Descartes' Meditations on First Philosophy is often hailed as one of the great classics of western philosophy. First-time readers of the Meditations are often struck by Descartes' clear and accessible writing style. Within recent scholarship (e.g., most notably, Amelie Osksenberg Rorty's collection of Essays on Descartes' Meditations [1986]), much attention has been focused toward examining the philosophical import of Descartes' literary techniques. In particular, discussions have centered upon whether there is a significant relationship between the literary format of Descartes' "Metaphysical Meditations" with that of religious devotional exercises, also known as meditations, that were prevalent during the early part of the seventeenth century. Although commentators are fairly equally divided on whether the stylistic devices employed by Descartes are philosophically important, there is general agreement that Descartes' text, at the very least, exemplifies the features of religious meditation. Building upon the efforts of previous scholarship, the focus of this present study is to provide a philosophically plausible and historically accurate account of how Descartes' Meditations are meditational. Much of our attention will be directed toward examining the different styles and techniques of religious meditation. In particular, we will examine the relevance of Marin Mersenne's recently rediscovered treatise L'usage de la raison (1623). This work exhibits features of an Augustinian style of religious meditation and it is a text which can be easily connected to Descartes. / Master of Arts

Thesis advisor: Mark S. Heim / This dissertation is a comparative study of spiritual cultivation in Early Daoism and the spiritual teaching of Augustine's Christianity. My goal is to examine how early Daoism's founder, Laozi, and the Christian bishop, Augustine of Hippo, characterize the fulfillment of humanity through religious transformation. My argument is that the metaphysical speculations that figure in their works---and which scholarly readers often emphasize---are offshoots of profound practical, soteriological concerns. These soteriological concerns reveal that the primary interest for both writers was to discover those spiritual and intellectual practices that could most effectively mediate between human experience and the manifestation of transcendent order. This study takes its inspiration from pioneering instances of comparative theology (particularly works by Francis Clooney S.J. and Lee Yearly), and focuses on the cross-reading of texts. For Laozi, the basic text used in this study is. For Augustine, the primary text is de Trinitate, with some Daode Jing closely related writings. Both texts play similar formative roles in their respective religious traditions. My methodology also makes heuristic use of Bernard Lonergan's study of the fourfold operation of human consciousness as experience, understanding, judgment and decision. This general description of human consciousness is a useful framework to draw out similarities and differences in these texts. The primary thematic interest of the thesis is ethical. I explore how early Daoism and Augustine's Christianity were both animated by the concern to confront human violence through spiritual exercises and the renewal of authentic humanity. In comparing Daode Jing and de Triniate, I consider the ways that each author's encounter with social violence shaped their intellectual projects. Laozi and Augustine's search for transcendent order was motivated by the hope of overcoming disordered human desires. This task required an understanding of human participation in transcendent order which could be realized in direct realms of experience, through knowledge of the operations of interior consciousness and the practice of daily spiritual exercises. Though both thinkers are often treated in dogmatic or philosophical terms, their primary interest was in practical spirituality, a way of living. Both Laozi and Augustine searched for `the Way" for disciples of their respective traditions to nurture personal life and to maintain hope as a religious community in a turbulent world. These issues are dealt with in four chapters. In Chapter One I develop my theoretical framework and the categories of the hermeneutics of consciousness. In Chapter Two I reconstruct the political-religious context of Chinese culture that the author of Daode Jing criticized . Against this context, I then explain in Chapter Three Laozi's major insights into the nature of transcendent order, particularly his understanding of its character as Three in One (Self-so, Nothing and Something), specified in Daode Jing. In Chapter Four I expound Augustine's development of the doctrine of the Trinity as the fundamental signature of divine reality, which is also reflected in the structure of human subjectivity. This leads to Chapter Five where I consider these two views as dialogical partners and advance the view that a juxtapositional reading of these two texts leads to new insights through the way that each can be said to develop a distinctive interpretation of the concept "effortless action." / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Theology.

