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AFRIKAANS: Die Antieke ruimtevaarder-teorie stel voor dat wesens uit die ruimte die Aarde in die antieke verlede besoek het. Hierdie wesens was betrokke by die vroeë geskiedenis van die planet. Hulle het bewoonbare toestande geskep asook menslike intelligensie deur 'n proses van genetiese ingenieurswese. Hul besoeke is opgeteken en deur mense oorgelewer in godsdienste, mitologieë en antieke legendes. Hul teenwoordigheid is ook nog waarneembaar in antieke fisiese oorblyfsels. Voorstanders van die Ruimtevaarderteorie bied dit aan as 'n wetenskaplike hipotese en as die "mees perfekte algemene noemer van alle tye" wat 'n moderne verklaring vir die oer-godsdiens bied. Afdeling A van die studie bied 'n oorsig oor die teorie en die bewyse wat daarvoor aangebied word. Daar word aangetoon dat, hoewel die meeste van die postulate nie deur die moderne wetenskap as "onsinnig" beskou word nie, dit nie oortuig as 'n werkbare wetenskaplike teorie nie. Omdat daar weinig verskille tussen die basiese onderneming van die wtenskap en die godsdiens bestaan (beide vertrek vanaf onbewysbare aannames om waargenome data te verklaar) word daar vermoed dat die Antieke ruimtevaarder-teorie eerder funksioneer op die vlak van religieusiteit. Hierdie tese word ondersoek in Afdeling B van die studie: Daar word voorgestel dat die Fenomenologiese metode van godsdienswetenskaplike ondersoek, wat poog om 'n fenomeen te verstaan nie soos dit manifesteer nie, maar op die dieper vlak van die funksie en betekenins daarvan, die mees paslike metode vir die ondersoek is. (p> Met gebruikmaking van die insigte van 'n Fenomenologiese benadering, word aangedui dat die Antieke ruimtevaarder-teorie funksioneer as 'n godsdienstige beweging met eienskappe van 'n kulte en 'n nieu-mitologie. Die aanvaarbaarheid van die teorie vir die vele volgelinge daarvan, en die gepaardgaande groei van die bcweging wat dit propageer, word verklaar uit 'n kombinasie van sosiologiese en psigologiese faktore wat aan die werk is in die moderne Westerse beskawing. Vanuit 'n fenomenologiese gesigspunt word gekonkludeer dat die Ruimtevaardcrteorie baie suksesvol op religieuse vlak is. Dit slaag daarin om die Bybel weer "geloofwaardig" te maak en skep weer 'n "kosmiese raamwerk" vir die betekenis van die menslike bestaan. Die teorie kan ook beskou word as 'n prysenswaardige poging tot die sintetisering van godsdiens en die modeme wetenskap vir die aanhangers daarvan, en om die geestelike behoeftes van mense in 'n verwarrende en verwarde wêreld aan te spreek. In 'n slotafdeling word die bevindinge van die studie teologies oorweeg en word die waarde daarvan vir die Chrislelike godsdiens aangetoon. ENGLISH: The Ancient astronaut theory proposes that beings from outer space came to Earth in the distant past. These beings were involved in the early history of the planet: They created habitable conditions and human intelligence by genetic engineering. Their visits were recorded and handed down by humans in their religions, mythologies and ancient legends. Their presence is also visible in ancient physical remains. Proponents present the Astronaut theory as a scientific hypothesis and as "the most perfect common denominator of all time", allowing a modem explanation for old-time religion: Section A of the study provides an overview of the theory and the evidence presented in support of it. It is shown that, although many of the postulates are being accepted by modem science as "not unreasonable", it is not convincing as a workable scientific theory. Since there is little difference between the basic enterprises of science and religion (both departing from unproven suppositions to explain perceived data) it is suspected that the Astronaut theory rather functions on a level of religiosity. This thesis is investigated in Section 8 of the study: It is proposed that the Phenomenological method of studying religion, which attempts to understand a phenomenon not in the way it manifests itself, but on the deeper level of its function and meaning, is the most appropriate for this investigation. Using the insights of a Phenomeno!ogical approach, it is shown that the Ancient astronaut theory functions