Diploma thesis "I become speech." Death and Return of the Author in the Perspective of Philosophy of Identity focuses on the question of inclusion of the author into the interpretation of literary text and aims to highlight the fruitfulness of such inclusion as well as some of its dangers. The thesis is divided into three parts. In the first part the author of the thesis presents a polemic account of some antiauthorial approaches, especially the "death of the author" as appearing in the texts of R. Barthes, M. Foucault and Jacques Derrida, along with a short mention of antiintentionalism of W. K Wimsatt and M. C. Beardsley and a theory of the model author by U. Eco. The common feature of the aforementioned antiauthorial theories is a reductive idea of the author and his relation to text - the problematic aspects of authorial interpretation, which their texts wish to make evident, is then only a consequence of the problematic underlying notion of the author-subject. The second part of the thesis intends to present an alternative theoretical understanding of the "real author" using the philosophy of identity od J. Butler and P. Bourdieu. These authors are proposing a theory of a person who is not understood as a "real thing" that would be available for a complete delimitation, description and...

Having been introduced in Sweden in the 1980’s, one would perhaps have thought postmodern philosophy to be a thing of the past. As it turns out, the debate on postmodernism is still very much alive. But the term ‘postmodernism’ in 2021 is complex and sometimes misunderstood. In public discourse, the term has moved beyond its status as a continental philosophy or as a denomination for certain historical conditions of the late twentieth century. Today, it appears, people use ‘postmodernism’ as an invective for relativism, post-truth and ‘empty words’. Two books, published in 2020, even warn the Swedish people for a postmodern invasion of both the academics and Swedish government. The humanities, apparently, are especially corrupted by postmodern thinking. Is this true? As a rhetorician, I ask myself to what extent postmodern theory has had an influence on Swedish rhetoric in the 40 years since the discipline was re-established within higher education.  This essay examines course syllabuses, teaching material, Swedish articles in the periodical Rhetorica Scandinavica, doctoral theses, and the complete works published by Sweden’s eight professors of rhetoric. Early on, I found that there was very little information available about the development of  Swedish rhetoric –even less about a postmodern rhetoric in a Swedish context. Thus, this essay is to be looked at as both a history of Swedish postmodern rhetoric – the first of its kind – and as an examination of the occurrence of postmodern theory within Swedish rhetoric. I find that postmodernism has not, as opposed to the critics’ claims, played a key role in the development of Swedish rhetoric. Its presence has, however, significantly increased within the field of rhetoric since 2010, and I discuss why that might be. Further, I discuss what can be said to define the Swedish postmodern rhetoric, and what the future might hold for this specific branch of rhetorical studies and research.

