Self Creation and Social Critique: Kierkegaard, Arendt, and Castoriadis on Thinking and Discourse

In this essay, I respond critically to two social phenomena: the unreflective repetition of values and the problem of a democracy in name only. After revealing the stakes of the project through an introduction to the three main thinkers and some central contemporary issues that are particularly illustrative of the focal problems, I devote the three middle chapters to an examination of the public space and indirect communication as found in the work of, respectively, Cornelius Castoriadis, Hannah Arendt, and Søren Kierkegaard. I argue that when taken in concert, these three figures present a cogent account of how people ought to cultivate an ethos of critique or resistance, while nonetheless acknowledging that political participation is itself a mode of form-giving, or stabilization of social relations. The delicate balance between form-giving and critical resistance becomes central to the project, as does the relationship between the public space (Castoriadis and Arendt) and indirect communication (Kierkegaard). Political action is ultimately an educative process that fuels the productive questioning of values and the undermining of foundational principles, two essential aspects of genuine democracy and active, lucid self-creation.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Philosophy

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Toledo

Year dc:date

2013

Author dc:creator

• Rogerson, Nicholas T.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Grazzini, Benjamin

• Philosophy
• Arendt
• Kierkegaard
• Castoriadis
• Social-Political Philosophy
• Democracy
• Self-Institution
• Public Space

Statement dc:rights

• unrestricted
• This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1365191587

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:etd.ohiolink.edu:toledo1365191587