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"I-saying" and personhood : a philosophical investigation into the meaning and significance of saying 'I'
Dissertation (D. Phil.) -- University of Stellenbosch, 1995.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2012
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| _version_ | 1867613828298047488 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Craig, Anna Petronella |
| author2 | Van Niekerk, Anton A. |
| author_browse | Craig, Anna Petronella Van Niekerk, Anton A. |
| author_facet | Van Niekerk, Anton A. Craig, Anna Petronella |
| author_sort | Craig, Anna Petronella |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description | Dissertation (D. Phil.) -- University of Stellenbosch, 1995. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/54772 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:42:19.474Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2012 |
| publishDateRange | 2012 |
| publishDateSort | 2012 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/54772 "I-saying" and personhood : a philosophical investigation into the meaning and significance of saying 'I' Craig, Anna Petronella Van Niekerk, Anton A. Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Philosophy. Self Individuality Personality Dissertations -- Philosophy Dissertation (D. Phil.) -- University of Stellenbosch, 1995. The focus of this dissertation is the meaning and significance of the word 'I'. "I" is a little word which seems to express and carry the burden of our moral and legal agency. It is also a word which is shared by all speakers but which is, nonetheless, used to identify and announce a particular someone. This apparent importance of saying 'I' is, however, variously undermined in the history of modern, Western anthropological thought - a situation which certainly does not assist us and which may even work against a project aimed at fashioning a coherent image of ourselves. The author argues that we need, however, to configure an appropriate image of ourselves (from time to time), if we are to make sense of everyday praxis and communication, generally, and if we wish to participate with some sense of direction in the context of our lives. Our lives are increasingly lived on a global (or cosmic) scale. This entails disparate and conflicting situations as well as actual and virtual spaces. It constitutes a context of possibilities which confronts us both with enormous responsibilities and a scale which threatens to overwhelm each one who utters 'I'. It also opens up, and closes, certain possibilities for thinking and talking about ourselves, and for choosing how to become and live a life worth living. This state of affairs represents a challenge. This dissertation interprets it as the challenge to present another image of 'I' - an alternative to the one(-s) that became targets of critical impulses in the philosophical discourse of Modernity. This task is tackled in three sections. In the first (A) metaphysical conceptions of the I-identity in the tradition are discussed and evaluated. Special attention is paid to the work of Descartes (a metaphysical dualist), as well as to Feuerbach and Berkeley, representatives of material and spiritual monism respectively. A critique of postmetaphysical I-images is the theme of the second section (B). In this respect, the contributions of, in particular, Ryle (a behaviourist) and Rorty (a postmodern pluralist) are critically discussed. The third and last section (C) is the authors' own vision of a rehabilitated, dynamic and historically contextualised image of 'I'. It comes to fruition in an alternative image of personhood in which the significance of ideas such as narrativity and bodiliness are integrated. The central claim which guides the reflections undertaken in section C is that when our lives are named, 'storied' and judged worthy by self and others, we have added enough to the idea of 'I' to talk about a particular someone: a moral and juridically accountable agent. This "someone" is embodied, active and changeable, but nevertheless someone who is identified and who announces a discernible standpoint through saying 'I'. The figure: 'here I stand' is in this regard analysed in terms of three focal points, i.e. bodiliness; other-relatedness; and self-relatedness or personhood. Doctoral 2012-08-27T11:36:43Z 2012-08-27T11:36:43Z 1995 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/54772 en Stellenbosch University 254 pages application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | Self Individuality Personality Dissertations -- Philosophy Craig, Anna Petronella "I-saying" and personhood : a philosophical investigation into the meaning and significance of saying 'I' |
| title | "I-saying" and personhood : a philosophical investigation into the meaning and significance of saying 'I' |
| title_full | "I-saying" and personhood : a philosophical investigation into the meaning and significance of saying 'I' |
| title_fullStr | "I-saying" and personhood : a philosophical investigation into the meaning and significance of saying 'I' |
| title_full_unstemmed | "I-saying" and personhood : a philosophical investigation into the meaning and significance of saying 'I' |
| title_short | "I-saying" and personhood : a philosophical investigation into the meaning and significance of saying 'I' |
| title_sort | i saying and personhood a philosophical investigation into the meaning and significance of saying i |
| topic | Self Individuality Personality Dissertations -- Philosophy |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/54772 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT craigannapetronella isayingandpersonhoodaphilosophicalinvestigationintothemeaningandsignificanceofsayingi |