Robert Coover is one of a group of young American novelists who, using philosophical and theological frameworks, have used literature as a vehicle by which to exp7ore metaphysical areas that have been largely ignored in recent decades. An abiding interest in Coover's fiction, as befits a former philosophy professor (Bard College), is the whole question of order vs. chaos, or, perhaps more appropriately, an Apollonian vs. a Dionysian world view. In approaching this subject Coover poses important questions to his reader -- questions dealing with our ways of experiencing and thinking, questions examining our secular and religious institutions, questions spotlighting the omnipresence in our lives of myth and ritual, questions addressing our attitudes toward history, and questions concerned with the ways we use language. In this manner Coover seeks to say something about man as he is rather than about man as he likes to think he is. Coover believes the world to be ultimately random while man is inwardly driven toward orderliness. By means of myth, ritual, history and language man is able to evoke order out of chaos, according to Coover, and thereby sacralize his world and make one's life meaningful. Such orderliness is strictly man-made, Coover insists, and thus he sees man as a sort of "games player" who, by means of his creative and imaginative powers, is able to make rules, set boundaries, and even give a pep talk or two. Man as "games player" runs a risk, however, of becoming so wrapped up in his "game" that he is no longer able to say what the "real" world is all about. The height of human awareness, for Coover, is to recognize oneself as a "games player," to know what kind of game one is playing and why the game needs to be played. In examining Coover's fiction aesthetically and addressing the philosophical and theological issues he raises we will come to see that Coover's vision of man as "games player" is an inadequate one.

Much of the popular discussion of the social responsibilities of corporations overlooks the fundamental question of whether corporations (as opposed to their employees) are the type of entities to which it is proper to make responsibility ascriptions. That is the question I address in this paper. I proceed by outlining the criteria a subject must meet in order to qualify as a moral agent (the most controversial of which when applied to corporations is the capability of intentional action) and then examining five popular views on the status of corporations. The views vary widely in their conclusions, from the position that corporations are full-fledged members of the moral community to the theory that it is only their employees that have moral responsibilities. Regardless of their conclusions all are found deficient for one reason or another, most criticisms boiling down to the claim that they are based on an inadequate view of corporate structure or behavior. Following organizational theorist Michael Keeley's lead, I conclude that corporations are not moral agents, although for much different reasons than any of the other nay-sayers whose views I examine. I suggest that whatever the details of their arguments, all theories that claim corporations are moral agents (and even some who deny it) are based on an organismic model of corporate behavior that involves goal-oriented behavior. It is my contention that when the activities of corporations are actually examined that no such corporate intentional action can be identified and that corporations therefore do not qualify as moral agents. However, I also suggest that while we cannot properly hold corporations morally responsible for their actions, they are not shielded from moral judgements. As moral agents, we are justified in preferring one type of corporate activity over another (say, proper treatment of toxic wastes over "midnight dumping") on moral grounds. Finally, calling once again on Keeley, I point to an alternative to the organismic model of corporate behavior, the social-contract model, as a potentially more fruitful tool of inquiry into the relationships between corporations, individuals and society.

A study of the methodology utilized in Irenaeus' Against Heresies is undertaken as a moment in the orthodoxy-heresy controversy. Ly examining the heresiological method of one author in some detail, his insights into the controversy may be gained. The problem of heresy and heretics is treated by examining the origins and nature of heresy according to Irenaeus from paganism, demonology and psychology, and Simon Ma -us. Heretics proper have their own problems with unity and diversity, and they are identified by their teaching and moral character. The study of their victims shows that they are discernible both within the Church and among the general public. Refutation is classified broadly in relation to the manner in which it is pursued and the instruments of Scripture and reason. Three criteria of refutation are regarded as providing an overview of Irenaeus' method. These are the irreducibility of the Rule of Faith, the inconsistency of heretical exegesis of Scripture, and the insufficiency of their systems with focus on the doctrine of creation. Irenaeus based his refutation on ecclesiastical criteria of unity and universality, apostolic succession) and an empirical conception of truth. Certain ambiguities regarding second century Church life are recognized and allowed to stand, although prominent themes relating to these areas are not entirely obscured as a result of this recognition.

