The Body in Pain:The Making and Unmaking of the World

The Making and Unmaking of the World

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, Theory, Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Metaphysics
Cover of the book The Body in Pain:The Making and Unmaking of the World by Elaine Scarry, Oxford University Press, USA
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Elaine Scarry ISBN: 9780199741229
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA Publication: September 26, 1985
Imprint: Oxford University Press Language: English
Author: Elaine Scarry
ISBN: 9780199741229
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Publication: September 26, 1985
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Language: English

Part philosophical meditation, part cultural critique, The Body in Pain is a profoundly original study that has already stirred excitement in a wide range of intellectual circles. The book is an analysis of physical suffering and its relation to the numerous vacabularies and cultural forces--literary, political, philosophical, medical, religious--that confront it. Elaine Scarry bases her study on a wide range of sources: literature and art, medical case histories, documents on torture compiled by Amnesty International, legal transcripts of personal injury trials, and military and strategic writings by such figures as Clausewitz, Churchill, Liddell Hart, and Kissinger, She weaves these into her discussion with an eloquence, humanity, and insight that recall the writings of Hannah Arendt and Jean-Paul Sartre. Scarry begins with the fact of pain's inexpressibility. Not only is physical pain enormously difficult to describe in words--confronted with it, Virginia Woolf once noted, "language runs dry"--it also actively destroys language, reducing sufferers in the most extreme instances to an inatriculate state of cries and moans. Scarry analyzes the political ramifications of deliberately inflicted pain, specifically in the cases of torture and warfare, and shows how to be fictive. From these actions of "unmaking" Scarry turns finally to the actions of "making"--the examples of artistic and cultural creation that work against pain and the debased uses that are made of it. Challenging and inventive, The Body in Pain is landmark work that promises to spark widespread debate. About the Author: Elaine Scarry is Associate Professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Part philosophical meditation, part cultural critique, The Body in Pain is a profoundly original study that has already stirred excitement in a wide range of intellectual circles. The book is an analysis of physical suffering and its relation to the numerous vacabularies and cultural forces--literary, political, philosophical, medical, religious--that confront it. Elaine Scarry bases her study on a wide range of sources: literature and art, medical case histories, documents on torture compiled by Amnesty International, legal transcripts of personal injury trials, and military and strategic writings by such figures as Clausewitz, Churchill, Liddell Hart, and Kissinger, She weaves these into her discussion with an eloquence, humanity, and insight that recall the writings of Hannah Arendt and Jean-Paul Sartre. Scarry begins with the fact of pain's inexpressibility. Not only is physical pain enormously difficult to describe in words--confronted with it, Virginia Woolf once noted, "language runs dry"--it also actively destroys language, reducing sufferers in the most extreme instances to an inatriculate state of cries and moans. Scarry analyzes the political ramifications of deliberately inflicted pain, specifically in the cases of torture and warfare, and shows how to be fictive. From these actions of "unmaking" Scarry turns finally to the actions of "making"--the examples of artistic and cultural creation that work against pain and the debased uses that are made of it. Challenging and inventive, The Body in Pain is landmark work that promises to spark widespread debate. About the Author: Elaine Scarry is Associate Professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania.

More books from Oxford University Press, USA

Cover of the book American History:A Very Short Introduction by Elaine Scarry
Cover of the book The Subprime Virus : Reckless Credit Regulatory Failure and Next Steps by Elaine Scarry
Cover of the book The Performance of Politics:Obama's Victory and the Democratic Struggle for Power by Elaine Scarry
Cover of the book The Old Testament: A Very Short Introduction by Elaine Scarry
Cover of the book Reunion and Reaction : The Compromise of 1877 and the End of Reconstruction by Elaine Scarry
Cover of the book The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri : Volume 3: Paradiso by Elaine Scarry
Cover of the book Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest by Elaine Scarry
Cover of the book Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD: Emotional Processing of Traumatic Experiences Therapist Guide by Elaine Scarry
Cover of the book Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel by Elaine Scarry
Cover of the book Empire Of Liberty : A History Of The Early Republic, 1789-1815 by Elaine Scarry
Cover of the book Sleuthing the Alamo:Davy Crockett's Last Stand and Other Mysteries of the Texas Revolution by Elaine Scarry
Cover of the book Democrat and Diplomat: The Life of William E. Dodd by Elaine Scarry
Cover of the book Intellectual Disability : A Guide For Families And Professionals by Elaine Scarry
Cover of the book The Oxford Companion To The History Of Modern Science by Elaine Scarry
Cover of the book Diaghilev : A Life by Elaine Scarry
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy