The aim of the present study is to examine how Hellenism and Greek philosophy were received and used in arguments in the writings of John Chrysostom. The thesis is divided into five chapters of varying lengths, with the fifth chapter being the conclusion of the thesis. Chapter 1 is divided into two major parts. Part A is the story of certain major scholarly works on the topic of Hellenism and Christianity, particularly in late antiquity. Part B turns to previous scholarship on John Chrysostom and Hellenism specifically. We discuss three particular aspects of John’s reception, rhetoric, philosophy, and religious identity while also looking in interpretations from modern scholarship. This part and the chapter conclude with a general overview of the argument and an identification of research gaps. Chapter 2 is divided into five parts. After a discussion of the identity of those called Greeks in John’s corpus we proceed to analyse his extensive criticism of several aspects of Hellenism: philosophy, religion, public attitudes, and the binding power of tradition. The third part goes into the opposite direction and examines instances of John’s positive references to Hellenes and Greek history. In part four we see the reception moving on from the binary of praise and criticism and we discuss examples of both praise and criticism combined, along with indifferent references to Hellenes and John’s practical suggestions on how the Christians should treat the Greeks. In Chapter 3 we examine John’s embodiments of Hellenism and Christianity respectively through his comparisons of individuals. The first three parts consist of major comparisons, which are the most frequent ones in terms of the individuals compared, and minor comparisons, which are smaller treatments and usually group individuals together instead of treating them separately. The fourth part is a close analysis of Chrysostom’s Discourse on Babylas, a treatise that includes a major comparison between Babylas and Diogenes but also provides an opportunity for John to launch a full-scale attack against Hellenism. Finally, in Chapter 4 we will be looking into John’s reception of a specific philosophical school: the Cynics. After situating John’s own texts within previous Christian tradition and assessing differences and similarities, we complete the chapter by a comparison between John and the Cynics and their respective conception of a specific philosophical concept, that of autarkeia.

Dans le présent mémoire, je revisite l’oeuvre de Foucault à la lumière des analyses qu’il offre entre 1981 et 1984 dans ses derniers cours au Collège de France. À l’encontre de l’avis qui voit une rupture dans la pensée foucaldienne – opinion justifiée par la transition radicale qu’opère Foucault depuis l’étude de la relation entre pouvoir et savoir à l’analyse des techniques de subjectivation dans l’Antiquité – j’illustre qu’il y a continuité et complémentarité entre ses analyses des années 1970 et ses démonstrations des années 1980. Foucault trouve, au fondement de la pratique politique gréco-romaine, une éthique définie comme travail de soi sur soi. Aussi tente-t il, au travers de ses dernières analyses, de réactualiser l’askêsis comme fondement oublié de l’éthique, et l’êthos comme condition d’efficacité de la politique. Si, jusqu’en 1980, Foucault s’intéresse aux mécanismes et aux dispositifs permettant le gouvernement de la population, à partir de 1980, c’est la question du gouvernement de soi comme condition nécessaire du gouvernement des autres qui investit ses analyses. L’objectif de ce mémoire est d’illustrer, à partir de la redéfinition foucaldienne de l’éthique, la présence d’une nouvelle théorie de la résistance dans ses derniers cours au Collège de France. Par voie de conséquence, je propose implicitement des éclaircissements sur la fonction qu’occupent L’Usage des plaisirs et le Souci de soi, ultimes publications de l’auteur, au sein de son oeuvre. / In this dissertation, I revisit Foucault’s work through the various analyses he offered between 1981 and 1984 while teaching at the Collège de France. Against the opinion which sees a radical turn in Foucault’s thought – opinion which is seemingly justified by the author’s break with his past demonstrations on the relation between power and knowledge, and his shift towards the study of the various spiritual exercises in Antiquity – I illustrate that there is a continuity and a complementarity between his earlier studies and his later interests. Foucault uncovers, at the basis of Greco-roman political practice, an ethics defined as an exercise of the self. He then attempts, throughout his last years at the Collège de France, to reinstate askêsis as the long forgotten foundation of ethics, and the êthos as the condition of political efficiency. Until 1980, Foucault is mainly interested by the mechanisms and devices enabling the government of populations. From 1980 on, it is the question of the government of self as a necessary condition for the government of others which invests his analyses. My objective, throughout this dissertation, is to illustrate how Foucault’s redefinition of ethics allows him to advocate a new theory of resistance in his last years at the Collège de France. This dissertation therefore implicitly suggests further clarification pertaining to the function of Foucault’s last two publications (L’usage de plaisir and Le souci de soi) within his work understood as a whole.

