Thesis advisor: Olivier Boulnois / Thesis advisor: Stephen F. Brown / The Dissertation Text has Three Parts. Each paragraph is referred at the end to the Part it summarizes. My dissertation places Saint Anselm’s Ontological Argument within its original Neoplatonic context that should justify its validity. The historical thesis is that Anselm’s epistemology, underlying the Proslogion, the Monologion and De Veritate, was a natural, often unaccounted for, reflection of the essentially Neoplatonic vision that defined the pre-thirteenth century mental culture in Europe. (Introduction and Part I) This thesis is shown through the reception of Anselm’s argument by 27 XIIIth-XIVth century thinkers, whose reading of it exhibits a gradual weakening of Neoplatonic premises up to a complete change of paradigm towards the XIVth century, the first reason being the specificity of the Medieval reception of Aristotle’s teaching on first principles that is the subject of Posterior Analytics (Part II), and the second reason being the specificity of the Medieval reception of Dionysius the Areopagite (Part III, see sub-thesis 4 below). The defense of this main historical thesis aims at proving three systematic sub-theses, including a further historical sub-thesis. The Three Systematic Sub-Theses: 1) The inadequacy of rationalist and idealist epistemology in reaching and providing apodictic truths (the chief one of which is God’s existence) with ultimate ontic grounding, as well as the inadequacy of objectivistic metaphysics that underlies these epistemologies, calls for another, non-objectifying epistemic paradigm offered by the Neoplatonic (Proclian theorem of transcendence) apophatic and supra-discursive logic (kenotic epistemology) that should be a better method to achieve certainty, because of its ability to found logic in its ontic source and thus envisage thought as an experience and a mode of being in which it is grounded. Within such a dialectic, there cannot be any opposition or division either between being and thought, or between faith and reason, faith being an ontic ground of reason’s activity defined as self-transcendence. The argument of the Proslogion is thus an instance of logic that transcends itself into its own principle – into ‘that than which nothing greater can be conceived’. Such an epistemological vision is also supported by contemporary epistemology (Russell’s Paradox and Gödel’s Incompleteness Theorem) (Introduction and Part I) 2) In virtue of this apophatic and supra-discursive vision, God’s existence, thought by human mind (as expressed in the argument of the Proslogion), happens to be a common denominator between God’s inaccessible essence and the created essence of human mind, so that human consciousness can be defined as ‘con-science’ – the mind experiencing its own being as co-knowledge with God that forges being as such. (Part I) 3) However, God’s existence as a common denominator between God’s essence and the created essence of human mind cannot be legitimately accommodated within the XIIIth-XIVth century epistemology and metaphysics because of the specificity of relation between God’s essence and His attributes, typical of Medieval scholasticism and as stated by Peter Lombard and Thomas Aquinas. If this relation is kept, while at the same time God’s existence is affirmed as immanent to the human mind (God as the first object of intellect), God’s transcendence is sacrificed and He becomes subject to metaphysics (Scotus’ nominal univocity of being). In order to achieve real univocity between the existence of human thinking and God’s existence, one needs a relation between God’s essence and His attributes that would allow a real participation of the created in the uncreated. The configuration of such a relation, however, needs the distinction between God’s essence and His energies that Western Medieval thought did not know, but that is inherent to the Neoplatonic epistemic tradition persisting through the Eastern Church theologians and Dionysius the Areopagite up to Gregory Palamas. (Part III) Another Historical Sub-Thesis: 4) One of the reasons why Medieval readers of Anselm’s Proslogion misread it in the Aristotelian key, was that they did not have access to the original work of Dionysius the Areopagite, in which the said distinction between God’s essence and His energies is present. This is due to the fact that the Medievals read Dionysius through Eriugena’s translation. However, Eriugena was himself influenced by Augustine’s De Trinitate that exhibits an essentialist theology: in fact, it places ideas within God’s essence, which yields the notion of the created as a mere similitude, not real participation, and which ultimately makes the vision (knowledge) of God possible only in the afterlife. Since already with Augustine the relation between grace and nature is modified (grace becomes a created manifestation of God, instead of being His uncreated energy), God’s essence remains incommunicable. Similarly, God’s existence is not in any way immanent to the created world, of which the created human intellect is a part, so that it remains as transcendent to the human mind as is His incommunicable essence. This should explain why for the Medievals analogy, and eventually univocity, was the only way to say something about God, and also why they mostly could not read Anselm’s Proslogion otherwise than either in terms of propositional or modal logic. (Part III) The dissertation concludes that whilst Anselm’s epistemology in the Proslogion is an instance of Neoplatonic metaphysical tradition, the question of the possibility of certainty in epistemology, as well as the possibility of metaphysics as such, depends on the possibility of real communicability between the immanence of human predicating mind and the transcendence of God’s essence through His trans-immanent existence.

