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Newman, Jay M. "Dear Goth." Youngstown State University / OhioLINK, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ysu1433505706.
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Cavendish-Jones, Colin. "Pavilioned on nothing : nihilism and its counterforces in the works of Oscar Wilde." Thesis, University of St Andrews, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10023/3515.
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This thesis explores the role of Nihilism in Oscar Wilde's thought and writing, beginning with the depiction of Russian Political Nihilism in Wilde's first play; Vera, or the Nihilists and tracing the engagement with philosophical Nihilism in his fiction, drama and essays, up to and including De Profundis. It is argued that Russian Political Nihilism derives from the same sources and expresses the same concerns as the philosophical Nihilism discussed by Nietzsche in The Will to Power, and that Nietzsche and Wilde, working independently, came to a strikingly similar understanding of Nihilism. Philosophical Nihilism is defined in two ways; as the complete absence of values (Absolute Nihilism) and as a sense that, while absolute values may exist, they are unattainable, unknowable or inexpressible (Relative Nihilism). Wilde uses his writing to express Nihilism while simultaneously seeking aesthetic and ethical counterforces to it, eventually coming to see Art and the life of the Artist as the ultimate forms of resistance to Nihilism. Wilde's philosophical views are examined in the context of his time, and in the light of his exceptionally wide reading. He is compared and contrasted with Nietzsche, the philosopher who has done most to shape our view of what Nihilism means, in his ethical and aesthetic response to Nihilism. The conclusion also considers the reception of Wilde's expression of Nihilism and his employment of Art as the only superior counterforce in the first half of the twentieth century, with particular reference to the works of Gide and Proust. Their engagement with Nihilism is explored both in historical context and as a way of addressing a problem which has become uniquely pervasive and pressing in the modern era.
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Kramer, Annett. "Kultur der Verneinung : negatives Denken in Literatur und Philosophie des 19. Jahrhunderts /." Frankfurt am Main [u.a.] : Lang, 2006. http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&doc_number=014599124&line_number=0004&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA.
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Menezes, Rodrigo Inácio Ribeiro Sá. "Existência e escritura em Cioran." Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo, 2016. https://tede2.pucsp.br/handle/handle/11705.
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Cioran (1911-1995) is a Romanian-French thinker who would not have the right to complain about being misunderstood or even ignored, inasmuch as he begged to turn marginality into a philosophical imperative and a lifestyle. Eleven years since his death, in Paris, and one hundred since his birth, in Transylvania, this one author, the perfect stranger in more than one sense, remains largely unknown by the Brazilian audience, scholarly or not, in such a way that his shady aura, so to speak, as well as countless legends and rumors prevail about his life, personality and thought. Having said that, and apart from his own will to marginality, Cioran is a thinker who just can t and will not remain as such for much longer ignored or spurned, be it by Academia as such or by particular intellectual milieus with varied ideological outlooks. All the more when it comes to reflect upon problems which happen to be just as prevailing as worrying, such as the rise of integralism and of fanaticism, be it religious or of any other kind, atheism, skepticism and nihilism in the XXth century, anguish, despair, the metaphysical need of mankind and the sense of ultimate transcendence, suffering, death, suicide, evil, finally, a wide range of questions which are all highly relevant from a philosophical standpoint and also that of human sciences. In the first part of this inquiry, we aim at showing that philosophical pessimism and apophatic dwell mix up in the existential metaphysics of Cioran, a religious philosophy of existence which, not being guided up by the faith in revealed truths and by the adhesion to external authorities, aims to think human existence and condition according to that which is most imperious and essential, in Cioran s view, when it comes to the metaphysical animal: wisdom rather than science, deliverance by disillusion rather than salvation by faith and knowledge, the need for the absolute to the detriment of the delusions of becoming, coping with the contingency inherent to existence, namely human existence, tragically gifted with reflexive consciousness, freedom, a destiny. Cioran s organically existential thought is inseparable from, as he puts it, from his own life experience, namely the insomnia to which he accredits the merit or the fault for his blessed, for his cursed lucidity: a state of mind incompatible with life, turning life into a state of non-suicide . If there is pessimism, skepticism, nihilism, mysticism within the sum of attitudes that composes the works of Cioran, such attitudes which might as well be modalized as reactions to the problem of evil, all these tendencies emanate from insomnia-bred lucidity. Secondly, we shall turn our attention to the topic of Cioran s écriture, with everything it implies, differently than his Romanian writing, as far as style, concern for expression and the aestheticizing of discourse are concerned. We aim at showing that the Farewell to philosophy enounced by the author in A short history of decay (Précis de decomposition), parallel to his literary turn and the radicalization of the fragmentary principle that precedes his French writing, is the paradoxical expression of a negation-driven thought which, by betraying Philosophy with Poetry, Music and Mysticism, cannot help but pay an unheard-of tribute to Human thought and to Philosophy itself. Finally, we argue that Cioran s French works represent, by its form and content, the necessary consequence and exact expression of a lucid, organic thought, which discovers in the écriture de soi the very destiny of Western Philosophy, and in Style as adventure the highest form of modern-thought heroism