Dans le présent mémoire, je revisite l’oeuvre de Foucault à la lumière des analyses qu’il offre entre 1981 et 1984 dans ses derniers cours au Collège de France. À l’encontre de l’avis qui voit une rupture dans la pensée foucaldienne – opinion justifiée par la transition radicale qu’opère Foucault depuis l’étude de la relation entre pouvoir et savoir à l’analyse des techniques de subjectivation dans l’Antiquité – j’illustre qu’il y a continuité et complémentarité entre ses analyses des années 1970 et ses démonstrations des années 1980. Foucault trouve, au fondement de la pratique politique gréco-romaine, une éthique définie comme travail de soi sur soi. Aussi tente-t il, au travers de ses dernières analyses, de réactualiser l’askêsis comme fondement oublié de l’éthique, et l’êthos comme condition d’efficacité de la politique. Si, jusqu’en 1980, Foucault s’intéresse aux mécanismes et aux dispositifs permettant le gouvernement de la population, à partir de 1980, c’est la question du gouvernement de soi comme condition nécessaire du gouvernement des autres qui investit ses analyses. L’objectif de ce mémoire est d’illustrer, à partir de la redéfinition foucaldienne de l’éthique, la présence d’une nouvelle théorie de la résistance dans ses derniers cours au Collège de France. Par voie de conséquence, je propose implicitement des éclaircissements sur la fonction qu’occupent L’Usage des plaisirs et le Souci de soi, ultimes publications de l’auteur, au sein de son oeuvre. / In this dissertation, I revisit Foucault’s work through the various analyses he offered between 1981 and 1984 while teaching at the Collège de France. Against the opinion which sees a radical turn in Foucault’s thought – opinion which is seemingly justified by the author’s break with his past demonstrations on the relation between power and knowledge, and his shift towards the study of the various spiritual exercises in Antiquity – I illustrate that there is a continuity and a complementarity between his earlier studies and his later interests. Foucault uncovers, at the basis of Greco-roman political practice, an ethics defined as an exercise of the self. He then attempts, throughout his last years at the Collège de France, to reinstate askêsis as the long forgotten foundation of ethics, and the êthos as the condition of political efficiency. Until 1980, Foucault is mainly interested by the mechanisms and devices enabling the government of populations. From 1980 on, it is the question of the government of self as a necessary condition for the government of others which invests his analyses. My objective, throughout this dissertation, is to illustrate how Foucault’s redefinition of ethics allows him to advocate a new theory of resistance in his last years at the Collège de France. This dissertation therefore implicitly suggests further clarification pertaining to the function of Foucault’s last two publications (L’usage de plaisir and Le souci de soi) within his work understood as a whole.

