Defense Date

3-29-2019

Graduation Date

Spring 5-10-2019

Availability

Immediate Access

Submission Type

dissertation

Degree Name

PhD

Department

Communication and Rhetorical Studies

School

McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts

Committee Chair

Janie M. Fritz

Committee Member

Ronald C. Arnett

Committee Member

Richard H. Thames

Keywords

aloneness, solitude, isolation, escapism, phenomenology, loneliness

Abstract

The intent of this dissertation is to utilize the phenomenological method to elucidate the experience of aloneness and its relationship with human communication. Aloneness, for the purposes of this research, is understood as the broad experience of feeling alone. This dissertation first seeks to understand some essential principles of previous interdisciplinary literature on this topic before establishing a typology of experiences of aloneness, including isolation, escapism, and solitude. I present a phenomenology of each of these types of aloneness through a representative philosopher for each one, with Hannah Arendt, Emmanuel Levinas, and Henry David Thoreau, respectively. Finally, I conclude that the experience of aloneness is fundamentally a privation of interpersonal dialogue and that the type of aloneness experienced is a result of who initiates that privation.

Language

English

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