abstract: Spiritual ecology is closely related to inquiries into religion and ecology, religion and nature, and religious environmentalism. This article presents considerations of the unique possibilities afforded by the idea of spiritual ecology. On one hand, these possibilities include problematic tendencies in some strands of contemporary spirituality, including anti-intellectualism, a lack of sociopolitical engagement, and complicity in a sense of happiness that is captured by capitalist enclosures and consumerist desires. On the other hand, spiritual ecology promises to involve an existential commitment to solidarity with nonhumans, and it gestures toward ways of knowing and interacting that are more inclusive than what is typically conveyed by the term “religion.” Much work on spiritual ecology is broadly pluralistic, leaving open the question of how to discern the difference between better and worse forms of spiritual ecology. This article affirms that pluralism while also distinguishing between the anti-intellectual, individualistic, and capitalistic possibilities of spiritual ecology from varieties of spiritual ecology that are on the way to what can be described as ecological existentialism or coexistentialism. Keywords: spirituality; existentialism; ecology; animism; pluralism; knowledge 1. Introduction Spiritual ecology, broadly conceived, refers to ways that individuals and communities orient their thinking, feeling, and acting in response to the intersection of religions and spiritualities with ecology, nature, and environmentalism. There are other ways of referring to this topic. -
The Existentialism of Martin Buber and Implications for Education
This dissertation has been microfilmed exactly as received 69-4919 KINER, Edward David, 1939- THE EXISTENTIALISM OF MARTIN BUBER AND IMPLICATIONS FOR EDUCATION. The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1968 Education, general University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan THE EXISTENTIALISM OF MARTIN BUBER AND IMPLICATIONS FOR EDUCATION DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Edward David Kiner, B.A., M.A. ####*### The Ohio State University 1968 Approved by Adviser College of Education This thesis is dedicated to significant others, to warm, vital, concerned people Who have meant much to me and have helped me achieve my self, To people whose lives and beings have manifested "glimpses" of the Eternal Thou, To my wife, Sharyn, and my children, Seth and Debra. VITA February 14* 1939 Born - Cleveland, Ohio 1961......... B.A. Western Reserve University April, 1965..... M.A. Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion June, 1965...... Ordained a Rabbi 1965-1968........ Assistant Rabbi, Temple Israel, Columbus, Ohio 1967-1968...... Director of Religious Education, Columbus, Ohio FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Philosophy of Education Studies in Philosophy of Education, Dr. Everett J. Kircher Studies in Curriculum, Dr. Alexander Frazier Studies in Philosophy, Dr. Marvin Fox ill TABLE OF CONTENTS Page DEDICATION............................................. ii VITA ................................................... iii INTRODUCTION............................ 1 Chapter I. AN INTRODUCTION TO MARTIN BUBER'S THOUGHT....... 6 Philosophical Anthropology I And Thou Martin Buber and Hasidism Buber and Existentialism Conclusion II. EPISTEMOLOGY . 30 Truth Past and Present I-It Knowledge Thinking Philosophy I-Thou Knowledge Complemented by I-It Living Truth Buber as an Ebdstentialist-Intuitionist Implications for Education A Major Problem Education, Inclusion, and the Problem of Criterion Conclusion III. -
'New Era' Should Have Ended US Debate on Beijing's Ambitions
Testimony before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission Hearing on “A ‘China Model?’ Beijing’s Promotion of Alternative Global Norms and Standards” March 13, 2020 “How Xi Jinping’s ‘New Era’ Should Have Ended U.S. Debate on Beijing’s Ambitions” Daniel Tobin Faculty Member, China Studies, National Intelligence University and Senior Associate (Non-resident), Freeman Chair in China Studies, Center for Strategic and International Studies Senator Talent, Senator Goodwin, Honorable Commissioners, thank you for inviting me to testify on China’s promotion of alternative global norms and standards. I am grateful for the opportunity to submit the following statement for the record. Since I teach at National Intelligence University (NIU) which is part of the Department of Defense (DoD), I need to begin by making clear that all statements of fact and opinion below are wholly my own and do not represent the views of NIU, DoD, any of its components, or of the U.S. government. You have asked me to discuss whether China seeks an alternative global order, what that order would look like and aim to achieve, how Beijing sees its future role as differing from the role the United States enjoys today, and also to address the parts played respectively by the Party’s ideology and by its invocation of “Chinese culture” when talking about its ambitions to lead the reform of global governance.1 I want to approach these questions by dissecting the meaning of the “new era for socialism with Chinese characteristics” Xi Jinping proclaimed at the Communist Party of China’s 19th National Congress (afterwards “19th Party Congress”) in October 2017. -