Cioran (1911-1995) é um pensador romeno-francês que não teria o direito de reclamar por ser incompreendido e ignorado, pois ele mesmo fez da marginalidade um imperativo filosófico e um estilo de vida. Onze anos após o seu falecimento, em Paris, e cem anos após o seu nascimento, na Transilvânia, este autor, estrangeiro em mais de um sentido, permanece em grande medida desconhecido pelo público brasileiro, acadêmico ou não, fazendo prevalecer sua aura de obscuro e um sem-número de lendas e rumores sobre a sua vida, a sua personalidade, o seu pensamento. Dito isso, e vontade de marginalidade à parte, Cioran é um pensador que não pode ser e não permanecerá sendo por muito tempo ignorado ou desprezado, seja pela Academia como pelos círculos intelectuais com as mais diversas orientações ideológicas. Ainda mais quando se trata de pensar problemáticas, tão atuais quanto preocupantes, como a ascensão do fundamentalismo e do fanatismo, religioso ou de outra natureza, o ateísmo, o ceticismo e o niilismo no século XX, a angústia, o desespero, a necessidade metafísica do homem e o sentido da transcendência, o sofrimento, a morte, o suicídio, o mal, enfim, uma gama de questões altamente relevantes do ponto de vista da filosofia e também de outras disciplinas, como a psicologia e a história. Na primeira parte desta investigação, pessimismo filosófico e misticismo apofático convivem na metafísica existencial de Cioran, uma filosofia religiosa da existência que, sem se pautar pela fé em verdades relevadas e pela adesão a autoridades externas, busca pensar a condição e a existência humanas de acordo com aquilo que é mais urgente e essencial no animal metafísico, segundo o autor: a sabedoria antes que a ciência, a libertação pela desilusão e pelo não-saber antes que a salvação pela crença e pelo conhecimento, a necessidade de absoluto em detrimento da ilusão do devir, o enfrentamento da contingência inerente à existência, e particularmente à existência humana, tragicamente dotada de uma consciência, de uma liberdade, de um destino. O pensamento orgânico de Cioran é inseparável, como ele o reitera, de sua experiência de vida, notadamente a insônia à qual ele atribuiria, posteriormente, o mérito ou a culpa da sua bendita, maldita lucidez: um estado de espírito incompatível com a vida, tornando-a um estado de não-suicídio . Se há pessimismo, ceticismo, niilismo e misticismo na soma de atitudes que é a obra de Cioran, atitudes que podem ser justamente modalizadas como atitudes frente ao problema do mal, todas essas tendências emanam da lucidez gestada a partir de suas noites em branco. Em um segundo momento, nos voltaremos à questão da écriture cioraniana, com tudo o que ela implica, diferentemente da escrita romena, em termos de estilo, preocupação com a forma e estetização do discurso. Pretendemos mostrar como o Adeus à filosofia declarado por Cioran no Breviário de decomposição, concomitantemente à guinada literária e à acentuação do princípio fragmentário que precede sua obra francesa, é a expressão paradoxal de um pensamento da negação que, traindo a filosofia com a poesia, a música e a mística, não deixa de prestar uma homenagem inaudita ao pensamento e à própria Filosofia, doravante irreconhecível. Por fim, argumentamos que a obra francesa de Cioran representa, em forma e conteúdo, a consequência necessária e a expressão exata de um pensamento lúcido e orgânico que descobre na escritura de si o destino da filosofia e no estilo como aventura o grande heroísmo do escritor moderno. Em Cioran, Filosofia e Literatura se juntam numa fuga para dentro do niilismo, como forma de resistir às tentações do nada
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Slocombe, Will. "Postmodern nihilism : theory and literature." Thesis, Aberystwyth University, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/2160/740d7998-8998-4ef7-9514-4174d05cec4a.
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This thesis examines the relationship between nihilism and postmodernism in relation to the sublime, and is divided into two parts: theory and literature. Beginning with histories of nihilism and the sublime, the Enlightenment is constructed as a conflict between the two. Rather than promote a simple binarism, however, nihilism is constructed as a temporally-displaced form of sublimity that is merely labelled as nihilism because of the dominant ideologies at the time. Postmodernism, as a product of the Enlightenment, is therefore implicitly related to both nihilism and the sublime, despite the fact that it is often characterised as either nihilistic or sublime. Whereas prior forms of nihilism are 'modernist' because they seek to codify reality, postmodernism creates a new formulation of nihilism – 'postmodern nihilism' – that is itself sublime. This is explored in relation to a broad survey of postmodern literature through a series of interconnected themes. These themes – apocalypse, the absurd, absence, and space – arise from the debates presented in the theoretical chapters of this thesis, and demonstrate the ways in which nihilism and the sublime interact within postmodern literature. Because of the theoretical and literary debates presented within it, this thesis concludes that it cannot be a thesis at all.
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Williston, Byron. "The problem of nihilism in the philosophy of Nietzsche." Thesis, University of Ottawa (Canada), 1994. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/10203.
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Olivier, Marco René. "Manifestations of nihilism in selected contemporary media." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/437.
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This study focuses on the concept or phenomenon of nihilism, given the regularity with which it manifests itself (to anyone who is aware of it in more or less theoretical or philosophical terms) in all kinds of cultural artifacts such as films, television shows or series, books such as novels or philosophical texts, and magazines. Most of these artifacts can be grouped together under the heading of the media in the present era. The objective of the study is to use the concept of nihilism to identify and analyse selected cases in contemporary media -- in the form of films and television series – to answer the question, with what kinds of nihilism people would come face to face if they knew how to recognize them. The study begins with an outline of a theoretical framework concerning the concept of nihilism. A number of thinkers’ work is used to come to grips with the complex phenomenon, but mostly it is Nietzsche whose thought seems to be valuable for present purposes. In the second chapter the spotlight falls on what is called (in this study) ‘capitalist nihilism’, which seems to belong with what Nietzsche called ‘passive nihilism’, but also seems to exhibit some aspects of ‘active nihilism’. The third chapter is an examination of nihilism in a foreign (Japanese) culture by concentrating on Japanese anime, to test the differences between Western (historically Christian) culture and one with a different cultural and religious history. The last chapter consists of the analysis of a specific (Western) film, I ‘heart’ Huckabees, which was selected because of the variety of ‘nihilisms’ found in it. The study seems to confirm that nihilism is indeed widespread in contemporary, postmodern culture.
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Hernandez, Brian. "Nihilism and the Formulation of a Philosophy of Art." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2011. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc67991/.
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Nihilism is often associated with feelings of despair, hopelessness and meaningless. It is certainly true that once the implications of this philosophy become apparent that these feelings are valid. However, this reaction is merely the first stage of dealing with nihilism and stopping here fails to examine the various types of nihilism that deal specifically with knowledge, ethics, metaphysics, truth, and art. Nihilism at its base is a philosophy that recognizes the history of human thought and what it means to be and to think. My focus is the way in which a completed nihilism is in fact an emancipatory act and the implications it has for art and the artist in the 21st century.
