日本京都學派的西谷啟治曾表示，對他而言其哲學的根本課題就是「通過虛無主義的虛無主義之超克」。然而，「虛無主義」一詞並非單純只表示某種失去生命中最重要的價值時所產生的「虛無感」；在哲學上它還指向在特定時期，即產生於19世紀歐洲地區的精神危機，以及試圖解答此危機的各種哲學思想。但更重要的問題是：既然虛無主義是歐洲所產生的思想產物，為何會成為身為日本人的西谷啟治的哲學起點？虛無主義與西谷啟治的思想彼此之間的關係是什麼？ 若從外在的動機而論，雖然歐洲虛無主義並非產生於東亞，然而對西谷啟治而言，在日本明治維新之後，盲目追求西化的結果，導致自身的精神與文化的傳統被忽視，逐漸地失去生命力。同時對於西化的嚮往也反過來導致了自我厭惡。如何在這西化的潮流中，回顧自身的傳統，找到自身的定位，同時得到內在的安心，從而迎向未來，就成了西谷對歐洲虛無主義的關注動機。此外，西谷啟治選擇了禪佛教作為他的解答：從禪佛教的立場，重新檢視歐洲虛無主義產生的原因，並且對西方的種種哲學思想提出批判。

<p>Denna c-uppsats behandlar Nietzsches avvikelse från Schopenhauers <em>Världen som Vilja och Föreställning</em> i verket <em>Tragedins födelse</em>. Uppsatsens syfte är att undersöka varför det för Nietzsche är möjligt att förena det apolliniska och det dionysiska medan det för Schopenhauer inte är möjligt att förena vilja och föreställning.</p>

Denna uppsats innehåller min tolkning av filmen Import/Export (2007) av Ulrich Seidl i syfte att skapa ökad förståelse för människan och kulturen i dagens Öst- och Västeuropa och att få fram de föreställningar som präglar kulturmöten mellan öst- och västeuropéer. Undersökningen genomfördes med hjälp av en hermeneutisk metod i kombination med Emile Durkheims funktionalistiska teori, postkoloniala teorier och Geert Hofstedes teori om kulturdimensioner. Undersökning visade att både öst- och västeuropeiska samhällen i filmen präglas av anomi. Värden grupperade kring dikotomierna individualism/kollektivism, maskulinitet/femininitet och osäkerhetsundvikande framställs tydligast i filmen. Livsåskådningsanalys visade att en materialistisk verklighetsuppfattning dominerar i både Öst- och Västeuropa tillsammans med övervägande pessimistisk och negativ grundhållning, vilket i sin tur påverkar både karaktärernas människosyn och deras handlingar. Skillnader i livsåskådning mellan öst- och västeuropéer bygger på skillnader i de förhärskande kulturella värdena och därmed på skild människosyn. Kulturmöten mellan öst- och västeuropéer i filmen präglas av främlingsrädsla och främlingsfientlighet. De bygger på västeuropéernas koloniala föreställningar om Östeuropa och dess invånare som ociviliserade barbarer, som ska ”civiliseras” av Väst samt på östeuropéernas föreställningar om Västeuropa och dess invånare som Antikrist och ärkefiende som man ska skydda sig mot. Europas nutid framställs i filmen på ett dystert sätt. Det finns även scener som utgör paralleller till Oswald Spenglers verk Västerlandets undergångoch kan tyda på filmskaparens pessimistiska syn på Europas utveckling i riktning mot undergång.

Denna c-uppsats behandlar Nietzsches avvikelse från Schopenhauers Världen som Vilja och Föreställning i verket Tragedins födelse. Uppsatsens syfte är att undersöka varför det för Nietzsche är möjligt att förena det apolliniska och det dionysiska medan det för Schopenhauer inte är möjligt att förena vilja och föreställning.

