Emmanuel Levinas's philosophy of ipseity and alterity has permeated Western thought for more than forty years. In the social sciences and the humanities, the recognition of the Other and focus on difference, alterity, has influenced the way we ethically approach peoples and arts from different cultures. Because focus on the ego, ipseity, limits our ethical obligations, focusing on the Other does, according to Levinas, bring us closer to an ethical life. Furthermore, the self maintains responsibility for the Other and must work within Levinas's ethical system to become truly responsible. Therefore, the interaction between self and Other is Levinas's principal concern as we move toward the New Humanism. The traditional Western autobiography has been centered in the self, the ego, which may prevent the ethical interaction on the part of the writer because the writer often portrays himself or herself as exemplary or unique rather than as an individual within a culture who is responsible for others. Nevertheless, life writing has expanded as writers strive to represent themselves and their cultures responsibly. One form that has emerged is the literary autoethnography, a memoir that considers ancestry, culture, history, and spiritual inheritance amidst personal reflection. In particular, Native American conceptions of the self within story have inspired conventions of literary autoethnography. This project explores the way Native American worldviews have influenced the autoethnography by looking at four Native American authors: Janet Campbell Hale, N. Scott Momaday, Leslie Marmon Silko, and Carter Revard. Through research, family stories, interviews, and returns to ancestral spaces, autoethnographers can bring themselves and their readers closer to cultural consciousness. By investigating standards in autoethnographic works, this project will illustrate the ethical intentionality of autoethnography.

This study analyzed moral psychology's “moral judgment-moral action gap” research and found that morality was being described as a secondary phenomenon produced by underlying substrates (such as identity and self constructs, “brain modules,” and “evolved emotional systems”) which are themselves non-moral. Deriving morality from “the non-moral” presents a kind of ontological gap in the moral psychology research. Researchers implicitly close this gap assuming it is possible to get moral judgments and actions out of non-moral substrates. But the difficulty remains how the moral as “moral” becomes infused into any moral psychology models. Morality is not a secondary phenomenon arising out of something else. This study argues that there is a need to shift our understanding of what it means to be human, to a view in which the moral is fundamental. An alternative foundation for assessing the moral is found in the work of Emmanuel Levinas who sees ethics as a metaphysical concern. This means that he sees the essential moral character of human life and the reality of human agency as ontologically fundamental, or constitutive of human nature itself. In other words, the ethical is the “first cause” in regards to understanding the nature and action of the self. Thus morality is not merely epiphenomenal to some more fundamental reality. Levinas holds that as humans, we are called to the Other. This call of obligation to the Other comes before all other human endeavors. After presenting Levinas's alternative foundation of obligation to the Other which herein is labeled Felt Moral Obligation (FMO), C. Terry Warner's conceptualizations of FMO in relation to the moral judgment-action gap are presented. In light of these conceptualizations, this study argues that there is actually no moral judgment-moral action gap, but only holistic events of moral self-betrayal. Warner illustrates that rejecting FMO is a single moral event, a holistic act performed by a moral agent that involves moral responses of self-justification, offense-taking, and rationalization. The person finds him or herself in a state of self-betrayal. Levinas and Warner implicitly assert that such self-betraying responses are not fundamentally biological or rational, but rather, fundamentally moral.

