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Diss.--Hamburg. / Vita. Bibliography: 7th-10th preliminary p.

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Outside of ourselves, exists the object, independent of the human mind. It is the mere presence of the object that enables one to so much as venture to conceive of such abstract realities as Time, Space and other human and inhuman existences. For the object provokes an awakening of consciousness to the being of these three realities: the object renders form and dimension to space, thus providing concrete reference for the human mind. The object transposes time, as it is situated in a precise and historical moment; or, the object may serve as a reflection of another time and space. And ultimately, the object reminds one that the Other exists by bestowing an identity upon it; in fact, the object creates the other's existence. Yet, the object is a being in itself, a reality that remains perpetually indomitable; the object is the Other. / The fictional text, La chasse aux poils, is a compilation of three short stories in which is brought to light the relation existing between the subject and the object.

The first part of this M.A. thesis is comprised of short stories that focus on the theme of essential lack, exploring the process whereby one discovers that something is lacking and the various ways in which one attempts to fill the void. / The second part consists of an essay on creative writing which proceeds from two main questions: first, is it possible to write when "nothing is happening"?; and secondly, can "nothing" be meaningful? In discussing these questions, we will refer to works of nouveau roman novelists, as well as those of writers such as Rainer-Maria Rilke, John Gardner, Raymond Carver, Milan Kundera and Peter Handke. Through examining these authors' views and approaches to characterization, plot and description, we will show different ways of writing a text though one is starting "from nothing".

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This thesis develops and defends a new version of an old view known as literary cognitivism, which holds that the merit of a literary work as such sometimes depends on its cognitive merit. The newness of my view lies in the way it recommends we think about the cognitive merits of a literary work as they relate to its literary merits. Whereas some cognitivists identify the cognitive merit of a literary work with the truth of its themes and others with its capacity to provide certain non-propositional forms of knowledge, I propose that the cognitive dimension most relevant to literary value is the extent to which it provides certain forms of justification for its themes. In particular, I emphasize two ways in which a literary work can justify its themes: one, by providing evidence that its themes are the products of an intellectually virtuous mind and, two, by expressing its themes within a richly coherent framework of beliefs. I argue that the literary-evaluative significance of these two forms of justification is implicit, in the first case, in literary critical judgments that refer to a work’s didacticism, and, in the second case, in judgments that refer to a work’s thematic coherence. Insofar as it bears on these sources of justification, I contend, the truth or falsity of some non-thematic propositions can be relevant to literary value, though truth is generally not relevant at the thematic level.

This thesis develops and defends a new version of an old view known as literary cognitivism, which holds that the merit of a literary work as such sometimes depends on its cognitive merit. The newness of my view lies in the way it recommends we think about the cognitive merits of a literary work as they relate to its literary merits. Whereas some cognitivists identify the cognitive merit of a literary work with the truth of its themes and others with its capacity to provide certain non-propositional forms of knowledge, I propose that the cognitive dimension most relevant to literary value is the extent to which it provides certain forms of justification for its themes. In particular, I emphasize two ways in which a literary work can justify its themes: one, by providing evidence that its themes are the products of an intellectually virtuous mind and, two, by expressing its themes within a richly coherent framework of beliefs. I argue that the literary-evaluative significance of these two forms of justification is implicit, in the first case, in literary critical judgments that refer to a work’s didacticism, and, in the second case, in judgments that refer to a work’s thematic coherence. Insofar as it bears on these sources of justification, I contend, the truth or falsity of some non-thematic propositions can be relevant to literary value, though truth is generally not relevant at the thematic level.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of English, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Jul 24, 2009). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-11, Section: A, page: 4339. Adviser: Joan Pong Linton.