Lietuvos visuomenė prieš daugiau nei dvidešimt metų visuotiniame referendume priėmė aukščiausios teisinės galios aktą Lietuvoje - LR Konstituciją, kurios preambulėje įtvirtinta, kad Lietuva sieks tapti atvira, teisinga, darnia pilietine visuomene ir teisine valstybe. Tačiau beveik du dešimtmečius nepriklausomoje valstybėje besiformuojančios teisinė, socialinė, ekonominė ir politinė sistemos liudija, kad mūsų visuomenėje įsigalėjo tokia vertybių sistema, kurioje tokia vertybė kaip teisė yra ignoruojama ir atmetama, t.y. stipriai paplito teisinio nihilizmo reiškinys. Šiame darbe analizuojami teisinio nihilizmo kaip socialinio reiškinio ypatumai, jo priežastys bei įveikimo galimybės bendrojo lavinimo mokykloje. Tyrime dalyvavo Radviliškio X pagrindinės mokyklos mokiniai: iš viso 98 mokiniai besimokantys 7-8 klasėse bei 82 jų tėvai. Darbe atlikta statistinė duomenų analizė apdoroti apklausos rezultatams. Svarbiausios empirinio tyrimo išvados: darbe keliama hipotezė – neištyrę teisinio nihilizmo atsiradimo priežasčių bendrojo lavinimo mokykloje ir identifikavę šio reiškinio pasekmių negalima suvokti jo destruktyvaus pobūdžio ir imtis efektyvių priemonių jam mažinti, pirmiausia bendrojo lavinimo mokykloje, o paskui ir visuomenėje. Juk kaip bus suformuojama vaikų teisinė sąmonė ir kultūra mokykloje tokia bus ir visuomenė. Sąvokos teisinio nihilizmo bei taisyklių ir kitų elgesio normų nesilaikymo išreikštumas tėvų tarpe, turinčių aukštesnįjį ir aukštąjį išsilavinimą, nėra... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / 20 years ago Lithuanian society adopted in the national referendum the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania in which preamble is stated that Lithuania seeks to become an open, fair, harmonious society and a constitutional state. But nearly two decades in the independent state developing legal, social security, economic and political systems testify that in our society has set in a value-system when such a value as the law is ignored and eliminated, i.e. the phenomenon of legal nihilism has spread. In this work the peculiarities of legal nihilism, also its causes and ways of overcoming in the comprehensive schools are analyzed. 98 students from the 7-8th forms of the Radviliškis X lower secondary school and 82 parents took part in the research. In the work the statistical data analysis was done in order to summarize the questionnaire. The most important findings of the empirical research: hypothesis of the work – not having investigated the causes of legal nihilism in comprehensive school and identified its results, we are not able to understand its destructive nature and to take effective means for its reduction, first in the comprehensive schools, and later in society. The concept legal nihilism and the departure from the rules and the proprieties among the parents with further education and university education isn’t significant statistically. The concept legal nihilism among girls and boys isn’t meaningful statistically. The departure from the rules and the... [to full text]

Reprendre contact avec les réalités de l’âme, rouvrir la source où l’être rejaillit éternellement : tel est l’idéal occulte, inavouable, d’où procède la poétique d’Hubert Aquin. Depuis sa jeunesse, Aquin s’emploie clandestinement à défaire les mailles de la conscience et à rebrousser chemin vers les arrière-plans ténébreux du Moi, vers le Plérôme de la vie nue. Il manœuvre pour se mettre au service de l’intentionnalité impersonnelle inscrite au plus profond de sa psyché, pour devenir l’instrument du vouloir aveugle « qui opère en lui comme une force d’inertie ». Son œuvre ne s’accomplit pas dans le texte, mais à rebours du texte, voire à rebours du langage ; elle se déploie sur le terrain d’une confrontation enivrée avec le Négatif — avec la Parole sacrée issue de l’abîme. En d’autres termes, elle prend la forme d’une Gnose, c’est-à-dire d’un exercice de dé-subjectivation, de destruction de soi, consistant à réaliser la connaissance participative de l’empreinte imaginale scellée derrière les barreaux de la finitude. Essentiellement consacrée à l’analyse de la dimension gnostique de l’œuvre d’Hubert Aquin, cette thèse vise à montrer que la connaissance du hiéroglyphe mystérieux gravé au fond de l’âme n’est pas une sinécure. Il s’agit plutôt d’un opus contra naturam qui comporte bien des risques (en tout premier lieu celui d’une inflation psychique). Pourtant, ce travail est aussi, aux yeux de l’auteur, le seul véritablement digne d’être accompli, celui qui donne à l’homme le moyen de se soustraire à l’engloutissement de la mort et la possibilité de renaître. Comme l’écrit Aquin dans un texte de jeunesse, l’ouverture inconditionnelle au Négatif (la destruction de soi) est « une façon privilégiée d’expérimenter la vie et un préalable à toute entreprise artistique » ; elle correspond à « un mode supérieur de connaissance », à un savoir « impersonnel » qui offre immédiatement le salut. / To reestablish contact with the realities of the soul, to reopen the source from which Being eternally resurges: such is the occult and unspeakable ideal from which Hubert Aquin’s poetics proceeds. From his youth onwards, Aquin secretly seeks to unravel the mesh of consciousness, in order to retrace the path leading back towards the dark nether regions of the Self, towards the Pleroma of the naked life. Thus he operates exclusively in the service of the impersonal intentionality inscribed in the depths of his psyche, as the instrument of the blind will that acts inside of him “like an inertial force”. His work does not fulfill itself in the text, but rather runs counter to the text, even counter to language itself; it deploys as an exhilarating confrontation with the Negative, with the sacred Word issuing from the abyss. In other words, Aquin’s work takes the form of a Gnosis: an exercise in de-subjectivization and self-destruction that consists in attaining participative knowledge of the imaginal seal imprinted behind the bars of finitude. This thesis, principally devoted to an analysis of the gnostic dimension of Hubert Aquin’s œuvre, aims to show that to decipher the mysterious hieroglyph engraved in the depths of the soul is no simple task: it is rather an opus contra naturam, involving great dangers (of which the first is the risk of psychic inflation); yet, to the author’s eyes, only this task is really necessary and truly worthy of being undertaken, for only by this means can the human being escape from engulfment in death – by being reborn. As Aquin writes in an early work, to open oneself unconditionally to the Negative (i.e., self-destruction) is “a special way of experiencing life and a prerequisite to any artistic enterprise”; it is equivalent to “a superior mode of knowledge” of an “impersonal” kind, promising immediate salvation.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

