Ernst Cassirer’s The Philosophy of Symbolic Forms fails to account properly for personalized experiences; it cannot provide a basis for understanding how some experiences become personal while others do not. Our account of personalized experience will remain lacking as long as we follow Cassirer in viewing personalized experience as a non-necessary feature of other symbolic forms such as myth, language, religion, or art; instead it must be understood that personalized experience is grounded in an independent symbolic activity as basic to human cultural life as language, myth, or objectivating knowledge. This basic personalizing symbolic function is best understood as that same activity articulated in Gabriel Marcel’s phenomenological descriptions of the act of “creative fidelity.” Once this relationship has been grasped, it becomes possible to articulate a symbolic form of personalized experience by describing the unique way in which creative fidelity (as the personalizing symbolic function) spatializes, temporalizes, numeralizes (and as a result subjectifies/objectifies) its own distinct horizon of meaning (or: cultural world). The result will be a symbolic form, as Cassirer understands it, that is as far-reaching and fundamental to human cultural life as the three symbolic forms elaborated in The Philosophy of Symbolic Forms. By articulating this fourth symbolic form, we will have taken a significant step toward Cassirer’s ultimate goal of a robust philosophical anthropology.

Esta tese visa contribuir para a reflexão educacional e ética a partir da filosofia de Ernst Cassirer. Trata-se de uma pesquisa bibliográfica qualitativa com enfoque na produção teórica do referido filósofo. Embora Cassirer, em sua produção intelectual, não tenha escrito diretamente sobre pedagogia ou educação, nem explorado sistematicamente a questão ética, os problemas com os quais se preocupou no decorrer de sua produção filosófica fornecem subsídios importantes para uma reflexão nesse sentido. Para Cassirer, o ser humano é um animal symbolicum, um ser que cria signos e símbolos e, dessa forma, \"constrói\" a \"realidade\". Tal fato implica, para ele, a coexistência de diferentes formas de compreensão do mundo igualmente válidas, diferentes formas simbólicas, como ele denomina, por exemplo, o mito, a religião, a ciência. Tal pluralismo epistemológico e axiológico desencadearia, segundo ele, as antinomias da cultura, uma vez que cada uma das formas simbólicas também se julga como a portadora e detentora da verdade. Dessa forma, faz-se necessário explorar a concepção filosófica cassireriana em busca de respostas para uma coexistência equilibrada entre as diferentes visões de mundo. Assim, o objetivo geral desta pesquisa é expor as principais teses de Cassirer, explicitar o que está implícito ou difuso em sua obra no que se refere à ética e à educação e, deste modo, pensar como sua filosofia pode colaborar para reflexão sobre alguns problemas concernentes a tais temas. Pensar a ética na perspectiva da Filosofia das formas simbólicas implica considerar a coexistência de tais construções simbólicas, bem como a tolerância frente à conseqüente diversidade epistemológica e axiológica, destacando-se o fundamental papel da educação nesse processo. Dessa forma, considerou-se, também, outras abordagens éticas, especialmente a kantiana e habermasiana, visando destacar a especificidade da concepção cassireriana. Defende-se, por fim, a tese de que a filosofia, na perspectiva de Cassirer, é o instrumento mais adequado para a construção de uma ética universal, constituindo o meio decisivo para uma mediação competente entre as diversas formas de atribuição de sentido à realidade. / This thesis seeks to contribute to the educational and ethical reflection from the philosophy of Ernst Cassirer. It happens to be a qualitative bibliographic research focused on the theoretical production of the above mentioned philosopher. Although Cassirer, in his intellectual production, has not directly written about pedagogy or education, nor systematically explored the ethical issue, the problems which concerned him throughout his philosophical production, provide important subsides for a reflection on such matter. For Cassirer, the human being is an animal symbolicum, a being that makes signs and symbols and, thus, \"builds\" the \"reality\". Such fact implies, for him, the coexistence of equality valid different ways of understanding the world, different symbolic forms, as he names, for instance, the myth, the religion, the science. Such epistemological and axiological pluralism would trigger, according to him, the antinomies of culture, since each one of the symbolic forms also judges itself bearer and owner of the truth. This way, it is necessary to explore the cassirerian philosophical conception in search of answers for a balanced coexistence between the different visions of the world. Thus, the general purpose of this research is to expose the main theses by Cassirer, to turn explicit what is implicit or diffuse in his work regarding ethics and education and, therefore, think of how his philosophy is able to help the reflection over some problems related to such issues. Thinking of ethics under the perspective of Philosophy of Symbolic Forms means considering the existence of such symbolic constructions, as well as the tolerance towards the consequent epistemological and axiological diversity, highlighting the paramount role of education in this process. This way, it has also been considered some other ethical approaches, specially the kantian and habermasian ones, with the purpose of stressing the specification of the cassirerian conception. It is claimed, at last, the thesis that philosophy, under Cassirer\'s perspective, is the most suitable instrument for the construction of a universal ethics, building the ultimate means for a competent mediation between the several forms of attributing sense to reality.