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Jonsson, Jonathan. "Argumenterar Jonathan Tallant framgångsrikt mot mereologisk nihilism?" Thesis, Umeå universitet, Institutionen för idé- och samhällsstudier, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-187520.
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Proponents of mereological nihilism attempt to achieve a simpler metaphysical ideology,a more parsimonious ontology and a solution to paradoxes of composition by denyingthat composition occurs. There are no objects with proper parts, only mereologicalsimples. One criticism of nihilism is that it appears to render propositions in scientificand ordinary language false, such as ‘there is a chair here’. van Inwagen offers usparaphrases of the form ‘there are some simples here arranged chair-wise’ that allowour ordinary language to express a true statement, albeit ontologically imprecise.Bennet argues that this does not really answer the question of composition, it merelymoves it into another one. Instead of ‘when do the xs compose a y?’, the questionbecomes ‘what does the world have to be like for some xs to be arranged y-wise?’Tallant builds on her argument to make the stronger claim that nihilism ultimately fails.This essay examines his argument and contrasts it with Sider’s positive case fornihilism, finding that while Tallant poses a serious challenge to nihilism, it can be met.However, Sider’s replacement of composition with mathematical sets does not doenough to fully answer the challenge of Tallant.
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Boulding, Jacqueline. "Engendering the Overman: On Woman and Nihilism in Nietzsche." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/37196.
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This thesis examines the role of woman within Nietzsche’s late-middle period, through The Gay Science and Thus Spoke Zarathustra, as well as interrogating the more social or political elements of nihilism, in order to conceptualize a novel reading of Nietzsche’s figure of the Overman. The motivation for this project is to create an understanding of the Overman that stands in stark contrast to those interpretations of Nietzsche advanced and deployed by those on the far-right of the political spectrum, who historically have used Nietzsche’s ideas to justify acts of cruelty and violence through an appeal to preservation of the self and of the same. I begin with the idea that woman is representative of truth for Nietzsche through her embodiment of difference, both internal to herself and within her relationship to man. This view of woman within the thesis is led by the work of Luce Irigaray in her work Marine Lover of Friedrich Nietzsche, and a reading of her work alongside Nietzsche’s Gay Science comprise the first chapter. In the second chapter, I chart different typologies of nihilism as advanced by Gilles Deleuze and Alenka Zupančič in order to probe their status as “universal”. I also delve into the eternal return as the process through which nihilism is overcome and the Overman emerges, as perhaps an eternal return of the different rather than the same. In the final chapter, the lessons from the beginning of the thesis are applied to a reading of Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra in order to read difference into that text toward the overcoming of nihilism and the birth of the Overman.
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Morrison, Robert Gerard. "Nihilism and Nietzsche's Buddha : a study of ironic affinities." Thesis, University of Liverpool, 1993. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.333890.
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Johnson, Devon Ralston. "A Philosophical Analysis of Nihilism and Antiblack Racism." Diss., Temple University Libraries, 2013. http://cdm16002.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p245801coll10/id/242733.
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PhilosophyPh.D.
This dissertation offers a philosophical analysis of nihilism and antiblack racism. I argue that nihilism, the phenomenon espoused by Friedrich Nietzsche, is an implicit feature of antiblack racism. As a result of the implicit nihilism involved in antiblack racism, black existential life occupies a black nihilistic situation. In response to the black nihilistic situation, one can respond either weakly, as I argue is the case with Cornel West and Derrick Bell, or strongly, as I argue is the case with Frantz Fanon. I conclude that strong black nihilism is a healthy response to nihilism and antiblack racism because it is a trans-valuation of traditional forms of antiblack racist valuing, which exemplifies a commitment to the language and action of constructing non-decadent human worlds premised upon the existential freedom and responsibility of all human beings.
Temple University--Theses
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Wallenstein, Sven-Olov. "Nihilism, Art, and Technology." Doctoral thesis, Stockholms universitet, Filosofiska institutionen, 2010. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-38737.
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The thesis investigates the role of technology in the formation of the artistic avant-garde, along with various forms of philosophical reflection on this development, with a particular emphasis on Heidegger. Setting out from an analysis of three paradigmatic cases in the interplay between art and technology—the invention of photography, the shift from Futurism to Constructivism, and the interpretation of technology in debates on architectural theory in the 1920s and ’30s—it proceeds to a discussion of three philosophical responses to this development, those found in Walter Benjamin, Martin Heidegger, and Ernst Jünger, all of which share a certain avant-garde sensibility and a notion of art as a response to nihilism. In Heidegger’s postwar writings we see a retreat from the positions of the mid 1930s, and in his reflections on technology a different answer emerges to the question of whether “great art” is still possible: great art is an art that exists precisely by making the founding of a world into something problematic. The fourth part confronts Heidegger’s analysis of technology with the work of an individual artist, the architect Mies van der Rohe, and asks how the “silence”—the withdrawal of language, sense, aesthetic perception, etc.—that is often understood as a precondition for the critical potential of his work should in fact be understood. By examining interpretations that draw on Heidegger via comparisons with other types of critical theory, a different understanding emerges of the relation among nihilism, art, and technology. They form a field of constant modulation, which implies that the concepts that have been the foundation of critical theory, nature, subjectivity, experience, even “being” in Heidegger’s sense, must be subjected to a historical analysis that acknowledges them as ongoing processes of construction, and that also accounts for the capacity of technologies and artistic practices to intervene in the formation of philosophical concepts.The chapters 5, 6 and 7 in the monograph Essays, Lectures for a part of the Ph.D.thesis.
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Qiu, Kui. "Heroic nihilism: Buddhism in the work of Nikos Kazantzakis." The Ohio State University, 1992. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1392113274.
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Pires, de Oliveira Dias Gustavo. "A Philosophically Appealing Nietzschean Theory of Value." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2016. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/1252.
