Sangam: A Confluence of Knowledge Streams

Iris Murdoch's genealogy of the modern self : retrieving consciousness beyond the linguistic turn.

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dc.contributor Moore, Scott Hunter.
dc.contributor Baylor University. Dept. of Philosophy.
dc.contributor Philosophy.
dc.creator Jordan, Jessy E.G.
dc.date 2008-10-15T14:00:23Z
dc.date 2008-10-15T14:00:23Z
dc.date 2008-08
dc.date 2008-10-15T14:00:23Z
dc.date.accessioned 2022-05-18T11:59:10Z
dc.date.available 2022-05-18T11:59:10Z
dc.identifier http://hdl.handle.net/2104/5240
dc.identifier.uri http://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/CUHPOERS/27683
dc.description Includes bibliographical references (p. 248-257)
dc.description In this dissertation I argue that Murdoch’s philosophical-ethical project is best understood as an anti-Enlightenment genealogical narrative. I maintain that her work consistently displays four fundamental features that typify genealogical accounts: 1) liberation (i.e., subversion) from a dominant philosophical picture; 2) restoration of a previous philosophical picture wrongly dismissed; 3) restoration of practices no longer intelligible on the dominant view; and 4) recovery of an alternative grammar at odds with the dominant philosophical discourse. The dominant philosophical picture Murdoch subverts is the eclipse of consciousness wrought by both the Anglo-analytic and Continental-existentialist traditions. Whether effaced by totalizing linguistic structures or identified with an empty choosing will, Murdoch argues that the forces present within her philosophical context are fundamentally hostile to an adequate conception of consciousness. Her genealogical project attempts to reassert the primacy of consciousness within this antagonistic climate by restoring a Platonic, erotic conception of consciousness. Additionally, Murdoch insists that consciousness is the fundamental form of moral being and that moral transformation, including the practices for that transformation, cannot be understood without a thick conception of consciousness. Murdoch’s account, therefore, refocuses our attention on important practices or techniques of moral purification rendered unintelligible on the dominant view. Finally, Murdoch recovers the Platonic metaphor of the Good, including the conceptual array in which the Good receives its meaning, in an attempt to develop an alternative grammar fit for the task of picturing the complexities and nuances of our ethical situation. I conclude by commenting on both the promising and problematic aspects of Murdoch’s legacy.
dc.description by Jessy E.G. Jordan.
dc.description Ph.D.
dc.format xi, 257 p. : ill.
dc.format 3273639 bytes
dc.format 4950466 bytes
dc.format application/pdf
dc.format application/pdf
dc.format application/pdf
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dc.language en_US
dc.rights Baylor University theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. Contact librarywebmaster@baylor.edu for inquiries about permission.
dc.rights Worldwide access
dc.subject Murdoch, Iris -- Criticism and interpretation.
dc.subject Genealogy (Philosophy)
dc.subject Ethics in literature.
dc.subject Good in literature.
dc.subject Consciousness in literature.
dc.subject Self (Philosophy) in literature.
dc.title Iris Murdoch's genealogy of the modern self : retrieving consciousness beyond the linguistic turn.
dc.type Thesis


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