[pt] Nesta tese enfrento problemáticas dos Direitos Humanos pela filosofia política e crítica ao direito. Num primeiro momento, apresento crítica à tradição e uma breve genealogia de como se dá o pensamento e a história desses direitos, tanto da ordem dos discursos de fundamentação como da sua afirmação social. Em seguida, trabalho a encruzilhada dos Direitos Humanos a partir da relação com a soberania e a biopolítica, respectivamente, segundo Jacques Derrida e Michel Foucault. Por um lado, é de se destacar o acentuado caráter histórico e político dos Direitos Humanos, de outro, questionar seu potencial de transformação social. A encruzilhada aparece e a problematização se dá, pois, se os Direitos Humanos são esforço do histórico de mobilizações contrário a injustiças sociais e modelos jurídicos conservadores, também, passam a fazer parte de nossa era de direitos como fundamento e manifestação legítima do direito. Inclusive, por vezes, se voltam contra seus próprios fins. Nesse contexto, os Direitos Humanos estão atrelados ao ímpeto civilizatório ocidental, ao capitalismo global, à ordem internacional e às violências de estado, ao mesmo tempo em que se manifestam com as lutas políticas, as conquistas sociais e as defesas contra violações de direito. A partir disso, problematizo os Direitos Humanos diante de seus fins e de sua força como direito, também, lanço a problemática de como pensá-los diante dos caminhos cruzados, da diferença das forças e da contínua abertura à mudança social presentes em sua atualidade. Com essa delimitação, estudo o potencial dos ‘Direitos Humanos na encruzilhada’, segundo a produção social e a definição da humanidade. Isso se dá, pela intersecção da soberania e da biopolítica, conforme são ultrapassados limites do direito e atingidos novos domínios da vida e da sociedade. O que implica reformular questões em torno da normatividade, da força e da realização dos Direitos Humanos. Por fim, destaco algumas tensões em meio às relações sociais e às composições de poder dos Direitos Humanos no cenário político atual. / [en] This thesis consists of a study about problems concerned to Human Rights from political philosophy and critique of law. At first, with a critique of the tradition of Human Rights and a brief genealogy of how thought and history of Human Rights took place, both in terms of foundational speeches and social statements. After that, due to open fractures with the philosophy of Jacques Derrida and Michel Foucault, the idea is to distinguish how Human Rights function when related to sovereignty and biopolitics. It is important to highlight the historical and political nature of law, and to question its potential of social transformation, once Human Rights are at the crossroads: If Human Rights are an effort of the history of mobilizations contrary to social injustices and conservative legal models, they also become our era of rights as foundations and part of legitimate law. Even, at times, they turn against their own ends. In this context, the concept of Human Rights is linked to western civilization, global capitalism, international order and state violence, at the same time that Human Rights are made with political struggles, social conquests, institutional protection and defense against rights violation. In this context, is important to investigate how to think about Human Rights once considered the difference of forces of their formation and continuous openness to changes. This work turns to the potential of Human Rights at the crossroads, which is crucial to the crossroads itself, according to its social production and ability to define the political and humanity. Which results from the intersection of sovereign power and biopolitics, as the premises of law are displaced and the Human Rights reaches new domains of life and society. This implies reformulating questions about normativity, enforcement and achievement of Human Rights. At the end, it is consequential to highlight tensions of these rights in the midst of social relations and compositions of power in the current political scenario. / [fr] Dans cette présente thèse, les questions de Droits de l Homme sont confrontées à la philosophie politique et à lacritique du Droit. Dans un premier temps, il se fait une critique de la tradition et une brève généalogie de la manière dont la pensée et l histoire de ces droits se déroulent, tant au niveau des discours de raisonnement que de leur affirmation sociale. Ensuite, le travail se retrouve dans une sorte de croisement des Droits de l Homme à partir du rapport à la souveraineté et à la biopolitique, respectivement, selon Jacques Derrida et Michel Foucault. D une part, il faut souligner l important caractère historique et politique des Droits de l Homme, d autre part, s interroger sur leur potentiel de transformation sociale. La croisée des chemins apparaît et la problématisation s opère, car si les Droits de l Homme sont le résultat de l effort historique de mobilisations contre les injustices sociales et les modèles juridiques conservateurs, mais, ils s inscrivent aussi dans notre ère des droits comme fondement et manifestation légitime du droit.Parfois, ils se retournent même contre leurs propres fins. Dans ce contexte, les Droits de l Homme sont liés à la poussée civilisatrice occidentale, au capitalisme mondial, à l ordre international et à la violence d État, mais aussi aux luttes politiques, aux conquêtes sociales et à la défense face aux violations des droits. A partir de là, les Droits de l Homme sont premièrement problématisés face à leurs fins et leur force en tant que droit, et, ensuite, problématisés sur la façon de les penser face aux chemins croisés, à la différence des forces et à l ouverture continue aux changements sociaux présents de nos jours. Dans cette délimitation, il convient de souligner le potentiel des Droits de l Homme à la croisée des chemins à partir de leur production sociale et de leur capacité à définir l espace politique et celui de l humanité. Cela arrive à travers l intersection de la souveraineté et de la biopolitique, au fur et à mesure que les limites du droit sont dépassées et que de nouveaux domaines de la vie et de la société sont atteints. Cela implique de reformuler les questions autour de la normativité, de la force et de la réalisation des Droits de l Homme. Enfin, les tensions de ces droits sont questionnées face aux relations sociales et aux compositions du pouvoir dans le scénario politique actuel.