Jean Piaget and Eric Havelock are two writers who have essentially identical conceptions of the nature and development of ideas and the mind. This essential identity is the case even though Piaget is studying the cognitive development of the individual preoperational child, while Havelock is studying the development of the Homeric Greek mind and ideas in relation to the oral processes of communication which existed in Homeric Greece. Both the Homeric and the preoperational conceptions of the mind are examined in regard to the content and form of their ideas, as well as to the mechanisms of their development. Both conceptions of mind view this mental development as the result of introducing new cultural information into the psyche. This new information conflicts with established structures and disrupts their equilibrium, eventually resulting in the development of a new more general cognitive structure which is in equilibrium with the new information. Each level of equilibrium has associated cognitive structures which are qualitatively different from those in the preceding level. The form and content of both the preoperational and the Homeric conceptions of mind are shaped by the dominance of the perceptual faculties at that level. In both views, the mind is bound to perceptual concretes and is incapable of abstractions. mental processes, such as they are at this level, are tied to actions, events, and mental imagery. These actions and events follow the structure of the perceptual processes in that they are unidirectional and take place sequentially. The minds of the Homeric Greek and preoperational child are egocentric: they cannot take the viewpoint of another, and do not admit the existence of evidence which conflicts with their own beliefs, since everything is viewed from their particular perspective rather than from an "objective" abstract one. The few differences noted between Planet's conception of the preoperational mind and Havelock's characterization of the Homeric mind are seen as a result of their varying perspectives, individual versus cultural, and not as a result of any essential difference.

The main viewpoints and methods of two important figures of tho "Chicago school" in the comparative study of religion, Wach and Eliade, are investigated, and then are discussed on three levels: the disciplinary, the philosophic,al, and the historical. Or the disciplinary level, their theoretical emphases and methodological characteristics are discerned. On the philosophical level, their presuppositions are classified by an "archic analysis," a scheme of one's philosophical orientation provided by Walter Watson. And on the historical level, their theories are examined against the concrete religious data of Chinese Buddhism. Finally, the conclusion is drawn from the analysis of the relations among these three levels, and the significance of the discipline of comparative religion is interpreted.

The Dooley estate, Maymont, is located at 1700 Hampton Street in Richmond, Virginia. Once a dairy farm, the approximately 105-acre home site is adjacent to the popular Byrd Park and overlooks the James River. In this paper I have researched the architectural construction of the Dooley mansion and its significance to the Richmond area with regards to the Dooleys, their art collections, and their interest in European trends.

The purpose of the lecture/recital was to demonstrate how pioneering composers such as Vincent Persichetti, Karel Husa, Joseph Schwantner, Michael Colgrass, and David Maslanka helped create the modem day wind ensemble percussion section. The Lecture/Recital consisted of a demonstration of extended techniques used in each of these composers’ works for wind ensemble, which enabled the composers to add different colors and timbres to the music. The lecture also included illustrations of possible setups and the number of percussion instruments utilized for each composition. A performance of various excerpts from each work concluded the lecture/recital.

This is a novel of a teenage son, Sean Eldredge, who discovers his father, Henry—a cruel, impulsive and overpowering figure in his life—murdered, and finds himself initially accused of the crime. Sean’s life, already complicated by the recent divorce of his parents and his perception of that event as his mother’s abandonment of her proper place, and complicated as well by a somewhat confusing relationship with his own girlfriend, now spins into a phase in which he is unable to interpret the intentions of those around him with any certainty. The suspicion of guilt is lifted from him but that does nothing to put his own mind at rest as to the cause of his father’s death. He still thinks it was a murder, and he must, and will, clear up the matter in the adult world, a world that is still baffling and threatening to him.

The purpose of this thesis was to demonstrate the character, mood, and style of four original compositions. Each composition was thoroughly analyzed according to form, melodic content, harmonic content, rhythmic content, and technical elements related to performance aspects. These original compositions are highly technical, rich in dynamic shadings, and melodic and rhythmic intensity. Each composition is inspired by life experience, and attempt to provide a narrative to showcase a four-decade career in jazz performance.

The two communities treated in this thesis, College Ward and Young Ward, are located in the southern section of Cache Valley, Utah, in an area originally known as the L.D.S. Church Farm. In 1877, Mormon President Brigham Young gave the Church Farm as an endowment to help build and maintain the newly-created Brigham Young College, and the land was leased, and later sold, to interested settlers. Although late in settlement, these wards have a history of occupation and development similar to most local Mormon farm communities, and almost without exception have been populated by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 1936 College Ward, which had included Young Ward until this time, was divided. This division resulted primarily from internal problems arising over locations of church and school buildings. The names for both the College and Young wards came from the Mormon school, the Brigham Young College. This thesis is principally concerned with the early period of settlement, and the life of the people.