Selfhood, intersubjectivity, and the normativity of moral obligations

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dc.contributor.advisorCrowell, Steven
dc.creatorSmith, William Hosmer
dc.date.accessioned2018-12-03T18:32:30Z
dc.date.available2018-12-03T18:32:30Z
dc.date.issued2009
dc.description.abstractContemporary analytic philosophers inspired by Kant's practical philosophy have recently attempted present a view of moral obligation that traces the normativity of morality back either to the agent's first-personal autonomy (Christine Korsgaard) or the agent's second-personal interaction with others (Stephen Darwall). In this dissertation, I draw these contributions into conversation with the phenomenological approaches of Edmund Husserl, Martin Heidegger, and Emmanuel Levinas. The solution to the “analytic” problem of moral normativity, I contend, is a “Continental” account of selfhood and intersubjectivity found in phenomenology. The framework for my theory of moral obligation is a Heideggerian understanding of the self as “being-in-the-world,” one that is attuned to Levinasian moments (the experience of obligation in alterity) through a rehabilitation of Heidegger's notion of intersubjectivity as being-with ( Mitsein ). The result is a two-part account of the normativity of morality: the ground of morality itself is second-personal—rooted in the ethical demand intrinsic to other persons—while the ground for particular moral-obligations is first-personal—rooted in the subject's avowal or endorsement of certain ethical norms within a concrete historical situation. Moral obligations, I argue, are those standards to which I hold myself in light of the moral demand for respect I find in the experience of others.
dc.format.extent331 pp
dc.identifier.callnoTHESIS PHIL. 2009 SMITH
dc.identifier.citationSmith, William Hosmer. "Selfhood, intersubjectivity, and the normativity of moral obligations." (2009) Diss., Rice University. <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/1911/103676">https://hdl.handle.net/1911/103676</a>.
dc.identifier.digital304986462
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/103676
dc.language.isoeng
dc.rightsCopyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.
dc.subjectPhilosophy
dc.subjectPhilosophy, religion and theology
dc.subjectDarwall, Stephen L.
dc.subjectHeidegger, Martin
dc.subjectHusserl, Edmund
dc.subjectIntersubjectivity
dc.subjectKorsgaard, Christine M.
dc.subjectLevinas, Emmanuel
dc.subjectMoral obligation
dc.subjectSelfhood
dc.titleSelfhood, intersubjectivity, and the normativity of moral obligations
dc.typeThesis
dc.type.materialText
thesis.degree.departmentPhilosophy
thesis.degree.disciplineHumanities
thesis.degree.grantorRice University
thesis.degree.levelDoctoral
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophy
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