In recent years, a sense of community has declined throughout the United States. Common Point Community Church has responded to this trend by prioritizing "community" as an organizational metaphor. The present study explores how this metaphor is co-constructed through the communication practices of current organizational leaders and members. I begin this process, first, by positioning the study within existing literature on institutional theory, institutional legitimacy, community, community of practice, social construction of race, sensemaking, organizational metaphor, tension-centered approach, and dialectic theory. Building upon more than three years of ethnographic field work, I then outline the study's context and methodology. Next, I discuss (a) specific ways in which "community" is understood by the organization's racially diverse leaders and members, (b) potential limitations that result from this metaphor, and (c) ways in which dialectical tensions are managed in order to maintain the organizational metaphor of community. I then offer three theoretical implications - collectively referred to as the diversity paradox - as well as three practical implications: (a) Common Point "Voices," (b) Congregational Videos, and (c) Creative Arts Team. I conclude by reflecting on the research process itself.

L’œuvre philosophique de Kierkegaard s’apparente à une dialectique du paradoxe. De fait, dans son cheminement existentiel, l’individu parcourt trois sphères d’existence – l’esthétique, l’éthique et le religieux –, chacune d’elle étant une modalité de l’activité humaine qui comporte un paradoxe particulier. Il s’agit d’un itinéraire de l’intériorité qui vise, dans l’existence, le télos qu’est le devenir soi-même. Ainsi l’esthéticien est-il déchiré entre les idées et la réalité dans la réalité immédiate, tandis que l’éthicien, par la médiation du langage, préfère s’affirmer comme individu dans l’immanence concrète, ignorant toutefois qu’il intériorise des règles sociales qui lui sont impersonnelles. Quant au religieux, non seulement découvre-t-il que la vérité vers laquelle il tend ne se trouve pas en son sein, mais il fait face au plus élevé des paradoxes, fondé sur la transcendance – à savoir le paradoxe absolu, où l’éternité se temporalise sous la forme de l’Homme-Dieu. Du reste, le présent mémoire se penche spécifiquement sur le concept du paradoxe, mis de l’avant par Kierkegaard afin de brosser un portrait du devenir individuel de chaque existant. / The philosophical work of Kierkegaard deals with a dialectic of the paradox. Actually, in his existential progress, the individual goes through three spheres of existence – the aesthetic, the ethical and the religious –, each of which is a modality of the human activity that contains a particular paradox. His thought follows the progress of interiority, which aims, in existence, at the end of becoming a single individual. In this way, the aesthete is torn between the pure idea and reality, whereas the ethicist, through the mediation of language, prefers to assert himself as an individual within concrete immanence, ignoring however that he interiorizes social rules which are impersonal him. As for the religious believer, not only does he discover that the truth at which he aims is not within himself, but he faces the highest of the paradoxes, based on transcendance – that is the absolute paradox, whereby eternity temporalizes itself in the shape of the Man-God. In general, the present master’s thesis analyzes the concept of the paradox put forward by Kierkegaard to present the progress of every existing being towards becoming a single individual.

Thesis (M.A.)--Miami University, Dept. of Theatre, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 55-57).