Dostoevsky's Ideal
Student Publications Student Scholarship Fall 2015 Dostoevsky’s Ideal Man Paul A. Eppler Gettysburg College Follow this and additional works at: https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/student_scholarship Part of the Philosophy Commons Share feedback about the accessibility of this item. Eppler, Paul A., "Dostoevsky’s Ideal Man" (2015). Student Publications. 395. https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/student_scholarship/395 This is the author's version of the work. This publication appears in Gettysburg College's institutional repository by permission of the copyright owner for personal use, not for redistribution. Cupola permanent link: https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/student_scholarship/ 395 This open access student research paper is brought to you by The uC pola: Scholarship at Gettysburg College. It has been accepted for inclusion by an authorized administrator of The uC pola. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Dostoevsky’s Ideal Man Abstract This paper aimed to provide a comprehensive examination of the "ideal" Dostoevsky human being. Through comparison of various characters and concepts found in his texts, a kenotic individual, one who is undifferentiated in their love for all of God's creation, was found to be the ultimate to which Dostoevsky believed man could ascend. Keywords Dostoevsky, Christianity, Kenoticism Disciplines Philosophy Comments This paper was written for Professor Vernon Cisney's course, PHIL 368: Reading- Dostoevsky, Fall 2015. This student research paper is available at The uC pola: Scholarship at Gettysburg College: https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/ student_scholarship/395 Dostoevsky’s Ideal Man Paul Eppler Professor Vernon Cisney Reading Dostoevsky I affirm that I have upheld the highest principles of honesty and integrity in my academic work and have not witnessed a violation of the Honor Code. -
The Authenticity of Ambiguity: Dada and Existentialism
THE AUTHENTICITY OF AMBIGUITY: DADA AND EXISTENTIALISM by ELIZABETH FRANCES BENJAMIN A thesis submitted to The University of Birmingham For the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Modern Languages College of Arts and Law University of Birmingham August 2014 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. ii - ABSTRACT - Dada is often dismissed as an anti-art movement that engaged with a limited and merely destructive theoretical impetus. French Existentialism is often condemned for its perceived quietist implications. However, closer analysis reveals a preoccupation with philosophy in the former and with art in the latter. Neither was nonsensical or meaningless, but both reveal a rich individualist ethics aimed at the amelioration of the individual and society. It is through their combined analysis that we can view and productively utilise their alignment. Offering new critical aesthetic and philosophical approaches to Dada as a quintessential part of the European Avant-Garde, this thesis performs a reassessment of the movement as a form of (proto-)Existentialist philosophy. The thesis represents the first major comparative study of Dada and Existentialism, contributing a new perspective on Dada as a movement, a historical legacy, and a philosophical field of study. -
Brains, Beliefs, and Existentialism: Philosophies and Treatments Pertaining to Three Approaches to Social Anxiety Disorder
Running head: BRAINS, BELIEFS, AND EXISTENTIALISM Brains, Beliefs, and Existentialism: Philosophies and Treatments Pertaining to Three Approaches to Social Anxiety Disorder, and the Prospect of a New Mental Health Paradigm Jason Campbell Advised by Michael J. Crowley, Ph.D. Yale University April 20, 2018 BRAINS, BELIEFS, AND EXISTENTIALISM 1 Introduction This paper provides a brief overview of social anxiety disorder, and outlines three approaches discernible in the scientific literature to understanding the etiology and maintenance of social anxiety disorder. The connection of each of these approaches to a certain type of treatment is discussed, as well the philosophical assumptions supporting each of these approaches. These three approaches are then