The Enigma of the Natural in Luce Irigaray

Murphy, Ann V.

doi:10.5840/philtoday200145supplement9

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…However, she ultimately advances that the connection between the two is not merely metaphorical: as the establishment of the "masculine," disembodied subject is equally dependent on the contrast between self and a passive nature, the position of women and of nature with respect to the subject end up coinciding. Following Ann V. Murphy (2001), this suggestion arguably radicalises in Irigaray's "later" works and provides the basis, for authors like Stone, to develop the duality view. Following this line of argument, it is not only the case that the roles assigned to nature and to women coincide; more fundamentally, nature is dominated on the basis of its femaleness, and/or women are oppressed because of their physiological proximity to nature.…”

Section: Objectification Women and Naturementioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Limitations of Duality

Pitton

2023

FPQ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The attempt to rearticulate traditional conceptions of nature can be both a useful strategy and a stumbling block when it comes to feminist examinations of the continuity between the objectification of women’s bodies and the domination of nature. This paper contributes to existing debates by providing a critique of what I term the “duality view” of nature: a view stipulating that nature is primarily characterised by a stable sexual duality, and advancing that the objectification of women’s bodies arises because the specificity of “femaleness” is ignored and duality is therefore neglected. I focus, specifically, on Alison Stone’s interpretation of Luce Irigaray, insofar as the account emerging from Stone’s interpretation clearly outlines the principles that most versions of the duality view should endorse. I problematise this account by showing that it becomes inconsistent with the critique of objectification which grounds it in the first place. I conclude by advancing that, overall, a view insisting on a natural sexual duality because of normative reasons conflicts with the feminist considerations at its basis. I also suggest that while the present analysis is primarily condemnatory, it can contribute to the development of feminist philosophies of nature by fleshing out avoidable pitfalls.

show abstract

Section: Objectification Women and Naturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…For an example of this interpretation, see Ann V Murphy's (2001). "The Enigma of the Natural in Luce Irigaray.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Limitations of Duality

Pitton

2023

FPQ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In response to faulty Western metaphysics, Irigaray develops an alternative ontology: a metaphysics of fluids or a process ontology as opposed to a metaphysics of objects or substance ontology (for example, Irigaray , chapter 6; cf. Murphy ; Stone ; Young , 81; Stone ). Drawing on the cosmologies of the pre‐Socratics, philosophies from India and China, and the phenomenology of the female body, Irigaray conceives of matter as active, dynamic, and sexually differentiated.…”

Section: The Task Of Onto‐ethicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating Elizabeth Grosz's Biological Turn

Trappes¹

2019

Hypatia

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Elizabeth Grosz's interpretation of Darwinian evolutionary theory to ground a feminist ontology of biology has been particularly controversial. Most critics have understood Grosz as supporting her theory with empirical evidence, and they criticize her for being either inaccurate or uncritical of and overly dependent on science. I argue that Grosz reads Darwin as a philosopher in a Deleuzian and Irigarayan sense, and that Grosz's project is therefore better understood in terms of its ethical and political goals rather than in terms of empirical adequacy. Employing this evaluative framework leads to a novel route for critique of Grosz's ontology in terms of its reliance on the Darwinian distinction between organism and environment. I conclude that Grosz's work is valuable for the way it maintains ethical and political considerations in feminist ontological debates, and that introducing a more sensitive understanding of the organism–environment relation will lead us closer to a truly feminist ontology of biology.

show abstract

“…There are a range of interpretations of this move: for example, Anne van Leeuwen argues that forgetting in the text is far more important than air, the maternal, or nature, while Ann Murphy claims that these different elements can be seen as being differently othered. 6 I will put these debates to the side and instead focus on air as air, as a material necessity for life.…”

Section: Being In Spheresmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Air Conditions of Philosophy of Education: Toward a Microsphereology of the Classroom

Ford¹

2015

pesf

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Enigma of the Natural in Luce Irigaray

Cited by 8 publications

References 0 publications

Limitations of Duality

Limitations of Duality

Evaluating Elizabeth Grosz's Biological Turn

The Air Conditions of Philosophy of Education: Toward a Microsphereology of the Classroom

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About