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This dissertation traces the research done by a number of modern scholars on the relationship between Philo and the Palestinian Haggada. The intrepretation proceeds by analyzing Philo's writings and midrashic texts and considering the works of modern scholarship pertinent to the subject. / The introduction outlines the main problems, the plan of the dissertation, a classification of Philo's treatises and the central events in his life. The origin, development, and different methods of the Judaic Midrash comprise the subject of chapter one. Each of the following chapters presents a scholar and his opinions on Philonic problems. The most significant issues considered are: the degree and nature of influence, perhaps mutual, between Palestinian Haggada and Philonic exegesis; techniques of Philonic exegesis; Philo as philospher; Philo and mystery religion; coherence in Philo's writings; Philo's knowledge of Hebrew; the proportions of Judaism and Hellenism in Philo. / The purpose of the conclusion is twofold: (1) to sum up and compare the scholarly views presented in the previous chapters; (2) to state my conclusions on Philo as a biblical exegete and to identify his position in Western thought.

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Doctorat en philosophie et lettres / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

The purpose of this study is to determine the perception of women revealed in the writing of Philo of Alexandria. Although Richard Baer approached the subject in Philo's Use of the Categories Male and Female, no comprehensive examination has been made of the role Philo accorded women. I set Philo's writing on the subject of women within the context of two intellectual traditions, the Jewish and the Greek, in order to determine whether he accepts, rejects or alters inherited attitudes. I study it also in the context of the multifarious ways Philo uses "male" and "female" to express comparisons. There emerges a coherent pattern, which indicates that Philo's statements about women are not isolated from his overall understanding of the meaning of "female." After establishing these two larger contexts, I narrow the scope of the study, by demonstrating that Philo's perception of women cannot be determined from his statements about "man." I do this by studying the context in which he uses both Greek terms translated by the English term "man," anthropos and aner, as well as looking into the use of the two terms in the Septuagint and in some earlier Greek writing. In the body of the work I study Philo's material on Biblical women and contemporary women, subdividing the first group according to Philo's terms, "women" and "virgins." The conclusion of the work is that Philo intensifies the subordination of women which he draws from both traditions. He views woman as a danger to man unless she is under his strict control. Since his first concern is the survival of the community through the religious strength of its men, he believes that woman ought to play an auxiliary role, and to be prevented from any behaviour which would deter men from their religious quest. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The objective of this dissertation is to examine the conception of divine providence in the writings of Philo of Alexandria (ca. 25 BCE -50 CE). In order to achieve this aim, we shall follow the theocentric structure of Philo's thought as outlined in the important passage De Opificio Mundi 171-2. In this passage, Philo correlates the idea of providence with his concept of God and the theory of creation. In Chapter One, we shall first review the formal aspects of Philo's concept of God, in particular the idea of God's transcendence, and then correlate how Philo conceptualizes the idea of providence in light of these formal aspects. In particular, we shall explain how Philo can predicate that God is provident in nature, although, strictly speaking, it is Philo's view that God cannot be apprehended in his essence. In Chapter Two, we shall discuss how Philo explains the immanence of God in the cosmos in terms of the Logos and the divine powers, one of which he specifically characterizes as the providential power. In Chapter Three, we shall examine how the concept of God and the notion of providence are both critical for Philo's theory of creation. Philo conceives of the role of providence in cosmological matters as being responsible for the design, administration and continuous existence of the created universe. There are two more issues-raised in Philo's treatise De Providentia-which are critically important in order to gain a thorough understanding of Philo's conception of divine providence. These are the questions of astral fatalism and theodicy. In Chapter Four, we shall address why Philo rejects the assumptions implied in astral fatalismthe divinity of the stars, moral determinism-as irreconcilable with the conception of divine providence. He rejects the divinity of the stars because they cannot be transcendent as God and thus have causal influences over human lives. He rejects astral fatalism because it renders absurd the notion of moral responsibility. Finally, in Chapter Five, we shall correlate the question of theodicy with Philo' s conception of providence. Philo proceeds from the Platonic premise that God is not the cause for evil in any way, neither for physical evil nor for moral evil. Unlike the category of physical evil, which he explains in terms of Stoic arguments, the category of moral evil incriminates human beings directly. For Philo, the existence of moral evil exonerates God and his providence as the cause for evil and anchors the blame in the person. Moral evil originates when the rational part of the soul, the mind (which is inherently free and knows the difference between good and evil), cannot resist the assault by the senses and the passions. Philo thus places both the origin and the responsibility for moral evil on the shoulder of the human being. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Thesis (DPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2004. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Philo is a writer who lived in Alexandria in 30 BC – 50 AD. Traditionally scholars classified Philo as philosopher, exegete and apologist. With these classifications in mind, Philo’s works is read and interpreted. In this study a methodology of postmodernism (which is inherently a cultural historical understanding of reality) will be used, and it will become clear that this classification of the scholars is not satisfactory. The question that arises, is: How must Philo be read and understood in the context of a postmodern methodology? By means of a study of the logos-concept it is suggested that Philo must be understood as a threshold person, who stands on the cutting edges of the cultures in Alexandria; he therefore creates a new universe of symbols. In this new universe of symbols it is possible for the different cultures to communicate effectively, because they now have a joint vocabulary. Philo is not a postmodernist, but he makes use of techniques which occurs in post modern philosophy to create this new universe of symbols. Through the use of these techniques it becomes possible for the reader to take into account the different philosophical dimensions that are part of Philo’s thoughts. This helps the reader to understand the contradiction in Philo’s thought in connection with the logos-concept. It also helps the reader to place the logos-concept of Philo in its proper cultural historical background. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Filo is ’n skrywer wat in Aleksandrië gewoon het in die tydperk 30 vC – 50 nC. Tradisioneel het geleerdes Filo getipeer as filosoof, eksegeet en apologeet. Aan die hand van hierdie tiperings is Filo se werke dan gelees en geïnterpreteer. In hierdie studie word daar met ’n postmoderne metodologiese vertrekpunt gewerk (wat ten diepste gebaseer word op ’n kultuur historiese verstaan van die werklikheid) en word dit duidelik dat hierdie tiperings nie bevredigend is nie. Die vraag wat nou ontstaan, is: Hoe moet Filo dan gelees en verstaan word binne die raamwerk van ’n postmoderne metodologie? Aan die hand van ’n studie van die logos-begrip word daar voorgestel dat Filo gelees en verstaan moet word as ’n deurdrumpel-persoon, wat op die snypunt van al die verskillende kulture in Aleksandrië staan en daarom ’n nuwe simbole universum skep. Binne hierdie nuwe simbole universum kan verskillende kulture effektief met mekaar kommunikeer, aangesien hulle nou oor ’n gedeelde woordeskat beskik. Filo self was nie ’n postmodernis nie, maar hy maak wel van tegnieke gebruik wat ook voorkom in die postmoderne filosofie om hierdie nuwe simbole universum te skep. Deur middel van hierdie tegnieke is dit vir die leser moontlik om die verskillende filosofiese nuanses wat op Filo se denke ten opsigte van die logos ingewerk het, te verreken en om hierdie oënskynlike teenstrydighede in sy denke rakende die logos-begrip te verstaan teen die kultuur-historiese agtergrond waarbinne hy hom in Aleksandrië bevind.