No description available.

Da verdade, como seu título indica, é uma obra dedicada à busca da definição da verdade, que é fornecida após serem percorridas todas as sedes da verdade: significação, pensamento, vontade, ação, sentidos, essência das coisas, e, por último, a suma verdade. A verdade, contudo, não é tratada como a adequação da coisa e do intelecto. Diferentemente da tradição aristotélica, Anselmo estende, por meio da noção de retidão, o conceito de verdade a diversas esferas, chegando ao ponto de estabelecer a justiça como espécie da verdade. Apesar dessa expansão, Anselmo consegue assegurar a transcendência de Deus e a unidade da verdade. / On the truth, as suggested by the title, is a book dedicated to the research of the definition of truth, which is given after covering all the abodes of truth: meaning, thought, will, action, sense, essence of things, and finally the highest truth. However, the truth is not concerned as the adjustment of the thing and the intellect. Differently from the Aristotelian tradition, Anselm extends the concept of truth to different fields through the notion of rectitude, until establishing the justice as species of truth. Despite this expansion, Anselm succeeds in ensuring the transcendence of God and the unity of truth.

Thesis (M.A.)--Wheaton College Graduate School, Wheaton, Ill., 2002. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 116-124).

Thesis (M.A.)--Wheaton College Graduate School, Wheaton, Ill., 2002. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 116-124).

Thesis (M.A.)--Wheaton College Graduate School, Wheaton, Ill., 2002. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 116-124).

Da verdade, como seu título indica, é uma obra dedicada à busca da definição da verdade, que é fornecida após serem percorridas todas as sedes da verdade: significação, pensamento, vontade, ação, sentidos, essência das coisas, e, por último, a suma verdade. A verdade, contudo, não é tratada como a adequação da coisa e do intelecto. Diferentemente da tradição aristotélica, Anselmo estende, por meio da noção de retidão, o conceito de verdade a diversas esferas, chegando ao ponto de estabelecer a justiça como espécie da verdade. Apesar dessa expansão, Anselmo consegue assegurar a transcendência de Deus e a unidade da verdade. / On the truth, as suggested by the title, is a book dedicated to the research of the definition of truth, which is given after covering all the abodes of truth: meaning, thought, will, action, sense, essence of things, and finally the highest truth. However, the truth is not concerned as the adjustment of the thing and the intellect. Differently from the Aristotelian tradition, Anselm extends the concept of truth to different fields through the notion of rectitude, until establishing the justice as species of truth. Despite this expansion, Anselm succeeds in ensuring the transcendence of God and the unity of truth.

