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Thesis
MATERIALITY AND ANIMAL ETHICS IN MARGARET CAVENDISH'S OBSERVATIONS AND BLAZING WORLD
University of West Florida
Master of Arts (MA), University of West Florida
2017
Abstract
In her natural philosophy, Margaret Cavendish adopts a vitalist materialism, theorizing that all material bodies possess sense and reason. Cavendish's appeal to vitalism was not unique for her time although her vitalism in conjunction with her materialism set her natural philosophy apart from that of other theorists. The panpsychism apparent in her natural system and her recognition of sentience in animals differentiates her work from other natural and theological philosophies that denied the existence of a rational faculty in animals. Her philosophical treatise Observations upon Experimental Philosophy and prose-fiction work The Blazing World work together to demonstrate the life value of animals by insisting on animals' reasoning ability. The dialogues in The Blazing World translate the tenets of her philosophy into an imaginative format as discussions between the protagonist and animal characters demonstrate a number of unique animal perspectives. The ethics of her system work against ideologies of human superiority and anthropocentrism. Cavendish also resists the mechanization of the human body and the experimental methods of the New Science. As she grants sense, reasoning, and rationality to all living beings, her system encourages an ethics of empathy and care.
Details
- Title
- MATERIALITY AND ANIMAL ETHICS IN MARGARET CAVENDISH'S OBSERVATIONS AND BLAZING WORLD
- Resource Type
- Thesis
- Publisher
- University of West Florida
- Format
- text
- Identifiers
- 99380090743306600
- Academic Unit
- English
- Language
- English
- Awarding Institution
- University of West Florida; Master of Arts (MA)
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Arts (MA), University of West Florida