The Philosophy of Virginia Woolf : moments of becoming / Thomas Nail.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Nail, Thomas, author.

Contributor:

Bloomsbury (Firm), publisher.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Woolf, Virginia, 1882-1941--Criticism and interpretation.

Woolf, Virginia.

Woolf, Virginia, 1882-1941--Philosophy.

Woolf, Virginia, 1882-1941.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (320 pages)

Edition:

1st edition.

Place of Publication:

London : Bloomsbury Academic, 2025.

Summary:

Towards the end of her life, Virginia Woolf defined her "philosophy"--the "constant idea" that "makes her a writer." She wrote that this idea had given her "the strongest pleasure known to [her]." She called these "exceptional moments," or "moments of being." Thomas Nail contends that Woolf is a philosopher of being. And these "moments of being" as forming a unique process philosophy of motion. In her description of these moments Woolf gives us access to a world in motion and process; where all of nature and matter flows, ripples, and quivers. In these moments the anthropocentric division between humans and nature dissolves into metastable patterns--without essences or vital forces. Matter becomes dynamic, and what originally appeared solid is perceived as woven, porous, and fluid. The Philosophy of Virginia Woolf begins by defining the basic idea of the moment of being, why it is important and how to understand it and its philosophical implications. It recounts a series of 14 'moments' each of which explores an aspect of Woolf's philosophy. They show how the moments evolve and articulate Woolf's process philosophy of movement. Each moment reveals unique aspects of how moments work and the kind of philosophical vision Woolf held. Nail concludes by addressing some of the ethical and political consequences of these moments in Woolf 's thinking. In the end, the book contends that Woolf offers us an absolutely unique philosophical and aesthetic understanding of phenomena, including nature, culture, desire, gender, writing/reading, consciousness, art, ecology, and sensation. It shows that Woolf is a philosopher in her own right, and held a unique philosophical position that makes a unique contribution to how to think in the world.

Contents:

Preface

Acknowledgements

Part I: Method and Motion

Chapter 1: Woolf's Process Materialism

Chapter 2: Let us Trace the Pattern

Part II: Moments of Becoming Brief Moments

Moments 0: The Trance into which Movement had Thrown Them

Individual Moments

Moment 1: Neither this nor That

Moment 2: Connected by Millions of Fibres

Moment 3: The Death of the Soul

Moment 4: Time Split its Husk

Moment 5: The Knotted Roots of Infinite Ages

Moment 6: She Felt Herself Everywhere

Moment 7: The Lake of Being

Moment 8: The Fluidity of Life

Moment 9: There is no Stability in this World

Nonhuman Moments

Moment 10: Part I, A Glimpse Only

Moment 10: Part II, Stars Flashing in their Hearts

Extended Moments

Moment 11: Part I, Hail! Natural Desire!

Moment 11: Part II, The Beauty of Movement

Moment 11: Part III, Everything was Partly Something Else

Collective Moments

Moment 12: The World Wavered

Moment 13: The Moment: Summer's Night

Moment 14: Now the Current Flows

Conclusion: Moments of Being Political.

ISBN:

1-350-52609-6

OCLC:

1511108971