This work explores three phenomenological views of subjectivity in light of methodological transitions within phenomenology since its inception. Jean-Luc Marion offers a critique of Husserl 's transcendental ego in Cartesian Questions. This critique characterizes Husserl's transcendental ego as a 'schizophrenic ego'. This criticism is aimed at phenomenology's intentionality thesis as well as the method of reduction(s). Marion is influenced by Emmanuel Levinas' ethics and takes issue with a 'theoretical bias' within Husserl 's thought, a bias that characterizes subjectivity in the same terms as objectivity. I frame Marion's and Levinas' views of subjectivity in terms of two seemingly opposed 'origins' of subjectivity: Marion's notion of subjectivity embraces a notion of an originally auto-affected subject, while Levinas' position privileges an originally hetero-affected subject. I argue that both these views of subjectivity remain within dualist perspectives. Both thinkers try to overturn a hierarchy of reason over sensation/ emotion/ feeling by calling for a radically passive institution of subjectivity through either a givenness prior to subjectivity (Marion) or the face to face encounter with an Other (Levinas). However, both positions end up instituting a new hierarchy, one where reason is subjugated to feeling. Rather than dismantling dualism both thinkers end up defending a revised hierarchical thinking. I argue that Husserl's transcendental ego is indeed a 'schizophrenic ego' (i.e., a split ego) in Marion's sense but that this is not a problem for classical phenomenology but an alternative to either an auto-affected subject or a hetero-affected subject. Husserl's works on internal time-consciousness and passive and active synthesis illustrate a necessary correlation between passivity/ activity, matter/ form, reason/ emotion, ego/ world and self/ other which moves beyond the hierarchical thinking associated with traditional dualist thought. Husserl's notions of correlation and synthesis actually suggest a subject that is always intentionally related to the world and others and is also intentionally self-related. The implicit aim of this work is to suggest an alternative to an ethics of irreducibility endorsed by both Marion and Levinas. Husserlian phenomenology offers the possibility of an ethics of reciprocity, which paradoxically does not undermine the irreducibility of the subject, others or the world. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

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Aim: The aim of this comprehensive thesis is to explore different perceptions of public health nursing practice. The intention being to contribute to developing the service, theoretically and practically, in throe with current and future public health needs. Methods: The thesis comprises five studies. Public health nurses, young people, parents and decision makers are interviewed and share their perceptions of public health nursing practice (studies I, II, III and IV). Consultations at local child health clinics, clinics for young people and at school health services are observed (study III). A cross sectional study amongst a sample of doctors, public health nurses, midwives and child protection workers is carried out (study V). The first four studies have an explorative, descriptive design. Study V, with its focus on interprofessional collaboration, is based on the results of studies I, II, and IV. Findings: Study I, a case study, provides a backdrop for the remaining four studies. It focuses on changes the nurses have faced during the period 1984-2005. The results point to issues of visibility and that respect is more important for the nurses than authority or status. Study II is a philosophical study based on interviews with public health nurses. It gives an introduction to the philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas and develops a novel theoretical and practical understanding of aspects of responsibility in public health nursing. Study III shows the importance of relationships with service users in public health nursing practice; and that not only pleasantness but also honesty and openness are important. This study has contributed to further developing models of public health nursing interventions. Decision makers in study IV point to the challenges public health nurses face regarding collaboration, visibility and boundaries. Study V is a cross sectional questionnaire study that focuses on interprofessional collaboration. The results show that size of municipality can influence frequency of meeting points and views on issues relating to collaboration; and that mental health services are those most missed in collaborative relationships. The findings warrant further research and should be of interest when organising municipal health- and social services in Norway. Conclusions: The thesis concludes that service users and decision makers are satisfied with public health nursing services, but that public health nurses face challenges related to collaboration, to boundaries for knowledge and involvement, and in making their health promotive function visible / Denne doktorgradsavhandling: Perceptions of public health nursing practice - on borders and boundaries, visibility and voice, fokuserer på ulike oppfatninger av helsesøsters praksis. Helsesøstre, ungdom, foreldre, samt lokale politikere og administratorer er intervjuet om deres syn på helsesøstertjenesten. Konsultasjoner på helsestasjon for barn, ungdom og i skolehelsetjenesten er observert. Et utvalg av samarbeidspartnere har svart på et spørreskjema om samarbeidsforhold. Avhandlingen består av fem studier. De første fire studier har eksplorativ, deskriptiv design. Studie V er en tverrsnittsstudie som bygger på resultatene fra studiene I,II, og IV. Avhandlingen har til hensikt å løfte frem områder som respondentene mener fortjener oppmerksomhet og som kan ha praktiske og teoretiske implikasjoner for utvikling av tjenesten. Studie I, en case studie danner et bakteppe for de andre studiene. Den fokuserer på endringer i helsesøstertjenesten i perioden 1984-2005. Resultatene fra denne studien peker på helsesøstrenes opplevelse av usynlighet og at respekt er mer viktig for helsesøstrene i studien enn autoritet og status. Studie II er en filosofisk studie basert på intervjuer med helsesøstre. Den gir en introduksjon til Levinas’ filosofi og utvikler en dypere forståelse for teoretiske og praktiske aspekter av etisk ansvar i helsesøsters praksis. Studie III peker på betydningen av relasjoner i helsesøsters praksis. Det var viktig at konsultasjonene var hyggelige for helsesøstrene og brukerne, men ærlighet og åpenhet var også vesentlig for gode relasjoner. Beslutningstakere i studie IV peker på utfordringer helsesøstre har når det gjelder samarbeid, usynlighet, samt grenser for deres kunnskap og involvering. Studie V er en spørreskjemaundersøkelse som fokuserer på samarbeid. Resultatene viser at kommunestørrelse har betydning for hyppighet av møtepunkter og syn på samarbeid og at psykiske helsetjenester er savnet mest i samarbeidsrelasjoner. Disse funn burde være av interesse i fremtidig organisering av helse- og sosialtjenester. Avhandlingen konkluderer med at foreldre, ungdom og beslutningstakere er fornøyde med helsesøstertjenesten, men at helsesøstre står overfor viktige utfordringer i samarbeidsrelasjoner, i forhold til grenser for involvering og i å synliggjøre deres helsefremmende funksjon