Cette thèse de doctorat a pour objet l’édition critique, la traduction et le commentaire de trois textes de Lucien de Samosate : Sur la mort de Pérégrinos, Les Fugitifs et Toxaris ou l’Amitié (les numéros 55, 56 et 57 dans l’ordre canonique des œuvres de Lucien). L’édition est fondée sur l’examen de tous les témoins manuscrits et sur l’étude des liens qu’ils entretiennent entre eux (pour chaque texte, un stemma a été réalisé). L’apparat critique est positif. Il s’appuie sur un nombre limité de manuscrits, nécessaires à l’établissement du texte, tout en donnant une image représentative de la tradition. La traduction française cherche à conjuguer impératifs littéraires et souci de rester au plus près du texte. Le commentaire est linéaire sous forme de notes. Il associe principalement deux approches, historique et littéraire. L’apport de ce travail est triple. En matière d’édition, il met en lumière des textes de Lucien à tradition simple, un type de transmission qui n’avait pas jusque là été étudié pour lui-même par les précédents éditeurs ; le contraste observé par rapport aux textes à tradition double conduit à la réévaluation des différentes familles de manuscrits. En outre, il souligne l’intérêt historique des œuvres de Lucien : malgré leurs différences en terme de situation temporelle, chacun de ces trois textes renvoie aux réalités des premiers siècles de l’Empire romain. Enfin, il permet de mieux cerner la posture auctoriale adoptée par Lucien : celle d’un homme fier d’être un pepaideumenos, attaché à la vérité sous toutes ses formes, et conscient des pouvoirs et des dangers de la parole. / The subject of this PhD thesis is the critical edition, with a French translation and a commentary, of three texts by Lucian of Samosata : On the Death of Peregrinus, The Runaways et Toxaris or Frienship (the numbers 55, 56 and 57 in the canonical order of Lucian’s works). The edition is based on the study of all handwritten testimonials as well as their connection (for each text a stemma was established). The critical apparatus is positive. It relies on a limited number of manuscripts necessary for establishing the text while at the same time giving a representative picture of its tradition. The french translation aims at combining literary aspect with staying close to the original text. The commentary is linear ; it unifies an historical and literary approach. The benefit of this work is threefold. Regarding the edition, it sheds light on the texts of Lucian which have a simple tradition, a type of tradition that had not been studied on its own by previous editors. The observed differences in comparison with texts in double tradition leads to the reevaluation of the different families of manuscripts. Moreover it underlines the historical interest of Lucian’s works : in spite of their differences concerning their temporal situation, each of the three texts has roots in the life of the first centuries of the Roman Empire. Finally, it allows to better evaluate the role taken by Lucian as an author : the role of a man that is conscious of being a pepaideumenos, committed to the truth in all its forms and aware of the power and danger of speech.

De nos jours omniprésent sur la scène politique, le cynisme fut depuis son origine l’objet de polémiques. Le mode de vie scandaleux auquel il est associé pose la question de l’appartenance ou non de Diogène et des Cyniques à la philosophie. Par ailleurs, qu’a à voir le cynisme des sociétés actuelles avec celui que pratiquait Diogène ? Si des analystes situent au siècle des Lumières l’émergence d’une nouvelle conception du cynisme propre à la modernité, peu d’études historiques ont été menées sur la question. Il importe donc de retourner aux sources et de mesurer la validité de cette hypothèse. Par une étude de l’histoire du cynisme et de sa transmission, nous retraçons l’évolution des enjeux au cœur du mouvement cynique et de sa postérité, et présentons une synthèse des significations du cynisme ainsi que des tensions qu’elles comportent. De nombreuses références permettent de définir la place qu’occupe le cynisme au XVIIIe siècle. Les auteurs des Lumières se sont réappropriés l’antique sagesse de Diogène et ont voulu concilier son impudique franchise aux exigences de la sociabilité. Ainsi, l’étude de la réception du cynisme au siècle des Lumières doit tenir compte des débats moraux de l’époque. Visant l’élaboration d’une morale matérialiste sur un fondement naturel, les Philosophes ont tâché de contourner les problèmes de l’amoralisme révélés par le constat de La Mettrie selon lequel il y a inadéquation entre bonheur et vertu. Pour ce faire, Helvétius réduit la portée des déterminismes liés à l’organisation, en soulignant l’importance des facteurs externes dans la gestion des comportements ; Diderot