This project contends that hope for ethical communication in a postmodern age lies in the ability to rethink ethics in terms of "existential pathos." To that end, this study locates communicative responsibility in the responsive element of the self-other relation by relying primarily on the work of the twentieth-century Lithuanian-born French philosopher Emmanuel Levinas. I maintain that Levinas's disruption of the philosophical tradition informs a communication ethic comprised of dialectical, dialogical, and rhetorical modes of interpersonal interaction that are fundamentally rooted in an existential understanding of human striving. Further, I assert that these dialectical, dialogical and rhetorical components are best appreciated when Levinas is placed in dialogue with Kierkegaard, whose influence on existential phenomenology is undeniable, and whose recognition that pathos marks the essence of the human condition is indispensable to this project. Dialectic, dialogue and rhetoric are viewed here as praxis-oriented concepts that emerge in the context of a Levinas-Kierkegaard interplay that works to frame communicative responsibility as "response-ability." By looking at the ways that Levinas radically re-positions philosophical discourse about ethics, and placing those challenges in conversation with Kierkegaardian themes, this study seeks temporal answers to historically situated questions about the promise of ethical interpersonal interaction in a time of uncertainty. / McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts; / Communication and Rhetorical Studies / PhD; / Dissertation;

ABSTRACT The textual representation of an instance of violence involves three principle considerations: a notion of representation, a conception of violence, and an inter-relationship between ethical and aesthetic evaluations. By investigating these considerations within the context of postmodern thought, a more sensitive perception of textual representations of violence becomes possible. Any representation, prior to being read and interpreted, has no predetermined meaning, and therefore no inherent value. It is only through a process of reading that verifiability, the principles of appraisal and personal cognition become actualised. As any text is necessarily iterable – subject to infinite (re)interpretation within an infinite number of future contexts – any interpretation is determined by the intersection of the iterable text and the historically situated reader. Violence, which is defined as an act of direct or indirect intentional harm against a person’s body or mind or property, may be experienced either as an event, or as a representation of an event. In instances of the representation of violence, the ethical perspective of the reader is influenced to a large extent by expectations of the text’s verifiability, the linguistic register of the text, and the inter-subjective ethical framework at the moment of reading the text. The aesthetic evaluation of the narrative, which is closely associated with its linguistic features, is also closely related to this ethical perspective. However, normative systems of ethics are often inadequate in the face of the plurality of meaning and possibilities inherent in representations of violence, and therefore a postmodern conception of ethical thought seems most appropriate. Textual instances of violence therefore have the potential for representing a multiplicity of experiences and ethical responses, without necessarily having to rely upon problematic normative obligations of systemisation or duty. A recognition of postmodern ethical ambiguity, combined with a flexibility of moral outlook, allows the reader to develop a more nuanced approach to the ethical predicaments suggested by the representation of violence.

This thesis examines the implications of Preciado’s 'Testo Junkie' for our understanding of subjectivity and human rights. Preciado’s political project of embodied and performative selfexperimentation with testosterone constructs a self against normalization techniques and static identities. As such, it may be read in line with postmodern critiques that complicate the justification of the human rights project. Adami’s theory of the narratable self and human rights is deployed in a narrative analysis structured as a thematic close reading of Preciado’s text. This is accomplished by identifying four themes within Adami’s approach that structure the analysis of Testo Junkie: narration as political subjectification; equality of difference and uniqueness; the singular other and relationality; and fluidity, becoming and learning. Within these categories, significant common ground between Preciado’s ideas and a human rights narrative framework is found. This points to the possibilities a discursive human rights theory that focuses on narratives may hold for reading transgressive projects of justice aligned with postmodern understandings of the self such as Preciado’s.

The present work examines the crossroads of social transformation from the contextual standpoint of the "Second World" - a political and socioeconomic term descriptively pointing to the unique location of the Former Eastern-European Block countries - in between worlds. The work involves in a dialogue some of the major trends within the contemporary Eastern-European philosophical environment: dichotomized between Neo-Marxism and Neo-Freudianism on the one hand, and Postmodernism on the other. While examining the most significant elements between the dialectical paradigms for social change of the above theories (and their ethical foundations), the text strives towards a theological paradigmatic formulation for an authentic social transformation that draws its dialectical content and passion from the hopeful eschatological vision of Christ and the Kingdom as an embodiment of the Christian alternative for human emancipation and liberation. In light of this, the work attempts to establish the following thesis: the radical Christian praxis of the eschatological reality of the Kingdom in light of the Cross is the Church’s alternative to contemporary philosophies and initiatives for social transformation. This praxis affirms the revolutionary, history-shaping force which makes Christianity relevant to the problems of Modernity and Postmodernity through its self-identification with the Crucified God. It marks the moment of conception of an authentic, liberating, life giving, transforming hope as a source of humanization and redemption of social order. Christianity is concerned with the birth and formation of a new socio-political reality - the Kingdom of God, and its embodiment on earth (through the Holy Spirit) in a new ethnos: the Church, the Body of Christ, the communion of the saints. Therefore, it is the Church's calling and obligation to exemplify the reality of the Kingdom, being a living extension of the living Christ and thus, the incarnation of the eschatological future of the world and its hopeful horizon in the midst of the present. Recognizing the vital need for a relevant Christian response to the spiritual demands of the Post-modern human being and his/her desacralized, pluralistic socio­ political context, the work concludes with a conceptual outline offering a strategy for the Church in the Postmodern setting. / Philosophy, Practical & Systematic Theology / D.Th. (Theological Ethics)