Smart film, a term coined by Jeffrey Sconce in his 2002 Screen article, “Irony, Nihilism and the New American ‘Smart’ Film”, refers to a wave of controversial, contemporary American films characterised by irony, quirky black humour, deadpan performance and an observational, blank style. Apart from Sconce, there has been little theorisation on smart cinema within the field of American screen studies. This thesis redresses this gap by providing the first extended study on smart film. It draws on, and adds to, the framework provided by Sconce, via the examination of a particular ‘subset’ of smart films concerned with the representation of youth and adolescence. These specifically target a more adult, ‘smart’ niche audience, who derive pleasure from their ironic ‘cleverness’, and ‘arty’ sensibility. In particular, this project focuses on the way these films are differentiated from more mainstream narrative cinema by their generic, affective and ethical structures. Following Sconce, this thesis analyses the constituents of the ‘art of the smart’—of the aesthetic strategies that differentiate the smart youth film, and the modes of address that may encourage, or discourage, particular experiences of affectivity and ethical engagement in the films’ portrayals of their youthful, anti-heroic protagonists. This includes a discussion of their cinematic origins, their production contexts with specific reference to institutional shifts in American independent cinema, and the way their reception is particularly aligned to the cultural tastes and consumption patterns of ‘Generation X.’ This thesis argues that smart film necessitates the development of more far-reaching ways of theorising the intersection between cinema, genre and youth. It extends the current theorisation on melodrama and the teenpic by arguing that smart film incorporates stylistic and thematic features, which both intersect with these established generic modes for representing youth and the family, and, at the same time, reflect a paradigm shift away from them as a result of their emphasis on irony and black comedy. It explores the cultural significance of their representations of youth, and their familial relationships, and the way this relates to social and cinematic constructions of youth and the family over time. This draws particular attention to their engagement with more serious, socially relevant, and taboo acts of sexual transgression, and how this is problematically mediated by what may appear as an ‘inappropriate’ aesthetic of black comedy. Much of the distinction of smart youth films lies in the way they challenge normative modes of cinematic representation via their portrayals of youth, which combine psychological realism with blank, ironic affect. This has specific implications in terms of their spectatorship and reception, and leads to a central concern in this thesis to determine the ways in which irony and distanciation create ambivalent modes of engagement in these films. This is specifically examined in relation to character, drawing on the cognitive framework provided by Murray Smith’s “structure of sympathy”, and the analysis of their ironic, anti-naturalistic strategies of performance, which complicate a realist construction of character subjectivity, authenticity, and allegiance. However, this thesis also argues that an astute examination of smart film’s formal content and narrative construction often reveals key moments of sincerity, character authenticity, and avenues of empathy that may allow for a momentary emotional connection with character and the filmic world. The final chapter focuses on the ethical dimension of these films, their relationship with nihilism, and the question of whether youth films have a responsibility to offer positive role models and ethical guidance. It discusses the way that irony functions as a strategic gesture, which can offer incisive moral and social criticisms, but is complicated by the lack of cues for how to morally judge, or emotionally relate to, characters and their actions. Overall, smart films’ ambivalence suggests that the spectator may be required to extend their paradigms of response, particularly in the way these films articulate their ‘taboo’ content. This necessitates an examination of the dialogic, intersubjective process of the way the materiality of the film intersects with the socialised, contextual body of the spectator to embrace the possibility of a more active, intellectual spectatorship. Specifically, this incorporates an evaluation of the social cognitions, epistemology, and pleasures derived from the contemporary circulation and comprehension of irony, and how this can generate an understanding of smart film in relation to their affective and ethical regimes. Finally, this thesis concludes with an examination of the influence of smart film on television and current post-ironic trends in American cinema.