Orientador: Miriam Viviana Garate / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Estudos da Linguagem / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-22T15:37:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Catalao_Marco_D.pdf: 1572658 bytes, checksum: 265065dffa4d24e8e80f9c0325a39107 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013 / Resumo: Este trabalho se divide em duas partes: na primeira, apresentamos um ensaio interpretativo sobre a obra do poeta argentino Roberto Juarroz (1925-1995), tendo como eixo a investigação acerca da proeminência da metáfora do vazio em seus textos. Na segunda, aportamos uma antologia bilingue de 262 poemas traduzidos para o português. Tomando como centro de nossa analise a metáfora do vazio, tentamos estabelecer um eixo interpretativo que norteasse nossa indagação acerca de todos os outros aspectos relativos à obra de Juarroz: sua posição em relação a outros escritores argentinos e hispano-americanos da época; os elementos definidores de seu estilo literário; a apropriação em sua poética de elementos da cultura oriental, especialmente do Budismo Zen; o uso recorrente de termos que remetem a esfera mística e religiosa; assim como a definição de outra metáfora fundamental como denominador de toda a sua obra, a verticalidade, que se manifesta não apenas no titulo de seus livros, mas como elemento norteador de sua interpretação da realidade. A metáfora do vazio aparece nesta obra frequentemente associada à busca de uma alteração na percepção do leitor acerca dos limites do real. Alguns elementos estilísticos recorrentes chamam a atenção para esse caráter de exercício imaginativo, que tem como meta uma transformação radical do leitor, "sua própria invenção a partir da interminável invenção que e a linguagem". O rastreamento desses traços estilísticos evidenciou que o caráter de "exercício espiritual" não se limita a metáfora do vazio, mas se estende a parte significativa da produção literária de Juarroz, podendo ser encontrado desde o seu primeiro livro, revelando-se também uma das concepções fundamentais em suas reflexões teóricas sobre a literatura / Abstract: This thesis is divided in two parts: in the first one is presented an interpretative essay about the work of the Argentinean poet Roberto Juarroz (1925 - 1995), in which prevails an investigation about the prominence of the metaphor of emptiness in his texts. The second part presents a bilingual anthology with 262 poems translated into Portuguese. As we chose to center the analysis in the metaphor of emptiness, we tried to establish an interpretative axis in which our questions about all other aspects related to Juarroz's work would be accomplished, such as: his position in relation with other Argentinean and Latin-American writers of his time; the elements that define his literary stile; the appropriation of oriental culture elements in this poetics, especially Zen Buddhism; the recurrent use of words that are indicatives to mystical and religious spheres; as well as the definition of other metaphor that is crucial as a denominator of all his work: the verticality, that is manifested not only in his book's titles, but also as a guide element for his interpretation of reality. The metaphor of emptiness appears in this work frequently associated to a search for a change in the reader's perception about the limits of reality. Some recurrent stylistics elements call attention towards this imaginative exercise nature, that aims a radical transformation of the reader, "his personal invention whereof the endless invention that is language". The pursuit of these stylistic traces makes clear that the nature of "spiritual exercise" is not limited to the metaphor of emptiness, but is extended to a significant part of Juarroz's literary production, possible to be found since his first book, revealing also one of the crucial conceptions in his theoretical thoughts about literature / Doutorado / Teoria e Critica Literaria / Doutor em Teoria e História Literária

La notion d’exercice spirituel, proposée par Hadot, désigne des pratiques nées en Grèce antique et qui se prolongent dans les méditations chrétiennes. Opposées à une philosophie théorique, elles poursuivent l’ambition d’apprendre à mieux agir et à se connaître soi-même. La thèse propose une vue d’ensemble de cette tradition associée à l’examen de textes précis de diverses périodes, afin de mettre en perspective les Essais de Montaigne qui se la réapproprient en poursuivant le projet de définir un art de vivre. À la fin du XVIe siècle, la confiance que les Anciens portaient à la raison n’est plus de mise : peut-on encore envisager de se maîtriser ou même de se connaître ? Les Chrétiens le croient possible en ayant recours à la grâce