Growing issues such as climate crises, social injustice and neglection of basic human rights have created a new type of consumption, namely ethical consumption. Ethical consumption was initially mainly concerned for environmental issues but has in later years starting to include a variety of pressing issues. Ethical consumption was also initially mainly connected to groups of extremists, but with the increasing availability of ethical products in mainstream outlets, ethical consumption has shifted to be a mainstream consumer game. Mainstream ethical consumption has largely been neglected in previous research where the field is lacking knowledge in form of qualitative behavioral data. Departing from the gap, this study will mainly focus on exploring the motives for ethical consumption in the mainstream consumer segment. We will examine several driving forces in form of altruistic-based motives, egoistic-based motives, and non-value-based motives. However, in order to give this an additional dimension we also want to examine the level of morality of ethical consumption by using five ethical theories. This approach has been overlooked in previous ethical consumption research and it will question the basic assumption that ethical consumption is the morally correct thing to do. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore the motivational factors for ethical consumption and through the lens of ethical theories examine the level of morality of this behavior. In order to fulfill this purpose we have conducted a qualitative study within the context of organic groceries in the Swedish market. Organic groceries is a branch of ethical consumption that few studies has examined before, and that applies especially to the Swedish market. 14 mainstream consumers have been interviewed were all of these were frequent buyers of organic groceries. The interviews were conducted in a semi-structured fashion which was then analyzed by the use of thematic analysis. Furthermore, the study was guided by an exploratory inductive approach where subjectivity played a significant part. The results show that ethical consumption is driven by altruistic-based motives in form of social justice, where consumer want their consumption to benefit other. However, it is far from the only motive because ethical consumers are equally driven by egoistic motives. The result show that consumers are driven strongly by the sense of self- satisfaction created by the force of social norms, health and wellbeing, and product quality. This duality of motives creates a paradoxical tension in form of a win-win situation where the consumers strive for both the benefit of self as well as the benefit of others. Furthermore, ethical consumption is driven by habitual behavior where the consumers rely much on mental shortcuts in their purchases. Consumers are also not well- informed about ethical products and labels and therefore rely heavily on mythical benefits. In addition, when examining the level of morality of ethical consumption we can conclude that it is on level between mediocre to high. From a consequentialist and a non- consequentialist perspective the level of morality is fairly high, but from a character-based perspective the morality stumbles.

The present work examines the crossroads of social transformation from the contextual standpoint of the "Second World" - a political and socioeconomic term descriptively pointing to the unique location of the Former Eastern-European Block countries - in between worlds. The work involves in a dialogue some of the major trends within the contemporary Eastern-European philosophical environment: dichotomized between Neo-Marxism and Neo-Freudianism on the one hand, and Postmodernism on the other. While examining the most significant elements between the dialectical paradigms for social change of the above theories (and their ethical foundations), the text strives towards a theological paradigmatic formulation for an authentic social transformation that draws its dialectical content and passion from the hopeful eschatological vision of Christ and the Kingdom as an embodiment of the Christian alternative for human emancipation and liberation. In light of this, the work attempts to establish the following thesis: the radical Christian praxis of the eschatological reality of the Kingdom in light of the Cross is the Church’s alternative to contemporary philosophies and initiatives for social transformation. This praxis affirms the revolutionary, history-shaping force which makes Christianity relevant to the problems of Modernity and Postmodernity through its self-identification with the Crucified God. It marks the moment of conception of an authentic, liberating, life giving, transforming hope as a source of humanization and redemption of social order. Christianity is concerned with the birth and formation of a new socio-political reality - the Kingdom of God, and its embodiment on earth (through the Holy Spirit) in a new ethnos: the Church, the Body of Christ, the communion of the saints. Therefore, it is the Church's calling and obligation to exemplify the reality of the Kingdom, being a living extension of the living Christ and thus, the incarnation of the eschatological future of the world and its hopeful horizon in the midst of the present. Recognizing the vital need for a relevant Christian response to the spiritual demands of the Post-modern human being and his/her desacralized, pluralistic socio­ political context, the work concludes with a conceptual outline offering a strategy for the Church in the Postmodern setting. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / D.Th. (Theological Ethics)