Abstract

In this thesis I examine which vision of the human self in language and society is entailed in Cavell's philosophy of skepticism. I argue that "attunement" is the conceptual link between Cavell's philosophy of language and his writings on theater and film. Expanding on Affeldt's interpretation of Cavell's "criteria," which identifies the philosophical threat "attunement" presents, I show that Cavell's writings on film explore more deeply how "attunement" is lost or regained. Through a novel reading of Cavell's gender symbolism in these writings, I claim that Cavell's use of gender obscures a religious problem at the heart of his philosophy: how to incorporate "the beyond" or "transcendence" into humanity's imagination of self? Instead of unwarrantedly identifying "the beyond" with the "feminine," as Cavell does, we should address the problem of "the beyond" head-on. Religious ritualization presents us with a vision of humanity which incorporates that which is beyond human control. My reading shows that, through a complex play of stabilization and destabilization, the ritual generation of self both creates identities and opens them to change, revision and imagination. Ritual Practice can teach philosophy