et D’Holbach mettent l’accent sur la sociabilité afin d’assurer l’inhérence d’un fondement moral chez l’être humain, renforçant un désaccord déjà profond entre le cynisme et les idéaux des Lumières. Or, cette approche est-elle généralisée ? Ou le cynisme des Lumières est-il sujet à des variantes selon les auteurs ? Cette thèse se propose d’étudier, par l’analyse des occurrences du cynisme dans les textes de la France des Lumières, les différentes acceptions du cynisme, pour cerner les enjeux auxquels elles s’attachent. Des textes tels qu’Aihcrappih de Godart de Beauchamps, Le Diogène décent de Prémontval, le Socrate en délire de Wieland, Le cynique moderne de Cœtlogon, Le désapprobateur de Castilhon, Le cosmopolite de Fougeret de Monbron, Le paysan perverti de Restif de la Bretonne et Arlequin Diogène de Saint-Just seront pris en considération. Ils s’ajouteront à une étude du cynisme chez Diderot, chez qui la thématique parcourt l’ensemble de l’œuvre et atteint son expression la plus achevée dans Le neveu de Rameau. Par ses doutes, Diderot trouve également sa place dans l’étude des critiques des Lumières qu’ont formulées Rousseau et Sade, chez qui l’on évalue la pertinence de l’enjeu cynique. Il ressort de cette thèse que les acceptions moderne et contemporaine du cynisme comportent des distinctions conceptuelles qui nous interdisent de les amalgamer. Notre analyse du cynisme dans le contexte français des Lumières montre que l’on est, jusqu’à la fin du XVIIIe siècle, en présence d’une conception typiquement moderne du cynisme, laquelle met l’accent sur la redécouverte de l’impudeur de Diogène. Plus précisément, le cynisme se caractérise, au XVIIIe siècle, par un repli misanthrope et solitaire, lequel s’oppose à l’optimisme humaniste des Philosophes. Il est l’expression d’un rejet de la sociabilité mise de l’avant par ces derniers, en réponse au constat de corruption de la société. S’il est possible d’y situer l’émergence d’une nouvelle conception du cynisme, c’est donc seulement dans la mesure où les débats liés à l’élaboration d’une morale matérialiste, fondée en intérêt ou en sentiment, montrent que chacun de ces fondements comportent des failles, et non parce que certains auteurs des Lumières auraient entendu par cynisme ce que nous entendons aujourd’hui. Tout se passe comme si l’homme désabusé, qui tient pour acquis l’incorrigibilité de sa nature et de la société, choisissant d’en tirer profit malgré l’immoralisme que cela comporte, avait forgé le statut de cynique postmoderne. Cela rompt avec la tradition qui, jusqu’à la fin de l’époque moderne, tient le Cynique pour une figure d’un dire vrai fondamentalement désapprobateur du genre humain. Si l’impudeur poussée dans ses derniers retranchements conduit le cynique à n’éprouver aucune honte à mentir, il poursuit en cela la devise d’altération des valeurs initiée par Diogène, mais contribue désormais au maintien d’un statu quo sur l’état de corruption de la société qu’aucun cynique, ancien ou moderne, n’aurait accepté de taire. / Now pervasive on the political scene, cynicism has been contentious from its beginnings. The scandalous way of living to which it is linked raise the issue of whether or not Diogenes and the Cynics must be considered as part of the history of philosophy. Besides, what do today’s cynical practices share with those of Diogenes? Some interprets situate the emergence of a new conception of cynicism peculiar to modernity during the Enlightenment, but few historical studies have been centered on this question. It is consequently important to return to the sources of cynicism to measure this hypothesis’ validity. Through a study of cynicism’s history and its transmission we trace the evolution of the major issues at the core of cynic movement and its posterity, and present a synthesis of its significations and their internal tensions. Many references allow us to define the place that cynicism occupies within the XVIIIth century. Philosophers have tried to reclaim Diogenes’ antique wisdom while also accommodating his shameless frankness to the requirements of sociability. The study of the reception of cynicism in the XVIIIth century french Enlightenment must therefore be seen within the scope of the moral debates of that time. Those debates aim to elaborate a materialist moral on a natural basis, trying in doing so to tackle the problem of amoralism revealed by La Mettrie’s statement of the inadequacy between happiness and virtue. To do that, Helvetius reduces the scope of natural determinisms by underlining the importance of exterior factors when managing behaviors. Diderot and D’Holbach, on their part, emphasize the notion of sociability to make sure there’s a moral sense within human nature itself; this belief reinforces an already profound disagreement between