Cette thèse étudie les quatre éléments, le feu, l’air, l’eau et la terre, au croisement de la culture occidentale et orientale dans l’œuvre de Paul Claudel. Influencé par l’ancienne pensée philosophique et la théologie occidentales sur les quatre éléments et le monde physique, Claudel attache de l’importance à la nature élémentaire du monde, à la caractéristique de la matière des quatre éléments, au Dieu-Créateur, première cause de la création et du mouvement du monde. Durant sa vie diplomatique en Chine (1895-1909) et au Japon (1921-1927), Claudel a puisé son inspiration sur les quatre éléments constitutifs de la nature dans une confrontation culturelle, l’analysant de sa propre manière, symboliquement, métaphoriquement. Dans ce contexte interculturel, les quatre éléments, dans l’œuvre de Claudel, possèdent de multiples aspects, physique et métaphysique, moral et intellectuel, symbolique et religieux, imaginaire et poétique. L’imagination claudélienne sur le feu, l’air, l’eau et la terre sert à établir un lien entre la nature et le surnaturel, entre le monde physique et métaphysique, à éprouver l’omniprésence de Dieu, à explorer la puissance mystérieuse au fond de lui-même. / This paper examines the theorization and abstraction of the Four elements, namely, Fire, Air, Water and Earth, found in the works of Paul Claudel, who was cross-pollinated by the Oriental and Western Culture as a diplomat in China (1895-1909) and Japan (1921-1927). His academic findings and artistic development are approached by the author from multiple aspects: physical and metaphysical, moral and intellectual, religious and symbolic, poetic and imaginary. In his journey to the ultimate nature of the world, the material characteristic of the Four elements and God the Creator, the First Cause of the creation and the movement of the world, Claudel squarely and intentionally situated himself at the intersection of two Cultures as he draw great inspirations from the both. In the process of knowing and experiencing the omnipresence of God, Claudel explored the esoteric power running in the depth of his heart, using his study and imagination on the four elements to establish a network encapsulating the natural and the supernatural, the physical and metaphysical.

Dans un certain cinéma contemporain, souvent considéré comme « contemplatif »,les éléments du décor occupent une place de plus en plus importante, que celle-ci soit plastique ou narrative. Partant de ce postulat, nous avons choisi de nous intéresser aux décors naturels (en extérieur) et plus spécifiquement aux quatre éléments : l’eau, l’air, la terre et le feu. La poétique inhérente à ces éléments primordiaux au cinéma dévoile une exacerbation d’un rapport sensible, voire cénesthésique, à la nature qui semble se transmettre des personnages au spectateur. Plus qu’un arrière-plan ou un motif, l’espace diégétique devient alors un matériau permettant de questionner l’« être-au-monde » heideggérien. En privilégiant des approches esthétiques, phénoménologiques et psychanalytiques, cette étude met en lumière comment les quatre éléments – tour à tour ,dispositifs visuels et sonores, instruments heuristiques et outils épistémiques – participent d’une esthétique du retour qui serait, selon nous, caractéristique de ce type de cinéma, initié par Tarkovski dès les années 1960. Nous tentons ainsi de démontrer que cette notion de retour – qu’il soit spatial, temporel ou réflexif – constitue le principal moteur d’une réflexion sur le rapport qu’entretient l’homme avec son environnement mais également sur le medium cinématographique, ses caractéristiques, son dispositif et sa réception. / In some contemporary films, often considered as “contemplative”, the scene elements occupy a more and more important place, be it aesthetic or narrative. Working from this initial assumption, I have chosen to focus my researches on the natural settings (on location), and more precisely on the four elements: water, air, earth and fire. The poetics of these elements in films reveals an exacerbation of a sensitive, or even cenesthesic relation with nature, which seems to be conveyed from the characters to the audience. More than a background or a pattern, the diegetic space then becomes a precious material to question the Heideggerian notion of “Being-in-the-world”. With an emphasis on aesthetic, phenomenological and psychoanalytical approaches, this study highlights how the four elements – in turns, visual and sound devices, heuristic instruments, and epistemic tools –partake in an aesthetics of returning which, we believe, is characteristic of this kind of cinema, initiated from the 1960s by Tarkovsky. Thus, we try to demonstrate that this notion of return – be it spatial, temporal or reflexive – is the major driving force of a thought about the relationship between human beings and their environment, but also about the cinematographic medium, its features, its devices and its reception.

Proefschrift Stockholm.

This thesis is an investigation into the simplest material entities recognised by Aristotle's theory of nature. In general, the position I defend is that the four 'so-called elements' fire, air, water, and earth are, for Aristotle, genuine elements, i.e., the simplest material constituents, of bodies. In particular, I deal with two problems, the first concerning the relationship between the four 'so-called elements' and the primary contraries, hot-cold, dry-wet; and the second concerning the nature of the matter from which the latter come to be. Responses to these problems in the secondary literature tend to conclude that the contraries (usually together with 'prime matter'), are constitutive of the so-called elements. I reject this conclusion. In the first part of this thesis I consider, and dismiss, the alleged evidence that Aristotle denies to fire, air, water, and earth the status of genuine elements, and I argue that the status of the contraries as the differentiae of the elements effectively rules out the possibility that they could be the constituents of the latter. In the second part of this thesis I attempt to unpack Aristotle's assertion at De Gen. et Cor. II. 1 that the matter of the perceptible bodies is that from which the so-called elements come to be. I argue that the matter of the perceptible bodies, although it is that from which the elements come to be, is not the 'matter of the elements', in the sense of a matter that composes the elements. On the contrary, the 'matter of the perceptible bodies', i.e., the constitutive matter of composite bodies, is itself composed of the elements: it is a mixture of the four elements. Thus the latter can be said to come to be 'from' the 'matter of the perceptible bodies', but this must be understood in a non-constitutive sense of 'from'.