O presente trabalho tem por objetivo apresentar as principais questões envolvidas no projeto da Filosofia das Formas Simbólicas de E. Cassirer, nome da obra considerada sua maior contribuição para a história da filosofia. Abordamos as questões epistemológicas e contextuais que motivam a elaboração da obra, sua estrutura e seus principais postulados metodológicos para, finalmente, entendermos os resultados de sua proposta, qual seja, transformar a crítica da razão iniciada por Kant numa crítica da cultura humana, entendendo por esta última o conjunto de todas as manifestações do espírito em sua atividade, caracterizada como um processo de autolibertação em relação à imediaticidade da vida. Para tanto, são apontados os principais interlocutores de Cassirer ao longo do desenvolvimento de seu programa filosófico, bem como as tendências filosóficas em relação às quais o filósofo quer marcar posição. / This text aims to show some of the main issues involved in the Project of The Philosophy of the Symbolic Forms of Ernst Cassirer, name of the work which turns out to be considered as his major contribution to the history of Philosophy. We dealt with epistemological and contextual issues that motivate the elaboration of Cassirers work, its structure and its main methodological postulates to, eventually, understand the results of his proposal, that is, to transform Kants critic of reason in a critic of human culture, understanding by the latter the set of all manifestations of spiritual activity, characterized as a process of self-liberation from the immediacy of life. To do so, we point Cassirers main interlocutors throughout the development of his philosophical project, as well as the philosophical tendencies which the philosopher wants to differentiate his own work from.

O presente trabalho tem por objetivo apresentar as principais questões envolvidas no projeto da Filosofia das Formas Simbólicas de E. Cassirer, nome da obra considerada sua maior contribuição para a história da filosofia. Abordamos as questões epistemológicas e contextuais que motivam a elaboração da obra, sua estrutura e seus principais postulados metodológicos para, finalmente, entendermos os resultados de sua proposta, qual seja, transformar a crítica da razão iniciada por Kant numa crítica da cultura humana, entendendo por esta última o conjunto de todas as manifestações do espírito em sua atividade, caracterizada como um processo de autolibertação em relação à imediaticidade da vida. Para tanto, são apontados os principais interlocutores de Cassirer ao longo do desenvolvimento de seu programa filosófico, bem como as tendências filosóficas em relação às quais o filósofo quer marcar posição. / This text aims to show some of the main issues involved in the Project of The Philosophy of the Symbolic Forms of Ernst Cassirer, name of the work which turns out to be considered as his major contribution to the history of Philosophy. We dealt with epistemological and contextual issues that motivate the elaboration of Cassirers work, its structure and its main methodological postulates to, eventually, understand the results of his proposal, that is, to transform Kants critic of reason in a critic of human culture, understanding by the latter the set of all manifestations of spiritual activity, characterized as a process of self-liberation from the immediacy of life. To do so, we point Cassirers main interlocutors throughout the development of his philosophical project, as well as the philosophical tendencies which the philosopher wants to differentiate his own work from.

