Metaphysics is usually associated with that part of the philosophical tradition which asks about last things; questions such as: How many substances are there in the world? Which is more fundamental; quantity or quality? Are events prior to things; or do they happen to those things? While he wasnt a philosopher; Shakespeare was obviously interested in ultimates of this sort. Instead of probing these issues with argument; however; he did so with plays. Shakespearean Metaphysics argues for Shakespeares inclusion within a metaphysical tradition that opposes empiricism and Cartesian dualism. Through close readings of three major plays - The Tempest; King Lear and Twelfth Night - Witmore proposes that Shakespeares manner of depicting life on stage itself constitutes an answer to metaphysical questions raised by later thinkers as Spinoza; Bergson; and Whitehead. Each of these readings shifts the interpretative frame around the plays in radical ways; taken together they show the limits of our understanding of theatrical play as an illusion generated by the physical circumstances of production.
#2351194 in eBooks 2011-11-17 2011-11-17File Name: B0069CXA00
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