The eighteenth‑century English writer Matthew Gregory Lewis wrote one of the most dramatic Gothic novels, The Monk; over 200 years later, a film of the same name appeared, based on the novel and directed by Dominik Moll. The film, a free adaptation of the book, presenting the story of the moral downfall of the monk Ambrosio, has inspired us to philosophical reflections on sexuality, sensuality, and physical desire. We have attempted to analyze and interpret this cinematic work of art in (...) the context of these issues. The method we have adopted is based on a thorough discussion of the topics developed in the film and related issues. This method, while not pretending to be scientific objective, enables us to outline an interesting field of research as well as to identify a number of theoretical problems and questions that remain open. The formula we have adopted is to quote lines from the film The Monk which permits the analysis of selected issues related to sexuality, sensuality, and physical desire. Moreover, these quotes serve to order the text and enable the precise identification of interpretive trains of thought. (shrink)

The papers collected in this volume vividly reflect the strikingly wide range of interests characterizing current research in phenomenology inspired by Roman Ingarden. One of Husserls closest and most devoted students, and at the same time one of his earliest and sharpest critics, Ingarden himself explored numerous fields of philosophy in considerable depth. While he remains best known for his groundbreaking work in aesthetics, ontology, and metaphysics, he also dealt extensively in ethics, epistemology, philosophical anthropology, and cognitive science, and his (...) work was characterized throughout by a deep and abiding interest in the sciences and an unwavering respect for painstakingly thorough logical investigation. Issues from all of these areas of study provide the topics dealt with by the authors contributing to this volume. Several authors focus explicitly on historical matters, often casting surprising new light on the development of early phenomenology in general and of Ingardens own realist phenomenology in particular. Other authors have concentrated instead on specific areas or particular topics of long-standing interest, such as the aesthetic experience, the philosophy of music, and artistic creation, while others have explored the relevance of Ingarden's ontological and anthropological analyses to current research into everything from the interpretation of texts to the study of technological posthumanization. With contributions from both established experts and young scholars, this collection brings together three generations of researchers who share the same basic philosophical goals and methodology, yet exhibit noticeably distinct styles, making this collection not only accessible and topical but also unusually lively. (shrink)