The aesthetics of existence: Nietzsche and Merleau-Ponty on the body |
Posted on:2011-08-13 | Degree:M.A | Type:Thesis |
University:The American University | Candidate:Beasley, Kevin Allen | Full Text:PDF |
GTID:2445390002466147 | Subject:Philosophy |
Abstract/Summary: | |
The purpose of this paper is to appropriate Nietzsche and Merleau-Ponty's criticisms of metaphysical dualism to argue for an embodied account of human existence that is grounded aesthetically rather than morally. I begin with Nietzsche's criticism of metaphysical dualism as it relates to rationality and Christianity and demonstrate the limitation of these frameworks to account for human existence. I then buttress Nietzsche's criticism with Merleau-Ponty's embodied notion of consciousness to argue for a position that incorporates the existence of others in the notion of the self and argue that the rejection of traditional notions of human existence does not imply a denial of meaning and ethics but opens new paths in which these instances may be realized through embodied consciousness. |
Keywords/Search Tags: | Existence, Embodied |
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