divine. Montaigne propose des exercices proprement humains et ordinaires. Prenant exemple sur une figure de Socrate idéalisée et associée à celle de l’Indien cannibale, il entend promouvoir un rapport à soi plus « naïf » et « primitif ». Cela lui demande d’effectuer un travail sur lui-même que seuls des exercices naturalisés pourront réaliser. Les élans de la fantaisie participent à cette démarche au même titre que le travail de la raison, tandis que cette dernière acquiert le droit de rêver. Il ne renonce pas pour autant à se poser en maître de lui-même, reprenant la méthode stoïcienne qui transforme en choix ce contre quoi on ne peut pas lutter. Au moment où la Contre-Réforme réclame le repentir, l’exercice permet à Montaigne de découvrir et d’assumer ce qu’il est. Et tandis que de nombreux traités cherchent la tranquillitas animi, il endosse le rôle d’agitateur, proposant des exercices qui maintiennent le mouvement, conçu comme élan vital. / The concept of spiritual exercise, proposed by Hadot, refers to practices born in ancient Greece and prolonged in Christian meditations. Opposed to theoretical philosophy, they pursue the ambition of learning to act better and to know oneself. The thesis proposes an overview of this tradition which is associated with examining precise texts of various periods, in order to put into perspective the Montaigne Essays which reclaim this tradition by pursuing the project of defining an art of living. At the end of the sixteenth century, the trust that the ancients brought to reason is no longer applicable : can we still consider mastering ourselves or even knowing ourself ? The Christians believe this is possible, by having recourse to divine grace. The exercises that Montaigne proposes are strictly human and ordinary. Taking the example of an idealized figure of Socrates, also associated with that of the Indian cannibal, the author of the Essays intends to promote a more « naïve » and « primitive » relationship to oneself. It requires to do self-work that only naturalized exercises can achieve. The impulses of fantasy participate in the process in the same way as the work of reason, whereas the latter acquires the right to dream. He does not give up the idea of setting himself up as a master of himself, taking up the Stoic method of transforming the inevitable into a choice. At the moment when the Counter-Reformation requires repentance, spiritual exercises allow Montaigne to discover and assume what he is. And when Neo-Stoic treatises look for tranquillitas animi, he assumes the role of agitator, proposing exercises that maintain movement, conceived as vital impetus.

The thesis "Role of some religious orders in extraparochial evangelization and pastoral care", presents the theme evangelization and pastoral care as a part of the whole life course of man, which it plays an important role in. Evangelization is characterized as a whole life task and mission of each Christian. In connection with the concluding document of the Plenary session of Catholic Church in the Czech Republic, categorical attitude of pastoral care to various groups of people is accentuated as the optimal way of pastoral care. The thesis emphasizes an important role of religious communities in evangelization and pastoral care, including description of extraparochial activities and their contribution at some chosen religious communities. Keywords : Evangelization Pastoral care Categorical Religious Spiritual pastoral care orders exercise

Benjamin Fondane est un penseur et un artiste du XXe siècle qui demeure encore relativement méconnu de la communauté universitaire. Pourtant, son œuvre poétique et ses essais révèlent une démarche atypique et une vision concrète de la dualité humaine et de la pratique de la pensée. « Le mal des fantômes », poème central de l’œuvre de Fondane, est une incarnation imagée du mal-être psychique de l’humain qui pressent que ses réflexes intellectuels, tels la raison et l’esprit de non-contradiction, créent une rupture avec son expérience intime du monde, brigue une portion du réel. L’étude de la figure du fantôme (qui est la figure de la hantise dans la tradition littéraire) ainsi que de l’économie discursive de la traversée maritime qui se déploient dans ce poème nous permet d’interroger les astuces rhétoriques que Fondane met en place afin de contrecarrer ce malaise. À travers l’expérience scripturale et la lecture, il est à la recherche d’une nouvelle disposition de l’activité réflexive qui serait davantage solidaire de l’existence humaine. C’est grâce au geste de l’écriture que sa pensée voyage, se meut, retrouve sa vivacité et, par là même, ses pouvoirs de mutation. Se pencher sur la mise en œuvre de la réflexion chez Benjamin Fondane permet de poser un regard