Democracy and mysticism are two prominent themes of Walt Whitman's writings, yet few critics have explored the connections that may exist between these areas. Some critics have noted that Whitman holds an ideal of "spiritual democracy," in which all people are equal due to their identity with a transcendent self such as that found in "Song of Myself," but they have not identified the best philosophical model for such a political viewpoint. I believe that the parallel between Whitman's thought and Vedantic mysticism, already developed by V. K. Chart and others, may be expanded to account for Whitman's political thought. Past studies of Whitman and Vedanta have focused only on the advaitic aspects of his writing, but in his later years he came to adopt a visistadvaitic stance similar to that of Ramanuja. In the political sphere, his concept of a Brahmanic self shared by all people led him to not only believe that all people are equal, but that they also possess the capacity to become contributors to a democratic society. Whitman felt that the poet was the primary means by which the masses could attain mystical consciousness and the concomitant social harmony. The ideal poet described in Democratic Vistas and the Preface to the 1855 Leaves of Grass serves as a mediator between the people as they are and Whitman's ideal of a completely unified democratic society and thereby parallels the Vedantic guru's function of bridging the relative and absolute levels of reality. / Department of English

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Text in Afrikaans / Summaries in Afrikaans and English / 'n Groep Afrikaners onder leiding van die Afrikanervolksf ront bet voor die algemene verkiesing in 1994, hulle aktief teen die veranderinge in Suid-Afrika verset op grond van oenskynlik religieuse motiewe. Hulle bet hulle op die morele gesag van Johannes Calvyn (1509 - 1564) beroep vir hulle uitgangspunte en wyse van protes. In hierdie studie is die uitgangspunte en media van Afrikanerprotes in 1994 vergelyk met die uitgangspunte en media van protes soos wat Calvyn dit verwoord en toegepas bet. In die proefskrif is eerstens gekyk na die rol wat religie en ideologie in die samelewing vervul en daar is veral gekonsentreer op die onderskeid wat Jacques Ellul tref tussen outentieke geloof en godsdiens in diens van 'n ideologie. Tweedens is die historiese ontwikkeling van Afrikanemasionalisme en die Calvinistiese onderbou daarvan ondersoek. Derdens is 'n kort oorsig oor die Reformasie en 'n lewensbeskrywing van Johannes Calvyn voorsien. Indie vierde plek is die uitgangspunte en media van protes, soos verwoord deur Calvyn, beskryf. 'n Model vir protes is op grond van Calvyn se standpunte afgelei. Vyfdens is Afrikanerprotes voor die 1994-verkiesing beskryf en aan die hand van Calvyn se standpunte beoordeel. In die laaste hoofstuk word tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat die uitgangspunte en media van Afrikanerprotes nie voldoen aan die eise wat Calvyn vir protes stel nie. Dit blyk ook dat in die geval van Afrikanerprotes, godsdiens as kommunikasiemedium in 'n ideologiese rol aangewend is. Laastens word enkele voorstelle vir verdere navorsing gemaak. / Prior to the general election in 1994, a group of Afrikaners under the leadership of the Afrikanervolksfront actively resisted the changes in South Africa on the grounds of apparant religious motives. They invoked the moral authority of John Calvin (1509-1564) for their convictions and manner of protest. In this study there is a comparison of the views and media of the Afrikaner protest in 1994 with the views and media of protest as expressed and applied by Calvin. The thesis begins with a consideration of the role played in society by religion and ideology, concentrating particularly on the distinction drawn by Jacques Ellul between authentic faith and religion in the service of an ideology. Then, the historical development of Afrikaner nationalism and its Calvinistic substructure are examined. Thirdly, there is a short account of the Reformation and the life of John Calvin. The fourth endeavour is to elucidate the views and media of protest, as expressed by Calvin. A model for protest is derived from the study of Calvin's beliefs. Fifthly, there is a description of Afrikaner protest before 1994, based on Calvin's convictions, and judged in terms of his views. The last chapter arrives at the conclusion that the premises and media of Afrikaner protest do not comply with the requirements for protest set by Calvin. Moreover, it appears that, int the case of Afrikaner protest, religion was used as a medium of ideological communication. The thesis concludes with several suggestions for further research. / Communication Science / D.Litt. et Phil. (Communication Science)

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

L'obésité est une maladie qui touche près de 15% de la population adulte en France. Elle est susceptible d'entraîner des complications sévères. L'obésité peut être considérée comme un stigmate et les représentations sociales des personnes en obésité sont discriminatoires. Les médecins partagent les représentations sociales communes. Le corps obèse fait rupture avec [l']idéal du corps confondu à la norme, et est une source de discrédit du corps hors normes. Les sujets en obésité subissent l'affichage de l'idéal du corps comme norme de corpulence mais aussi comme norme esthétique et comme signe de distinction morale. Ils sont pris dans un "dispositif" construit autour d'une injonction paradoxale : "consommez, soyez mince". / Obesity is a disease concerning around 15% of the French adult general population. It is usually associated with severe conditions. It can be considered as a sitgma and social views of obese persons are discriminatory. Practitioners do share those common views. The obese body breaks with an ideal body confounded with the standard, and is a cause of disgrace for the out-standard body. Patients with obesity endure the display of an ideal body as a norm of corpulence, but also as an esthetical norm and as a sign of moral distinction. They are caught in a "device" built around the paradox "consume, be thin".

Victor Hugo is well known as a poet, a playwright and a novelist, but until recently he has not been recognized as a philosopher; for many years critics have admired the literary output of the man, but criticized the apparent contradictions and inconsistencies of his thought. Further studies have, however, revealed the true nature of Hugo's philosophy, and shown it to comprise a well thought out and coherent system. One of the most important themes in Hugo's work is that of human progress. In Les Misérables, Hugo's great novelistic masterpiece, he develops this theme and explores various of its aspects, treating at the same time many vital components of his philosophy. In examining the theme of progress in Les Misérables we have therefore sought to explore Hugo's ideology, as expressed in the novel, and to relate it to general nineteenth century currents of thought. This first necessitated a study of Hugo's religious beliefs, including his experiments with spiritualism and his belief in reincarnation and the hierarchy of beings. We then established the close relationship which exists between the poet's religious beliefs and his faith in the doctrine of progress Armed with an understanding of these basic principles, we then undertook a close textual analysis of the novel, examining Hugo's belief in the perfectibility of man and the perfectibility of society. Having laid the groundwork in Chapter I, we were therefore ready, in Chapter II, to study Hugo's belief in the progress of the individual : after looking at his portrayal of each level of the hierarchy of beings, we then looked at the various elements involved in the "progress" of the human soul, as illustrated by the characters in the novel. Then, in the third chapter, we approached the broader question of the progress of society and of Hugo's view of historical, political, social, economic and scientific progress. This in-depth study of one aspect of Victor Hugo's great novel thus led us to an understanding of the author's world-view, and of his conception of the relationship between man, God and the universe. It is a deeply religious, unique, and fundamentally optimistic philosophy, presented in a highly poetic manner. Although we may not accept all of Hugo's arguments, it is hard not to be stirred nonetheless by this thought-provoking work. / Arts, Faculty of / French, Hispanic, and Italian Studies, Department of / Graduate

M.A. (Philosophy) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Performs a rhetorical analysis of several zines that deal with gender and sexual identity and outlines some shared aesthetics and ethos of zines and zinesters, then connects the rhetorical and stylistic choices of zinesters to their searches for political and personal identity.