Der Beitrag beschreibt die Vorlesungen von Büchern und Autoren von Borges’ Vorliebe, mit denen er einen antikanonischen Korpus, einen Kanon der Leser, einen Kanon als Ergebnis des Wunsches des Lesens (A. López) im Gegensatz zum Konzept des Kanons von H. Bloom (The Western Canon 1994) aufbaut, und er zeigt, dass Bloom mehrere grundlegende Begriffe von Borges über Literatur und Kanon verwendet wie „Fremdheit“ (oder „spcriptible“ nach R. Barthes), „Bewusstsein“ oder „Transtextualität“, „Macht der Kontamination“, d.h. die Fähigkeit der Absorption der Literatur der Vergangenheit und die Verfügbarkeit dieser Literatur, um neu kodifiziert zu werden und auf diese Weise Teil des Kanons zu werden. Es geht um die Strahlkraft von Borges insofern, als Bloom ihn für den Autor hält, der „offenkundig die gesamte kanonische Tradition absorbiert und dann absichtlich reflektiert“. Borges ist der Meister der Absorption in der abendländischen Welt des 20. Jahrhunderts und wird als „der literarische Metaphysiker des Zeitalters“ bezeichnet. Jahrhunderts und wird als „literarischer Metaphysiker des Zeitalters“ bezeichnet. Der Essay zeigt, wie Bloom ein nomadisches Konzept des Kanons entwickelt, das über seine eigene Ideologie hinausgeht, und dass Borges im Zentrum seines Kanonsystems steht. / El trabajo describe las lecturas predilectas de Borges que forman un corpus anticanónico, un canon de lectores, un canon del „deseo” (A. López) por el contrario al concepto de canon de H. Bloom (The Western Canon 1994). Pretendemos demostrar que Bloom recurre a una serie de conceptos fundamentales de Borges sobre la literatura y canon, tales como „strangeness” (o „spcriptible” según R. Barthes) „awareness” o „transtextualidad” , „power of contamination”, esto es, la capacidad de absorción de la literatura del pasado, la disponibilidad de ésta de dejarse recodificar y pasar así a ser canon. Se trata de la fuerza de irradiación de Borges en cuanto éste, también según Bloom, es quien „overtly absorbs and then deliberately reflects the entire canonical tradition”. Borges es el maestro de la absorción y subversión de occidente en el siglo XX por excelencia definiéndolo como „the literary metaphysian of the age”. El trabajo muestra como Bloom al fin aboga por un canon abierto y como Borges se encuentra realmente en el centro de su concepto de canon. / The essay describes the lectures of books and authors of Borges’ predilection with which he builds an anticanonical corpus, a canon of readers, a canon as result of the of desire of readings (A. López) contrary to the concept of canon by H. Bloom (The Western Canon 1994), and it shows that Bloom uses several fundamental terms from Borges about literature and canon like „strangeness” (or „spcriptible” according to R. Barthes), „awareness” or „transtextuality”, „power of contamination”, that is, the capacity of absorption of the literature of the past and the disposability of this literature to be recodified and to form, in that way, part of the canon. It concerns the power of irradiation of Borges in so far as Bloom considers him to be the author who „overtly absorbs and then deliberately reflects the entire canonical tradition”. Borges is the master of absorption in the occidental world of the 20th century and is defined as „the literary metaphysian of the age”. The essay shows how Bloom is developing a nomadic concept of canon that goes beyond his own ideology and that Borges is situated in the centre of his canon system.

Der Artikel stellt eine der allerersten Beiträge von Alfonso de Toro zu Postmoderne und zum Postkolonialismus in den romanischen Studien sowie den ersten Beitrag zum Postkolonialismus und zu Postmoderne in Beziehung zum Werk von Jorge Luis Borges dar. Hier wird eine grundlegende und wegweisende Auseinandersetzung mit der postmodernen und postkolonialen Theorie und Praxis, die die Sprache, Terminologie, die zeitlich-historische Entwicklung, die Eingrenzung der Theorien sowie die Verschränkung beider Gebiete erfasst und in die Einführung der Konzepte ‚Postmodernität‘ und ‚Postkolonialität‘ einmündet. Als Basis für ein neues Verständnis von ‚Postkolonialität‘ dient das Essay von Borges, „Der argentinische Schriftsteller und die Tradition“ (1955) und für die neue Auffassung von ‚Postmodernität‘ greift de Toro v.a. auf die französische postmoderne bzw. poststrukturale Philosophen wie Foucault, Derrida, Deleuze/Guattari, Lyotard, Baudrillard, aber auch auf Vattimo und auf Borges Erzählungen, u.a. wie „El Aleph“, „Tlön, Uqbar, Tertius Orbis', Pierre Menard Autor von Don Quichotte'. / This article represents one of the very first contributions by Alfonso de Toro to Postmodernism and Postcolonialism in Romance studies, as well as the first contribution to postcolonialism and postmodernism in relation to the work of Jorge Luis Borges. Here is a fundamental and pioneering examination of postmodern and postcolonial theory and practice, covering language, terminology, temporal-historical development, the delimitation of theories, and the intertwining of the two fields, culminating in the introduction of the concepts of ‘Postmodernity’ and ‘Postcoloniality’. Borges’ essay “The Argentinian Writer and the Tradition” (1955) serves as the basis for a new understanding of ‘Postcoloniality’. For a new conception of ‘Postmodernity’, de Toro draws primarily on French post-modern or post-structural philosophers such as Foucault, Derrida, Deleuze/Guattari, Lyotard, Baudrillard, but also on Vattimo and on Borges’ narrations, such as “El Aleph”, “Tlön, Uqbar, Tertius Orbis”, “Pierre Menard author of Don Quixote”. / Este artículo representa una de las primeras aportaciones de Alfonso de Toro al postmodernismo y al poscolonialismo en los Estudios Romances, así como la primera contribución al poscolonialismo y al posmodernismo en relación con la obra de Jorge Luis Borges. Aquí, un examen fundamental y pionero de la teoría y la práctica posmodernas y poscoloniales que recoge el lenguaje, la terminología, el desarrollo temporal-histórico, la delimitación de las teorías, así como el entrelazamiento de ambos campos, culmina con la introducción de los conceptos de ‘posmodernidad’ y ‘poscolonialidad’. El ensayo de Borges “El escritor argentino y la tradición” (1955) sirve de base para una nueva comprensión de la “poscolonialidad”. Para una nueva concepción de la ‘posmodernidad’, de Toro se basa principalmente en filósofos franceses posmodernos o posestructurales como Foucault, Derrida, Deleuze/Guattari, Lyotard, Baudrillard, pero también en Vattimo y en los cuentos de Borges, como “El Aleph”, “Tlön, Uqbar, Tertius Orbis”, “Pierre Menard autor del Quijote”.

