The monster in the mirror : Delisle de Sales and the human body in 'De la Philosophie de la Nature'
This thesis is a comparative study of cross-century and interdisciplinary materials, highlighting the continued significance of Enlightenment thought, as represented by de Sales, for some present-day social and ethical questions. Scientific knowledge acts as a frame through which to view de Sales's discourse on the monstrous. The argument seeks both to bring out the implication, in de Sales's text, of some of the scientific and moral aberrations of our time, and to give this writer credit for having managed, better than many have managed today, to uphold humane principles above certain excesses of the will to classify the human. To achieve this aim, extensive use is made of what may seem to be unrelated texts from different periods, situating definitions of difference within a broad intertext. This should help specify the origins of the 'enlightened' twentieth century, and perhaps its destination. The thesis concentrates on how notions of physical difference operate at once on a social and personal level. Physical difference cannot be reduced to a subjective negative evaluation, as all evaluations of differences can be said to lead to objectification of the differentiated subject, an objectively negative evaluation
Grieshaber, VeÌreÌne
Enlightenment; Monstrous; Beauty; Social reality
The monster in the mirror : Delisle de Sales and the human body in 'De la Philosophie de la Nature'. This thesis is a comparative study of cross-century and interdisciplinary materials, highlighting the continued significance of Enlightenment thought, as represented by de Sales, for some present-day social and ethical questions. Scientific knowledge acts as a frame through which to view de Sales's discourse on the monstrous. The argument seeks both to bring out the implication, in de Sales's text, of some of the scientific and moral aberrations of our time, and to give this writer credit for having managed, better than many have managed today, to uphold humane principles above certain excesses of the will to classify the human. To achieve this aim, extensive use is made of what may seem to be unrelated texts from different periods, situating definitions of difference within a broad intertext. This should help specify the origins of the 'enlightened' twentieth century, and perhaps its destination. The thesis concentrates on how notions of physical difference operate at once on a social and personal level. Physical difference cannot be reduced to a subjective negative evaluation, as all evaluations of differences can be said to lead to objectification of the differentiated subject, an objectively negative evaluation
monster mirror human_body nature comparative_study cross century interdisciplinary material highlight continue significance enlightenment thought represent present_day social ethical question scientific_knowledge act frame view discourse argument_seek bring implication text scientific moral time give writer credit manage good many manage today uphold principle certain excess classify human achieve_aim extensive_use make may seem unrelated texts different_period situate definition difference within_broad help specify origin twentieth_century perhaps destination concentrate notion physical difference operate social personal level physical difference reduce subjective negative evaluation evaluation difference say lead objectification differentiate subject objectively negative evaluation