<p> The notion of character is a familiar and prominent part of ethical theorizing, and of our everyday discourse. Character is used to explain how people act, to predict what they will do, to judge whether they ought to be trusted, and utilized in a multitude of other ways. A camp of philosophers dubbed the "Situationists", however, argue that research in social psychology shows the notion of character as we traditionally understand it is empirically unsupported, and consequently that all our discourse and ethical thought involving character is gravely mistaken. Instead, these philosophers contend that what influences and informs our perception and actions is largely traceable to the situations we find ourselves in. This dissertation will aim to defend the plausibility of character against this challenge by the Situationists. To do so, it begins by examining the traditional notion of character that is prevalent in ethical theorizing - derived in large part from Aristotle's view of character - and the empirical evidence that Situationists claim undercut the plausibility of that notion. Thereafter, a reply to the Situationists will be offered, arguing that there is persuasive evidence that speaks in favor of character, and moreover, that a character-based explanation of the evidence is more convincing than the account that Situationists propose. The goal of the project is to show that the traditional notion of character is more tenable than Situationists have claimed, and that we are not gravely mistaken by including it in our ethical thought and everyday discourse. In fact, rather than eschewing the notion of character, the dissertation aims to establish that we have strong reasons to continue building the case for it.</p>

<p> Poet David Ray imagines, "The poem is the altar for the dream" (1998, p. 176). This dissertation focuses on amplifying dreams with poetry from a collective perspective through the lens of archetypal psychology. The research was a collaborative effort of oneiric poetics nested in a dream group focused on engaging psychopoesis in relationship to archetypal value in dream images portraying the collective psyche and current cultural surround. </p><p> Hermeneutic phenomenology addressed the two central research questions: What are the dynamics that serve meaning making, or the transformation of meaning, when poetry is used to amplify dreams? How does this work develop further when engaged by a dream group aimed at collective meaning making? Phenomenological analysis described the essence of the lived experience of the co-researchers' engagement with writing dream poetry, moving from raw dream text through archetypal amplifications and associations in the group setting, culminating in dream poetry. Hermeneutics examined the shifting horizons of imaginal awareness that emerged from the intersubjective field of the dream group and how these horizons, infused with archetypal sensitivity, altered the co-researchers' subsequent relationship to the dream's images when creating dream poetry. </p><p> The research revealed the importance of a tripartite approach to dream work that is aware of the literal, psychological, and archetypal dynamics of meaning making. Thirteen dynamics that serve meaning making emerged from this tripartite analysis. Key among these are: conservation of the dream image view shed; building a relationship with and expressing interest in the image; liberation of the imaginal ego; relativizing the day-world ego; archetypal empathy; expanded awareness through commonality of archetypal dream themes; cultural awareness through a group dialogic regarding collective dream themes; and archetypal themes condensed in dream poetry. </p><p> The research reimagined the conversation between depth psychology, poetics, and dreaming beyond the personal or day-world ego's interpretations. This dissertation attends to the dream poet's pen and, by doing so, revivifies the imaginal ego, rejuvenates the poetic basis of mind, and refreshes psychopoesis as meaning-making agents in depth psychology. In a valuable move for archetypal psychology, this dissertation enlists these three precious premises in service of the sensus communis.</p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2006. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-11, Section: A, page: 4262. Adviser: Brian Wansink. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 145-149) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.