Why would a relatively normal eighteen year-old boy from New Orleans decide to dedicate his life to God as a Jesuit priest at the tail-end of the twentieth century? What obstacles would he meet along the way? What would sustain him in religious life? Why would he leave after seven years? Can one be sexually and emotionally healthy as a celibate? Is celibacy different for homosexuals than it is for heterosexuals? What is essential in the spiritual life?

In this study, the manipulations of history and language in the dystopias of &ldquo / Nineteen Eighty-Four&rdquo / by George Orwell, &ldquo / We&rdquo / by Yevgeni Zamyatin and &ldquo / Brave New World&rdquo / by Aldous Huxley are examined. The principal aim of this investigation is to demonstrate that in these imaginary societies absolute stability is achieved through the manipulations of these two domains. The thesis argues that if the domains of history and language are not taken under control, they are to provide the subjects with the standard of comparisons which would enable them to realize that they are in fact dominated. However, once these domains are manipulated, they are transformed into the means of the dystopian rulers for mentally impoverishing people in a way that they would not be capable of conceiving the flaws within the system and therefore, would not attempt to challenge the order or require a change. In this sense, it is proposed that the subjects of these closed societies, who are formed as a result of the reshaping of history and language, would lack the mental capabilities to identify their subjection and behave automatically in the manner that is imposed on them by the political order. Moreover, in this study, the relationship of the genre dystopia with political theory is explored / it is indicated that dystopias are not only literary works, but rather they are also texts of social criticism containing certain warnings about the future course of events. Relying on this argument, it is claimed that such an invasion of the minds by the control over history and language in our three dystopias is the exaggerated version of the ideological relationships of the individuals to these two realms in the contemporary societies. Thus, having in mind that in the dystopias examined here the manipulations of history and language are the preconditions of the use of other realms (such as religion, sexuality and science), it is concluded that these texts enable modern individuals to see that in order to maintain a critical distance with the established political and social order, the multiplicity of linguistic resources and knowledge of history are very crucial.

Entre 1378 et 1417, l’Église est d’abord divisée entre deux, puis entre trois papes concurrents. Alors qu’Urbain VI et ses successeurs s’installent à Rome, Clément VII et son successeur rentrent en Avignon. Cette thèse répertorie et analyse les différentes expériences normandes en réponse au Grand Schisme d’Occident. Les engagements normands pour résoudre le schisme sont pluriels et s’expriment différemment selon les milieux. S’appuyant sur des sources diverses telles que le Registre des suppliques des archives du Vatican, les archives de l’Université de Paris et les archives locales, elle met en évidence les différents courants qui ont coexisté en Normandie en réaction au Grand Schisme d’Occident. Alors que la noblesse normande était généralement favorable aux papes d’Avignon, reconnus officiellement par le roi de France, d’importants courants de résistance envers cette papauté se sont aussi manifestés dans les milieux universitaires et au sein du clergé normand, poussant même certains à choisir l’exil en terre urbaniste. Ces exilés normands, bien que peu nombreux, ont exercé une influence considérable et ont été peu étudiés en tant que groupe auparavant. Parmi l’importante majorité de ceux qui restèrent dans l’obédience avignonnaise, plusieurs intellectuels normands furent pourtant reconnus comme étant d’acerbes critiques, voire des ennemis de Clément VII et de Benoît XIII. Les liens qu’ont maintenus les exilés normands avec leurs collègues restés en terre clémentiste ont joué un rôle appréciable dans le rapprochement des obédiences opposées au début du XVe siècle. La présente thèse permet de mettre en lumière les multiples attitudes normandes en réponse au schisme, d’approfondir la connaissance portant sur les milieux normands touchés par la crise, ainsi que sur les débats qui l’ont entourée, et de poursuivre la réflexion sur la question de l’obéissance et des réseaux normands à l’œuvre pendant cette période. / Between 1378 and 1417, the Catholic Church was divided between two, and then three contending popes. While Urban VI and his successors settled in Rome, Clement VII and his successor, Benedict XIII, returned to Avignon. This dissertation documents and analyses the multiple experiences known in Normandy in reaction to the Great Western Schism. Norman commitments to resolve this division were plural and they were expressed in numerous manners. Relying on Vatican archives, University of Paris and local archives, this study demonstrates the different reactions that coexisted in Normandy in response to the Great Western Schism. Although the Norman nobility was generally favourable to the Avignon popes, officially recognized by the King of France, important waves of resistance to that papacy were also expressed amongst Norman clergymen, prelates, as well as university students and professors. This resistance led some to choose exile, in order to recognize the Roman popes. Those Norman exilees, although they formed a modest community, had considerable influence in the Roman obedience, and they have been the object of very little scholarly attention. Amongst the vast majority of those who remained in the obedience of Clement VII, many Norman intellectuals were known for being very critical, even being enemies of the Avignon popes. The relationships that exiled Normans maintained with their colleagues who remained in Clément VII’s obedience played a very important role in the dialogue between obediences that led to the council of Pisa in 1409. This dissertation highlights the multiplicity of Norman attitudes in response to the Great Western Schism, it deepens our knowledge of the various Norman groups touched by the division and it improves our understanding of the different debates that surrounded the crisis. It also allows to further the reflection on the questions of how the schism affected the notion of obedience, and of the Norman networks at work during that period.