sensible sur les propres rapports que nous entretenons avec notre activité intellectuelle, scripturale et notre pensée. / Benjamin Fondane is a thinker and an artist of the twentieth century who is still relatively unknown to the academic community. However, his poetry and essays reveal an unusual flow of language and a concrete vision of human duality and practice of thought. “Le mal des fantômes,” Fondane’s central poem, is a image-laden incarnation of the human’s mental uneasiness in creating a disjunction between his or her intellectual reflexes, such as reason and the spirit of non-contradiction, and an intimate experience of the world, a disjunction that necessarily limits the mind to a mere portion of a larger, integral reality. In studying the “fantôme” trope – that is, the haunting figures of the literary tradition – in conjunction with the poem's discursive economy of the sea voyage, we seek to unveil the rhetorical ploys that Fondane mobilizes to counteract this malaise. Through writing and reading experimentation, he seeks a new paradigm of thinking that follows more closely unfolding human existence. By virtue of writing itself, thought travels, moves along, and regains both its vitality and transformative power. Moreover, considering the workings of Fondane’s thought enables us to examine the ongoing relationship between our own intellectual activity, writing, and thought.

Ce mémoire démontre que la pratique littéraire de l’écrivain américain Ralph Waldo Emerson s’inscrit dans le sillage de la tradition des exercices spirituels mise au jour par l’helléniste Pierre Hadot et qu’elle permet de penser une modernité insoupçonnée par ce dernier. La production de textes littéraires devient alors une manière d’établir « une relation originale avec l’univers » (cf. l’introduction de Nature). Le premier chapitre explique la spécificité de la spiritualité traditionnelle, où l’écriture consiste à implanter en soi le texte de la tradition. La pratique littéraire de Marc Aurèle, Sénèque et saint Augustin est étudiée afin de montrer comment ils tâchent de vivre conformément à la conception de la transcendance qui est la leur : personnelle chez les stoïciens, institutionnelle chez les chrétiens. Le deuxième chapitre montre comment Emerson renverse le rapport traditionnel au texte dans la vie de l’esprit en arguant que la révélation du Christ est, à l’origine, une expérience personnelle de la transcendance qui n’est pas institutionnalisable. Il se dégage de cette confrontation romantique avec le christianisme un concept de littérature lié au mysticisme et inséparable d’une compréhension « expressiviste » du langage (Charles Taylor). Le dernier chapitre examine l’ascèse littéraire d’Emerson : sa conception antiscolastique du « scholar » est étudiée puis mise en relief avec sa façon d’arrimer sa pratique de la pensée à une conception fluctuante de l’univers. La dernière section porte sur la façon dont son mode de vie expérimental suppose une conception de la littérature en tant que processus. / This master thesis considers how the literary practice of Ralph Waldo Emerson might help us rethink the modern heritage in the tradition of spiritual exercises. The nineteenth century American writer followed the path of this antique tradition that was uncovered by the philosophy historian Pierre Hadot, allowing us to consider anew this tradition within the framework of modernity. It is thus possible to access an unexpected modernity of spiritual exercises, unknown to Hadot himself, characterized by the production of literary texts that convey what Emerson calls, “an original relation to the universe.” The first chapter explains the specificity of traditional spirituality, where writing serves to incorporate traditional text into oneself. It considers the literary practice of Marcus Aurelius, Seneca and Saint Augustine, who all attempted to live according to their conception of transcendence: personal under stoicism, institutional within Christianity. Chapter two illustrates how Emerson overturns the traditional way of behaving with a spiritual text. His critique of Christian theology shows that the revelation of Christ is, in its origin, a personal experience of transcendence that cannot be instituted. From this romantic dissension with Christianity emerges a theory of literature related to mysticism and in close ties with an “expressivist” conception of language (Charles Taylor). The final chapter examines Emerson’s literary askesis. First explained is the antischolastic conception of the scholar, subsequently showing how his way of thinking is interrelated to a fluxional conception of the universe. Lastly demonstrated is how his experimental way of life relies on a conception of literature as process.