Louis Jouvet a toute sa vie écrit et pensé l’art dramatique, s’essayant à tous les métiers du théâtre, depuis ses débuts en tant que régisseur jusqu’à ses expériences de metteur en scène et bien évidemment d’acteur. Dans ses leçons au Conservatoire, données de 1934 à 1940 puis de 1947 à 1951, il tente de mettre en mots, pour ses élèves, le « mystère » du théâtre, qui ne vit que dans l’instant du jeu et se dérobe sitôt celui-ci terminé. Il construit pour ce faire un édifice mental dont les personnages sont le cœur. Venus visiter les auteurs dramatiques véritables au moment de l’écriture, ils sont ceux dont l’acteur, s’il veut devenir comédien et parvenir à la désincarnation, doit se mettre en quête. Afin de comprendre comment Jouvet invente une logique qui lui permet à la fois de transmettre le fruit de son expérience et de maintenir l’énigme, nous avons procédé à une analyse systématique des classes. De celle-ci émerge non une « méthode » ou un « système » Jouvet mais une pensée moins contradictoire qu’il n’y paraît, portée par un vocabulaire inlassablement repris et d’où émergent de fortes constantes. La première partie de la thèse analyse la pensée générale du théâtre selon Jouvet et la place décisive qu’il accorde aux personnages, de façon à comprendre comment il situe son rôle d’enseignant du premier XXe siècle. La deuxième reprend et développe les différents modes d’approche des personnages dramatiques, selon leur genre, leur auteur et leur type. La troisième envisage plus spécifiquement le temps de la rencontre, dans le jeu, entre le comédien et le personnage, dans une redéfinition du Paradoxe de Diderot, dont Jouvet repense les termes selon la logique poético-mystique qu’il échaffaude. / Throughout his life, Louis Jouvet reflected on and wrote about the dramatic arts, exercising all of the different trades of the Theatre field, from his beginnings as a stage manager to his experiences as a director and, obviously, as an actor. In his lessons as a teacher at Paris’ drama school, from 1934 to 1940 and from 1947 to 1951, he strived to pass on to his students the “mystery” of the Theatre, alive only in the instant of the play and elusive as soon as it is over. To do so, he erects a mental structure whose pillars are the characters. As the inspirers of the genuine dramatic authors, the characters are the ones every actor must seek if he is to become a comedian and reach disembodiment. To understand how Jouvet invents a structure that would allow him to impart the lessons of his experience and, at the same time, maintain the mystery, we analyzed all of his lessons in a systematic way. From there, what comes to light is not a “Jouvet method” nor a “Jouvet system”, but a vision that’s not as contradictory as it would seem, supported by a very recurring vocabulary, and from which emerge a few strong constants.The Thesis’ first part analyzes Jouvet’s general vision of the Theatre and the key role he assigns to characters, as a means to understand how he defines his role as a teacher during the first half of the XXth century. The second part delves into Jouvet’s different perspectives on characters, according to genre, author and type. The third one explores more specifically the moment in which, through the play, comedian and character meet, in a redefinition of Diderot’s paradox reshaped by Jouvet’s original logic, both logical and mystic.

Environmental strategies implemented today are strongly influenced by the ideologies capitalism, neoliberalism and ecomodernism. As such, they should promote global economic expansion while mitigating environmental impact. This is in line with the prevailing environmental political discourse of sustainable development, in which economic, ecological and social dimensions are considered compatible and dependent on each other. However, this essay challenges the normative assumption regarding the win-win-win narrative by examining the economic, ecological and social consequences of Max Burgers’ environmental strategies through three critical scientific theories. By posing an ideology critique and through the lens of our theoretical framework, we find that Max Burgers mystifies the apparent relation between local economic growth, global ecological impact and divided social progress, thus reinforcing unequal power dynamics and patterns of uneven development.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T20:12:10Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseLML.pdf: 1109440 bytes, checksum: 47b2b6ef1bf40017c88595ebb190c808 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-03-31 / The proposal of this work is to study the theory of sense in Deleuze inserted in the questions that reverberate on the contemporaneous philosophical field. Our route will follow the statements of Deleuze on his book Logic of Sense , especially when he detaches that this theme was thought by three different ways: the first, as lekton, by the Stoics on the III century B.C.; the second, as complexe significable, by Gregori di Rimini, on the XIV century; the third as obektiv, by Meinong, on the XIX century. When Deleuze thinks about his theory of sense, he introduces the sense as event.. Our study will start from the rosen questions by Meinong and how they have their origin on the paradox of the representation without object rosen by Benhard Bozano , which allows us to affirm that such paradox is at the origins of the phenomenology and in the analytic philosophy. The theory of the sense of Deleuze will be presented like being out from these two current contemporaneous philosophies. / O propósito deste trabalho é o de estudar a teoria do sentido em Deleuze inserida nas questões que repercutem no âmbito filosófico contemporâneo. O nosso percurso seguirá as indicações de Deleuze em seu livro Lógica do sentido , sobretudo quando sublinha que este tema foi pensado de três maneiras diferentes: a primeira, como lekton, pelos estóicos no século III a C; a segunda, como complexe significabile, por Gregório de Rimini, no século XIV; a terceira, como objektiv, por Meinong no século XIX. Deleuze pensa a sua teoria do sentido apresenta-o como acontecimento, o que implica em dizer que é uma quarta e inovadora maneira de pensá-lo. O nosso estudo, partirá das questões levantadas por Meinong e como estas tem a sua origem no paradoxo das representações sem objeto levantadas por Benhard Bolzano, o que permite-nos afirmar que tal paradoxo está nas origens da fenomenologia e da filosofia analítica. A teoria do sentido de Deleuze será apresentada como estando fora destas duas correntes de filosofia contemporânea.