Zugl.: München, Univ., Habil.-Schr., 2003

Dans les expériences de Milgram sur la soumission à l’autorité (Milgram, 1963, 1965, 1974), les participants se sont vus ordonner d’administrer une série de chocs électriques d’intensité croissante à un autre participant (en réalité compère de l’expérimentateur) au nom d’une étude sur les effets de la punition sur l’apprentissage. Les résultats montrent que 62.5% des participants ont été jusqu’à infliger plusieurs chocs potentiellement mortels (condition standard ; Milgram, 1974). Ces résultats ont suscité un fort intérêt et sont toujours largement cités pour expliquer certains comportements destructeurs comme les actes de torture et de barbarie. Mais les travaux de Milgram ont également provoqué une forte controverse éthique et toute possibilité de réplication a été rapidement proscrite. Dans ce contexte, peu d’études expérimentales ont été réalisées et la question des mécanismes responsables de l’obéissance destructrice (OD) demeure sans réponse. La recherche récente a pu relancer l’étude expérimentale de l’OD par l’usage d’environnements immersifs. Ainsi, une récente étude IRMf reposant sur l’utilisation d’une version virtuelle du paradigme de Milgram montre que l’observation de la douleur de la victime dans ce contexte provoque un état de détresse personnelle chez les participants (i.e., réaction émotionnelle aversive centrée sur soi). Ce résultat suggère que l’OD pourrait être en partie la conséquence d’un défaut de régulation de la détresse provoquée par les mécanismes de résonance empathique. En nous appuyant sur la recherche récente en neurosciences sociales, nous avons fait l’hypothèse que la vulnérabilité au stress pourrait faciliter l’OD via l’exercice d’un contrôle inhibiteur sur la résonance empathique responsable d’une diminution de l’aversion pour l’atteinte à autrui. Nous avons réalisé six expériences visant (i) à examiner l’influence du tonus vagal (biomarqueur de la vulnérabilité au stress) sur l’autoritarisme de droite (prédicteur classique de l’OD) et sur l’OD, (ii) à manipuler expérimentalement la capacité des participants à exercer un contrôle inhibiteur durant la procédure d’obéissance, (iii) à explorer la relation entre ondes thêta (biomarqueur du contrôle inhibiteur) et OD, (iv) à examiner la relation entre OD et activité hémodynamique au niveau du cortex préfrontal ventromédian (incluant le cortex orbitofrontal) et du cortex préfrontal dorsolatéral, régions cérébrales fortement impliquées dans l’empathie et la cognition morale. L’obéissance a été mesurée à l’aide de l’« Immersive Video Milgram Obedience Experiment ». Dans ce qu’ils ont d’essentiel, nos résultats montrent : (i) qu’un moindre tonus vagal prédit l’autoritarisme de droite et l’OD, et que les participants obéissants ont exercé un effort cognitif couplé à une diminution du stress physiologique durant la procédure d’obéissance (études 2 et 3), (ii) que l’affaiblissement expérimental du contrôle inhibiteur via l’induction d’une « fatigue mentale » favorise la désobéissance et supprime l’influence de l’autoritarisme de droite sur l’OD (étude 4), (iii) qu’une augmentation de la puissance des ondes thêta prédit l’OD (étude 5), (iv) qu’une augmentation de l’oxy-hémoglobine au niveau du cortex préfrontal ventromédian droit prédit une moindre obéissance (étude 6). Dans leur ensemble, ces résultats supportent l’hypothèse voulant que les personnes présentant une plus grande vulnérabilité au stress exercent un contrôle inhibiteur sur leur résonance empathique dans un effort pour diminuer leur détresse, et que ce contrôle inhibiteur a pour conséquence une diminution des réponses émotionnelles aversives à l’atteinte à autrui et ainsi une augmentation de l’OD. / In the Milgram's obedience experiments (Milgram, 1963, 1965, 1974), naive participants were ordered to administer increasingly severe electric shocks on a “learner” (a confederate) after being told that they were participating in an experiment on the effects of punishment on learning. Results revealed that 62.5% of the