This book explores Cormac McCarthy's literature (novels, plays, screenplays, philosophical essays and unpublished archive material) to uncover a distinct literary philosophy. More specifically, this study elucidates how McCarthy articulates a philosophical perspective which pivots on philosophical themes of mortality, the political, education, nihilism, materialism and language. Tracing these themes from the publication of his earliest novels to his most recent philosophical essays, this book argues that McCarthy offers a unique synthesis of spiritual, ethical and materialist concerns, the understanding of which is essential for coming to terms with his literature.
By:
Patrick O’Connor (Senior Lecturer in Philosophy Staffordshire University)
Imprint: Edinburgh University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 234mm,
Width: 156mm,
ISBN: 9781474497275
ISBN 10: 1474497276
Pages: 232
Publication Date: 22 February 2024
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Introduction 1. Older than Language: Cormac McCarthy on Language and Evolution in Whales and Men and ""The Kekulé Problem’’ 2. Literature and Death: Suttree, McCarthy and Blanchot 3. Spirits in Cinderland: Blood Meridian’s Nietzsche 4. In the Shadow of the Forms: The Sunset Limited as Educational Encounter 5. Anti-Matters: Mortal Ethics in The Road 6. Saving Sheriff Bell: Derrida, McCarthy and the Opening of Mercantile Ethics in No Country for Old Men 7. A Maelstrom of Doing and Undoing: McCarthy’s Political Imaginary ConclusionBibliographyIndex
Patrick O’Connor is a Senior Lecturer in Philosophy in the School of Digital, Technologies and Arts at Staffordshire University. He researches European Philosophy (especially Phenomenology), 19th and 20th Century European Philosophy and 20th Century French Philosophy. His published books include Atheism Reclaimed (2014) on atheism and existentialism and on phenomenology, ethics and the work of Jacques Derrida, Derrida: Profanations (2010). He has published several articles on philosophy, literature, education and film. He hosts the Thales’ Well philosophy podcast.
Reviews for Cormac McCarthy, Philosophy and the Physics of the Damned
""O'Connor's navigation of the sea of philosophical themes across McCarthy's corpus is exactly the intervention McCarthy studies needed. This lucid, path-breaking book does more than simply codify our sense of McCarthy's personal philosophy. It also helps to clarify what it means for any writer to write philosophical literature."" -Chris Eagle, Editor of Beyond Reckoning: Philosophical Approaches to Cormac McCarthy
