With its perennial interest in the seemingly ordinary lives of small-town people, Alice Munro’s fiction displays a deceptively simple surface reality that on closer scrutiny reveals intricate levels of unexpected complexity about the fundamentals of human experience: love, choice, mortality, faith and the force of language. This study takes as its main purpose the exploration of Munro’s stories in terms of the intricacy of emotions in the face of commonplace events of life and their emerging possibilities. I argue that the ontological levels of fiction and reality remain in the realm of the real; these levels exist and merge as the possibilities of each other. Munro’s realism is explored in terms of its connection to possibilities that arise out of a particular type of fatality. The phenomenon of possibility permeates Munro’s stories. An investigation of this phenomenon shows a curious paradox between possibility and necessity. In order to discuss the complexity of this paradox I introduce the temporal/spatial concept of possibility-space and notions of the fatal. I describe the space that materializes in the phenomenal field between text and reader, and where the constitution of possibility becomes visible. This is typically seen in the rupture that is the event, where the event in itself offers a moment of release and epistemic certainty to the characters. I argue that through this release and certainty the characters obtain a radical, audacious sense of freedom and intensity of life. The stories examined have been grouped in a conceptual order that brings into view the central qualities of Munro’s fiction such as lightness, newness and sameness. These qualities are related to the act of recognition; they are elaborated through readings of a large number of stories from all the collections, including three stories published recently in The New Yorker. The dissertation concludes by highlighting these qualities in the tour de force “Post and Beam.” I argue finally that Alice Munro’s fiction recognizes life as possibility in a moment when it shows itself in its own remarkable sameness.

Lacan is an influential figure of 20th Century thought. Being a psychoanalyst, a linguist and at the same time a philosopher, in his theory he combines all three of these disciplines. Even in his later works, he tried to combine his theory with mathematical formalization. His theory influenced three important political thinkers: Laclau, &amp / #381 / i&amp / #382 / ek and Badiou. The purpose of this dissertation is mainly to examine Lacan&rsquo / s thought and its impasses which could be found especially in the political applications of his theory. First I start with a critical reading of Lacan&rsquo / s own works. I try to figure out the idealizations, presuppositions and blind spots hidden in his work. I develop my critical reading by focusing on the works of Laclau, &amp / #381 / i&amp / #382 / ek and Badiou. The main argument of this dissertation is, such a critical reading of these philosophers will lead us to a general questioning of Lacan&rsquo / s theory and the legitimacy of its applications. Lacan&rsquo / s use of the impossibility as a founding principle and his passion for formalization cause several idealizations, like the idealization of the neutrality of the signifier, the idealization of the non-represented and so on. These problems are extended and transformed into other ones in his disciples&rsquo / works. For Laclau, the problem is transformed into a purely content-free understanding of elements of democracy which ends up with paradoxical results. For &amp / #381 / i&amp / #382 / ek and Badiou, because of their insistence on a political theory based on the impossible real, their subversive theories end up with a theory which take the form of messianic discourses. What I propose is a reconsideration of the role of the theory on the understanding of human reality: in principle every theory excludes some portions of the richness of human life-world, therefore every theory must have a retrospective and critical stance against its own founding principles. This cannot be done by formalized theories which keep the formal structure of itself untouchable.