Submitted by Mariana Dornelles Vargas (marianadv) on 2015-05-19T15:21:56Z No. of bitstreams: 1 fe_razao.pdf: 608760 bytes, checksum: 1d986a346585d2023d5a07faac9f7ba6 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-19T15:21:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 fe_razao.pdf: 608760 bytes, checksum: 1d986a346585d2023d5a07faac9f7ba6 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-12-20 / Nenhuma / Analisa-se a relação entre a razão e a fé, e como a filosofia poderia auxiliar algumas disposições religiosas. Buscam-se os limites da ação do religioso e as condições mínimas para a sua atuação como civil, isto é, a defesa da fé como certa razoabilidade nas relações éticas. Inicialmente, investiga-se a abertura da filosofia a um conhecimento comum, que atinge uma elevada sistematização em Aristóteles, o que permite um diálogo, como um discurso comunicativo, sob aspectos estritamente humanos, na consideração de mundos possíveis. Nesta parte, se estabelece a máxima potência do intelecto, o que possibilita a abertura do mito e da religião como objetos. Em seguida, estuda-se o primeiro pensador que estabeleceu uma conexão entre o pensamento grego e o religioso: Filo de Alexandria; e a experiência cultural desta visão: o helenismo cristão. Sem Filo, não seria possível a concepção teórica de união entre as visões de razão e fé; e, no helenismo cristão, encontramos a vivência, a experiência da concepção filoniano aplicada no início do cristianismo. Depois, procura-se destacar o elemento da fé, sob o ponto de vista racional, enquanto proposições não contraditórias, destacando certo aspecto da visão de Tomás de Aquino. Aqui, utiliza-se Tomás como pensador de síntese entra a razão e a fé, que estabelece as bases racionais para uma adesão razoável à religião. Por fim, analisam-se dois estudos de caso: o apelo racional de Justino ao imperador Tito; e uma comparação entre Abraão e Ájax da peça de Sófocles. Ambos são exemplos de casos em que a filosofia pode auxiliar a relação do religioso com a política. No primeiro, em função do discurso platônico de Justino, em defesa dos cristãos. E no segundo, para que haja certo ceticismo em algumas disposições religiosas. Conclui-se que as ações do religioso devem ser justificadas na lógica do discurso, para que não se estenda a uma posição além do bem e do mal, mas antes, considere os princípios éticos, sem negar a sua religião, antes, como um complemento de auxílio e reciprocidade. / The first matter of analysis is the relation between reason and faith, and how can philosophy serve to some religious dispositions. The limits of the religious person?s doings and the minimal conditions for his/her civil role are outlined, that is, the defense of faith as an element of reasonability within ethical relations. First, an investigation is made regarding the openness of philosophy to a common knowledge which reaches an elevated systematization in Aristotle, which allows a dialogue as a communicative discourse under strictly human aspects, considering possible worlds. In this part, the maximum potence of the intellect is established, enabling the interpretation of myth and religion as objects. Next, a study is developed on the matter of the first thinker to establish the link between the Greek and the religious lines of thought: Philo of Alexandria; and the cultural experience of such view: Christian helenism. But for Philo, it would not be possible to theoretically conceive the union between the views of reason and faith; and, within Christian helenism, the experience of the Philonian conception applied at the start of Christianism can be found. Then, an attempt is made to highlight the element of faith under a rational point of view, considering non-contradictory propositions, stressing a particular aspect of Thomas Aquinas view. Here, Thomas is taken up as a thinker of synthesis between reason and faith, which sets up the rational basis for a reasonable adhesion to religion. Lastly, two case studies are presented: the rational appeal of Justin to Emperor Titus; and a comparison between Abraham and Ajax, from Sophocles play. Both are examples of cases in which philosophy can be of help to the relation of the religious person to politics. In the first one, due to Justins platonic discourse, in defense of the Christians. And in the second, in order to a certain skepticism in some religious dispositions to exist. The conclusion is reached by infering that the actions of the religions individual must be justified in the logic of discourse, so that the matter does not extends itself to stances beyond good and evil. Instead, it must take into account the ethical principles without denying its religion; as a complement of assistance and reciprocity.