Esta tese visa contribuir para a reflexão educacional e ética a partir da filosofia de Ernst Cassirer. Trata-se de uma pesquisa bibliográfica qualitativa com enfoque na produção teórica do referido filósofo. Embora Cassirer, em sua produção intelectual, não tenha escrito diretamente sobre pedagogia ou educação, nem explorado sistematicamente a questão ética, os problemas com os quais se preocupou no decorrer de sua produção filosófica fornecem subsídios importantes para uma reflexão nesse sentido. Para Cassirer, o ser humano é um animal symbolicum, um ser que cria signos e símbolos e, dessa forma, \"constrói\" a \"realidade\". Tal fato implica, para ele, a coexistência de diferentes formas de compreensão do mundo igualmente válidas, diferentes formas simbólicas, como ele denomina, por exemplo, o mito, a religião, a ciência. Tal pluralismo epistemológico e axiológico desencadearia, segundo ele, as antinomias da cultura, uma vez que cada uma das formas simbólicas também se julga como a portadora e detentora da verdade. Dessa forma, faz-se necessário explorar a concepção filosófica cassireriana em busca de respostas para uma coexistência equilibrada entre as diferentes visões de mundo. Assim, o objetivo geral desta pesquisa é expor as principais teses de Cassirer, explicitar o que está implícito ou difuso em sua obra no que se refere à ética e à educação e, deste modo, pensar como sua filosofia pode colaborar para reflexão sobre alguns problemas concernentes a tais temas. Pensar a ética na perspectiva da Filosofia das formas simbólicas implica considerar a coexistência de tais construções simbólicas, bem como a tolerância frente à conseqüente diversidade epistemológica e axiológica, destacando-se o fundamental papel da educação nesse processo. Dessa forma, considerou-se, também, outras abordagens éticas, especialmente a kantiana e habermasiana, visando destacar a especificidade da concepção cassireriana. Defende-se, por fim, a tese de que a filosofia, na perspectiva de Cassirer, é o instrumento mais adequado para a construção de uma ética universal, constituindo o meio decisivo para uma mediação competente entre as diversas formas de atribuição de sentido à realidade. / This thesis seeks to contribute to the educational and ethical reflection from the philosophy of Ernst Cassirer. It happens to be a qualitative bibliographic research focused on the theoretical production of the above mentioned philosopher. Although Cassirer, in his intellectual production, has not directly written about pedagogy or education, nor systematically explored the ethical issue, the problems which concerned him throughout his philosophical production, provide important subsides for a reflection on such matter. For Cassirer, the human being is an animal symbolicum, a being that makes signs and symbols and, thus, \"builds\" the \"reality\". Such fact implies, for him, the coexistence of equality valid different ways of understanding the world, different symbolic forms, as he names, for instance, the myth, the religion, the science. Such epistemological and axiological pluralism would trigger, according to him, the antinomies of culture, since each one of the symbolic forms also judges itself bearer and owner of the truth. This way, it is necessary to explore the cassirerian philosophical conception in search of answers for a balanced coexistence between the different visions of the world. Thus, the general purpose of this research is to expose the main theses by Cassirer, to turn explicit what is implicit or diffuse in his work regarding ethics and education and, therefore, think of how his philosophy is able to help the reflection over some problems related to such issues. Thinking of ethics under the perspective of Philosophy of Symbolic Forms means considering the existence of such symbolic constructions, as well as the tolerance towards the consequent epistemological and axiological diversity, highlighting the paramount role of education in this process. This way, it has also been considered some other ethical approaches, specially the kantian and habermasian ones, with the purpose of stressing the specification of the cassirerian conception. It is claimed, at last, the thesis that philosophy, under Cassirer\'s perspective, is the most suitable instrument for the construction of a universal ethics, building the ultimate means for a competent mediation between the several forms of attributing sense to reality.

Notre travail de recherche propose d'envisager et d'étudier la danse en tant qu'activité constructrice de sens. Cette notion complexe a été diversement thématisée et explorée au cours de l'histoire de la danse, mais n'a que rarement été questionnée frontalement. Nous nous appuyons, pour mener à bien cette entreprise, sur les travaux de Susanne Langer, philosophe américaine du XXe siècle dont les ouvrages explorent la question du symbolique. Elle a développé au sujet de la danse une pensée originale, et élaboré des concepts proposant de circonscrire au mieux les processus symboliques à l'oeuvre dans les pratiques non discursives, et en particulier dans l'art. Nous choisissons, plutôt que d’aborder la danse d’un point de vue ontologique, comme une catégorie en soi sous laquelle seraient subsumés certains mouvements, de la considérer comme un événement, dont la survenue peut être intermittente. Approcher la danse sous cet angle offre la possibilité de rendre compte de son éventuelle apparition dans toute forme de mouvement, de la danse artistique à la danse festive, du mime au cinéma, du rite à la création numérique. Ce choix de ne pas réduire a priori le champ d'étude permet a posteriori de redessiner une frontière nette entre la danse et les autres formes de mouvement ou de pratiques corporelles. En effet, notre travail tend à réaffirmer la spécificité fondamentale de la danse, quels que soient les environnements, moments et corps dans lesquels elle apparaît – une spécificité tenant à ses processus symboliques uniques, et aux sens qu'elle peut ainsi construire ou faire émerger. / The aim of our work is to consider and study dance as a sense-Building activity. Sense is a complex notion, which has been variously conceptualized in the course of dance history but merely investigated. In order to do so, we build upon the works of Suzanne Langer, a 20th century American philosopher whose writings explore the concept of “symbol”. She elaborated an original thought about dance and came up with concepts that allowed her to circumscribe the symbolic processes happening during the non-Discursive practices, in art especially. Rather than looking at dance from an ontological point of view or as a category that gathers certain types of moves, we choose to study it as something that may appear on an intermittent basis. Watching dance this way makes it possible for us to give an account of the possibility of its emergence in any kind of movement, whether it happens in the course of artistic dance, festal dance, mime, cinema, rite or within a digital creation. This decision not to reduce a priori the field of study allows us to draw a posteriori a clear distinction between dance and any other kind of moves or bodily practices. Indeed, our work tends to claim the fundamental specificity of dance, whatever environments, moments or bodies in or during which it occurs – a specificity that may be explained by its unique symbolic processes and the meanings or senses it may build or give birth to.