En commentant certains résultats des sciences physiques ou mathématiques, plus particulièrement de la seconde moitié du XXe siècle, on cherche à comprendre l'importance philosophique du concept de diagramme, qui est au cœur de la théorie mathématique des catégories, des topoi et des esquisses. Partant du constat que les diagrammes et catégories contraignent à des options ontologiques, on propose pour étudier leur disposition conjointe de suivre quatre concepts fondamentaux qui forment le quadrilatère épistémique (la virtualité, la fonctorialité, l'universalité et la dualité). Le virtuel est nécessaire parce qu'une table n'existe pas de la même manière que le bleu du ciel qui n'a pas de réalité matérielle. La fonctorialité et le lemme de Yoneda imposent de reconsidérer le statut de l'objet. Le théorème de Diaconescu illustre l'idée que la logique immanente d'un lieu est déterminée par le topologique, que la logique n'a pas l'importance qu'on lui accorde parfois. L'universalité et la dualité déplace la notion de vérité qui n'est plus une simple valuation, mais une vérité-foudre, une vérité-événement qui fonctionne par adéquation et résonance de pans entiers de connaissance et non plus par inférence logique. Le diagramme devient le lieu de cette vérité qui passe par le geste. Dès lors, il devient possible de croiser ontologie et topologie en une onto-(po)-logie (ou une ontologie toposique) qui ne soit pas en contraction avec les philosophies de l'immanence. L'univocité de l'Être ne s'oppose pas à l'approche catégorielle. Plus encore : la prégnance des formes duales incite à penser l'hypothèse que l'Un est le dual de l'Être.

Cette recherche a pour objectif principal de mener à bien une étude théorique originale d'inspiration marxienne sur la théorie révolutionnaire d'Alain Badiou et de Toni Negri. Nous avons fait une généalogie de la pensée politique révolutionnaire ce qui nous permit de situer le marxisme dans cette tradition. Par la suite, nous avons procédé à la définition des principaux concepts théoriques utilisés par Negri et Badiou. Cette étude conceptuelle a été menée parallèlement à une recherche historico-politique sur le parcours des deux auteurs. Chacun des concepts a été placé en lien avec une période spécifique de leur vie militante. Enfin, nous avons établi le lien entre leur travail théorique actuel et leur engagement politique. ______________________________________________________________________________

This thesis argues that it is both necessary and possible to change the world. Changing the world requires engaging with, to try to understand it from the basis of lived reality, and then acting. Our ability to do this is, however, affected by hegemony, which attempts to convince us that the way things are is either normal and natural and the only possible way they could be, or that it is impossible to change them. Nevertheless, there is always resistance to this, and I suggest that we might learn something useful by examining how this happens. The thesis thus explores Gramsci’s theory of hegemony, and its applicability to our current world; and also considers resistance to this. I argue that the nature of capitalism has shifted, and discuss how this shift has impacted on hegemony, identifying three current interlocking hegemonic ideologies. I consider current resistance to this hegemony, including the role of social movements. Much resistance, and many social movements, I argued, cannot properly be called counter-hegemonic in that, although it/they may critique the dominant economic system, it/they remain trapped within hegemonic logic. However, it is clear that there is existing truly counter-hegemonic resistance, including some social movements, and I argue that Abahlali baseMjondolo is one such counter-hegemonic movement. Thus it is possible that those who join/align themselves with this movement might be considered to have ‘unlearned’ hegemony and be useful subjects for this study. I thus consider the life stories of seven people who have aligned themselves to this movement, in order to determine whether they have indeed ‘unlearned’ hegemony, and if so, how. I discuss relevant and appropriate theory for examining this phenomenon, including experiential learning, transformative learning and Freirean emancipatory learning. I argue that whilst these theories of learning are helpful, they cannot entirely account for unlearning. I then turn to the theory of the event of Alain Badiou as a possible complementary or alternative way into thinking about unlearning. I apply both the learning theories and Badiou’s theory of the event to the stories, all of which show strong evidence of unlearning,, and consider how useful the theories are in understanding this. I conclude that all of the theories help to some extent in understanding the unlearning in stories. There are, however, fundamental differences between the learning theories on the one hand and Badiou’s theory on the other. I construct a model showing that the basis of the difference between the adult learning theories and Badiou’s theory of the event rests on the locus of the trigger for transformation. I argue that Badiou’s theory provides a very useful additional perspective to adult learning theory; but that it cannot be considered to have replaced existing theories in understanding how people learn informally to think and act in counter-hegemonic ways. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.

