Dissertation
Abstract
"Evolutionary Love"
in Theory and Practice
by
Michael Joseph Ventimiglia
Degree: Ph.D.
Year: 2001
Pages: 00209
Institution: The
Advisora: Douglas Anderson, Carl Hausman
Source: DAI, 62, no. 12A (2001): p. 4200
Standard
No: ISBN: 0-493-49106-6
The cosmology of Charles Peirce is amongst the
least celebrated aspects of his thought. It is typically considered far too
anthropomorphic to be a serious contribution to our understanding of the
evolution of reality. While this anthropomorphism may or may not disqualify the
cosmology from serious scientific consideration, it is quite possible that the
cosmology does offer philosophical insights about the very human experience
that inspired it. In this dissertation I offer a "reclaiming" of the
Peircean cosmology. My intent is to look to the Peircean cosmology not for
insights about the growth of the cosmos as such, but for insights about the
growing self.
Specifically,
the dissertation takes cue from Peirce's 1893 essay "Evolutionary
Love" which claims that "growth comes only from love" or agape. The majority of the dissertation
is dedicated to a historically and biologically informed examination of the
relation between agape and growth in
Peirce's philosophy. My hope, however, is to not only to clarify the specifics
of this relationship in theory, but to apply Peirce's account of agapastic
growth to an experientially persuasive account of the evolution of the self.
SUBJECT(S)
Descriptor: PHILOSOPHY
Accession
No: AAI3036157
Provider: OCLC
Database: Dissertations