This dissertation explores the problem of how knowledge is possible, given that knowledge is necessarily rooted in the reality of the knower. The Kantian critical philosophy defeats Humean skepticism by demonstrating the a priori necessity of certain categorical functions at the root of all human cognition, but ultimately results in merely shifting the problem of certainty to these same functions. Ernst Cassirer’s Philosophy of Symbolic Forms seeks to extend the critical philosophy of Kant beyond the limits of theoretical thinking, and thereby broadens the functional foundations of cognition to include all symbolic modes of thinking in a unified system of human cognition. However, this expansion of the system of knowledge only serves to further highlight the fundamental problem of how knowledge of any sort can be a “symbol” of reality, when the symbolic form that produces that symbol always involves the mediation of reality in some way. This general problem is described throughout Cassirer’s writings in terms of a dialectic of spirit (Geist) and life (Leben), which, he argues, is the fundamental dialectic to which all other oppositions in the history of metaphysics can ultimately be reduced. In the present work, the nature of this dialectic is described and tied to the general problem of knowledge within any systematic critical philosophy, as seen in Cassirer’s philosophy as well as the works of Peirce, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and Wittgenstein. Through this discussion, Cassirer’s own esoteric conception of a monadic metaphysics will be revealed, and the key importance of freedom as a solution to this dialectic will be drawn from his interpretation of earlier philosophers, particularly Nicolaus Cusanus. / Philosophy

Cette thèse entend contribuer à la construction d’un dispositif théorique méthodologique pour l’analyse des médiations symboliques à l’œuvre dans l’espace public lors des débats de société. Dans un premier temps, nous proposons de discuter les conditions épistémologiques de l’analyse des discours circulant dans l’espace public pour dégager des formes idéologiques (au sens large). Nous montrons dans un second temps que les discussions entre internautes à propos du nucléaire, sur les sites de presse en ligne, après l’accident de Fukushima, sont structurées par un nombre limité de grands cadres d’intelligibilité que nous appelons « modes d’appréhension ». Ces modes d’appréhension n’apparaissent jamais vraiment sous leur forme canonique, mais se retrouvent par bribes dans la parole individuelle des internautes. Ils peuvent alors être reconstruits, dans une optique d’analyse argumentative du discours, par le regroupement de « topoï » épars en micro-univers de sens relativement consistants et cohérents. La mise au jour de ces divers modes d’appréhension, construits et perpétués dans la circulation discursive, permet à la fois de faire apparaître une partie des médiations symboliques de la communication sociale sur le nucléaire après Fukushima, de faire émerger les points critiques de la réflexion politique et philosophique sur le sujet, et d’observer quelques-unes des sédimentations idéologiques dominantes de notre modernité. / This thesis aims to contribute to the construction of a theoretical and methodological framework for the analysis of symbolic mediations which occur in the public sphere during public debates. Firstly, we discuss the epistemological conditions of a search for ideological forms shaped by the circulation of discourses. Secondly, we show that conversations about civil nuclear power among internet users on comment boards of online news websites are structured by a limited number of frames of intelligibility that we call "modes of apprehension". These modes of apprehension never occur in their canonic form: they only appear by fragments in the speech of individuals. Hence, an argumentative analysis of discourse can be used to rebuild them by reordering the multiple "topoï" in consistent and coherent universes of meaning. Bringing out these modes of apprehension, forged and perpetuated by the circulation of discourses, has three main interests : we highlight some of the symbolic mediations of the social communication about civil nuclear power after Fukushima ; we underline some of the main political and philosophical issues of the question ; and we examine some of the dominant ideological sedimentations of our modernity.