Submitted by William Justo Figueiro (williamjf) on 2015-07-17T22:15:39Z No. of bitstreams: 1 31c.pdf: 2212020 bytes, checksum: bda4619f2d24eee5876f4cf308042ea6 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-07-17T22:15:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 31c.pdf: 2212020 bytes, checksum: bda4619f2d24eee5876f4cf308042ea6 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-06-30 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / PROSUP - Programa de Suporte à Pós-Gradução de Instituições de Ensino Particulares / Parte da filosofia contemporânea propõe um discurso amplamente teórico e distante dos problemas da existência humana. Em sua origem, além de amor à sabedoria, a filosofia, em parte, era uma escolha de vida filosófica, entretanto, tal função da filosofia foi relegada, em nome de uma busca cada vez mais teórica e desprovida dos anseios próprios do ser humano que se propõe a filosofar. O objetivo principal desta dissertação é propor a filosofia como postura existencial, como uma propedêutica à busca do saber e da virtude, e sua implicação na própria existência humana. A dissertação apresenta-se em três capítulos, revisitando três diálogos platônicos. O primeiro capítulo propõe (a) uma interpretação do Filebo de Platão, explicitando que a tese principal do diálogo é a busca do bem na vida humana, através de uma espécie de dialética existencial própria do filósofo, que permite que este faça escolhas que o torne melhor, através de uma opção por uma vida mediana, mista entre prazer e saber; e (b) a interpretação do Filebo por Gadamer, a partir de sua tese de habilitação, que não só corrobora nossa proposta e enfatiza o fator dialético deliberativo como define os momentos ontológicos que se apresentam nos momentos do Dasein, isto é, que asseguram o percurso em busca do bem na existência humana. O segundo capítulo apresenta (a) uma interpretação do Sofista de Platão, de modo que, se o primeiro capítulo enfatizava o modo como age o filósofo em busca da boa vida, o segundo enfatiza quem é o filósofo e como este se define, via negativa, por meio das definições do sofista e seu modo de ser; e (b) uma interpretação a partir das preleções de Heidegger sobre o Sofista, enfatizando a metodologia hermenêutica de interpretar Platão à luz de Aristóteles, a interpretação fenomenológica e a ênfase no Dasein e na existência do filósofo e a correspondência do discurso autêntico em comparação ao modo de existência sofístico e o discurso inautêntico, descomprometido com seu modo de ser. O terceiro capítulo apresenta (a) uma interpretação do Alcibíades I, no qual abordamos a fundamentação de nossa dissertação, a saber, da filosofia compreendida como um cuidado de si e uma forma de prática que reestrutura a existência do filósofo; (b) a recondução do Alcibíades I, através da incorporação de Foucault — nas teses de sua filosofia tardia —, que enfatiza a filosofia como práticas de si, pelas quais o sujeito se compreende, se relaciona com a verdade e busca tornar sua existência mais autêntica; e (c) as contribuições da tese de Hadot, a quem Foucault deve sua inspiração e quem primeiro desenvolveu a noção de filosofia como exercício espiritual, a partir das tradições platônica e pós-platônica, como algo prático, uma conversão de si. Como conclusão, apresentamos uma reintrodução da filosofia contemporânea repensada a partir das práticas da filosofia grega, interligando os três diálogos, seus comentadores e apresentando uma filosofia mais ligada à existência do filósofo. / Part of contemporary philosophy proposes a broadly theoretical discourse and distant of the issues of human existence. In its origin, despite love of wisdom, philosophy was partly a choice of philosophical life, however, this function of philosophy was relegated on behalf of a life within theory and increasingly deprived from the pursuits of human being who intends to philosophize. The main objective of this dissertation is to propose philosophy as existential stance, as a propaedeutic to the search for knowledge and virtue, and its implication on the very human existence. The dissertation presents itself into three chapters, revisiting three platonic dialogues. The first chapter proposes (a) an interpretation of Plato’s Philebus, emphasizing that the main thesis of that dialogue is to seek the good in human life, through a kind of philosopher’s own existential dialectic, which allows him to make choices that makes him better through an option for a median life, mixed between pleasure and knowledge; and (b) the interpretation of the Philebus by Gadamer, from his habilitation thesis, which not only corroborates our thesis