Courageous Vulnerability: Ethics and Knowledge in Proust, Bergson, Marcel, and James (Studies in Contemporary Phenomenology, 2)

This work develops the ethical attitude of courageous vulnerability through the integration of Marcel Proust's novel In Search of Lost Time and the philosophies of Henri Bergson, William James, and Gabriel Marcel. Central to the discussion is the phenomenon of involuntary memory, taken from common experience but "discovered" and made visible by Proust. Through the connection between a variety of themes from both Continental and American schools of thought such as Bergson's phenomenological account of the artist, James' "will to believe," and Marcel's "creative fidelity," the courageously vulnerable individual is shown to take seriously the ethical implications of the knowledge gained from involuntary memories and similar "privileged moments," and do justice to the "something more" which, though part of our experience of ourselves and others, escapes rigid philosophical analysis. Contents......Page 8 Introduction......Page 10 Introduction......Page 20 Involuntary Memory: An Unusual Pleasure Caused by an Identity of Sensations......Page 21 Privileged Moments of the Imagination......Page 28 Pleasurable Certainty and Wonder......Page 33 Couvercles, Obligation, and Obstacles to the Search......Page 37 La réalité pressentie: Joy and Sorrow in the Privileged Moment......Page 41 Felt Knowledge......Page 49 Epistemic Responsibility......Page 53 Conclusion......Page 56 Introduction......Page 58 Bergson: Intuition and Intellect......Page 59 The Task of the Artist......Page 68 The Problem of Language and the Freshness of Experience......Page 76 Courageous Vulnerability: Preliminary Remarks......Page 80 Courageous Vulnerability at Work......Page 86 Conclusion......Page 89 Introduction......Page 92 Bergson on James, James on Bergson......Page 93 Vagueness and/in Language......Page 98 Pragmatic Meaning and Truth......Page 105 The Sentiment of Rationality and Anhedonia......Page 113 Anhedonia and the Broken World of À la recherche......Page 122 Marcel’s Distinction between Problem and Mystery......Page 127 Primary and Secondary Reflection, Despair and Hope......Page 131 Conclusion......Page 134 Introduction......Page 136 Stendhal’s Crystallization......Page 137 Albertine a Stone round Which Snow Has Gathered......Page 139 Love Regained in Absence......Page 144 Love and the Role of Habit......Page 146 Love as a Poetical Action: Albertine an Unconscious Thing of Beauty......Page 149 Love as the Desire to Possess......Page 152 The Tragedy of Having......Page 156 The Tragedy of Desire......Page 163 Presence Made Impossible by l’avoir-implication......Page 165 Conclusion......Page 173 Introduction......Page 176 Religion, Mysticism, and the Privileged Moment......Page 177 Anhedonia Dispelled by Uneven Paving Stones......Page 181 Mystical Moments in À la recherche......Page 185 The Place of the Privileged Moment on James’ Mystical Ladder......Page 188 Invitation to a Strenuous Pursuit of Involuntary Memory......Page 191 Zest and the Mystic Sense of Hidden Meaning......Page 196 The Will to Believe in Privileged Moments......Page 200 Conclusion......Page 211 Introduction......Page 214 Fidelity and Death in À la recherche......Page 215 The Will to Believe in Presence......Page 222 Sincups and Effigies: A Critique of Creative Fidelity......Page 227 Conclusion: The Difficulty of Being Courageously Vulnerable......Page 237 Epilogue......Page 246 Bibliography......Page 252 Index......Page 256

This work develops the ethical attitude of courageous vulnerability through the integration of Marcel Proust's novel In Search of Lost Time and the philosophies of Henri Bergson, William James, and Gabriel Marcel. Central to the discussion is the phenomenon of involuntary memory, taken from common experience but "discovered" and made visible by Proust. Through the connection between a variety of themes from both Continental and American schools of thought such as Bergson's phenomenological account of the artist, James' "will to believe," and Marcel's "creative fidelity," the courageously vulnerable individual is shown to take seriously the ethical implications of the knowledge gained from involuntary memories and similar "privileged moments," and do just$$$ "something more" which, though part of our experience or ourselves and others, escapes rigid philosophical analysis.

This work develops the ethical attitude of courageous vulnerability through the integration of the phenomenon of involuntary memory in Marcel Proust's work and a variety of closely related themes taken from the philosophies of Henri Bergson, William James, and Gabriel Marcel