Ce travail de recherche met à l'épreuve l'hypothèse de la mystification entendue comme stratégie communicationnelle manifestée par des tendances spécifiques où la dialectique entre obscurcissant et révélant jouent un rôle fondamental dans la production des formes symboliques. Dans ce cadre, le concept de mystification comme paradigme de sens est en rapport avec un modèle de communication qui se manifeste partout où s'impose la médiation entre le sacré et le profane ainsi que le maintien de l'ordre symbolique. Les médias non seulement qu'ils utilisent la mystification comme une stratégie, mais ils fonctionnent dans le paradigme de la mystification notamment quand il s'agit d'intervenir pour préserver l'ordre social par une production des formes symboliques spécifiques. Pour identifier les thèmes récurrents qui apparaissent dans les représentations médiatiques internationaux, des thèmes qui fournissent des indications sur les tendances qui sont spécifiques pour le paradigme de la mystification, l'analyse empirique aborde la production et la transmission des formes symboliques concernant les représentations médiatiques dans le contexte de l'attaque terroriste contre journal Charlie Hebdo du 7 Janvier 2015. / The present research work advances the following hypothesis – mystification is acommunicational strategy manifested through specific trends where the dialectic between obscuring and revealing plays a fundamental role in the production of the symbolic forms. It is therefore proposed that the concept of the mystification paradigm requires a communication model that manifests itself wherever the mediation between sacred and profane and maintaining the symbolic order are required. Media not only use this model as a strategy but function in the mystification paradigm especially when it is supposed to intervene for preserving the social order through a specific production of symbolic forms. To identify recurring themes that arise in the media representations generated by the international press, themes that provides indicators of particular trends that are specific in the mystification paradigm, an empirical analysis of this production and transmision of the symbolic forms has been employed in the special context of the terrorist attack against the journal Charlie Hebdo on January 7, 2015.

Le mantra de la compassion fascine depuis très longtemps de nombreux chercheurs de tous bords et de différentes époques. Ces derniers semblent cependant s’être toujours plus intéressés à sa signification plutôt qu’à sa fonction, son usage ou son utilité. Ce mémoire, qui se base sur l’expérience d’un travail de terrain ethnologique au sein d’un centre bouddhiste affilié à l’école guélougkpa, vise autant à se rapprocher de l’authenticité de sa signification que d’un usage de la formule pouvant être utile afin de protéger l’esprit. L’une des traductions du mot mantra est « protection de l’esprit ». Nous nous intéresserons particulièrement à notre objet sous le prisme de sa performance. La question du sens de la formule sera progressivement déplacée d’une dimension statique et sémantique à une autre plus dynamique et métapragmatique. Nous profiterons notamment des outils fournis par l’ethnomusicologie afin d’observer la part prise au sein de cette protection par les composantes musicales de la récitation. Ce travail sera aussi l’occasion de rassembler différentes théories et plusieurs concepts occidentaux au sein d’un même cadre théorique. La cadre de la sémiologie de la musique proposé par Molino et Nattiez, constituera une fondation étique solide à laquelle nous tenterons d’intégrer et d’articuler deux autres pensées majeures : la pensée austinienne de la « performativité » et la conception bachelardienne des images. Une fois nos outils d’observation affinés, nous regarderons mieux comment doit être comprise la « compassion » au sein de l’épistémè bouddhiste tibétaine, comment celle-ci est évoquée au sein de notre terrain de recherche et le lien tout à fait particulier qu’elle entretient avec le mantra qui porte son nom. La performance du mantra sera considérée comme étant, et au moins partiellement, une manifestation sonore de cette compassion. / The mantra of compassion has long fascinated many scholars from all walks of life and from different eras. However, they seem to have always been more interested in its meaning than in its function, use or utility. This M.A. thesis, which is based on the experience of ethnological fieldwork in a Buddhist center affiliated with the gelugkpa school, aims to get closer to both the authenticity of its meaning and to a use of the formula that may be helpful in protecting the mind. One of the translations of the word mantra is "protection of the mind". We will be particularly interested in our object under the prism of its performance. The question of the meaning of the formula will then be progressively moved from a static and semantic dimension to a more dynamic and metapragmatic one. We will use the tools provided by ethnomusicology, to observe the part taken by the musical components of the recitation in this protection. This work will also be an opportunity to bring together different theories and several Western concepts within the same theoretical framework. The framework of the semiology of music proposed by Molino and Nattiez, will constitute a solid etic foundation to which we will try to integrate and articulate two other major thoughts: the austinian thought of the "performativity" and the bachelardian conception of images. Once we have refined our tools of observation, we will look more closely at how "compassion" is to be understood within the Tibetan Buddhist episteme, how it is evoked within our research field and the very particular link it has with the mantra that bears its name. The performance of the mantra will be considered as being, at least partially, a sound manifestation of this compassion.