Disproportionately lower numbers of African- and Hispanic-American high school students are enrolled in advanced placement (AP) courses in U.S. high schools. Thus, the purpose of this exploratory case study was to explore the administrative practices that may expand enrollment of African- and Hispanic-American students in high school AP courses. The conceptual framework of the study was based on Bandura's social cognitive theory and its 4 elements: affective processes, motivational processes, selection processes, and cognitive learning. Research questions were designed to examine the perspectives of administrators about the disproportional enrollment of African- and Hispanic-American students in AP courses and administrative practices that may support proportional representation of these students. Semistructured interviews were used to collect data from 10 administrators from 2 high schools in the same school district. Data analysis involved open, axial, and a priori coding. The findings indicated that administrators agreed on the need to reevaluate prerequisites for AP courses that may create unintentional obstacles to enrollment of Hispanic- and African-American students. Additionally, administrative support for the counselors to provide academic advising may improve access for Hispanic- and African-American students. This study contributes to positive social change by creating a deeper understanding of how administrative practices can improve African- and Hispanic-American enrollment in high school AP courses.

Music, as a performing art, transports us to distant moments and spaces than those we are in the present time. A hundred musicians playing Bruckner's Scherzo on Symphony No. 7 could make us feel emotionally moved; it could make us feel joy, anger, anguish, delight, peace, fear, freedom. Music has the ability to change our mood, to make us go through a series of feelings. This, I believe, has to do with how it involves you in it. Arthur Schopenhauer also says: "The effect of music on the mind, so penetrating, so immediate, so unfailing, and also the after-effect that sometimes follows it, consisting in a specially sublime frame of mind, are explained by the passive nature of hearing just described" This penetrating component of music, so immediate, of which Schopenhauer speaks, is how the Sublime is experienced through it. Music could even elevate the soul of those who are most open to perceive it. What is that "sublime" moment that happens when you are listening to a live orchestra and get moved by the experience? Are we capable of achieving that moment through the use of architectural elements alone? I believe the answer is yes. There is more to the moment than just the music itself, and that a "sublime" moment can be experienced in many contexts. There are elements that are common to this experience, primarily the presence of the Four Classical Elements. With this in mind, I came to the idea that by including Air, Fire, Earth and Water into my project, then I would be a step closer to having the users go through a sublime experience. / Master of Architecture

Édition de : Thèse 3e cycle : Etudes latines : Paris 4 : 1986. / Bibliogr. p. [225]-228 Notes bibliogr. Index.

When Paul writes ‘we too were enslaved under the elements of the world', he means that the elements that compose the cosmos also compose and compromise the flesh and enslave human persons through their bodies (Gal 4.3). This thesis demonstrates that early Jews used the phrase στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου to refer to the material elements – earth, water, air, and fire – and not to elemental spirits or elementary principles. Greek medical tradition understood the material elements to mediate the stimuli (παθήματα) and desires of the body which enslave the soul, and it prescribed a variety of regimens (including νόμος) as παιδαγωγοί to guide a person to wholeness. In his philosophy according to the cosmic elements, Philo promotes the law of Moses – including circumcision and the calendar – as the effective way to be ‘redeemed from slavery' to the flesh, to attain righteousness, and to live in harmony with the cosmos. Paul's epistle to the Galatians opposes this sort of ‘redemptive nomism'. Paul accepts that weak στοιχεῖα compose the weak σάρξ and that they mediate sinful stimuli and desires that lead to the actions of the flesh. However, he denies that the law can make people alive or righteous. Instead, Paul prescribes crucifixion with Christ and new life with the Spirit as the final cure for sin's infection of the flesh made of weak στοιχεῖα. Through faith, Christ will be formed in believers as the Spirit guides them away from the desires of the flesh and produces his fruit in their lives.

本研究では懸濁系の磁気粘弾性流体の流動特性と圧力特性について四要素モデルを用いて考察を行う．実験では，磁気粘弾性流体がオリフィスを流れる際の圧力損失について，スタートアップの圧力変化と磁場印加時の圧力の過渡的な挙動を測定した．また実験結果の検証として数値解析も行った．その結果，磁気粘弾性流体の流れは，ケルビン力，磁気スピンの作用，物性を決定づける4要素モデルによって数値的に表現されることを明らかにした． / The flow and pressure characteristics of magneto-viscoelastic fluids in suspension systems are discussed in this study using a four-element model. In the experiment, the pressure drop of the magneto-viscoelastic fluid flowing through the orifice was measured in terms of pressure change at startup and transient pressure behavior when a magnetic field is applied. Numerical analysis was also performed to verify the experimental results. The results show that the flow of a magneto-viscoelastic fluid can be numerically described by a four-element model that determines the Kelvin force, the action of magnetic spin, and physical properties. / 博士(工学) / Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering / 同志社大学 / Doshisha University