Orientador: Maria José de Azevedo Marcondes / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Artes / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-28T02:49:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Piva_MarciaHelenaGirardi_D.pdf: 11969821 bytes, checksum: 960692ae33072b63006d86ef21662d6c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015 / Resumo: O objeto de estudo desta pesquisa concentra-se, inicialmente, sobre a produção do artista Anselm Kiefer, a partir de sua exposição Monumenta 2007, no Grand Palais, em Paris - evento que gerou discussões relevantes no âmbito teórico acadêmico além de novas referências sobre questões primordiais que abrangem a arte contemporânea. O tema a ser abordado nesta investigação discutirá a permanência de alguns aspectos originários do projeto romântico alemão, a partir da observação de sua continuidade na produção de alguns artistas da atualidade. A obra de Anselm Kiefer será o objeto mediador desta análise, ressaltando-se os necessários e amplos questionamentos que deverão acompanhar esta reflexão, levando-se em conta a complexidade das mudanças do século XXI. Anselm Kiefer retoma o tema da paisagem na segunda metade do século XX e passa a traçar conexões que nos instiga à reflexão filosófica, sobre um pensamento confrontado com cenários desconcertantes. As ruínas do pós-guerra e os atuais cenários das ruínas industriais e ambientais, passam a ser um novo solo para reflexão sobre redes suficientemente potentes que conectam diversos tempos, configurando novas investigações que permeiam a arte contemporânea. A análise de uma continuidade do projeto romântico dentro das diversas vertentes da arte atual possibilita o início de uma discussão sobre a permanência deste projeto, centrada na questão sobre a obra de arte passar a ser tomada, a partir do romantismo, como núcleo de reflexão e crítica do momento vivenciado pelo artista. Assim, com o intuito de trazer tal discussão para o âmbito artístico brasileiro, as análises feitas para a comprovação desta tese entrelaçarão - a partir das constatações já referidas por diversos autores sobre aspectos românticos presentes na obra contemporânea de Anselm Kiefer -, outros artistas que possibilitam relações com sua obra e, consequentemente com o projeto romântico alemão, a partir da observação de elementos formais, históricos ou críticos que, nesta tese buscou em obras específicas dos artistas Frans Krajcberg e Carlos Vergara uma forma de constatação de elementos que se entrelaçam para além da cultura de cada um deles. Na relação criada nesta pesquisa, entre as obras dos artistas de culturas distintas, buscou-se um alicerce nos estudos de Aby Warburg apoiado em autores da atualidade que discutem sua obra. Serão analisados com maior ênfase o trágico e o sublime na paisagem, apoiados sobre a reflexão e crítica do momento presente, destacando-se os devidos deslocamentos de tais temas, presentes de forma significativa na arte contemporânea. Assim, esta pesquisa busca o diálogo entre os aspectos que foram iniciados no romantismo e que hoje mostram sua permanência na arte da atualidade, assim como ampliar relações, através de novas conexões, sobre metodologias utilizadas para se conceber a história da arte / Abstract: The object of this research study focuses initially on the production of artist Anselm Kiefer, from his exhibition Monumenta 2007 at the Grand Palais in Paris - an event that generated relevant discussions in the academic theoretical sphere and new references on primordial questions covering contemporary art. The topic to be addressed in this research will discuss the permanence of some aspects originating from the German romantic, from the observation of continuity in the production of some present-day artists. The work of Anselm Kiefer will be the mediator object of this analysis, emphasizing the necessary and broad questions that must follow this reflection, taking into consideration the complexity of the changes of the XXI century. Anselm Kiefer takes up the theme of landscape in the second half of the twentieth century and begins to trace connections that encourage us to philosophical reflection on a thought faced with disturbing sceneries. The post-war ruins and the current scenarios of industrial and environmental ruin, become a new ground for reflection on sufficiently powerful networks that connect many times, setting new investigations that permeate contemporary art. Analysis of a continuing romantic project within the various strands of contemporary art enables the start of a discussion on the permanence of this project, centered on the question of the artwork now be taken from the Romanticism, as core of reflection and criticism of the moment experienced by the artist. Thus, in order to bring this discussion to the Brazilian artistic context, the analyzes of this thesis will connect - from the findings already referred by several authors about romantic aspects in the contemporary work of Anselm Kiefer - other artists that enable relations with his work and consequently with the German romantic, from the observation of historical or critical formal elements, that this thesis seek in specific works of artists Frans Krajcberg and Carlos Vergara a way of finding elements that intertwine beyond culture of each one. At the relationship established in this study, among the works of artists from different cultures, we sought a foundation in the study of Aby Warburg supported by present authors that discuss their work. It will be analyzed with greater emphasis the tragic and the sublime in landscape, supported on the reflection and critique of the present, highlighting the appropriate displacements of such themes, significantly present in contemporary art. Thus, this research seeks dialogue among the aspects that were started in romanticism and now show their permanence in today's art, as well as expanding relationships through new connections, on methodologies used to conceive the history of art / Doutorado / Artes Visuais / Doutora em Artes Visuais