participants were willing to administer allegedly lethal electric shocks when ordered to do so (standard condition; Milgram, 1974). The Milgram's findings are still often cited when explaining destructive behaviors such as torture. The Milgram’s obedience studies have also been a target of ethical criticism and replication has been discouraged. In such a context, a very few experimental studies has been conducted since the Milgram’s experiments and the mechanisms responsible for destructive obedience remain unknown. Recent research reopens the door to direct empirical study of destructive obedience through the employment of immersive environments. A recent fMRI study showed that pain-related affective sharing in a virtual version of the Milgram paradigm elicited an aversive, self-oriented state of personal distress. This result suggests that low self-regulatory control of the shared affect evoked by the victim’s pain could be responsible for destructive obedience. Based on recent social neuroscience research, we hypothesized that stress vulnerability may facilitate destructive obedience through a mechanism of inhibitory control over empathic resonance responsible for decreased harm aversion. We conducted six studies aiming (i) to explore the influence of cardiac vagal tone (a biomarker of stress vulnerability) on right-wing authoritarianism (RWA, a classic predictor of destructive obedience) and on destructive obedience, (ii) to induce a self-regulatory fatigue in order to manipulate the participants’ abilities for inhibitory control during the obedience procedure, (iii) to explore the relation between theta oscillations (a biomarker of inhibitory control) and destructive obedience, (iv) to examine the relation between destructive obedience and hemodynamic response in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (including the orbitofrontal cortex) and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, two brain areas highly involved in empathy and moral cognition. Obedience was measured using the “Immersive Video Milgram Obedience Experiment”. All in all, our results showed: (i) that lower vagal tone predicted higher RWA and destructive obedience, and that obedient participants exerted a cognitive effort associated to decreased physiological arousal (studies 2 and 3), (ii) that self-regulatory fatigue reduced destructive obedience and suppressed the influence of RWA, (iii) that increased theta power predicted destructive obedience (study 4), (iv) that increased oxygenated-hemoglobin in the right ventromedial prefrontal cortex predicts disobedience. On the whole, these results support the hypothesis that individuals with high in stress vulnerability exert an inhibitory control over their empathic resonance in an attempt to reduce their own distress, and that such a mechanism is responsible for decreased harm aversion and then destructive obedience.

This dissertation titled The History of the Catholic Church in Lesotho 1862-1989 has three chapters. The first chapter deals with the formation of the seventy-seven missions in Lesotho, and the establishment of the four dioceses of Lesotho the seventy-seven mission had all been formed during the period mentioned in the title, and those formed after appear in the appendix. The second chapter deals with the socio-political involvement of the Catholic Church in Lesotho, this part deals with the authority of the bishop and the Church government and again with the role of the bishop and his relationship to the Oblate authority. In this part four bishops are taken to illustrate this point, and this covers the period from 1930 to 1966. In short this deals with the internal affairs of the Church, and its finances. And we go on to deal with the involvement of the Church in the party politics which led to independence of the country. The last chapter deals with the church under the indigenous clergy, which actually is inculturation its problem and attempted solution. / Christianity, Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M. Th. (Church History)