comparatively assessed in terms of their suitability for explaining the etiology and maintenance of social anxiety disorder, with an emphasis on the relationship between dynamics at distinct levels of abstraction. The shortcomings of the current DSM paradigm of mental illness are explored, and how improvements thereof may be related to the development of a more robust understanding of the mechanisms of mindfulness-based interventions. This paper concludes with a brief discussion of the potential value of existential philosophy in grounding and guiding the project of developing a new conceptual framework for mental health and illness that is less susceptible to the criticisms of the current DSM framework, and which can satisfyingly account for the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions for a wide range of psychiatric disorders. Social anxiety disorder Social anxiety disorder (SAD), alternatively referred to as social phobia, is an anxiety disorder that pertains specifically to social situations. SAD affects approximately seven percent of Americans annually (American Psychiatric Association, 2013), and has a lifetime prevalence of approximately twelve percent (Kessler et al., 2005). -
Nietzschean Types in the Brothers Karamazov 139817 –Dr
Copyright is owned by the Author of the thesis. Permission is given for a copy to be downloaded by an individual for the purpose of research and private study only. The thesis may not be reproduced elsewhere without the permission of the Author. Patrick Durkin Nietzschean Types in The Brothers Karamazov 139817 –Dr. William Angus th 11 February 2019 For the Masters of Arts, English Durkin 1 Abstract Nietzsche and Dostoevsky were contemporaries, and Nietzsche especially was known to admire Dostoevsky’s work. Both authors were interested in the study of the basis for human morality, and the search for a redirection of human morality; one in which the problems they saw with the current understanding of acceptable behaviour according to laws, religion and might is right, could be melded in with their own beliefs and struggles with their own mortality and morality. Although Nietzsche’s collection of essays The Genealogy of Morals, (1887) was written 7 years after Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov (1880), it is interesting to note that the main character types that Nietzsche believed created hierarchies that developed and sustained the morality of his time, appear in the form of the main characters in The Brothers Karamazov. This thesis will be looking at the The Brothers Karamazov through the different character ‘types’ and the resulting psychomachia of the three legitimate brothers, the older brothers Dmitri and Ivan, and especially that of Alyosha, the youngest brother. The thesis will focus on both elder brothers’ evolution of thought and action through the progress of the novel, and, importantly, on each brothers’ interactions with Alyosha and the turbulent state of mind they regularly leave their younger sibling in. -
Samuel Beckett and Fyodor Dostoevsky
Metaphysical Comedy: Samuel Beckett and Fyodor Dostoevsky PhD English Literature Ekaterina Gosteva May 2019 I confirm that this is my own work and the use of all material from other sources has been properly and fully acknowledged. ABSTRACT This thesis investigates the connection between Beckett’s comedy and Dostoevsky’s novels in the light of René Girard’s theory of metaphysical desire. While focusing on Beckett’s prose of the 1930s, this study begins with the typology of laughter in Watt. With the help of this passage (employed as a critical tool), the subject of Beckett’s comedy is preliminarily defined as ‘The Unhappy Consciousness’. In Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit, this term is stated with regards to the functions of laughter as a negative response to a threat from a hostile phenomenal world. ‘The risus purus’, which Beckett celebrates as ‘the laugh of laughs’, reveals itself as a satirical attack at Kant’s rational cosmology and Hegel’s phenomenology. A further investigation into this structure provides a link between the genre of comedy in general, Beckett’s comic form and Girard’s theory of mimetic desire, based on the works of Cervantes, Flaubert, Stendhal, Proust and Dostoevsky. The works of these novelists allowed René Girard to articulate a concrete theorization of desire, which binds together literary and anthropological questions. Beckett’s engagement with Dostoevsky remains a blind spot in Beckett studies. Although as early as Proust, Beckett attempted to link Proust and Dostoevsky as the writers whose technique he defined as ‘negative and comic’, the scarcity of his critical comments on Dostoevsky has been an obstacle for scholars trying to identify and analyse their relationship.