Smart film, a term coined by Jeffrey Sconce in his 2002 Screen article, “Irony, Nihilism and the New American ‘Smart’ Film”, refers to a wave of controversial, contemporary American films characterised by irony, quirky black humour, deadpan performance and an observational, blank style. Apart from Sconce, there has been little theorisation on smart cinema within the field of American screen studies. This thesis redresses this gap by providing the first extended study on smart film. It draws on, and adds to, the framework provided by Sconce, via the examination of a particular ‘subset’ of smart films concerned with the representation of youth and adolescence. These specifically target a more adult, ‘smart’ niche audience, who derive pleasure from their ironic ‘cleverness’, and ‘arty’ sensibility. In particular, this project focuses on the way these films are differentiated from more mainstream narrative cinema by their generic, affective and ethical structures. Following Sconce, this thesis analyses the constituents of the ‘art of the smart’—of the aesthetic strategies that differentiate the smart youth film, and the modes of address that may encourage, or discourage, particular experiences of affectivity and ethical engagement in the films’ portrayals of their youthful, anti-heroic protagonists. This includes a discussion of their cinematic origins, their production contexts with specific reference to institutional shifts in American independent cinema, and the way their reception is particularly aligned to the cultural tastes and consumption patterns of ‘Generation X.’ This thesis argues that smart film necessitates the development of more far-reaching ways of theorising the intersection between cinema, genre and youth. It extends the current theorisation on melodrama and the teenpic by arguing that smart film incorporates stylistic and thematic features, which both intersect with these established generic modes for representing youth and the family, and, at the same time, reflect a paradigm shift away from them as a result of their emphasis on irony and black comedy. It explores the cultural significance of their representations of youth, and their familial relationships, and the way this relates to social and cinematic constructions of youth and the family over time. This draws particular attention to their engagement with more serious, socially relevant, and taboo acts of sexual transgression, and how this is problematically mediated by what may appear as an ‘inappropriate’ aesthetic of black comedy. Much of the distinction of smart youth films lies in the way they challenge normative modes of cinematic representation via their portrayals of youth, which combine psychological realism with blank, ironic affect. This has specific implications in terms of their spectatorship and reception, and leads to a central concern in this thesis to determine the ways in which irony and distanciation create ambivalent modes of engagement in these films. This is specifically examined in relation to character, drawing on the cognitive framework provided by Murray Smith’s “structure of sympathy”, and the analysis of their ironic, anti-naturalistic strategies of performance, which complicate a realist construction of character subjectivity, authenticity, and allegiance. However, this thesis also argues that an astute examination of smart film’s formal content and narrative construction often reveals key moments of sincerity, character authenticity, and avenues of empathy that may allow for a momentary emotional connection with character and the filmic world. The final chapter focuses on the ethical dimension of these films, their relationship with nihilism, and the question of whether youth films have a responsibility to offer positive role models and ethical guidance. It discusses the way that irony functions as a strategic gesture, which can offer incisive moral and social criticisms, but is complicated by the lack of cues for how to morally judge, or emotionally relate to, characters and their actions. Overall, smart films’ ambivalence suggests that the spectator may be required to extend their paradigms of response, particularly in the way these films articulate their ‘taboo’ content. This necessitates an examination of the dialogic, intersubjective process of the way the materiality of the film intersects with the socialised, contextual body of the spectator to embrace the possibility of a more active, intellectual spectatorship. Specifically, this incorporates an evaluation of the social cognitions, epistemology, and pleasures derived from the contemporary circulation and comprehension of irony, and how this can generate an understanding of smart film in relation to their affective and ethical regimes. Finally, this thesis concludes with an examination of the influence of smart film on television and current post-ironic trends in American cinema.

Nietzsche´s work criticizes the existing method of philosophizing which diverts man from his major problems. First of all it is neccessary to deal with human life and to understand what determines life and what defines world. Human life is dominated by the will to power. However it depends, wheather man recognizes the will and wheather he follows this awarness. So far, man has been controlled by emotions which are often considered to be the truth. The will to power predetermines the human evolution to the higher level - the Superman ( Der Übermensch). The Superman is able to implement the will, to become a completely free beeing, controlling everything within his reach - even humanity. The Superman is driven by his own benefits, creating a new morality in which it applies that good is what is useful for life of a Superman. Existing humanity seeks in its weakness support in the faith in God. Only Superman is able to avoid this domination, because for him God is dead. life is what constantly arises and expires in its particular actions. The way of the world is determinatd by the eternal return, which is accepted by a Superman.