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T20:12:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 3051.pdf: 1992978 bytes, checksum: fb8b38e65171ce45ef572425d1cb2105 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-11-29 / This thesis analyzes and discusses the ideas of passion, reason, consenting, promise, and political obedience aiming to verify how they can found on a defense of morals and politics in David Hume s philosophy. From the rational view, Hobbes and Locke postulate that the institution and legitimating of political associations or of the State stem from people s liberty and interest in giving in to the other s power; from the making of agreements or deals related to the association or submission; and from the explicit promise of adhesion and obedience to the established government. From the human behavior observation and historical perspectives, Hume states that government s origin and legitimating don t rely on contracts and explicit promises of submission since political societies established through usurpation and conquering demand the same obedience and submission from people as other states do. Such a debate with contractualists reveals three problems in Hume s political philosophy: the passive and tacit character of political obedience to the usurped and conquered governs; the compatibility between the idea of spontaneity liberty or free action and the submission imposed by governments established through strength and violence; and the existence and operation of political and moral agents able to determine themselves in circumstances of social and political restraint. As a hypothesis of solution for such problems, one considers that morals and politics in Hume s philosophy can be established by taking human nature principles as the creative principle of all institutions and sciences. Therefore, one needs to verify the role reason and passions play in the determination of human behavior and constitution of the State; to distinguish the debate on the government origin from the debate on its legitimacy, so that to analyze the psychological principles which make people to accept being governed; to examine the general promise foundations, so that to note the motivations for the agreements fulfillment; and to investigate the obedience and legitimating principles in political societies. / Esta tese analisa e discute as idéias de paixão, razão, consentimento, promessa e obediência política, para verificar como podem fundamentar a defesa de uma teoria da agência moral e política na filosofia de David Hume. Do ponto de vista racional, Hobbes e Locke postulam que a instituição e legitimação de associações políticas ou do Estado derivam: da liberdade e do interesse dos indivíduos em se submeterem ao poder alheio; do estabelecimento de acordos ou contratos relativos à associação e submissão; e da promessa expressa de adesão e obediência ao governo estabelecido. Na perspectiva da observação do comportamento humano e da história, Hume concebe que a origem e legitimidade do governo não dependem de contratos e promessas expressas de submissão, pois as sociedades políticas fundadas mediante usurpação e conquista exigem das pessoas a mesma obediência e submissão que os outros Estados. Esse debate com os contratualistas deixa entrever três problemas na filosofia política de Hume: o caráter passivo ou tácito da obediência política aos governos usurpados e conquistados; a compatibilidade entre a idéia de liberdade de espontaneidade ou ação livre e a submissão imposta pelos governos estabelecidos pela força e violência; e a existência e atuação de agentes morais e políticos capazes de se determinarem nas circunstâncias de constrangimento social e político. Como hipótese de solução desses problemas, considera-se que a agência moral e política na filosofia de Hume pode se estabelecer com base na análise dos princípios da natureza humana como princípio criativo de todas as instituições e ciências. Assim, é preciso: verificar o papel da razão e das paixões na determinação do comportamento humano e na constituição do Estado; distinguir o debate acerca da origem do governo da discussão sobre sua legitimidade, analisando-se os princípios mentais que permitem as pessoas consentirem ser governadas; examinar os fundamentos da promessa em geral, observando-se as motivações para o cumprimento de acordos; e investigar os princípios da obediência política e legitimação das sociedades políticas.