[pt] O rosto do migrante nos fala, eloquentemente, a respeito da incrível desigualdade existente na sociedade humana e seus respectivos desdobramentos. Por outro lado, a maneira como notamos, percebemos e acolhemos esse rosto também fala, eloquentemente, a respeito de nós mesmos: o com que lidamos com a demanda, fragilidade e vulnerabilidade do órfão, da viúva e do forasteiro; daquele que está nu e faminto. Em outras palavras, pessoas pobres e desassistidas, caminhantes, migrantes, imigrantes, refugiados, expatriados, apátridas, requerentes de asilo, todos deslocadas à força. O exuberante e crescente fluxo migratório contemporâneo é formado por pessoas refugiadas da bestialidade das guerras e de governos despóticos, oriundas de territórios em conflito em busca de paz e segurança e, pelos assim chamados, imigrantes econômicos, que se refugiam em busca de melhores perspectivas de vida. Enquanto a disparidade de renda entre países pobres e ricos se mantiver como abissal e o processo de crescimento global se mantiver absolutamente desigual, o detonador migratório continuará fomentando os efeitos danosos do desequilíbrio da migração internacional com proporções épicas. Como consequência, a chegada de uma massa de imigrantes sem teto, privados de direitos humanos e não amparados adequadamente pela lei local, agudiza ainda mais os movimentos de caráter xenofóbico, racistas e nacionalistas. As incessantes ondas de novos imigrantes são percebidas com mal estar e temor provocando animosidade e hostilidade em relação à boa parte das comunidades e países que os recebem. O século XXI, marcado pelas novas eras da informação, da comunicação e da tecnologia; marcado pelos efeitos assimétricos de uma globalização perversa que promove o acesso não equitativo aos meios produtivos e financeiros; marcado pela formação e expansão de novos governos totalitários e pela configuração de uma nova ordem geopolítica multipolar; marcado pela persistência da pobreza e a perpetuação de desigualdades estruturais elementares, exarceba um fenômeno antigo, mas que se manifesta agora em proporções alarmantes: a crise dos refugiados e dos imigrantes pobres. Por tal razão utilizamos a perspectiva da filosofia de base ética do filósofo Emmanuel Lévinas. Suas categorias como rosto humano, visitação do rosto, rosto como revelação, rosto do estrangeiro, da viúva e do órfão como transcendência, cultura como rosto de outrem, perspectiva inter-humana, alteridade e próximo nos ajudam a lançar luz sobre a situação dos refugiados e imigrantes pobres da atualidade. De igual forma, também nos pareceu fundamental utilizar a perspectiva adotada por Papa Francisco durante todo o seu magistério. Desde o início de seu pontificado o Sumo Pontífice chamou a atenção para os novos desafios relativos ao drama dos refugiados e imigrantes da atualidade. Nos alertou de que a humanidade está em crise e que precisamos dar uma resposta efetiva às atuais mazelas humanas através de uma postura solidária e rejeitando as traiçoeiras tentações da separação e do individualismo. O Pontífice insiste na necessidade de se favorecer uma cultura do encontro que nos permita, de fato, cuidar e proteger o que Deus criou com dignidade, responsabilidade e amor fraterno. / [en] The migrant s face speaks eloquently about the incredible inequality that exists in human society and of its consequences. On the other hand, the way we notice, perceive and welcome this face also speaks eloquently about ourselves: the way we deal with the needs, the fragility and the vulnerability of the orphan, the widow and the outsider, of him who is naked and hungry. In other words, poor and underserved people, vagabonds, migrants, immigrants, refugees, expatriates, stateless persons, asylum seekers, all forcibly displaced. The already massive and still growing contemporary migratory flow