<div>This dissertation explores the figure of the mad scientist in Victorian literature through some of the most enduring literary examples, viewing these works not as anti-science cautionary tales but rather thought experiments for dealing with hazardous scientists and hazardous science. It makes a claim for a spectrum of hazardous scientists from the beneficial to the truly mad and argues that the primary difference between them is a matter of socialization. It argues that these novels advocate for the scientist and society to negotiate and co-construct a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship.<br></div>

The thesis offers an interpretation of Paul's political thought and political theology in the context of current philosophy. The first part presents a methodological basis of the work: the concept of political theology is conceived as a methodological tool that enables us to concentrate on interrelations and mutual effects of religion and politics and to expose implicit or explicit political meanings and implications of religious ideas. The second methodological subchapter deals with Max Weber's approach to "economic ethics of world religions": Weber concentrates on historical crossroads and switches which are a result of random chain of coincidences and factors forming a specific relation to values (Wertbeziehung) which enables us to understand further historical development. Paul's missionary activity and theology is seen as such historical crossroad with far- reaching social consequences. Another part elaborately deals with the most important and influential interpretations of Paul in current non-Christian philosophy: Jacob Taubes, Alain Badiou, Giorgio Agamben. The attention is given not only to presentation of their interpretations but also to utilizations and interpretative gaps, which could be observed in the way these authors read and understand Paul. Though for different reasons, for all of them...

The thesis offers an interpretation of Paul's political thought and political theology in the context of current philosophy. The first part presents a methodological basis of the work: the concept of political theology is conceived as a methodological tool that enables us to concentrate on interrelations and mutual effects of religion and politics and to expose implicit or explicit political meanings and implications of religious ideas. The second methodological subchapter deals with Max Weber's approach to "economic ethics of world religions": Weber concentrates on historical crossroads and switches which are a result of random chain of coincidences and factors forming a specific relation to values (Wertbeziehung) which enables us to understand further historical development. Paul's missionary activity and theology is seen as such historical crossroad with far- reaching social consequences. Another part elaborately deals with the most important and influential interpretations of Paul in current non-Christian philosophy: Jacob Taubes, Alain Badiou, Giorgio Agamben. The attention is given not only to presentation of their interpretations but also to utilizations and interpretative gaps, which could be observed in the way these authors read and understand Paul. Though for different reasons, for all of them...

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This thesis traces the ‘New Moment’ in Pauline reception in the writings of Alain Badiou, Terry Eagleton and Slavoj Žižek. It explores how the Pauline epistles are read and feature in their thought. An answer to the question, 'why Paul?' prompts reflection on what it is to read and understand the Apostle. An introduction sets out the writers of this ‘New Moment’ [Jacob Taubes, Giorgio Agamben, Stanislas Breton, as well as Badiou, Eagleton and Žižek] before isolating the figures of this study. The reception of this ‘moment’ by mainstream New Testament studies is considered, and with it the charge of ‘appropriation’. The concept of ‘appropriation’ is explored, and a definition arrived at, for the purpose of evaluating the readings we will go on to discover. As part of this notion of ‘appropriation’, the turn to Gadamer in recent New Testament study is surveyed. We suggest another potential hermeneutical approach that derives from Gadamer is possible. Thus, the object of this study is both an instance of, and means by which to critique the understanding of, New Testament Wirkungsgeschichte. Each of our thinkers is then considered in turn. The outline for each chapter is the same. A brief introduction to the figure with bibliographical background salient to his Pauline reading precedes some textual examples indicative of that reading. We then move to analyse the manner of that reading and certain conceptual problems which are revealed in the course of the engagement with Paul. The conclusion analyses the approaches, and reasons for turning, to Paul on the part of these thinkers. Salient differences between each thinker's reading are noted and the charge of appropriation is evaluated afresh. The implications of such readings for conventional biblical criticism are considered, and the success of an approach which explores a Gadamerean-inspired interest in reception in the manner adopted by this thesis is judged.