Ce travail de recherche propose d'étudier le cinéma d'Arturo Ripstein, et se concentre plus particulièrement sur un corpus de films, tous élaborés à partir d'oeuvres préexistantes. La notion de "pré-texte" fait référence à ces dernières, dont l'origine est dans la plupart des cas littéraire, mais aussi cinématographique. L'analyse des réélaborations ripsteiniennes entend mettre en avant le prétexte qui se cache derrière le recours au pré-texte. En d'autres termes, il s'agit, pour chacun des huit films sélectionnés, de dévoiler le message que l'artiste a souhaité véhiculer, ou l'intention sous-jacente de l'acte créatif. La dialectique local/global traverse l'ensemble de la thèse. Elle est d'abord visible à travers son architecture , dans la mesure où notre travail part des pré-textes mexicains, puis s'intéresse aux productions du Tiers monde, pour terminer avec les pré-textes issus de la culture européenne. Mais nous avons aussi souhaité la mettre en évidence en évoquant, au sein des différentes parties, les phénomènes d'intertextualité, d'interfilmicité, et les stratégies de production, qui octroient au cinéma de Ripstein une dimension transnationale. / This research explores Arturo Ripstein's cinema, and focuses more particularly on a corpus of films which are all based on pre-existent works. The notion of "pre-text" refers to the latter, whose originsare in most cases leterary, but also cinematographic. The analysis of Ripstein's reworking saims at highlighting the pretext hiding behind the use of the pre-text. In other words, for each of the eight selected movies, we try to reveal the message the artist wished to convey, or the underlying intention of the creative act. The local/global dialectic is present throughout the whole thesis. It is first visible in its structure, given that our work takes as its starting point Mexican pre-texts, then examines Third World productions, and finally the pre-texts originating in European culture. But this dialectic is also illustrated, in the different parts of our work, through the phenomena of intertextuality or interfilmicity, and the strategies of production give Ripstein's cinema a transnational dimension.

In this thesis, many topics will be discussed and a variety of philosophers will be mentioned. The main goal of this thesis is to determine a health care plan that fits with the theories of Robert Nozick, Arthur Ripstein, Norman Daniels, and Amartya Sen. I conclude that Ezekiel Emanuel’s health care plan, The Guaranteed Healthcare Access Plan, can be used as a compromise between the views of each of these philosophers. In reaching such a conclusion, I take many steps. I begin with the explanation of theories of justice and their focus. I then turn to the important distinction between rights and ethics. Next, I explain that often closely held values come into conflict with one another. Then, I turn to the specific philosophers and their theories. Beginning with Nozick, I explain the justification for a state and how this justification is important for all four of the philosophers. Afterwards, in turn, I lay out what each philosopher claims in regards to a just society and the role of a state, his justification for such claims, and the results of such claims specifically in regards to health care. Subsequently, I examine the connections between philosophers, which help me understand the ways a health care system could be instituted to appeal to all four of them. After questioning if a just society can really exist in a limited world, I decide what type of health care system such a just society should implement. Finally, I rest on Ezekiel Emanuel’s plan, which I believe should be implemented in a just society and which best demonstrates the common ground between the four philosophers I discuss.

In this thesis I establish a hitherto unseen parallel between John Rawls’ theory of justice and utilitarian accounts with respect to population ethics; I argue that the absurd conclusions which plague utilitarianism also plague Rawls’ theory. These are the repugnant and preposterous conclusions. I then argue that Kant's political philosophy offers the resources to escape these absurd conclusions because of a crucial metaphysical difference between theories governed by outcome-oriented considerations and those governed by freedom-oriented constraints.

In this thesis I argue that legal punishment is far from perfect, and that the most common defenses used to justify it prove to be unsuccessful when examined closely. I propose that if there exists an alternative, non-punitive, practice capable of achieving the same benefits, then that practice should be preferred over punishment. I then proceed to introduce one such alternative, the theory of pure restitution, and resolve some problems raised by its critics. I ultimately demonstrate not only that pure restitution is capable of achieving the same benefits as punishment, but that it is capable of achieving even further benefits. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)