O presente trabalho parte do pressuposto de que o momento presente aqui denominado contemporaneidade exibe um caráter paradoxal que se justifica na concomitância das cosmovisões iluminista e pós-moderna. Tal paradoxalidade torna necessária uma hermenêutica que, enquanto contemporânea, também se constrói paradoxalmente, e, portanto, serve de base para a construção de uma hermenêutica do cuidado, principalmente em seu aspecto pastoral. Tal empreitada se iniciará pela constatação de certa confusão nos conceitos de modernidade e pós-modernidade. Normalmente se usa essas expressões em diversas acepções, o que torna necessária uma clara conceituação, que estabeleça suas diferenças, e avance propondo o conceito de contemporaneidade. Com efeito, este se manifesta como o momento presente, aglutinador tanto da cosmovisão iluminista, quanto da pós-moderna. Com base no conceito de contemporaneidade, pretende-se investigar três relações possíveis que corroborem essa paradoxalidade na hermenêutica contemporânea: a primeira delas discute o paradoxo manifesto na relação velado-revelado, sob o signo da re- velação. Tal conceito será contrastado com a noção iluminista de revelação que se identificou com a Offenbarung hegeliana , na medida em que admite, em si, o movimento dialético de velamento e desvelamento. Karl Barth e Heidegger abrirão os caminhos para essa reflexão. A segunda relação se propõe a investigar as possibilidades de uma hermenêutica que se construa entre a tradição e a emergência, portanto, entre a memória e o esquecimento. Buscará na crítica nietzschiana da memória histórica, uma das fontes para a atual crise da tradição ocidental, bem como chamará a atenção para a sua importância constitutiva. A terceira relação se concentrará numa hermenêutica que se faça do movimento dialético entre ação e a afetação. Nesse sentido, mostrará os perigos de uma hermenêutica que se funde apenas no conhecimento pela ação o que pode não raro desembocar num pensamento de tom fortemente metafísico , e a necessidade de se buscar uma hermenêutica que se estabeleça a partir de um conhecimento também enquanto afetação. Essa empreitada cumprirá o seu objetivo ao propor possibilidades para uma hermenêutica contemporânea. A segunda etapa deste trabalho partirá de uma hermenêutica contemporânea que passou a ver toda a realidade como um grande texto, o que envolve as pessoas. Portanto, busca compreender as nuances que caracterizam os textos em movimento a fim de propor uma hermenêutica do cuidado pastoral. Assim, será necessário, primeiramente, haurir um conceito de cuidado subsidiado pela filosofia heideggeriana, que o considera como um modo de ser do humano. Lá se buscará as sementes que construirão uma plataforma conceitual a fim de que seja possível a proposta de uma hermenêutica do cuidado pastoral. Portanto, com base numa "filosofia do cuidado", a próxima etapa concentra-se em discutir a hermenêutica de textos vivos, ao ver na metáfora paulina de 2 Co 3:1-3 que versa sobre as "cartas vivas" um modelo hermenêutico para isso. Mas, falar de cartas vivas significa falar do dinamismo próprio desses textos que, neste sentido, encontram na concepção heideggeriana de ser como um "sendo", as bases conceituais para tal proposta. A ideia de mundo, outro e Outro, como elementos constitutivos do ser humano, também oferece suporte para o conceito de sendo do ministério pastoral. Finalmente, propõem-se três dimensões hermenêuticas do cuidado pastoral, que resgatem as relações paradoxais manifestas na ação-afetação, na tradição-emergência, e no velado-revelado. / This thesis has as its presupposition the understanding that the present time named the contemporary displays a paradoxical character, which is justified through the simultaneity of illuminist and post-modern worldviews. Such paradoxical character demands a paradoxical hermeneutics that may become the foundation to the construction of a hermeneutics of care, with a special focus on pastoral care. The work starts by noting certain confusion in the notions of modernity and post-modernity, in order to present the concept of the contemporary. The contemporary collapses the illuminist and the post-modern worldviews and creates the possibility to investigate three relationships in contemporary hermeneutics: the first one is the relationship between closed-disclosed under the sign of re-velation. This concept of revelation stands in contrast to the illuminist one identical to the Hegelian Offenbarung. Karl Barth and Heidegger open the way at this juncture. The second relationship investigates the possibilities of a hermeneutics built on the dialectic between tradition and emergence, memory and the forgotten. The third relationship has its focus on a hermeneutics under the dialectic between action and affection. It will show the dangers of an epistemology solely based on action prone to a strong metaphysical thought and the need of an epistemology also based on being affected. In this way it will accomplish the task of launching the foundations for a new contemporary