Beyond Separateness : The Social Nature Of Human Beings--their Autonomy, Knowledge, And Power

Two very different views of persons permeate our thinking. On the one hand, we are impressed by the many social influences that affect us all. On the other hand, we also demand autonomy and individual rights. We have, at present, no suitable vocabulary for giving their due both to our social nature and to the ways in which we are distinct from one another.In this ambitious and original book, Richard Schmitt criticizes the assumption that human beings are separate from one another—an assumption that underlies much of mainstream Anglo-American philosophy. Instead he proposes, following two decades of work by feminist theorists, that we consider ourselves as being-in-relation. A large part of the book is dedicated to clarifying these two competing views of persons. In the course of this effort the author examines different conceptions of autonomy, empathy, love, knowing, and power.From these discussions emerges a view of persons that illuminates the ways in which each of us is distinct from others and at the same time does justice to our participation in social networks. Schmitt shows that persons have considerable choice over whether to be separate or in-relation. The controversy between these two views is not primarily theoretical but about practice—specifically, political practice. MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict Cover 1 Half Title 2 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Preface 10 1 Autonomy 16 Distinct Bodies and Separate Persons 17 The Autonomy of the Philosophers 19 Autonomy as Self-Ownership, Self-Realization, or Self-Creation 22 Is Autonomy Possible? The Problem of Socialization 25 2 Separateness 32 What Is Separateness? 32 Groups and the Debate over Individualism 35 The Defense of Separateness 38 Joint Actions 41 3 The Critique of Separateness 49 A Case History 50 The Troubles with Separate Autonomy 53 Is Separateness Chosen? 66 Being-in-Relation: Minimal, Covert, or Open 68 Is This One More Attack on Individualism? 70 4 Being-in-Relation 73 Caring 75 Reciprocity 78 Reciprocity and Being-in-Relation 81 Caring for Children 86 Being-in-Relation and Teaching 88 Separateness, Covert Being-in-Relation,~and Openly Chosen Being-in-Relation 92 5 Examples of Being-in-Relation 95 Being-in-Relation and Empathy 95 Autonomy and Conformity 103 Autonomy in-Relation 105 Doubts 112 Separateness, Language, and Philosophy 116 6 Love and Anger 120 Current Views of Love 120 Love in-Relation 126 But What About Unrequited Love? 129 Love and Anger as Forms of Being-in-Relation 132 Love and Anger as Openly Chosen Forms of Being-in-Relation 135 Eros and Agape 138 7 Knowledge: Separate or in-Relation? 139 The Problems of Separate Knowing 140 Social Knowledge 153 Knowing in-Relation 157 Different Kinds of Knowledge 161 8 Power and Empowerment 164 Traditional Conceptions of Power 166 Power and Separateness 166 Problems with the Prevailing Conception of Power 167 An Alternative Theory of Power 169 Power Is Not a Communicative Medium 171 How Power Came to Be Anonymous 173 Covertly in-Relation Power Is Oppressive 175 Covertly in-Relation Power Alienates 177 Empowerment 180 Choosing Empowerment 187 Some Final Thoughts 191 Notes 194 References 203 About the Book and Author 213 Index 214 In This Ambitious And Original Book, Richard Schmitt Moves Beyond The Current Dominant Assumption That Human Beings Are Essentially Separate From One Another. In So Doing, He Provides An Understanding Of How We Can Be In Some Ways Autonomous Beings With Individual Rights And At The Same Time Essentially Social Beings Who Can Be Understood Only In Terms Of Our Social Relations. 1. Autonomy -- 2. Separateness -- 3. The Critique Of Separateness -- 4. Being-in-relation -- 5. Examples Of Being-in-relation -- 6. Love And Anger -- 7. Knowledge: Separate Or In-relation? -- 8. Power And Empowerment. Richard Schmitt. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 188-197) And Index. This book examines in great detail the different aspects of dominant individualistic ideas about persons. It argues that an alternative conception of persons, favored by many feminist thinkers, is more complicated than is often thought but can be shown to be a reasonable and plausible conception.