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This thesis is an attempt to bring forth a novel and philosophically appealing reading of Nietzsche, especially as it pertains to his theory of value. I define philosophically appealing as the view with the least amount of inconsistencies that still reaches a simple and logical conclusion. I explore questions regarding Nietzsche’s nihilism, his normative and metaphysical claims, as well as his view on human nature. I aim to satisfy sophisticated readers by investigating complex philosophical issues related to my interpretation of Nietzsche. I also aim to satisfy less sophisticated readers by explaining how my view is applicable, and beneficial, to one’s life. Given that there’s no widespread agreement as to what reading of Nietzsche is correct, the goal of my thesis is to contribute meaningfully to this ongoing debate.
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Ansell-Pearson, K. J. "Nihilism and the will : A study of Nietzsche's moral and political philosophy." Thesis, University of Sussex, 1987. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.381594.
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Sheets, Andrew. "Kierkegaard's Nihilistic Leveling and the Internet." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2017. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/1733.
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In the 1840s, Søren Kierkegaard argued that the creation of impersonal media through the newspaper would level down human possibilities by turning every action into a spectacle for publicity. Nearly 200 years later, with smartphones whipped out to capture the most meaningful and trivial events as soon as they begin, we can ask the question—was Kierkegaard right to be worried?
This essay will construct a Kierkegaardian analytic argument that our society has been leveled derived from Kierkegaard’s views as expressed in his philosophical analysis of leveling and the present age contained in Two Ages: A Literary Review. After arguing that our society is leveled, I will give an account of how leveling has developed and briefly explain Kierkegaard’s solution to leveling. Lastly, I will extrapolate Kierkegaard’s views of the press to the Internet and argue that the Internet presents new technological developments that force him to hold contradictory views on impersonal media.
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Wolfson, Kevin. "Existential Doubt, The Burden of Choice, and Contemporary Nihilism in the 21st Century." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2017. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/1663.
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This thesis seeks to identify, explain, and differentiate the problems of existential doubt and the burden of choice in today’s world versus the previous epochs of human existence. It will attempt to discern the relevant differences in the types of existential doubt, illustrate how these differences came about, and analyze the strength of a potential solution to these problems. My aim is to critique Dreyfus and Kelly’s portrayal and solution to these problems in a way that can further promulgate discussion on an increasingly relevant topic in philosophy, mental health, and science. The conclusion will provide a novel understanding of contemporary nihilism that might be of use in combating this epidemic.
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Altman, Megan Emily. "Heidegger and the Problem of Modern Moral Philosophy." Scholar Commons, 2015. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/5845.
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The guiding question of this project is, "Why does it count as a critique of Heidegger that he does not defend a particular moral position?" A standard criticism levied against Heidegger is that, since he has nothing positive to say about post-Enlightenment moral theory, he has nothing to contribute to moral philosophy, and this marks his greatest shortcoming as a philosopher. Why is there a demand for Heidegger, or any other philosopher, to theorize about morality, when we do not have this expectation for, say, aesthetics, theology, or various other regional domains of human life? Why should we expect Heidegger to theorize about what humans must be like in order to care about and engage in moral thought? Answering these questions involves an extended discussion of ways of understanding ethics in Western philosophical thought, as well as, Heidegger's own view of ethics.
I begin with a detailed exposition of the paradigmatic shift from premodern ethics, as it is based on an understanding of ethos (a form of life with its practical and normative dimensions), to modern conceptions of ethics based on Enlightenment (1750-1850) individualism and the fact-value distinction. This account of the history of ethics in philosophy attempts to demonstrate that the transition to modernity is marked by a schism between Being (ontology) and Ought (ethics) which makes any post-Enlightenment justification of ethics impossible (and helps us see why Heidegger always scoffs at the project of working out an ethics). My primary goal is to prove that Heidegger's appropriation of Aristotle's thought not only challenges the underlying metaphysical assumptions of mainstream moral philosophy, but also shows us a way back to the unity of ethics and ontology. My claim is that Being and Time is an ethics in the same way Nicomachean Ethics is an ethics: both are based on an understanding of the human ethos and attempt to show what is characteristic of a life that is structured by the "ought." This argument sets the stage for uncovering the underlying presuppositions governing two prominent objections raised against Heidegger: the existentialist and nihilistic critiques. I find that these critiques are grounded on the assumption of "ontological individualism." In contrast to this individualistic ontology of the social world, I argue that, for Heidegger, individuality is not an ontological or biological given; rather, it is a relatively rare accomplishment of members of a linguistic community. What is important, in Heidegger's view, is that the ethos is the ontological bedrock of ethics. The ethos does not offer us universal principles or morals rules of the kind modern morality seeks, but it does provide paths, ways of being, and possibilities for living meaningful lives. In the end, all we have are understandings of life in certain domains (art, religion, love, etc.) that provide character ideals that, together with meaningful goals and projects for the whole of our lives, make possible a flourishing ethos.
My secondary goal is to demonstrate that Heidegger undercuts the uncritical presuppositions of much of mainstream moral philosophy and provides an alternative account of ethics that picks up the stick from the other end. I formulate my thesis as an extension of the recent scholarship on Heidegger's work, arguing that Heidegger's emphasis on the human ethos puts forth a proper way of dwelling and Being-at-home within the current of the historical essence of a community. What is original about Heidegger's post-humanist ethics is that it denies the modern Being-Ought distinction and calls us to be ready and prepared to be claimed by Being. Refusing to give an absolute position to anthropomorphism, Heidegger's ethics serves as an attempt to specify what it is to be fully human in the sense of being a respondent who receives an understanding of Being and has to own up to the task of being claimed by Being. If I am correct, then it is a mistake to judge Heidegger's ethics according to whether he succeeds at formulating a list of responsibilities, rights, and obligations of individuals. Whereas modern moral theory is concerned with providing impartial and value-free guidelines and principles for individual behavior, Heidegger is asking about the conditions for the possibility of transforming how one lives. This puts the burden of proof on those who think there is something important about moral theory. The onus of proof rests with those who want to claim that a right way to be human exists and that there is an absolute, unchanging, timeless ground for understanding the right.
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Chu, Tai-Shing Nicky. "The religious and nihilism : a theory of culture in Benjamin, Gadamer, Levinas and Charles Taylor." Thesis, Lancaster University, 1996. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.337436.
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Johnson, Steven Mark. "Was Nietzsche a nihilist?" Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 2000. http://www.tren.com.