hermeneutics. The second part of the thesis starts from this contemporary hermeneutics that sees all reality, texts and people, as the object of interpretation. Therefore, it tries to understand the nuances that define the texts in motion (people), in order to propose a hermeneutics of pastoral care. Its starting point is the Heideggerian concept of care as a mode of being human. The second step is a discussion of, based on 2 Corinthians 3:1-3, the hermeneutics of the living letters, metaphor that is taken as a hermeneutical model. The metaphor of the living letters emphasizes the being-ness of human beings and settles the basis for such a hermeneutics. The notions of world, other and Other as constitutive of human being also serve as a foundation to the being-ness of the pastoral care. Finally, the thesis proposes three hermeneutical dimensions of pastoral care, built on the paradoxical relationships displayed by the dialectics between action-affection; tradition-emergence; closed-disclosed.

abstract: Before 1990s, the relationship between money supply and inflation was positively correlated, however, from 1990 onwards, the US and other major developed countries entered into a new financial era with a typical belief that hyper money supply coexisted with lower inflation. This phenomenon is called “the paradox of inflation”. Traditional theories cannot provide reasonable explanations of this new phenomenon. In my study, I have taken the linear filtering techniques which Lucas developed in 1980, and the recursive estimation method, as well as the chow test and F-test, and choose the data of the US, Britain, Japan, Germany, Euro area, BRICKs and some members of ASEAN, from 1960 to 2012, to study the relationship between annual rate of M2 growth and CPI inflation. The results show that in most sample developed and developing countries the positive correlation relationship between money supply and inflation began to weaken since the 1990s, and “the paradox of inflation” is now a common phenomenon. In my paper, I attempt to provide a new explanation of “the paradox of inflation”. I conjecture that, in the past two decades, some advanced countries were becoming a “relatively wealthy society”, which means that commodity supply as well as money supply is abundant. I state that the US is a “relatively wealthy society” and try to determine what features could mark a “relatively wealthy society”. I choose the credit growth rate of nonfinancial sectors and the ratio of dividends to investment to represent the production inclination of the business sector, and choose the income per capita and the GINI index to represent the consumption inclination of the resident sector. Then, through a semi parametric varying-coefficient regression model, I found that, in the US, when the credit growth of the business sector is under 5%, the ratio of dividends to investment is over 0.20, the per capita income is more than $30,000, and the GINI index is over 0.45, the country becomes a “relatively wealthy society”. Base on this new explanation, I can conclude “in the relatively wealthy society, inflation is no longer a monetary phenomenon; it is a wealth allocation phenomenon”. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Business Administration 2015

Submitted by Alison Vanceto (alison-vanceto@hotmail.com) on 2016-10-11T12:53:00Z No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseJCM.pdf: 4590158 bytes, checksum: 2c97cc5bc376d0c6c91fa9230bea44a2 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ronildo Prado (ronisp@ufscar.br) on 2016-10-11T19:31:38Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseJCM.pdf: 4590158 bytes, checksum: 2c97cc5bc376d0c6c91fa9230bea44a2 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ronildo Prado (ronisp@ufscar.br) on 2016-10-11T19:31:48Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseJCM.pdf: 4590158 bytes, checksum: 2c97cc5bc376d0c6c91fa9230bea44a2 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-10-11T19:45:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseJCM.pdf: 4590158 bytes, checksum: 2c97cc5bc376d0c6c91fa9230bea44a2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-03-20 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / In general, the idea of this work is to investigate the paradox, our object, by a linguistic and argumentative way, from the Theory of Semantic blocks (TBS). And specifically, for this, we adopted as main methods, two gestures: the relationship between linguistic elements as analysis condition, on the one hand, and the interdependence of its structure and significance, on the other hand, both in the non- use (language) and the use of language (enunciation). This second method of interdependence, when applied to our object, the paradox, becomes our first central hypothesis, the possibility of semantic paradox: the strange and difficult linguisticargumentative consideration of opposite significances, but in the interdependent state. And in this context we will also develop a second central hypothesis: the argumentative