Eine der wichtigsten Aufgaben der Kunst ist es, unser kulturelles Gedächtnis zu aktivieren, zu errinnern was ist vergessen oder absichtlich in die Vergessenheit gezwungen wurde, selbst wenn das alte Wunde bluten lasst und traumatisch erscheint. Jedes Mal ist das Element der Kritik die ausschlaggebende Komponente der künstlerischen Arbeit, sie charakterisiert nicht nur den Künstler, und die Zeit in der er/sie lebt, sondern auch den Zuschauer, genauer: wie weit ist der Künstler bereit zu gehen und wie weit sind die Zuschauer bereit ihm zu folgen, im Rückblick manchmal mehr ersteres als letzteres. In meiner Arbeit analysiere ich die Aspekte von Mythologie, Geschichte und deren sozio-politische Relevanz in den Arbeiten von Anselm Kiefer, der Künstler der mit seinen Werken unsere Wahrnehmung der Geschichte, vor allem der deutschen Geschichte, beeinflust und in Frage gestellt hat. / It is one of the major tasks of art to revive our cultural memory and to sharpen our senses, to remind whatever has been forgotten or is being purposefully given to oblivion and to predict whatever the future might have in store even if it causes old wounds bleed anew. Each time the element of critique, being one of the crucial components of artistic work, characterises not only the artist, the time he/she lives in, but also the spectator: precisely, how far the artist is prepared to go and how much the spectator is prepared to accept, in retrospect more the latter than the former. My work analyses the problems of mythology, history and their socio-political relevance on the examples of works by Anselm Kiefer, the artist whose work is irrevocably related to history, German history in the first place, the artistic means of remembrance as well as the role of mythology in our collective memory.

This essay consists of a comparative study of the ontological argument for the existence of God asformulated by St. Anselm of Canterbury and René Descartes. The comparative analysis itselfconsists of two parts. Firstly, a comparative study of the argument itself, and an examination of theunderlying metaontological commitments that form the basis of the respective arguments, whichare then likewise contrasted. The stated purpose is to examine whether two versions of theontological argument that appear to be similar may have an underlying framework that makes themfundamentally fundamentally distinct in a way that is not immediately apparent. The analysis foundthat this was the case, and that there are significant differences in how the argument is formulated.This is of interest especially as these two thinkers wrote in and were influenced by widely differingcultural, intellectual and academic contexts, which may be reflected in their work. Ontologicalarguments for the existence of God as a phenomenon is a metaphysical argument that seeks toprove that God exists without relying on empirical and observational evidence. Rather, one seeksthrough these ontological arguments to show that the existence of God is self-evident.With Anselm and Descartes this happens in a seemingly very similar yet fundamentally differentway. The results of this study demonstrate differences that appear primarily in the starting point forthe respective discourses, as well as in the methodology that is applied. Anselm bases his discourseon a distinctly neoplatonic foundation regarding the highest good, which he later extrapolates to amore comprehensive reasoning regarding the distinction between different natures according togreatness, of which goodness is one such greatness. Descartes, on the other hand, anchors hisdiscourse in scholastic philosophy and especially the idea of the causal principle of transference,especially in relation to human consciousness and the idea or the concept of God which manifeststherein. These results have been achieved primarily by examining Anselm's arguments based onsecondary sources that relate both directly and indirectly to his ontological argument, which in itssimplicity otherwise consists almost in its entirely of a self-evident descriptive definition of whatGod is. However, the differences that emerge are not of such a degree that a division of these twoargument into different categories can be made with a high degree of confidence. On the otherhand, it is of interest to analyze these underlying frameworks for ontological arguments in order toalso be able to analyze the potential influence or impact of various contextual aspects such as place,time and prevailing academic culture as this essay attempts to do.