1. Descartes, Individualism, and the Fetal Subject.
- Author
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Wilkin, Rebecca
- Subjects
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INDIVIDUALISM , *SOCIAL theory , *FETUS , *LITERATURE , *PERSONALITY (Theory of knowledge) , *THEORY of knowledge , *FEMINISTS in literature , *SOCIAL groups , *FEMINISM - Abstract
This article discusses René Descartes's concept of individualism. Descartes, accordingly, argued that thought is the essence of the ego. With this idea, it allegedly reflects Descartes' belief that neither the body nor relations with others do constitute a person in any significant way. From this point, the idea has been elevated to include the so-called symbolic fetus in order to uphold his newly-founded belief that personhood is conceived without regard to embodiment or sociability. Many feminists, however, have found themselves dissenting Descartes' idea that in a living person, mind and body form a single substance.
- Published
- 2008
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