This thesis began with the desire to understand the gold ivy painted green that entwines the crystal fountain in Spenser's Bower of Bliss. Although this artificial vegetation struck me as an example of what twentieth-century critics would call "kitsch", I somehow felt that the poet himself was viewing his creation as an object of beauty. In order to test this feeling I began my research by examining the use of the terms "art" and "nature" in Elizabethan writing, for it seemed to me that in the definition of and the relationship between these two terms lay a key to Spenser's esthetic. The artist here has tried to make an artificial substance appear to be natural; reading the Elizabethan critics I found that such attempts at artistic deception were almost unanimously applauded. Spenser's age could not have formulated its esthetic intuitively, however, and in order to understand its historical perspective I have examined the relationship between "art" and "nature" in important historical periods before the Renaissance. Here it was found that at times when painting is dominant, as in the Renaissance, art's imitation of nature is understood naturalistlcally, and a convention of literary pictorialism arises. In the writings of the critics of the Italian Renaissance, art is praised for its approximation to nature, and the poet, like the painter, is admired for his accurate pictures. Turning to the Elizabethan critics I found an esthetic similar to that expressed by the Italian writers. A common philosophy lies behind this esthetic. It is believed that to imitate nature with accuracy is to reproduce in art the harmony of God's creation. In performing this imitation man the artist is demonstrating his relationship to God the Artist. It was found further that the Elizabethan environment also demonstrated the delight in art's ability to deceive that is expressed by the writers of the period. And we find in their surroundings, in visual support of the critical theories, that the Elizabethans are not only delighted when art appears to be nature, but that they are also delighted when nature appears to be art. Looking finally at Spenser's scenes, we find his period's esthetic exemplified. He bases his idea of the beautiful on the conception of a world made up of order and variety. He praises verisimilitude in art, delighting to see art appear to be nature. He also delights when he sees a natural scene that resembles art. In addition he describes with pleasure situations in which art and nature are in friendly competition, or, perhaps the most delightful relationship of all, situations in which art and nature play complementary roles. One of Spenser's characteristically Renaissance traits is his ability to separate ethics and esthetics. This point has often been overlooked for the gold ivy painted green has been dismissed in some previous criticism not as esthetically poor, but ethically, as evil. Rather, in Elizabethan eyes, It is basically an esthetic good and can be used by the poet to create a number of effects. / Arts, Faculty of / English, Department of / Graduate

In 1929, Edmund Husserl held a series of lectures at Sorbonne. These lectures were later published as a book called Cartesian Meditations: An Introduction to Phenomenology (Méditations cartésiennes: Introduction à la phénoménologie). This book has engaged philosophers, but also psychologists, ethnologists and feminists among others. Still to this day, interpreters disagrees on what Husserl actually says. This is partly because his collected works are still being edited. But it is also because Husserl doesn’t really succeed in illustrating his efforts in a comprehensible way. That is why it’s possible to deduce ambiguities. This essay will focus on one of these ambiguities, namely, the relation of the ego-alter ego or my body and the body of the Other, in Husserls fifth Cartesian Meditation. Using the knowledge of philosophers as Dan Zahavi, Paul Ricoeur and Bernhard Waldenfels, we set out to reflect around this ambiguity in how the body is defined, how the Other body is defined, and in which way the Other is synonymous with the world. Thereafter, I consider whether Zahavi, Ricoeur or Waldenfels concepts of ambiguity exposes what I rather conceive as a mutuality. Consequently, the question at issue is; How can we understand the mutual relation between body and world in Husserls fifth Cartesian Meditation?

This study compares and contrasts the writings of Edmund Burke and Adam Smith, to determine whether they are contradictory, compatible, or complementary. Burke can be regarded as the founder of modern conservatism, and Smith is an early and powerful advocate of market-orientated liberalism. Today, their ideas have been blended into a system of “liberal conservatism” that serves as the unofficial political ideology of most right-of centre parties throughout the English-speaking world. However, it is not so immediately apparent that Smith and Burke can be reconciled with each other. In the course of this study, Burke and Smith’s ideas are considered at various levels of abstraction. They share a nuanced view of human beings as complex, social, sympathetic and self-interested. They both adhere to an empiricist epistemology that is distrustful of deductive rationality, especially when applied to complex human societies. In order to cope with this complexity, Burke and Smith alike counsel humility and pragmatism, and emphasise the importance of contingency. Furthermore, they suggest that policymakers rely on mechanisms that reveal information held by large numbers of individuals: tradition in the case of Burke, and the market mechanism in the case of Smith. Burke is a staunch opponent of arbitrary power, and an advocate of colonial liberty. However, he defends the prescriptive powers of the state, and argues that liberty should be tempered by self-restraint. Smith advocates a “system of natural liberty” in economic affairs, but acknowledges that such a system takes place within the framework of a coercive state. In terms of policy, Burke and Smith share similar views on external free trade and laissez-faire within the domestic economy, but there are important stylistic and substantive differences in their views on the relief of the poor. Ultimately, this study argues that Burke and Smith’s complementary policymaking framework, rather than their actual views on policy, is the true point of convergence between them. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Political Sciences / unrestricted

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