Health conscientious objection in Spain: nature and exerciseConscientious objection is conceived as the infringement of a legal duty, peacefully and morally motivated, which aims to safeguard the own moral integrity against a heteronomous imperative judged as unfair. Generally, there is social agreement concerning some justice principles that generate group-shared laws. However, there can be disagreement among some of the members of the group, which can lead them to decide to break the law. The aim of this paper is to reflect on the social and juridical legitimacy of an individual’s moral obligation to disobey a rule that is incompatible with his or her personal options, in order to assert that faculty and base it on the existence of a conscientious objection right. Also, it seeks to point out the existing difficulties in Spain to exercise the conscientious objection within the healthcare sector. / La objeción de conciencia se concibe como el incumplimiento de un deber jurídico, pacífica y moralmente motivado, que procura salvaguardar la propia integridad moral frente a un imperativo heterónomo que se juzga injusto. En general, existe acuerdo social en torno a unos principios de justicia que generan normas compartidas por el grupo. Sin embargo, pueden existir discrepancias entre algunos de los miembros del mismo, que los lleven a optar por la desobediencia a la norma. En este trabajo se pretende reflexionar acerca de la legitimidad social y jurídica de la obligación moral de un individuo de desobedecer o incumplir una norma jurídica incompatible con sus opciones personales, con el objetivo de afirmar dicha facultad y fundamentarla en la existencia de un derecho a la objeción de conciencia. También se quiere poner de manifiesto las dificultades que encuentra en España el ejercicio de la objeción de conciencia en el contexto sanitario.

Title: The Question of Liberty and Obedience in the Work of Saint Ignatius of Loyola Abstract: The thesis investigates the question of liberty and obedience in the work of Saint Ignatius of Loyola and offers a basic survey of the literary heritage of the great Spanish mystic. Three of his works (Spiritual Exercises, Autobiography and Constitutions) and two letters dealing with obedience have been used as the sources and analyzed. In conclusion, the obedience and liberty in the interpretation of Saint Ignatius of Loyola are in substantial agreement and compatibility in the sense of inner freedom according to the Christian traditions. Saint Ignatius' contribution to the mystic literature was the fact that he emphasized one's own experience as the individual experience of an autonomous personality. Rather than to describe in detail his own ecstatic feeling he aspired to capture a day-to-day mysticism and his intensive pursuit of God's will. Key words: Loyola (St. Ignatius of), obedience, liberty, Spiritual Exercises, Autobiography, Constitutions, mystic literature.

Aujourd'hui, dans l'Église Catholique Romaine, des nouvelles formes de communautés « associatives » émergent et posent un certain nombre de questions au regard du droit canonique de l’Église. L'une d'entre elles concerne les personnes qui font le choix du célibat pour vivre un état de « vie consacrée » dans ces nouvelles formes de vie associative. Au-delà des structures et des critères organiques de vie consacrée qui asphyxient bien souvent toute réflexion sur la consécration, quels sont les critères qui, in utroque iure, permettraient la reconnaissance d’un tel état de vie ? En droit public français, ces nouvelles formes de vie consacrée au sein de l'Église Catholique interrogent aussi : certaines de ces nouvelles formes acquièrent un statut d’association publique internationale en droit canonique, et demandent, par exemple, leur reconnaissance légale comme « congrégation religieuse » (notamment, quant à la sécurité sociale, au droit du travail, et d’autres encore) avec le statut congréganiste. Ce sont ces critères essentiels pour ces mouvements que notre étude se propose de préciser, comme la profession des conseils évangéliques, les liens sacrés, la stabilité, une vie fraternelle, une soumission à une règle de vie approuvée : afin que l’état de vie consacrée soit plus manifeste dans ces mouvements qui attendent, pour une part, une certaine reconnaissance de la part de l’Église, sans compter les contentieux, relativement nombreux, relatifs notamment aux régimes de sécurité sociale et de retraites, devant les juridictions étatiques. / Today in the Roman Catholic Church new forms of “associative” communities are emerging and posing a certain number of questions in regard to Canon Law. One of the questions concerns those who choose to live a celibate state of "consecrated life" in these new forms of community life within the Church. Beyond the structures and organic criteria of consecrated life, which sometimes in itself can frustrate any serious reflection, what are the criteria in utroque iure, that would allow for the recognition of such a state of life in Canon law? New forms of consecrated life in the Catholic Church can also question French law. Some of these new forms acquire the status of an international public association in Canon law, and ask, for example, for legal recognition as a “religious congregation", in French law. Questions than arise on matters such as social security, labor law, and other issues within this legal congregational status. These are the essential canonical and French legal criteria for these movements that our study is to clarify. How can the profession of the evangelical counsels, the sacred bonds, stability, fraternal life, and submission to an approved rule of life, all canonical requirements be fulfilled, while also satisfying French legal requirements, such as social security, pension schemes and litigation activity, in the new forms of “associative communities?”