the ideals of Enlightenment and cynicism. But is this approach that widespread? Or is cynicism subject to vary according to authors? This thesis proposes, by studying the occurrences of cynicism in French Enlightenment’s texts, to give an account of its different meanings in order to identify the issues that are put forward. Therefore, texts such as Aihcrappih by Godart de Beauchamps, Le Diogène décent by Prémontval, Le Socrate en délire by Wieland, Le cynique moderne by Cœtlogon, Le désapprobateur by Castilhon, Le cosmopolite by Fougeret de Monbron, Le paysan perverti by Restif de la Bretonne, and Arlequin Diogène by Saint-Just will be taken into account, as will be cynicism in Diderot’s texts; this thematic is present in his whole work, Le neveu de Rameau being the most achieved expression of it. Exposing his doubts, Diderot also finds its place in our exposition of the Enlightenment’s critics as they have been formulated by Rousseau and Sade; we’ll also analyze the relevance of their cynical stakes. The conclusion of this thesis is that the modern and contemporary meanings of cynicism entail important conceptual distinctions that forbid us to amalgamate them. Our analysis of cynicism in French Enlightenment’s texts shows that up until the end of the XVIIIth century, we are faced with a modern conception of cynicism that rests to a considerable extent upon the rediscovery of Diogene’s immodesty. More precisely, the XVIIIth century cynicism can be characterized by a solitary and misanthropic withdrawal, which opposes the Philosophers’ humanist optimism. Cynicism is therefore a rejection of sociability, a value put forward by Philosophers in response to the general state of corruption of society. In other words, if one can locate the emergence of a new form of cynicism in the Enlightenment, it’s not that some authors understood cynicism as we do now: it is because the debates linked with the construction of a materialist conception of morality, be it be founded on interests or sentiments, show that these fundaments carry some weaknesses. It is as though the disillusioned man who takes for granted the incorrigibility of nature and society and chooses to take advantage of it despite the immorality of doing so has given birth to the postmodern cynic. This is he who breaks with a tradition which, up to the modern era, considered the cynic as the figure of a blunt truth teller, disapproving of mankind. If immodesty, driven into a corner, leads the postmodern cynic to shamelessness in lying, he in a sense pursues the motto of the alteration of values initiated by Diogenes, but now contributes to maintain the corruption of society, which no cynic, may he be ancient or modern, would have accepted to silence.

The diversity of Jesus images that resulted from historical Jesus research poses the single most pressing problem of the research endeavour. Diverse historical images lead one to ask questions about historiography. It is a fact that we do not have bruta facta in history but only interpretations of what might have happened. The problem of diverse images is taken up in this thesis. Three different images that are the result of different points of departure and different methods of research are closely scrutinised. The images are: Eschatological prophet, Cynic sage and Galilean Hasid. After close·examination of each of these images one has to conclude that each of them is a viable image. One may question the proponents of each of these images on methodological aspects as well as their presuppositions. This line of questioning would not solve the problem. One would also expand the problem if one were to seek yet another image. A way out of this impasse would be to try to understand the diversity. Is there an image that could explain the diversity? The modem diversity of Jesus images is a continuation of an ancient diversity that one could find in the ancient texts at our disposal. From this we could deduce that Jesus was understood differently by different people from the onset. The challenge is to find an image that would clarify the diversity. What sort of Jesus would have been understood in so many ways? We have reason to take Jesus to be a Jew from Galilee. If we could find a Galilean Jewish image that would explain the diversity, we would be very near the historical Jesus. The image of the Galilean Hasid is a very promising option. Some of the kingdom sayings, that are most probably authentic, were taken as test cases to see whether they could have been uttered by a Galilean charismatic and later interpreted as Cynic and/or eschatological. The conclusion is that the image of Galilean charismatic would open up new avenues to approach the diversity of images of the historical Jesus. / Biblical and Ancient Studies / Th. D. (New Testament)