consists of people who seek refuge from the bestiality of wars and despotic governments, coming from conflicted territories in search of peace and security, as well as by the so-called economic immigrants, who search for better lives. As long as the income disparity between rich and poor countries remains abysmal and the process of global growth stays absolutely uneven, the migration trigger will continue to fuel the harmful effects of imbalanced international migration in epic proportions. As consequence, the arrival of a mass of homeless immigrants, deprived of human rights and not adequately supported by local law, further exacerbates xenophobic, racist and nationalist movements. The incessant waves of new immigrants are thus perceived with unease and fear, provoking animosity and hostility towards a considerable part of the communities and countries that receive them. The 21st century, marked by new eras of information, communication and technology, marked by the asymmetric effects of a perverse globalization that promotes inequitable access to productive and financial means, marked by the formation and expansion of new totalitarian governments and the configuration of a new multipolar geopolitical order, marked by the persistence of poverty and the perpetuation of elementary structural inequalities exacerbates an old phenomenon, but which is now manifesting itself in alarming proportions: the crisis of refugees and poor immigrants. For this reason we use the perspective of the philosophy of ethical foundation of the philosopher Emmanuel Lévinas. Its categories as human face, visitation of the face, face as revelation, face of the foreigner, the widow and the orphan as transcendence, culture as the face of another, inter-human perspective, otherness and proximity help us shed light on the situation of refugees and poor immigrants today. Likewise, it also seemed fundamental to us to use the perspective adopted by Pope Francis throughout his teachings. Since the beginning of his pontificate, the Supreme Pontiff has drawn attention to the new challenges related to the drama of the refugees and immigrants of today. He warned us that humanity is experiencing a crisis and that we need to give an effective response to current human ills through a solidary posture and by rejecting the treacherous temptations of separation and individualism. The Pontiff insists on the need to promote a culture of the encounter that allows us, in fact, to care for and to protect what God created with dignity, responsibility and fraternal love.

This practice-led research was initiated in response to a series of violent encounters that occurred between my fragile installations and viewers. The central focus of this study was to recuperate my installation practice in the wake of such events. This led to the development of a ‘responsive practice’ methodology, which reframed the installation process through an ethical lens developed from Emmanuel Levinas’ ethical phenomenology. The central propositions of this research are the reconceptualisation of ‘violent encounters’ in terms of difference whereby I accept viewers responses, even those which are violent, destructive or damaging, and secondly that the process operates as a generative excess for practice through which recuperative strategies can be found and implemented. By re-examining this process as it unfolded in the three phases of the practical component, I developed strategies whereby violated, destroyed or damaged works could be recuperated through the processes of reconfiguration, reparation and regeneration. Therefore my installations embody and articulate vulnerability but also demonstrate resilience and renewal.

Zugl.: Freiburg (Breisgau), Univ., Diss.

Thèse (Ph. D.)--Université Laval, 2003. / Bibliogr.: f. 246-265. Publ. aussi en version électronique.