as a religious movement with attributes of a cult and a new-mythology. The acceptability of the theory for its many followers and the resulting growth of the movement that proposes it, is explained from a combination of social and psychological factors at work in Western society. From a phenomenological point of view it is concluded that the Astronaut theory may be considered very successful on a religious level: It succeeds in making the Bible "respectable" again and it recreates a "cosmic framework" for the meaning of human existence. The theory may also be considered a praiseworthy attempt to synthesise religion and modem science for its supporters and to address the spiritual needs of man in a confusing and confused world. In a final section of the study, the results are being considered theologically and their value. being shown for Christianity. / Thesis (PhD (Science of Religion))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Science of Religion and Missiology / unrestricted

由於其個人獨特的生命背景與歷程，一般咸認為美國詩人艾蜜莉．狄金森（1830-1886）詩作中，充滿了對自然世界的細膩觀察以及精神世界的嚮往和追求。這樣的看法，固然是將狄金森的詩作，置放於十九世紀英國浪漫主義、美國愛默生的超越主義等文藝思想脈絡之下，以期盼引發及獲得對其詩作更深刻的詮釋與閱讀。然而，事實上，在十九世紀這百年當中，最重大的思想衝擊，莫如英國自然學者查爾斯．達爾文（1809-1882）於一八五九年所出版的《物種源始》（另譯《物種起源》）所帶來的影響為甚。達爾文所提出不假未知力量的物種演化理論，非但已成為今日科學／生物學研究的基石，同時也廣泛影響了十九世紀大西洋兩岸的社會、文化、藝術及科學等各層面的發展與演繹。 本論文擬從十九世紀「科學－宗教」、「物質－精神」之間的拔河與辯論為經，以發掘狄金森與達爾文兩人生命歷史當中的異同及互動為緯，透過閱讀狄金森的文字書寫（包括詩作與書信等）以及達爾文《物種起源》（初版及第二版），探討兩人於「演化」觀念上的交疊與對話。基於上述討論，我以為狄金森的文字書寫，藉由普遍出現於詩作裡、無論是自然領域，抑或觀念領域上的對立主題與意象，誠然為詩人企圖揉合十九世紀科學論述、宗教爭議與個人思想於詩的寫作之中；藉由生動的表現、積極的反省與回應各種衝突與對立的實體和觀念，來展現其迥異於全然唯心或全然唯物的「演化詩學」。 本論文共分為五章。在引論中，首先藉著閱讀現今生物行為學研究，帶入狄金森詩作中的生物與科學主題，企圖將狄金森放置於十九世紀達爾文及其演化觀念的脈絡下。第一章嘗試整理十九世紀「科學－宗教」、「物質－精神」之間的辯論，來檢視狄金森與達爾文兩人生命歷史中常被忽略的相似處與交集。第二章討論狄金森詩作中的科學主題，用以凸顯詩人對當代科學思想的發展所做的積極回應。第三章先討論十九世紀「科學方法與精神」的內涵，將達爾文《物種起源》與狄金森的詩作並置閱讀，從「死亡」、「演化路徑」、「視界的物質性」三個層面來發展鋪陳詩人的「演化詩學」。最後，檢視與思考前述各篇章所帶出的議題，並援引蕭沆（E. M. Cioran）思考文字與科學時代之間的關係、諾里斯（Margot Norris）所指出達爾文作為於今難已復見的「生物中心觀」文學傳統之濫觴，以及尼采「懷疑為人的兩棲本質」，總結提出狄金森「演化詩學」成為一種文學觀的可能。 / From the traditions of English Romanticism, Emersonian Transcendentalism, and the seclusion of the poet, Emily Dickinson’s poetry has generally been read and regarded as lyrical and spiritual. In addition, the most studies of Dickinson’s poetry tend to show the idiosyncrasy and uniqueness of the poet with her observations of Nature, use of language, feminine identity, or the mixture of these three topics. However, scholarly efforts over the years also indicate that for a better and fruitful understanding and appreciation of Emily Dickinson, we have to examine and interpret her life and writings under bigger ideological and cultural contexts of the nineteenth century. Among the innovations of knowledge and conceptions in the nineteenth century, Darwin’s materialistic theories to explain the evolution of species by means of natural selection, in the eyes of the naturalist’s contemporaries and modern people, are certainly still one of the most scientifically important and ideologically controversial ideas. In this study of Emily Dickinson’s poetry, I would like to argue that as a poet of great intellect, whose poems are filled with scientific contents and observations of the natural world, Emily Dickinson not only is familiar with Darwinian biological arguments but also incorporates evolutionary ideas, not limited to Darwin’s, into her poetic writings. Moreover, as Darwinian theories have triggered the debates between science and religion, the constant reflections on religious faith are also pervasive in Dickinson’s poetry and her correspondence. Thus, instead of reading Emily Dickinson’s writings straightforwardly under the framework of Darwinism, I would like to put Darwin and Dickinson in parallel—the transatlantic intersections of their lives and their works, The Origin of Species and Emily Dickinson’s poetry. Through examining these nineteenth-century historical and cultural figures and the interactions between different currents of ideologies, we will hopefully be able to see more clearly and uncover how Dickinson renders this well-known biological theory and further develops her own poetic evolution, which surpasses the materialistic and metaphysical boundaries in the physical as well as spiritual worlds.

