Univ., Diss.--Konstanz, 2004. / Literaturverz. S. 224 - 230.

Thesis (Honors)--College of William and Mary, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 96-97). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Although written in the late twentieth century, David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest takes place in the twenty-first century and is an extrapolation on social trends, namely the trend of ubiquitous technology and entertainment in American society. In this thesis, I explore, through a twenty-first century perspective, various topics in relation to the theme of technology in the novel. In order to show the all-encompassing influence of this theme, I divide my thesis into two main sections, by looking at the big picture (the structure of the novel) and the small picture (the individual characters and their relationships with one another). In the first chapter, I categorize Infinite Jest as a work of Menippean satire. In doing so, I suggest that the novel mimics the very culture it critiques, the fragmented culture of technology. In the second chapter, I look at the ways in which the characters communicate—or rather, don’t communicate—with one another. Through a discussion on the novel’s monologic quality, I then move into the third chapter, wherein I view the theme of solipsism as a product of the culture of technology. The fourth chapter is an examination of the role of the MacGuffin in the narrative. I argue that Wallace uses the MacGuffin and the novel’s lack of resolution as a metaphor for the search for meaning in a posthumanist world devoid of meaning and clarity. While each chapter contains a distinct discussion, ultimately the overarching goal of this thesis is to explore the effects, as depicted in Infinite Jest, of the posthumanist world on humanity. According to Wallace, good fiction shows the reader what it means to be a human being, yet in a technology and entertainment-driven world, wherein the line between reality and artificiality is blurred, the issue of what it means to be a human being is problematized. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

Note:

In Infinite Jest, David Foster Wallace positions abjection in opposition to empathy. Both psychological phenomena derive from a relationship between two people, but abjection depends on a pushing away and empathy depends on a pulling toward. The experience of either phenomenon results in a blurring of interpersonal boundaries, but there is no intimacy in abjection. Instead, as made evident in the central family of Wallace’s novel, the result of abjection is that an individual retreats into the self, rejecting any attempt at intimacy that might be interpreted as an effort to breach autonomy. This alienation is best countered by empathy, as modeled in Infinite Jest in the practice of “Identification” in Alcoholics Anonymous. To identify with a person is to empathize with him or her: to share perspective and emotion. Empathy, unlike abjection, lasts only for a moment, allowing for the reinstatement of the boundaries of self.

A distinctive feature that separates pragmatism from traditional epistemological positions is its turns to a community of inquirers. The community, as understood by pragmatists, is not merely a collection of individuals, though this is certainly part of the story. Rather, 'community' refers to a much more refined philosophical notion. The community is a framework of rules and standards for proper inference, judgments, and conduct that are determined by inquirers who share membership in a group. In turning to the community, pragmatists reject the methodological individualism of epistemological models produced under the influence of Descartes, and maintain that knowledge can only be secured in an intersubjective context within which substantive discussion and criticism are promoted and conducted. Pragmatists such as Charles S. Peirce, John Dewey, and Wilfrid Sellars and contemporary descendents of pragmatism like Wilfrid Sellars embraced the notion of community and developed the crucial role it plays in evaluating knowledge claims. The aim of this thesis is two-fold. I examine critically the role the community plays in pragmatic epistemology by looking closely at the philosophies of Charles S. Peirce and Wilfrid Sellars. Additionally, I examine whether the turn to community enables pragmatists to respond to philosophical problems that have been hitherto unanswerable by models of knowledge that restrict their focus to the individual. Specifically, I look closely at the problem of solipsism and examine whether pragmatists have the resources for responding to this problem successfully. It is my hope that by undertaking this project we will obtain a clearer picture of pragmatic epistemology and some of the strengths in following pragmatists in making the turn to community. / Master of Arts

Em 1975, no artigo The Meaning of Meaning, Putnam defende a doutrina que ficou conhecida por externalismo semântico. A ideia é a de que os significados das palavras não podem ser estabelecidos por um sujeito em isolamento (ou por uma mente pensada em isolamento). Neste trabalho, investigamos a doutrina de Putnam a partir de várias perspectivas, visando dar ao leitor elementos para compreendê-la em detalhes. Essas perspectivas envolvem a definição precisa do externalismo, o exame dos argumentos com os quais Putnam o defende e, também, a investigação de algumas consequências da doutrina para as filosofias da linguagem, da ciência e da mente. / In 1975, Hilary Putnam published the article The Meaning of Meaning in which he proposed the doctrine that became known as semantic externalism. His idea was that the meaning of words cannot be established by an individual in isolation (or by mind taken in isolation). In this work, we investigate Putnams thesis from several different perspectives, aiming at giving the reader elements to understand it in detail. These perspectives include the precise definition of semantic externalism, the arguments Putnam uses to support it, and the investigation of some consequences of the doctrine for the philosophy of language, the philosophy of science, and the philosophy of mind.

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Em 1975, no artigo The Meaning of Meaning, Putnam defende a doutrina que ficou conhecida por externalismo semântico. A ideia é a de que os significados das palavras não podem ser estabelecidos por um sujeito em isolamento (ou por uma mente pensada em isolamento). Neste trabalho, investigamos a doutrina de Putnam a partir de várias perspectivas, visando dar ao leitor elementos para compreendê-la em detalhes. Essas perspectivas envolvem a definição precisa do externalismo, o exame dos argumentos com os quais Putnam o defende e, também, a investigação de algumas consequências da doutrina para as filosofias da linguagem, da ciência e da mente. / In 1975, Hilary Putnam published the article The Meaning of Meaning in which he proposed the doctrine that became known as semantic externalism. His idea was that the meaning of words cannot be established by an individual in isolation (or by mind taken in isolation). In this work, we investigate Putnams thesis from several different perspectives, aiming at giving the reader elements to understand it in detail. These perspectives include the precise definition of semantic externalism, the arguments Putnam uses to support it, and the investigation of some consequences of the doctrine for the philosophy of language, the philosophy of science, and the philosophy of mind.

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