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Chamberlain, Franc. "Embodying the spirit : Nihilism and spiritual renovation in the European theatre (1890-1914)." Thesis, University of East Anglia, 1992. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.317568.
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Simmons, Scott M. "Nihilism and Argumentation: a Weakly Pragmatic Defense of Authoritatively Normative Reasons." Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1589996802190052.
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Fox, Devon. "Kierkegaard’s Solution to the Problem of Nihilism: Inwardness and The Paradox of Faith." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2018. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/1745.
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The study of history and philosophy reveals that there have been as many systems of morality as there have been distinct civilizations, and that doubts about morality are inevitable. From growing apathy towards political life to increasing cultural acceptance and toleration of what might be considered immorality in every aspect of society, in today’s modern world it is difficult not to notice these doubts creeping into our way of life. This vacuum of values and tendency towards a weariness and indifference towards life is what is generally called Nihilism. Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophy illustrated perhaps the clearest expression of what he calls “the great danger to mankind . . . a retrospective weariness, the will turning against life, the tender and sorrowful signs of the ultimate illness . . . nihilism” (3). The problem that Nietzsche sets up can be responded to in many ways, however one of the most common is the Hegelian solution that suggests we can imbue content into our values through our universal recognition and our social life. Despite the appeal of this approach, the problem of nihilism remains intact given the contradictions within Hegelian idealism that Nietzsche’s broader theories make apparent. The most promising resolution of the problem of nihilism in fact comes from Soren Kierkegaard, who is able to respond to Nietzsche’s challenges, as well as solve the issues inherent in the Hegelian solution. Kierkegaard’s emphasis on the paradox of faith and on existence creates the basis for his conclusion. He ultimately claims that through a passionate embrace of the paradoxical infinite (faith), which constitutes the essential nature of his conception of inwardness, our values can indeed be real, meaningful, and can give our lives purpose: thereby saving humanity from the nefarious threat of nihilism.
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Werner, Griffin. "Nishitani Keiji’s Solution to the Problem of Nihilism: The Way to Emptiness." Kent State University / OhioLINK, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1585400605200888.
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Schimmoeller, Ethan. "Palliating Nihilism by Physician Aid-in-Dying: On Compassion, Autonomy, and the Question of Suicide." The Ohio State University, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1594485758002202.
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Frascati, Marta. "The kenosis of feminism : an exploration of Christian feminist theology with special reference to Gianni Vattimo." Thesis, McGill University, 1996. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=40123.
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In current discussion among feminists in general and feminist theologians in particular the status of theory, especially concerning essentialism and foundationalism, is a critical question. This study examines the issues pertaining to this question through reference to Nancy Fraser and Linda Nicholson, Susan Thistlethwaite, Sheila Davaney, Rebecca Chopp, and Morny Joy.In order to situate this critical question and its implications for feminist theology, the work of the Italian philosopher Gianni Vattimo (1936-$ ...)$ is explored. Vattimo's work is analyzed in relation to three central aspects of his thought: Vattimo's genuine interpretation of the relation of Martin Heidegger to Friedrich Nietzsche, Vattimo's own approach to nihilism, Vattimo's interpretation of Heidegger's notion of ontological difference compared to Jacques Derrida's differance.
Questions of gender and of sexual difference are rarely addressed by Vattimo. Vattimo's silence on these questions is queried with the help of the work of Carol Bigwood, a Heideggerean ecofeminist, and through the writings of Derrida on sexual diffcrence. It is argued that Vattimo implicitly understands sexual difference in terms of emancipation emerging today in communication technology and the mass media. The link between sexual difference and technology is related to the work of Donna Haraway to indicate some features of today's feminism with regard to technology.
Vattimo's philosophical perspective is related to questions of feminist theology through Heidegger's notion of Verwindung understood by Vattimo as closely related to secularization and the biblical notion of kenosis. This study concludes with an analysis and a critique of the work of Rebecca Chopp, Sallie McFague, and Rosemary Radford Ruether, and it emphasizes the secularizing, kenotic dimension of their thought as the most promising approach to central issues of today's feminism.
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Bani, Nayère. "The eclipse of being : Heidegger on the question of being and nothing and the ground of nihilism." Thesis, University of Warwick, 2002. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/3037/.
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This thesis explores Heidegger’s philosophy of Being and Nothing in the context of the problem of nihilism. Nietzsche diagnosed the present age as an age of nihilism in the sense of a ‘devaluation of the highest values’. Heidegger argues that Nietzsches’s diagnosis suffers from a fundamental failure to question the meaning of ‘nihil’ in ‘nihilism’. This failure is, according to Heidegger, shared by the history of metaphysics which Nietzsche brings to completion, and it is closely connected with the failure of metaphysics to address the question of Being as such. We shall examine the emergence of Heidegger’s early phenomenological approach to the question of Being in his engagement and confrontation with Husserl’s phenomenology, and trace its subsequent development in major writings of his. It will be argued that Heidegger’s philosophy of Being permits for the first time a more adequate understanding of the problem of Nothing. Throughout the thesis, the horizon of the discussion is the question of the meaning and the ground of nihilism, which will also be addressed explicitly through an examination of Heidegger’s confrontation with Nietzsche.
29
Mortson, Darrin Douglas. "Neither nihilism nor absolutism : on comparing the middle paths of Nāgārjuna and Derrida." Thesis, McGill University, 2004. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=83133.
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The current study examines several recent comparisons made between the writings of Nagarjuna and Derrida. The main question under examination is why in particular should such a comparison of two widely different thinkers hold obvious appeal for contemporary scholars? In an attempt to answer this question the comparisons of Robert Magliola, David Loy, Harold Coward and others are analysed as are critiques of this type of comparison presented by Richard Hayes, A. Bharati and others. It is concluded that the basis for these comparisons is a strong concern for a "middle way" perspective between forms of absolutism and nihilism in contemporary Western culture.
30
Fehrman, Franklin. "Negative Dialectics and the Aesthetic Redemption of the Postmodern Subject." ScholarWorks@UNO, 2017. http://scholarworks.uno.edu/honors_theses/89.