and emphasizes the dialectical deliberative factor, but determines ontological moments that present themselves in moments of Dasein, i.e., ensure the course in searching for the good in human existence. The second chapter presents (a) an interpretation of Plato’s Sophist, so that if the first chapter has emphasized the way the philosopher acts searching for the good life, the second emphasizes who the philosopher is and how he is defined, via negativa, by the definitions of the sophist and his way of being; and (b) an interpretation from Heidegger’s lectures on the Sophist, emphasizing the hermeneutic methodology of reading Plato through the Aristotelian categories, the phenomenological interpretation and the stress on Dasein and the way the philosopher behaves and the correspondence of his authentic discourse compared to the sophist’s way of existence, and his inauthentic discourse, uncommitted to his way of being. The third chapter introduces (a) an interpretation of Plato’s Alcibiades I, in which we approach the core of our dissertation, namely, of philosophy understood as a care of the self and a way of practice that rebuild the philosopher’s existence; (b) the reconduction of Plato’s Alcibiades I, through Foucault’s incorporation—in his late philosophical thesis—, which highlights philosophy as practices of the self, by which the subject comprehends himself, creates a relationship with the truth and tries to turn his own existence more authentic; and (c) the contributions of Hadot’s thesis, whom Foucault owes his inspiration and who first developed the notion of philosophy as a spiritual exercise, since platonic and post-platonic traditions, as something practical, a conversion of the self. In conclusion, we present a reintroduction of contemporary philosophy, rethought since the Ancient Greek philosophical practices, interconnecting the three dialogues, its commentators and presenting a philosophy much more related to the philosopher’s existence.

Benjamin Fondane est un penseur et un artiste du XXe siècle qui demeure encore relativement méconnu de la communauté universitaire. Pourtant, son œuvre poétique et ses essais révèlent une démarche atypique et une vision concrète de la dualité humaine et de la pratique de la pensée. « Le mal des fantômes », poème central de l’œuvre de Fondane, est une incarnation imagée du mal-être psychique de l’humain qui pressent que ses réflexes intellectuels, tels la raison et l’esprit de non-contradiction, créent une rupture avec son expérience intime du monde, brigue une portion du réel. L’étude de la figure du fantôme (qui est la figure de la hantise dans la tradition littéraire) ainsi que de l’économie discursive de la traversée maritime qui se déploient dans ce poème nous permet d’interroger les astuces rhétoriques que Fondane met en place afin de contrecarrer ce malaise. À travers l’expérience scripturale et la lecture, il est à la recherche d’une nouvelle disposition de l’activité réflexive qui serait davantage solidaire de l’existence humaine. C’est grâce au geste de l’écriture que sa pensée voyage, se meut, retrouve sa vivacité et, par là même, ses pouvoirs de mutation. Se pencher sur la mise en œuvre de la réflexion chez Benjamin Fondane permet de poser un regard sensible sur les propres rapports que nous entretenons avec notre activité intellectuelle, scripturale et notre pensée. / Benjamin Fondane is a thinker and an artist of the twentieth century who is still relatively unknown to the academic community. However, his poetry and essays reveal an unusual flow of language and a concrete vision of human duality and practice of thought. “Le mal des fantômes,” Fondane’s central poem, is a image-laden incarnation of the human’s mental uneasiness in creating a disjunction between his or her intellectual reflexes, such as reason and the spirit of non-contradiction, and an intimate experience of the world, a disjunction that necessarily limits the mind to a mere portion of a larger, integral reality. In studying the “fantôme” trope – that is, the haunting figures of the literary tradition – in conjunction with the poem's discursive economy of the sea voyage, we seek to unveil the rhetorical ploys that Fondane mobilizes to counteract this malaise. Through writing and reading experimentation, he seeks a new paradigm of thinking that follows more closely unfolding human existence. By virtue of writing itself, thought travels, moves along, and regains both its vitality and transformative power. Moreover, considering the workings of Fondane’s thought enables us to examine the ongoing relationship between our own intellectual activity, writing, and thought.

