Thinking the Pluri Person Through Ironic

By: Melissa Smith

Narrated by: Cass Parrish

This philosophical study explores the concept of the "pluri person"—the multiplicity and fragmentation of selfhood—through the lens of irony as both rhetorical strategy and existential condition. The book argues that ironic consciousness reveals the inherently plural nature of human identity, challenging unified models of subjectivity that dominate Western philosophical traditions.

The book investigates how irony functions as more than a literary device, serving as a fundamental mode of being that acknowledges contradiction, multiplicity, and performativity at the core of personal identity. It examines how the ironic stance—maintaining simultaneous awareness of conflicting perspectives—reflects the actual structure of contemporary selfhood, where individuals navigate multiple roles, identities, contexts, and value systems without stable synthesis.

Through engagement with continental philosophy, postmodern theory, literary criticism, and psychology, the study develops a theory of pluri personhood grounded in ironic consciousness. It explores how irony enables individuals to inhabit multiple subject positions simultaneously, to maintain critical distance from their own performances, and to resist totalizing narratives about identity while still functioning as coherent agents.

The book addresses key philosophical questions: What happens to concepts of authenticity, responsibility, and agency when we acknowledge the inherently plural structure of personhood? How does ironic consciousness differ from cynicism or nihilism? Can pluri personhood serve as foundation for ethics and political community? How do power, language, and social positioning shape the possibilities for ironic self-awareness?

©2025 Melissa Smith (P)2025 Melissa Smith