Der Artikel stellt eine der aller ersten Beiträge von Alfonso de Toro zu Postmoderne und zum Postkolonialismus in den romanischen Studien sowie den ersten Beitrag zum Postkolonialismus und zu Postmoderne in Beziehung zum Werk von Jorge Luis Borges dar. Hier wird eine grundlegende und wegweisende Auseinandersetzung mit der postmodernen und postkolonialen Theorie und Praxis, die die Sprache, Terminologie, die zeitlich-historische Entwicklung, die Eingrenzung der Theorien sowie die Verschränkung beider Gebiete erfasst und in die Einführung der Konzepte ‚Postmodernität‘ und ‚Postkolonialität‘ einmündet. Als Basis für ein neues Verständnis von ‚Postkolonialität‘ dient das Essay von Borges, „Der argentinische Schriftsteller und die Tradition“ (1955) und für die neue Auffassung von ‚Postmodernität‘ greift de Toro v.a. auf die französische postmoderne bzw. poststrukturale Philosophen wie Foucault, Derrida, Deleuze/Guattari, Lyotard, Baudrillard, aber auch auf Vattimo und auf Borges Erzählungen, u.a. wie „El Aleph“, „Tlön, Uqbar, Tertius Orbis', 'Pierre Menard Autor von Don Quichotte' / This article represents one of the very first contributions by Alfonso de Toro to Postmodernism and Postcolonialism in Romance studies, as well as the first contribution to postcolonialism and postmodernism in relation to the work of Jorge Luis Borges. Here is a fundamental and pioneering examination of postmodern and postcolonial theory and practice, covering language, terminology, temporal-historical development, the delimitation of theories, and the intertwining of the two fields, culminating in the introduction of the concepts of ‘Postmodernity’ and ‘Postcoloniality’. Borges’ essay “The Argentinian Writer and the Tradition” (1955) serves as the basis for a new understanding of ‘Postcoloniality’. For a new conception of ‘Postmodernity’, de Toro draws primarily on French post-modern or post-structural philosophers such as Foucault, Derrida, Deleuze/Guattari, Lyotard, Baudrillard, but also on Vattimo and on Borges’ narrations, such as “El Aleph”, “Tlön, Uqbar, Tertius Orbis”, “Pierre Menard author of Don Quixote” / Este artículo representa una de las primeras aportaciones de Alfonso de Toro al postmodernismo y al poscolonialismo en los Estudios Romances, así como la primera contribución al poscolonialismo y al posmodernismo en relación con la obra de Jorge Luis Borges. Aquí, un examen fundamental y pionero de la teoría y la práctica posmodernas y poscoloniales que recoge el lenguaje, la terminología, el desarrollo temporal-histórico, la delimitación de las teorías, así como el entrelazamiento de ambos campos, culmina con la introducción de los conceptos de ‘posmodernidad’ y ‘poscolonialidad’. El ensayo de Borges “El escritor argentino y la tradición” (1955) sirve de base para una nueva comprensión de la “poscolonialidad”. Para una nueva concepción de la ‘posmodernidad’, de Toro se basa principalmente en filósofos franceses posmodernos o posestructurales como Foucault, Derrida, Deleuze/Guattari, Lyotard, Baudrillard, pero también en Vattimo y en los cuentos de Borges, como “El Aleph”, “Tlön, Uqbar, Tertius Orbis”, “Pierre Menard autor del Quijote”