A Sceptical Aesthetics of Existence: The Case of Michel Foucault Emmanouil Simos (Hughes Hall) Michel Foucault's genealogical investigations constitute a specific historical discourse that challenges the metaphysical hypostatisation of concepts and methodological approaches as unique devices for tracking metaphysically objective truths. Foucault's notion of aesthetics of existence, his elaboration of the ancient conceptualisation of ethics as an 'art of living' (a technē tou biou), along with a series of interconnected notions (such as the care of the self) that he developed in his later work, have a triple aspect. First, these notions are constitutive parts of his later genealogies of subjectivity. Second, they show that Foucault contemplates the possibility of understanding ethics differently, opposed to, for example, the traditional Kantian conceptualisation of morality: he envisages ethics in terms of self-fashioning, of aesthetic transformation, of turning one's life into a work of art. Third, Foucault employs these notions in self-referential way: they are considered to describe his own genealogical work. This thesis attempts to show two things. First, I defend the idea that the notion of aesthetics of existence was already present in a constitutive way from the beginning of his work, and, specifically, I argue that it can be traced in earlier moments of his work. Second, I defend the idea that this notion of aesthetics of existence is best understood in terms of the sceptical stance of Sextus Empiricus. It describes an ethics of critique of metaphysics that can be understood as a nominalist, contextualist, and particularist stance. The first chapter discusses Foucault's late genealogy of the subject. It formulates the interpretative framework within which Foucault's own conceptualisation of the aesthetics of existence can be understood as a sceptical stance, itself conceived as nominalist, contextualist and particularist. As the practice of an aesthetics of existence is not abstract and ahistorical but the engagement with the specific historical circumstances within which this practice is undertaken, the second chapter reconstructs the intellectual context from which Foucault's thought has emerged (Heidegger, Blanchot, and Nietzsche). The third chapter discusses representative examples of different periods of Foucault's thought -such as the "Introduction" to Binswanger's "Traum und Existenz" (1954), Histoire de la folie (1961), and Histoire de la sexualité I. La volonté de savoir (1976)- and shows in which way they constitute concrete instantiations of his sceptical aesthetics of existence. The thesis concludes with responses to a number of objections to the sceptical stance here defended.

The diversity of Jesus images that resulted from historical Jesus research poses the single most pressing problem of the research endeavour. Diverse historical images lead one to ask questions about historiography. It is a fact that we do not have bruta facta in history but only interpretations of what might have happened. The problem of diverse images is taken up in this thesis. Three different images that are the result of different points of departure and different methods of research are closely scrutinised. The images are: Eschatological prophet, Cynic sage and Galilean Hasid. After close·examination of each of these images one has to conclude that each of them is a viable image. One may question the proponents of each of these images on methodological aspects as well as their presuppositions. This line of questioning would not solve the problem. One would also expand the problem if one were to seek yet another image. A way out of this impasse would be to try to understand the diversity. Is there an image that could explain the diversity? The modem diversity of Jesus images is a continuation of an ancient diversity that one could find in the ancient texts at our disposal. From this we could deduce that Jesus was understood differently by different people from the onset. The challenge is to find an image that would clarify the diversity. What sort of Jesus would have been understood in so many ways? We have reason to take Jesus to be a Jew from Galilee. If we could find a Galilean Jewish image that would explain the diversity, we would be very near the historical Jesus. The image of the Galilean Hasid is a very promising option. Some of the kingdom sayings, that are most probably authentic, were taken as test cases to see whether they could have been uttered by a Galilean charismatic and later interpreted as Cynic and/or eschatological. The conclusion is that the image of Galilean charismatic would open up new avenues to approach the diversity of images of the historical Jesus. / Biblical and Ancient Studies / Th. D. (New Testament)