cube, while theoretical actualization of the argumentative square (the basic theoretical framework of our theory). Organizationally, the resourcefulness of this work will be carrying out in several specific strands, distributed throughout the chapters, namely: theory / paradox (divided into "Argumentation in the Language" / paradox, at first, and "Theory of Semantic Blocks "/ paradox, in a second stage); discours / paradox; dictionaries / paradox; "Historic Semantics of Enunciation" / paradox; relationship between languages / paradox and anteriority / paradox. In addition to these relational axes established to better observe our object, the paradox, and defend our hypothesis, the semantic paradox, we elected as central corpora, a group of dictionaries in which we can catch "which is said to be" a paradox and "as they say "a paradox to ponder" which means "a paradox. These dictionaries are divided into main corpus: Dictionnaire Historique de langue francaise, and and secondary corpora : Enciclopédia e Dicionário ilustrado, Kokugo Ziten e Dicionário Houaiss da Língua Portuguesa, among others. / L'idée de ce travail est d'étudier le paradoxe d’une façon linguistique et argumentatif, à partir de la Théorie des Blocs Sémantiques (TBS). Et précisément pour cela, nous prenderons comme principales méthodologies deux gestes : la relation entre des éléments linguistiques comme condition d'analyse, et l'interdépendance entre la structure et sa significance, à partir tant par le champ du non-usage (langue), comme du champ d’usage de la langue (l'énonciation). Cette seconde méthode d'interdépendance, lorsqu'elle est appliquée à notre objet (le paradoxe) constitue mon premier hypothèse centrale : la possibilité du paradoxe sémantique : la considération linguistique-argumentative de signifiances opposées, mais dans un état d’interdépendance. Et dans ce contexte nous allons développer aussi une deuxième hipothèse centrale: le cube argumentatif, tandis que une atualization théorique du carré argumentatif (le construct théorique base dans notre théorie). Sur le plan organisationnel, l'ingéniosité de ce travail sera effectuer dans plusieurs axes spécifiques, répartis sur plusieurs chapitres: la théorie/paradoxe (premièrement «Argumentation dans la langue»/paradoxe, et deuxièmement «Théorie des blocs sémantiques»/paradoxe); discours/paradoxe; dictionnaires/paradoxe; «Sémantique Historiques de l'Énonciation» / paradoxe; relation entre des langues / paradoxe et antétriorité / paradoxe. En plus de ces axes relationnels mis en place pour mieux observer notre objet (le paradoxe) et de défendre mon hypothèse du paradoxe sémantique, je formerai un corpus à partir d’un groupe de dictionnaires dans lesquels appairassent « ce qui ce dit être » un paradoxe et « comment est-ce qu’» un paradoxe ce dit, afin de reflechir sur ce « que signifie un paradoxe ». Les dictionnaires sont divisés en corpus principal: Dictionnaire Historique de langue francaise, et corpora secondaire: Enciclopédia e Dicionário ilustrado, Kokugo Ziten e Dicionário Houaiss da Língua Portuguesa, parmi d’autres. / De modo geral, a ideia deste trabalho é investigar o paradoxo, nosso objeto, de modo linguístico e argumentativo, a partir da Teoria dos Blocos Semânticos (TBS). E de modo específico, para isto, adotamos enquanto principais metodologias, dois gestos: a relação entre elementos linguísticos enquanto condição de análises, por um lado, e a interdependência entre a estrutura e suas significâncias, por outro lado, tanto no âmbito do não-uso (língua) quanto do uso da língua (enunciação). Este segundo método da interdependência, quando aplicado ao nosso objeto, o paradoxo, constitui a nossa primeira hipótese central, a possibilidade do paradoxo semântico: a estranha e difícil consideração linguístico-argumentativa de significâncias opostas, mas em estado de interdependência. E neste contexto desenvolveremos também uma segunda hipótese central: o cubo argumentativo, enquanto atualização teórica do quadrado argumentativo (o construto teórico basilar de nossa teoria). Organizacionalmente, a desenvoltura deste trabalho efetivar-se-á em vários eixos específicos, distribuídos ao longo dos capítulos, a saber: teoria/paradoxo (dividido em “Argumentação na Língua”/paradoxo, em um primeiro momento, e “Teoria dos Blocos Semânticos”/paradoxo, em um segundo momento); discurso/paradoxo; dicionários/paradoxo; “Semântica Histórica da Enunciação”/paradoxo; relação entre línguas/paradoxo e anterioridade/paradoxo. Além destes eixos relacionais estabelecidos para melhor observar nosso objeto, o paradoxo, e defender nossa hipótese, o paradoxo semântico, elegemos enquanto corpus central, um grupo de dicionários nos quais possamos flagrar “o que se diz ser” um paradoxo e “como se diz” um paradoxo, para ponderar “o que significa” um paradoxo. Estes dicionários estão divididos em corpus principal: Dictionnaire Historique de langue francaise, e corpus secundário: Enciclopédia e Dicionário ilustrado, Kokugo Ziten e Dicionário Houaiss da Língua Portuguesa, dentre outros.

