Tainted texts: plagiarism and self-exploitation in Solar and Perlmann's Silence

This article analyses two novels on academic plagiarism, namely Solar by Ian McEwan and Perlmann’s Silence by Pascal Mercier. Both novels describe experiences of academics in the second half of life who have lost contact with their areas of research and no longer seem able to live up to the daunting...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Zwart, Hub 1960- (Author)
Format: Electronic/Print Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Peeters [2016]
In: Ethical perspectives
Year: 2016, Volume: 23, Issue: 4, Pages: 581-612
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Mercier, Pascal 1944-2023, Perlmanns Schweigen / McEwan, Ian 1948-, Solar / Plagiarism / Self / Exploitation
RelBib Classification:VA Philosophy
Online Access: Volltext (doi)

MARC

LEADER 00000caa a2200000 4500
001 1637197411
003 DE-627
005 20170503162327.0
007 tu
008 170404s2016 xx ||||| 00| ||eng c
024 7 |a 10.2143/EP.23.4.3188783  |2 doi 
035 |a (DE-627)1637197411 
035 |a (DE-576)486259714 
035 |a (DE-599)BSZ486259714 
040 |a DE-627  |b ger  |c DE-627  |e rda 
041 |a eng 
084 |a 1  |2 ssgn 
100 1 |e VerfasserIn  |0 (DE-588)138437262  |0 (DE-627)696627485  |0 (DE-576)176139737  |4 aut  |a Zwart, Hub  |d 1960- 
109 |a Zwart, Hub 1960-  |a Zwart, Hubertus A. 1960-  |a Zwart, H. 1960-  |a Zwart, Hubertus Andreas 1960-  |a Zwart, Hubertus Andreas Everhardus 1960- 
245 1 0 |a Tainted texts  |b  plagiarism and self-exploitation in Solar and Perlmann's Silence  |c Hub Zwart, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands 
264 1 |c [2016] 
336 |a Text  |b txt  |2 rdacontent 
337 |a ohne Hilfsmittel zu benutzen  |b n  |2 rdamedia 
338 |a Band  |b nc  |2 rdacarrier 
520 |a This article analyses two novels on academic plagiarism, namely Solar by Ian McEwan and Perlmann’s Silence by Pascal Mercier. Both novels describe experiences of academics in the second half of life who have lost contact with their areas of research and no longer seem able to live up to the daunting expectations associated with their international status, prominence and fame in the natural sciences (Solar) and in the humanities (Perlmann’s Silence). The novels are analysed on three levels (knowledge, power and the Self) distinguished by Michel Foucault, pointing out how scientific plagiarism is connected with new forms of knowledge production and with power relationships in contemporary research. Most attention, however, will be given to the ethical dimension of the Self: the ways in which the academics involved fail to constitute themselves as responsible subjects, vis-à-vis the integrity challenges emerging in contemporary research practices. From a science ethics perspective, a more optimal scenario could have been available, but a close comparative reading reveals that both perpetrators face a far more devastating form of crisis, for which available guidelines fail to provide a fix. Both the challenge (loss of contact with their field of research) and the solution (plagiarism) are symptomatic of a structural problematic pervading the current research system, which I will thematise as self-exploitation, resulting in the eradication of a former, prolific Self, an experience that is articulated in Perlmann’s Silence in psychoanalytic (Lacanian) terms, namely as an experience of ‘splitting’ (Spaltung). In both novels, plagiarism is enacted as a desperate (but faltering) attempt to achieve what Solar refers to as "conflation": i.e. the effort to somehow restore an integrity (or wholeness) that already eroded long before the plagiarism was actually committed. Thus, science novels may contribute to our understanding of plagiarism and other instances of scientific misconduct. 
652 |a VA 
689 0 0 |d u  |0 (DE-588)1131199529  |0 (DE-627)885581636  |0 (DE-576)487890752  |a Mercier, Pascal  |2 gnd  |d 1944-2023  |t Perlmanns Schweigen 
689 0 1 |d u  |0 (DE-588)1131200144  |0 (DE-627)885582977  |0 (DE-576)487892151  |a McEwan, Ian  |2 gnd  |d 1948-  |t Solar 
689 0 2 |d s  |0 (DE-588)4046196-8  |0 (DE-627)104180935  |0 (DE-576)20906854X  |2 gnd  |a Plagiat 
689 0 3 |d s  |0 (DE-588)4121653-2  |0 (DE-627)104798734  |0 (DE-576)209545062  |2 gnd  |a Selbst 
689 0 4 |d s  |0 (DE-588)4003677-7  |0 (DE-627)106388843  |0 (DE-576)208852492  |2 gnd  |a Ausbeutung 
689 0 |5 (DE-627) 
773 0 8 |i Enthalten in  |t Ethical perspectives  |d Leuven : Peeters, 1994  |g 23(2016), 4, Seite 581-612  |w (DE-627)182261980  |w (DE-600)1191627-8  |w (DE-576)040105555  |x 1370-0049  |7 nnns 
773 1 8 |g volume:23  |g year:2016  |g number:4  |g pages:581-612 
856 |u https://doi.org/10.2143/EP.23.4.3188783  |x doi  |3 Volltext 
951 |a AR 
ELC |a 1  |b 1 
ITA |a 1  |t 1 
LOK |0 000 xxxxxcx a22 zn 4500 
LOK |0 001 3295324441 
LOK |0 003 DE-627 
LOK |0 004 1637197411 
LOK |0 005 20170428153833 
LOK |0 008 170404||||||||||||||||ger||||||| 
LOK |0 040   |a DE-Tue135  |c DE-627  |d DE-Tue135 
LOK |0 092   |o n 
LOK |0 852   |a DE-Tue135 
LOK |0 852 1  |9 00 
LOK |0 935   |a ixzs  |a ixzo 
LOK |0 936ln  |0 1442053844  |a VA 
ORI |a SA-MARC-ixtheoa001.raw 
REL |a 1 
STA 0 0 |a Exploitation,Plagiarism,Plagiarized work,Self,Self 
STB 0 0 |a Exploitation,Plagiat,Soi,Soi 
STC 0 0 |a Explotación,Plagio,Self,Self 
STD 0 0 |a Plagio,Sfruttamento,Sé,Sé 
STE 0 0 |a 剥削,抄袭,剽窃,自己,自己,本身,自身,本身,自身 
STF 0 0 |a 剝削,抄襲,剽竊,自己,自己,本身,自身,本身,自身 
STG 0 0 |a Exploração (,Plágio,Self,Self 
STH 0 0 |a Плагиат,Эксплуатация,Я (мотив),Я,Собственная личность 
STI 0 0 |a Εαυτός (μοτίβο),Εαυτός,Εκμετάλλευση,Λογοκλοπή 
SUB |a REL 
SYG 0 0 |a Mercier, Pascal,1944-2023,Perlmann's silence,Mercier, Pascal,1944-2023,Le silence de Perlmann,Mercier, Pascal,1944-2023,Perlmanns fortielser,Mercier, Pascal,1944-2023,Perlmannovo mlčanie,Mercier, Pascal,1944-2023,Tăcerea lui Perlmann