Angels of desire : subtle subjects, aesthetics and ethics

Abstract

This thesis examines a model of subjectivity - the subtle body - and the aesthetic and ethical relations that emerge from its proposition. By drawing together a number of discourses from three religious and philosophical traditions - Eastern, Western and Esoteric - the thesis develops an innovative approach to the consideration of the dualisms at the heart of the dominant Western discourse : self-spirit; mind-body; reason-emotion; I-other. The research is broadly transdisciplinary and cross-cultural, tracing conceptual interrelations across the disciplines of religions, philosophy and art-history theory. The thesis structure reflects the radical extensivity of subtle bodies and is designed to accommodate the development of many interrelating arguments. This is achieved by building the argument in a syntagmatic fashion via subsequent chapters, as well as by utilising a paradigmatic development.

Date of Award	2004
Original language	English