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The last half of the twentieth century into the twenty-first century, in the West, has been referred to as postmodern. Postmodernity represents a stage in a society after having passed through a nihilism, itself produced by the universal commodification inherent in late stage capitalism. Here we explore the progress of devaluation through Adorno’s negative dialects to ascertain the potential for truth and authenticity in the object. Informing Adorno’s negative dialectics, were Kant, Hegel, and Marx. Through their dialectics, Adorno postulated the effect of commodities, as objects, within the first part of the 20th century, and how the lack of potential for truth and freedom in these objects anticipated the nihilism of both the late capitalism period, into the postmodern period. This nihilism itself, was anticipated by Nietzsche. Further, this entire focus on and influence of commodities on the individual, from the early twentieth century to the present is referred to as the commodity structure and itself can be equated to Heidegger’s falling prey. Once the subject has had the valuation or meaning of their lives stripped via this universal commodification of the commodity structure, this paper will argue through the works of Heidegger and Nietzsche and the role of the aesthetic, only then can the subject in the postmodern period reclaim qua participation in one’s own becoming towards both truth and authenticity, as well as freedom.
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Gingras, Gisèle. "Le nihilisme nietzschéen dans la philosophie de la religion de Nishitani Keiji /." Thesis, McGill University, 1993. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=69614.
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Two texts by Nishitani, written ten years apart, reflect a very different position on the nietzschean question of the overcoming of nihilism. Although a student of Heidegger's at Freiburg between 1936 and 1939, Nishitani shows no evidence of a heideggerian influence in The Self-Overcoming of Nihilism. In this period (1949), he considers, contrary to Heidegger, that the affirmative aspects of nietzschean philosophy constitute a radical overcoming of nihilism. It is only in What is Religion? (1961) which appears in 1982 as Religion and Nothingness (English translation) that his view changes, reflecting more closely a heideggerian position. Nietzsche's concept of the Will to Power is evidence for Nishitani that Nietzsche enmeshed still in a philosophy of "Being", remains within traditional Western metaphysics. Because in Nishitani's view, Western metaphysics is nihilist, he finally concludes that Nietzsche did not overcome nihilism.This development in Nishitani's thought is considered, in a concluding perspective of the present text, as evidence of the markedly more profound influence of Heidegger on the later, more mature work of Nishitani.
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Vorobiev, Artem. "The Literature of Shibata Renzaburo and a New Perspective on Nihilism in Postwar Japan, 1945 – 1978." The Ohio State University, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1511819753995335.
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Hoag, Trevor L. "The Free Spirit: A Critique of Things in Themselves as a Nihilistic Movement." Ohio : Ohio University, 2007. http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd/view.cgi?ohiou1179433492.
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Vice, Samantha Wynne. "Personal autonomy : philosophy and literature." Thesis, Rhodes University, 1999. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002853.
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Gerald Dworkin's influential account of Personal Autonomy offers the following two conditions for autonomy: (i) Authenticity - the condition that one identify with one's beliefs, desires and values after a process of critical reflection, and (ii) Procedural Independence - the identification in (i) must not be "influenced in ways which make the process of identification in some way alien to the individual" (Dworkin 1989:61). I argue in this thesis that there are cases which fulfil both of Dworkin's conditions, yet are clearly not cases of autonomy. Specifically, I argue that we can best assess the adequacy of Dworkin's account of autonomy through literature, because it provides a unique medium for testing his account on the very terms he sets up for himself - ie. that autonomy apply to, and make sense of, persons leading lives of a certain quality. The examination of two novels - Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day and Henry James's The Portrait of a Lady - shows that Dworkin's explanation of identification and critical reflection is inadequate for capturing their role in autonomy and that he does not pay enough attention to the role of external factors in preventing or supporting autonomy. As an alternative, I offer the following two conditions for autonomy: (i) critical reflection of a certain kind - radical reflection, and (ii) the ability to translate the results of (i) into action - competence. The novels demonstrate that both conditions are dependent upon considerations of the content of one's beliefs, desires, values etc. Certain of these will prevent or hinder the achievement of autonomy because of their content, so autonomy must be understood in relation to substantial considerations, rather than in purely formal terms, as Dworkin argues.
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Kyzer, Dan. "Beyond Nothingness: A Broader Nihilism in Cinema Paradiso by Stephen Goss." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2019. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1538670/.
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Stephen Goss composed Cinema Paradiso, a six-movement suite for solo guitar, as an homage to films and film directors. Goss cites nihilism as a theme in Dogville, the film that inspires the fourth movement, "Mandalay," but I assert that all the films and many musical devices throughout the piece can be read through the lens of nihilism. The first movement, "Paris, Texas," depicts the stark landscape of the opening scene of the 1984 Wim Wenders film of the same name. "Modern Times" chronicles Charlie Chaplin's slapstick-laden descent from the factory to the insane asylum in the opening sequence of his 1936 Modern Times. "Noir" is a tribute to the procedures of film noir: violent storylines that depict the harshness of life, dim lighting, and anti-hero characters, all accompanied by jazz. Lars von Trier's Dogville provides the movement "Mandalay" with its nihilistic meaning, but Goss writes that he invokes the musical style of Kurt Weill's opera The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny. Just as the book people of François Truffaut's Fahrenheit 451 had to pass on books orally, Goss has burned the score for his "451," forcing guitarists to learn it by watching a video and listening to a recording. Finally, the chaotic tarantella, "Tarantino" depicts Uma Thurman's heroin overdose scene in Quinten Tarantino's Pulp Fiction. By analyzing Fredrich Nietzsche's writings to form a broader definition of nihilism and applying that definition first to each film and then to corresponding musical elements in each movement, this paper argues that nihilism acts as a connecting theme throughout Cinema Paradiso.
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Yilmaz, Victoria Bilge. "Nietzschean Nihilism And The Ways To Overcome It In Tom Murphy'." Master's thesis, METU, 2008. http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12609712/index.pdf.
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Nietzschean epistemology involved many subversive elements and, thus, posed a challenge to the Christian epistemology and to other traditional frames of references which appeared after the Enlightenment. With his philosophy Nietzsche problematised many of the traditional givens like the master signifier (God), the other organising principles, and the traditional binary oppositions on which the Western metaphysics was based. He shattered the previous parameters of existence irraparably when he disconnected the individual from his/her illusions by laying bare a decentered universe devoid of any form of meaning, and the result was nihilism in the beginning. Interestingly enough, Nietzschean epistemology also offered ways to overcome this nihilistic stage in an individual&rsquos struggle for a meaningful existence. This thesis is based on the analysis of two plays by Tom Murphy, &ldquo
Bailegangaire&rdquo
and &ldquo
The Sanctuary Lamp&rdquo
, against the background of Nietzschean philosophy and attempts to discover the parallelisms between Murphy&rsquo
s characters and Nietzschean elements in their search for the essence of existence and their desire for a meaningful life. In the plays, self-realisation of an individual, that is, overcoming nihilism, is mainly achieved by means of art and one&rsquo
s individual strength, which is characterised by the ability to endure abyss, affirm life as it is, forget and forgive one&rsquo
s enemies, follow instincts, employ one&rsquo
s will to power, acquire the power and the position of God in one&rsquo
s personal zone, and combine destruction and creation. The playwright conveys an individual&rsquo
s loss of purpose and the inevitable chaos in the aftermath of the death of God and, also, the methods to surmount this nihilistic condition. The study comes to the conclusion that all the above Nietzschean elements build a solid background for Murphy&rsquo
s drama, where the dramatist draws a picture of systematicity of existence of an individual who struggles to attain meaning.
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Skirl, Miguel. "Politik - Wesen, Wiederkehr, Entlastung." Berlin : Duncker & Humblot, 2005. http://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/60116167.html.
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au, 19310449@student murdoch edu, and Joseph Marrable. "Transpersonal literature." Murdoch University, 2003. http://wwwlib.murdoch.edu.au/adt/browse/view/adt-MU20051222.155152.
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What do you get if you apply Ken Wilbers theories of transpersonal psychological development within human consciousness to William Goldings Lord of the Flies or Conrads Heart of Darkness, or Shakespeares Hamlet? Can they provide a clear interpretative tool in order to uncover the intentional or unintentional aspects of consciousness development contained within them? Do these literary texts reveal a coherent quest for knowledge of human consciousness, the nature of good and evil, and the ineffable question of spirit? Is there a case for presenting a transpersonal perspective of literature in order to expound the theories of this psychological discipline? Can literary texts provide materials that are unique to that art form and can be explicated by knowledge of transpersonal psychology? Is there an evolutionary motion, which is not necessarily historically chronological but nonetheless displays a developmental map of human consciousness across literary works? In other words, can we see a hierarchical framework along the lines of consciousness development as proposed by Ken Wilber, that suggests a movement up the evolutionary ladder of consciousness from Lord of the Flies to Hamlet and beyond? Can we counter oppose Lord of the Flies and Hamlet, suggesting that the first is a fable of regression to transpersonal evil within a cultural community and the second sees Hamlet attempt to avoid this path in order to move toward the transcendence of ego and self, within the individual? If this is so then we should be able to plot both paths relative to the models of development traced in Wilbers theories and interpret the texts according to this framework. What is the relationship between transpersonal aspects of consciousness and literature? And what are the effects upon the cultural consciousness of human evolution that literature has had so much to inform? How do the literary works of individuals inform the cultural consciousness and transcend the age in which they are written? Equally we should be able to test the theories with the aid of some texts of literature especially those works which are of, and about consciousness. What does this mean to the literary interpretation of these texts? How does it differ from other interpretations? What are the pitfalls and what disclaimers need to be put in place? Is the difference between the notion of a transpersonal evil and a transpersonal good simply a matter of individual moral choice?
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Elamin, Ali. "Nietzsche on truth in the contexts of nihilism and health." Thesis, [College Station, Tex. : Texas A&M University, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2108.
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Biermann, Brett Christopher. "Travelling philosophy from literature to film /." [S.l. : Amsterdam : s.n.] ; Universiteit van Amsterdam [Host], 2006. http://dare.uva.nl/document/51450.
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Punsly, Kathryn. "The Influence of Nietzsche and Schopenhauer on Hermann Hesse." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2012. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/347.
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In my first chapter, I will discuss the mark of Cain at greater length and introduce the idea of daemon. In the second chapter, I will discuss how it functions as part of Nietzschean active nihilism. Finally, in the third chapter, I will explore the problem of somberness and the problem of fanaticism, and see how Hesse tries to resolve these two problems.
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Matsalia, Brandon L. "THE DYNAMICS OF XENOGENETICS AND SECTRANRIANISM IN LOVECRAFTIAN HORROR: A STUDY OF NIHILISM AND SCIENTIFIC UPHEAVAL." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2014. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd/6.
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The purpose of this thesis project is to affix the attention of Lovecraftian scholarship on the oft ignored racism that pervades many of H.P. Lovecraft’s better known short stories. Existing scholarship revolves around an inordinate focus on the cosmic aesthetic of Lovecraftian horror and Lovecraft’s professed nihilism. The consequence of such criticism is that similar critical readings are produced, contributing to a rhetorical atrophy that prohibits the possible depth of scholarly inquiry. Indeed this limitation is made apparent by the small pool of scholars that produce the majority of Lovecraft scholarship.
I seek to broaden the current discourse, and thus invite additional scholarly voices, by introducing a critical lens that allows readers to rethink Lovecraftian horror from a new perspective. Whereas most Lovecraftian scholarship relies on a biographical lens with which to interpret Lovecraft’s works, I will be combining biographical insight with historical context to create a new framework from which readers can address the racism found in Lovecraft’s works in relations to external influences and paradigms.
My methodology consists of historicizing Lovecraft and his works within the White racist power structure that defined not only the interaction of Whites and non-Whites, but the collective mindset of contemporaneous White American culture. Specifically, I will introduce three of Lovecraft’s stories as part of a broader social discourse on race and ontology. The stories in question are “The Call of Cthulhu”, “Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn” and “Hebert West: Re-Animator”.