Ce mémoire démontre que la pratique littéraire de l’écrivain américain Ralph Waldo Emerson s’inscrit dans le sillage de la tradition des exercices spirituels mise au jour par l’helléniste Pierre Hadot et qu’elle permet de penser une modernité insoupçonnée par ce dernier. La production de textes littéraires devient alors une manière d’établir « une relation originale avec l’univers » (cf. l’introduction de Nature). Le premier chapitre explique la spécificité de la spiritualité traditionnelle, où l’écriture consiste à implanter en soi le texte de la tradition. La pratique littéraire de Marc Aurèle, Sénèque et saint Augustin est étudiée afin de montrer comment ils tâchent de vivre conformément à la conception de la transcendance qui est la leur : personnelle chez les stoïciens, institutionnelle chez les chrétiens. Le deuxième chapitre montre comment Emerson renverse le rapport traditionnel au texte dans la vie de l’esprit en arguant que la révélation du Christ est, à l’origine, une expérience personnelle de la transcendance qui n’est pas institutionnalisable. Il se dégage de cette confrontation romantique avec le christianisme un concept de littérature lié au mysticisme et inséparable d’une compréhension « expressiviste » du langage (Charles Taylor). Le dernier chapitre examine l’ascèse littéraire d’Emerson : sa conception antiscolastique du « scholar » est étudiée puis mise en relief avec sa façon d’arrimer sa pratique de la pensée à une conception fluctuante de l’univers. La dernière section porte sur la façon dont son mode de vie expérimental suppose une conception de la littérature en tant que processus. / This master thesis considers how the literary practice of Ralph Waldo Emerson might help us rethink the modern heritage in the tradition of spiritual exercises. The nineteenth century American writer followed the path of this antique tradition that was uncovered by the philosophy historian Pierre Hadot, allowing us to consider anew this tradition within the framework of modernity. It is thus possible to access an unexpected modernity of spiritual exercises, unknown to Hadot himself, characterized by the production of literary texts that convey what Emerson calls, “an original relation to the universe.” The first chapter explains the specificity of traditional spirituality, where writing serves to incorporate traditional text into oneself. It considers the literary practice of Marcus Aurelius, Seneca and Saint Augustine, who all attempted to live according to their conception of transcendence: personal under stoicism, institutional within Christianity. Chapter two illustrates how Emerson overturns the traditional way of behaving with a spiritual text. His critique of Christian theology shows that the revelation of Christ is, in its origin, a personal experience of transcendence that cannot be instituted. From this romantic dissension with Christianity emerges a theory of literature related to mysticism and in close ties with an “expressivist” conception of language (Charles Taylor). The final chapter examines Emerson’s literary askesis. First explained is the antischolastic conception of the scholar, subsequently showing how his way of thinking is interrelated to a fluxional conception of the universe. Lastly demonstrated is how his experimental way of life relies on a conception of literature as process.