ix, 288 p. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / While the impact of Darwin's theory of evolution on Victorian and modernist literature has been well-documented, very little critical attention has been paid to the influence of Lamarckian evolutionary theory on literary portrayals of human progress during this same period. Lamarck's theory of inherited acquired characteristics provided an attractive alternative to the mechanism and materialism of Darwin's theory of natural selection for many writers in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, particularly those who refused to relinquish the role of the individual will in the evolutionary process. Lamarckian rhetoric permeated an ideologically diverse range of discourses related to progress, including reproduction, degeneration, race, class, eugenics, education, and even art. By analyzing the literary texts of Olive Schreiner, G.B. Shaw, and W.B. Yeats alongside their polemical writing, I demonstrate how Lamarckism inflected these writers' perceptions of the mechanism of human evolution and their ideas about human progress, and I argue that their work helped to sustain Lamarck's cultural influence beyond his scientific relevance. In the dissertation's introduction, I place the work of these three writers in the context of the Neo-Darwinian and Neo-Lamarckian evolutionary debates in order to establish the scientific credibility and cultural attractiveness of Lamarckism during this period. Chapter II argues that Schreiner creates her own evolutionary theory that rejects the cold, competitive materialism inherent in Darwinism and builds upon Lamarck's mechanism, modifying Lamarckism to include a uniquely feminist emphasis on the importance of community, motherhood, and self-sacrifice for the betterment of the human race. In Chapter III, I demonstrate that Shaw's "metabiological" religion of Creative Evolution, as portrayed in Man and Superman and Back to Methuselah , is not simply Bergsonian vitalism repackaged as a Neo-Lamarckian evolutionary theory but, rather, a uniquely Shavian theory of human progress that combines religious, philosophical, and political elements and is thoroughly steeped in contemporary evolutionary science. Finally, Chapter IV examines the interplay between Yeats's aesthetics and his anxieties about class in both his poetry and his 1939 essay collection On the Boiler to show how Lamarckian modes of thought inflected his understanding of degeneration and reproduction and eventually led him to embrace eugenics. / Committee in charge: Paul Peppis, Chairperson, English; Mark Quigley, Member, English; Paul Farber, Member, Not from U of O; Richard Stein, Member, English; John McCole, Outside Member, History

The worlds of Dickens's novels and of Darwin's science reveal striking similarity in spite of their involvement in different areas. The similarity comes from the fact that they shared the ethos of Victorian society: laissez-faire capitalism. In The Origin of Species, which was published on 1859, Charles Darwin theorizes that nature has evolved through the rules of natural selection, survival of the fittest, and the struggle for existence. Although his conclusion comes from the scientific evidence that was acquired from his five-year voyage, it is clear that Dawinian nature is reflected in cruel Victorian capitalism. Three novels of Charles Dickens which were published around 1859, Bleak House, Hard Times, and Our Mutual Friend, share Darwinian aspects in their fictional worlds. In Bleak House, the central image, the Court of Chancery as the background of the novel, resembles Darwinian nature which is anti-Platonic in essence. The characters in Hard Times are divided into two groups: the winners and the losers in the arena of survival. The winners survive in Coketown, and the losers disappear from the city. The rules controlling the fates of Coketown people are the same as the rules of Darwinian nature. Our Mutual Friend can be interpreted as a matter of money. In the novel, everything is connected with money, and the relationship among people is predation to get money. Money is the central metaphor of the novel and around the money, the characters kill and are killed like the nature of Darwin in which animals kill each other. When a dominant ideology of a particular period permeates ingredients of the society, nobody can escape the controlling power of the ideology. Darwin and Dickens, although they worked in different areas, give evidence that their works are products of the ethos of Victorian England.