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Cho, Ju Gwan. "Time philosophy in Derzhavin's poetics /." The Ohio State University, 1991. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1487694389392671.
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Chagas, José Soares das 1983. "A arte e o niilismo : Albert Camus e o ethos do absurdo e da revolta /." São Paulo, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/11449/180364.
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Orientador: Mario Fernando BolognesiBanca: Anderson de Souza Zanetti
Banca: Alessandro Rodrigues Pimenta
Banca: Karylleila dos Santos Andrade
Banca: Paulo Sérgio Gomes Soares
Resumo: O objetivo deste trabalho é analisar o niilismo que permeia as produções culturais e o pensamento contemporâneos, a partir dos conceitos de absurdo e revolta de Albert Camus (1913-1960), como ethos possível de uma vida que não se nega a si mesma e se faz semelhante à arte, a saber: criadora. Trata-se de buscar compreender a época das duas guerras mundiais (primeira metade do século XX), em que assassinatos e crueldades receberam estatuto de inocência e razoabilidade por parte da filosofia e da ciência. Neste cenário, a arte compartilha do espírito hodierno da revolta. Mas, ao mesmo tempo, serve de parâmetro de uma ação que busca a unidade na criação, sem cair na negação niilista do suicídio, do assassinato ou de regimes totalitários. Para esta análise, a metodologia hermenêutica empregada consiste numa imersão na obra ensaística, romanesca e dramatúrgica de Camus que busca, ao longo de seus textos, individuar e discutir a problemática niilista em relação com a arte, dentro das preocupações estéticas e poéticas, as quais constituem o horizonte reflexivo do autor. Também lançamos mão das reflexões de Nietzsche como obra de apoio para desenvolver o significado, a origem e a história do niilismo. A partir disso, dividimos a nossa tese em três capítulos: 1 - diagnóstico histórico do niilismo com base no pensamento nietzschiano e na apropriação que o franco-argelino fez do pensador alemão; 2 - a abordagem da relação entre o conceito de niilismo e absurdo e como este se torna um mod... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo)
Abstract: The has the obj ective of this work is to analyze the nihilism that permeates contemporary cultural production, from the concepts of absurdity and rebellion of Albert Camus (1913 - 1960), as possible ethos of a life that does not deny itself and makes it similar to art, nam ely: creative. It is a question of understanding the time of the two world wars (f irst half of the 20th century ), when murders and cruelties were given innocent and reasonable status by philosophy and science. In this scenario, an art shared by the current spirit of revolt. However, at the same time, serve s as a parameter of an action that seeks the production, without suicide, of suicide, murder or totalitarian regimes. For this analysis, the hermeneutic methodology employed consists of an immersion in the essays, romanesca and dramaturgica work of Camu s that searches, throughout in their texts, to identify and discuss the nihilistic problematic in relation to art, within the aesthetic and poetic concerns, which constitute the reflective horizon of t he auth or. We also use Nietzsche's reflections as a support to develop the meaning, an origin and a history of nihilism . From this, we divide our thesis into three chapters : 1 - historical diagnosis of nihilism on the basis of Nietzschean thought and the a ppropri ation that the Franco - Algerian made of the German thinker; 2 - the approach of the relationship between the concept of nihilism and absurdity and how this becomes a model of life and ar... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)
Doutor
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Groenewald, Andre Johannes. "Nietzsche's impulse towards the development of a concept of God that transcends modern atheism and theism a philosophical theological study /." Pretoria : [s.n.], 2004. http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-10052004-065904/.
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Moon, Shane Phoenix. "The Search for Meaning and Morality in the Works of Cormac McCarthy." Wright State University / OhioLINK, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=wright1431165514.
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Antonova, Antonia Ivo. "Finding Truth in Literature." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2015. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/992.
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This thesis uses Amy Kind’s defense of epistemic relevance in imagination to examine how and when true beliefs imparted in literary imaginings are justified as knowledge. I will show that readers’ literary imaginings must pass a test of epistemic relevance, as well as be paired with a strong affirming emotional response in order to justify the truth behind the beliefs they impart. I believe the justificatory affective response is a kind of non-propositional emotional imagining, distinct from the type of literary imaginings that initially imparted the beliefs. Due to this thesis’ focus on the justificatory power of literary imaginings related to emotion, my work shows how literature can provide new knowledge to the philosophical realms of ethics and emotion. Literary implications in other types of philosophical inquiry still remain unexplored.
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Walmsley, Peter Samuel. "The rhetoric of Berkeley's philosophy." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1987. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.254447.
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Davis, C. "Michael Tournier : Philosophy and fiction." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1986. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.375871.
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Kerr, Joanna. "Learning from the novel : feminism, philosophy, literature." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/26656.
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Analytic philosophy since Plato has been notoriously hostile to literature, and yet in recent years, increasing numbers of philosophers within the tradition have sought to take seriously the question of how it is that literature can be philosophical. Analytic philosophy has also been noted for its hostility to women and resistance to feminism. In this thesis I seek to make connections between firstly the prejudice against, and then the potential for, the contribution of the perspectives of literature and feminism in philosophy, attempting to answer simultaneously the two questions; How can literature be philosophical? How can feminists write philosophy? In the sense that I attempt to take these questions seriously, and answer them precisely, this thesis fits into the analytic philosophical tradition. However, my response to these questions, and thus the majority of this thesis, takes the form of a non-traditional demonstration of the philosophical potential of literature presented through three feminist literary genres; autographical fiction, utopian fiction, and detective fiction. Using generic divisions seems to be an appropriate strategy for reclaiming literature as philosophical, since it suggests an identification with the Aristotelian defence of literary arts against Plato's assault. However, I will argue that these literary genres have traditionally been defined in terms which prohibit a philosophical reading. I will expose and then recover this anti-philosophical bias, particularly when it coincides with feminist genre revisions. This recovery will take the form of a philosophical reconceptualizing of each genre, and a specific comparative analysis of two texts adopted as representative of each genre as I conceive it. In this way I hope to show that it is not only possible, but highly advantageous, to learn from the novel.