Missing children is one of the horrors that we are confronted with in today's society. The case study method, a feminist co-search methodology, is used to give a missing child's mother the opportunity to tell and re-tell the painful story. During this co-search process the following aspects of doing ethics and pastoral care and counselling with the mother are constantly negotiated. The term "missing child" is defined and the relevance between the distinction of "missing children" and "run-away children" is discussed. Furthermore, this study explores the many diverse practices of narrative pastoral care and counselling with parents of missing children within an economically disadvantaged community. The conceptualisations regarding loss, hope and meaning-making and how these are utilised in the life of a missing child's mother is discussed. / Practical Theology / M.Th.

Thesis (MPhil (Philosophy))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / This study constitutes a conceptual analysis and critique of the notion of the subject, and the concomitant notion of responsibility, as it has developed through the philosophical history of the modern subject. The aim of this study is to present the reader with a critical notion of responsibility. This study seeks to divorce such a position from the traditional, normative view of the subject, as typified by the Cartesian position. Following Derrida, a deconstructive reading of the subject’s conceptual development since Descartes is presented. What emerges from this reading is that, despite various re-conceptualisations of the subject by philosophers as influential and diverse as Nietzsche, Heidegger and Levinas, their respective positions continue to affirm the subject as human. The position presented in this study challenges this notion of the subject as human, with the goal of opening-up and displacing the ethical frontier between human and non-human. It is argued that displacing this ethical frontier introduces complex responsibilities. These complex responsibilities resist the violence inherent to normative positions that typically exclude the non-human – particularly the animal – from the sphere of responsibility.

Thesis (DPhil (Philosophy))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / This thesis gives an historical overview of some of the issues connecting philosophy of mind and philosophy of langauge in the twentieth century, especially with regard to the relevance of both disciplines to theories of cognition. Specifically, the interrelation between the theories of Peirce,Chomsky, Derrida, and Deacon are discussed. Furthermore, an overview of twentieth century views on mind in both philosophy and the cognitive sciences is given. The argument is made that many of the apparently insurmountable issues that plague theories on mind and cognition today can be traced back to the metaphysical mould into which the philosophical questions at issue here were cast. Also, despite current resistance to the idea from many philosophical quarters, a case is made for approaching language and mind in terms of neo-Darwinist evolutionary theory.

<p>This work attempts an answer to two questions. Firstly, is it possible to experience meaning when everything is transient? And secondly, in what way is objectivity possible when it comes to such phenomena as existential meaning? The questions originate from our insideperspective, and it is from what we have experienced ourselves that we try to make intelligible existential meaning. We are to a great extent part of the context in which we live. Our ability to contemplate our situation and our own contemplation is taking place in interplay with others. To make room for the small things meaningful in life, the expression existential meaning is used. In this expression both the meaningless and the meaningful are included, since both are needed for our understanding of meaning. Without the Other and that which is different, the individual person’s formation of existential meaning becomes just more of the same, it becomes an enclosure in the present. The encounter with the Other makes room for that which is different to break through.</p><p>Objectivity is possible when it comes to existential meaning, if one views objectivity as a process between people. It is performed in conversation. Those who converse, refer to their bodily experiences of the Time that remains and help each other, using language as the tool, to formulate their experiences. They compare each others’ manifestations of existential meaning,</p><p>and with the help of language they go further in the formation of what is meaningless and meaningful. Their conversations imply a normative presupposition that they can justify the claims that they make. Because it is actually not possible to make intelligible existential meaning in words other than by doing it as a mix of descriptions of that which is manifesting itself and linguistic rewritings in the form of stories. This expression of objectivity has a normative aspect, namely in relation to the possibility that we can be wrong. Therefore, we need each other in the act of judging, and together we are guided by the fact that it later on can emerge things that show that our judgment has not been fully correct. </p>