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Philosophy

Selected Works

2006

Conference papers

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities

Always More Than One Art: Jean-Luc Nancy's The Muses, Ann Taylor Jan 2006

Always More Than One Art: Jean-Luc Nancy's The Muses, Ann Taylor

Ann Taylor

Jean-Luc Nancy begins The Muses with an essay entitled, “Why Are There Several Arts And Not Just One?” It is an ambitious essay, one which calls into question not only the specific aesthetic theories of Hegel and Heidegger, but essentially the entire Western aesthetic tradition. While Nancy provides some interesting discussions of the problem as he considers some of the more prominent aesthetic theories in Western philosophy, to what extent does it matter that we know (or do not know) whether art is singular or plural in essence, or what “art” is at all? What is the purpose of philosophizing …


Fate, Freedom, And Flies: A Consideration Of The Flies And The Oresteia, Ann Taylor Dec 2005

Fate, Freedom, And Flies: A Consideration Of The Flies And The Oresteia, Ann Taylor

Ann Connolly

Jean-Paul Sartre, as an existentialist, puts at the center of his works the question of freedom and responsibility. Existentialism posits the idea that “existence precedes essence,” thus leading to the conclusion that one is only what one makes him or herself to be through his or her actions; no purpose or meaning is pre-given to individuals. Sartre seems to be completely rejecting any ideas of determinism or fate as factors influencing one’s life. The Greeks, on the other hand, speak constantly of the impact of fate and the actions of the gods on the lives of individuals. Perhaps the most …