Submitted by Livia Mello (liviacmello@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-10-14T12:33:32Z No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseMTG.pdf: 1104947 bytes, checksum: 5553dfe80ed25e72e25d376bdbd405b3 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marina Freitas (marinapf@ufscar.br) on 2016-11-08T18:46:18Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseMTG.pdf: 1104947 bytes, checksum: 5553dfe80ed25e72e25d376bdbd405b3 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marina Freitas (marinapf@ufscar.br) on 2016-11-08T18:46:24Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseMTG.pdf: 1104947 bytes, checksum: 5553dfe80ed25e72e25d376bdbd405b3 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-11-08T18:46:30Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseMTG.pdf: 1104947 bytes, checksum: 5553dfe80ed25e72e25d376bdbd405b3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-08-12 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Starting from Kant’s statement that there is an inherent transcendental illusion in the process of knowledge, we ask: how can an illusion have a positive role? It is possible to identify a paradox, that can be, considering Kant’s statement itself, overcome by a critique of reason and by a careful reading to the positive role of the transcendental idea to the empirical knowledge. By criticizing traditional metaphysics, in the same time that he shows how illusion can stop deceiving, even imperative, Kant guarantees a role to reason on knowledge sphere, engendering the way to nature’s unity desired by reason. Kant (KrV, B 673) states that focus imaginarius is an inseparable aspect of the transcendental idea and of its empirical knowledge regulator role. Considering the existence of a transcendental idea as a figurative unity projected as focus imaginarius, our goal is to show that the reason paradox can be overcome form focus imaginarius critical metaphor, as an entity of being, featured by Kant as an analogy to the transcendental idea, that takes part of knowledge game as reason’s deprecated unity, bringing forward the very reasons objects. As this investigations exemplary moment, is seen, through reason’s antinomies example, that reasons demands a systematic unity of all knowledge, by having the transcendental idea as this unity, featured from a projection: the focus imaginarius. / Partindo da afirmação kantiana de que há uma ilusão transcendental inerente ao processo de conhecimento, perguntamos: como uma ilusão pode possuir um papel positivo? Aqui há um paradoxo, que pode ser, no próprio argumento kantiano, superado por uma crítica da razão e por uma leitura atenta ao papel positivo da ideia transcendental no conhecimento empírico. Ao fazer a crítica à metafísica tradicional, ao mesmo tempo em que mostra como a ilusão pode deixar de enganar, ainda que indissipável, Kant garante um papel à razão no âmbito do conhecimento, engendrando o caminho para a unidade da natureza, almejada pela razão. Kant (KrV, B 673) afirma que o focus imaginarius é aspecto indissociável da ideia transcendental e de seu papel regulador do conhecimento empírico. Considerando que há uma ideia transcendental como unidade projetada figurativamente como focus imaginarius, nosso objetivo é mostrar que o paradoxo da razão pode ser superado a partir da metáfora crítica do focus imaginarius, como um ente de razão, caracterizado por Kant como uma analogia à ideia transcendental, que participa do jogo do conhecimento como a unidade pretendida pela razão, apresentando objetos da própria razão. Como momento exemplar desta investigação, vê-se, pelo exemplo das antinomias da razão, que a razão exige uma unidade sistemática de todo conhecimento, tendo a ideia transcendental como esta unidade, caracterizada a partir de uma projeção: o focus imaginarius.