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Almost no work has been done on the substance of Kierkegaard's epistemology. I argue, however, that knowledge plays a much more important role in Kierkegaard's thought than has traditionally been appreciated. / There are two basic types of knowledge, according to Kierkegaard: "objective knowledge" and "subjective knowledge." I argue that both types of knowledge are associated by Kierkegaard with "certainty" and may be defined as justified true mental representation (forestilling). I also argue, however, that the meaning of 'certainty,' 'justified' and 'true' is derivative of the object of knowledge. That is, I argue that Kierkegaard employs these expressions in both an objective and subjective sense and that the latter sense is not, as it has often been interpreted to be, subjectivist. / Finally, I argue that an appreciation of the substance of Kierkegaard's epistemology reveals that the charges of irrationalism which have often been made against him, are without foundation.

This study proposes to investigate the central metaphors of journey and silence as they as found in Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling. Relying primarily on Paul Ricoeur's corrective to the tradition of metaphor theory, The Rule of Metaphor, Kierkegaard's use of these metaphors will be analysed for the way in which the nature of faith is depicted in this difficult, highly lyrical text. Key features of this study include a consideration of the role of "possibility" and "indirect communication" in the language of faith and, by extension, metaphor. Ricoeur's theory helps to connect what he terms the "work" of the text with the "world" of the text.

If one painstakingly analyzes and compares the novel, the theatrical and the libretto versions of Marguerite-Violetta, a several-time reborn character from the novel and drama Camille, one notices striking differences and gleans useful insights as to the peculiarity of the three genres involved (novel, theatre and opera) and as to the reductive work of the libretto writer who, by modifying the roles of the characters and the values they channel, achieves a synthesis that has no match in the works he draws from. / This thesis aimed precisely at highlighting the intervening differences among the three genres, while pointing out the changes which were introduced and the peculiar nature of the final product, the libretto of La Traviata .

The utopian picture of America presented in the first two-thirds of St. John de Crevecoeur's Letters from an American Farmer (1782) contrasts sharply with the description of southern slavery and the effects of the American Revolution given in the final third of the book. Critics of Letters often account for this change in tone by attributing the utopian vision to the narrator, James. In this view, the progression of the book results either from James's disillusionment at the failure of his utopian hopes, or from a process of education whereby he alters that vision or unrealistically reaffirms it. However, evidence in the text suggests that James used a utopian vision supplied by his minister as a contrast to his own more realistic vision in order to educate his European correspondent. James provides examples that illustrate the elements of his utopian vision and the threats to it. Letters thus reveals a narrator who is neither naive nor unrealistic. / Department of English

The following thesis examines the impact on the interpretation of Hebbel's personality and works of National Socialist ideology and propaganda. It comprises six chapters. The first five of these explore different areas of ideological influence and provide evidence of the nature and extent of this influence. The sixth chapter looks at the reception of Hebbel in the National Socialist theatres and at the growth and development of the Hebbel-Society between 1933 and 1945. The aim of the thesis is primarily to break down the National Socialist view of Hebbel into its constituent parts and to categorise these. An acquaintance with Hebbel's works and beliefs reveals that the National Socialist view of him is largely inaccurate and distortive. The thesis has to explain why the National Socialists developed a false view of Hebbel. And it has to point as frequently as necessary to the differences between Hebbel as he was in reality and Hebbel as the National Socialists saw him. The thesis does not present National Socialist interpretations as having totally revolutionised Hebbel-reception. In two chapters in particular, the second and the third, it will show how interpretations which were to become characteristic of National Socialist Hebbel-reception were being propagated long before 1933. Nevertheless the National Socialists standardised the picture of Hebbel as a Nordic dramatist who was committed to heroic ideals, anti-Semitic, politically conservative and anti-liberal. The ideal aim of the thesis is to "purify" Hebbel's character, works and beliefs of their association with National Socialist values. At the same time it will be shown how easily and at times almost imperceptibly a writer's views can be altered to make them consistent with those of the interpreter.

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Texte remanié de: Habilitationsschrift--Philosophische Fakultät IV--Regensburg--Universität Regensburg, 1989.

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