This dissertation argues that: (1) deliberation (bouleusis) is distinguished from theoretical thought, in so far as the former is strictly about the particulars of a given situation, while the latter is about universal concepts; and that (2) deliberation is practical only in so far as it prescribes the best option for action, that is, it prescribes practical truth, but there is no element within the deliberative soul that can initiate an action directly. With these two points in mind, I will show in Chapter One that what lets us consistently cognize the moral ‘end’, the moral first principle, is a character or emotional disposition we acquire as a result of habituation (ethismos). Having explained how the conception of ends can be determined, I provide an argument for the first thesis mentioned above, and claim in Chapter Two that deliberation is not of the ends (ta telê), but is only of the means (ta pros to telos). My argument for the second thesis will lead me to claim in Chapter Three that prohairesis, the conclusion of deliberation, is not an action. I end my argument with an investigation showing that the interpretation of Aristotelian deliberation supported in this thesis secures its justification not only in those discussions that are directly related to the nature of deliberation, but also in the context of other important discussions in Aristotle’s ethics, namely, about the possibility of acrasia (in Chapter Four) and the definition of eudaimonia (in Chapter Five). My argument will provide a better treatment and solution, than existing attempts, of the puzzles surrounding the concepts of acrasia and eudaimonia in Aristotle’s ethics.

Speakers: Thomas Fitzgerald, Mark Heim, Fredrica Harris-Thompsett; Moderator: Richard Parker

This study brings the biblical book of Proverbs into discussion with two significant accounts of the nature and foundation of practical reason in Christian ethics, one medieval—Thomas Aquinas—and one modern—Oliver O'Donovan. It begins with an outline of the complexities of practical reason in the thought of Aristotle, which leads to an extended discussion of Aquinas's moral theory. The centrality of Proverbs 8 in Aquinas's account of eternal law opens the way to a reading of Proverbs, in which the central constructive ideas of the thesis are developed. These are then sharpened through an engagement with the work of Oliver O'Donovan. The conclusions are consolidated and developed in a final, constructive chapter. The study's central thesis is that the way the Book of Proverbs thinks about wisdom presents an important challenge to the way practical reason has been understood in the Western theological and philosophical tradition. Rather than being a perfection of speculative knowledge, in the Book of Proverbs, wisdom is a practical knowledge of how to act well, grounded in the reality of the world God has made. God's wisdom is therefore better understood as a perfection of his action, which is why it ultimately relates to Jesus Christ crucified. This perspective reframes our understanding of certain aspects of Christian ethical theory. It shows that created, natural order is a crucial, unavoidable presupposition of Christian ethics, but not its only norm. It helps us understand why moral deliberation and discernment centres on the construal of actions as kinds. Finally, it clarifies the purpose of Christian ethics as a theoretical discipline that accompanies the practical wisdom of the Christian life.

吳紹熙. / "2006年10月" / 論文(哲學碩士)--香港中文大學, 2006. / 參考文獻(leaves 198-202). / "2006 nian 10 yue" / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / Wu Shaoxi. / Lun wen (zhe xue shuo shi)--Xianggang Zhong wen da xue, 2006. / Can kao wen xian (leaves 198-202). / 引言 --- p.1 / Chapter - --- 解題 / Chapter - --- 借助文本線索對「生命」、「智慧」與「生命的學問」作初步勾勒與探討 / Chapter - --- 本文的結構 / Chapter 第一部分、 --- 《五十自述》的敘述結構之解讀與分析 / Chapter 第一章、 --- 預備性的討論 --- p.12 / Chapter 1.1. --- 本文解讀（五十自述〉的方式與目標 / Chapter 一、 --- 引子 / Chapter 二、 --- 本文取向：《五十自述》中「存在的」探討進路及視角 / Chapter 三、 --- 關鍵與焦點：《五十自述》中的「茫然、尋索」及「掙扎、徘徊」成份 / Chapter 四、 --- 關鍵與焦點：《五十自述》的「敘述方式」與其所揭示的「體驗結構」 / Chapter 1.2. --- 相關於爲何及如何解讀（五十自述〉的一些預備性的討論 / Chapter 一、 --- 引子 / Chapter 二、 --- 當前研究回顧：關於《五十自述》的研究 / Chapter 三、 --- 「自述」的特質 / Chapter 1) --- 當下自述活動與被敘述的過往内容之間的緊密關係及其多樣可變的形態 / Chapter 2) --- 自述者的狀況與被敘述内容之間的雙向關係 / Chapter 四、 --- 對自述作品作存在進路的解讀之基礎：體驗、意義、自述三者之間的關係 / Chapter 五、 --- 當前研究回顧：當代中國哲學學者對「體驗」與「意義」問題的處理 / Chapter 六、 --- 進一步為存在進路及解讀自述文本作準備´ؤ´ؤ由體驗和意義的特性與地位，到自述作為一種體驗與意義的轉化與開展 / Chapter 1) --- 意義的優先性及親身體驗的「作為」結構（the as-structure of lived-experience) / Chapter 2) --- 體驗的「關於/對於」結構(of-structure)或「意向性」（intentionality) / Chapter 3) --- 意義的生成、開展和表達與事物於體驗中的「呈現方式」（ways of appearance)間之關 / Chapter 第二章、 --- 進入文本對（五十自述》作具解讀 --- p.53 / Chapter 2.1. --- 整體解讀的文本線索 / Chapter 一、 --- 《五十自述》的多重結構與文本解讀方面的關鍵問題 / Chapter 二、 --- 《五十自述》中直指「生命」的敘述聲音及其於敘述過程中之顯隱升沉 / Chapter 2.2. --- 依從自述的開展歷程作出解讀與分析 / Chapter 一、 --- 起：第一章〈在混沌中成長〉之解讀´ؤ´ؤ原始和諧、歷史旅程與詩意象徵 / Chapter 二、 --- 承：直指「生命」的敘述聲音隱退後的自述´ؤ´ؤ《五十自述》第二至四章的過渡 / Chapter 三、 --- 轉：客觀悲情的層層轉化 / Chapter 1) --- 存在處境中的「客觀悲情」與直指「生命」的敘述聲音之重臨再現 / Chapter 2) --- 第五章〈客觀的悲情〉之解讀´ؤ´ؤ悲憤憂痛、困阨委曲、孤獨流離與厭倦疲憊 / Chapter 四、 --- 合：生活自述與生命自覺間的門檻´ؤ´ؤ藉厭倦所顯的虛無感進入第六章的掙扎、摸索與轉化 / Chapter 1) --- 「疲憊厭倦」與「虛無感」 / Chapter 2) --- 對「主觀之潤」的要求之湧現 / Chapter 3) --- 徹底的雙重破裂 / Chapter 4) --- 兩重惡性循環 / Chapter 5) --- 徹底破碎中生命自身的多重呈現與絶境中尚存的「向上一機」 / Chapter 6) --- 通過自述而超出自述：關於並出現於掙扎、摸索與轉化中的話語 / Chapter 五、 --- 小結 / Chapter 第二部分、 --- 生命的自身探索與轉化安立 / Chapter 第三章、 --- 生命的自身轉化與由悲入慧 --- p.102 / Chapter 3.1. --- 作爲契機的「虛無之怖慄」 / Chapter 一、 --- 引子 / Chapter 二、 --- 虛無之怖慄之普遍性與獨自性 / Chapter 三、 --- 感性沉淪之「逃避」結構及虛無怖慄之常伴常存 / Chapter 四、 --- 獨自承受的「怖慄」及其與「生命自身」之關聯與呼應 / Chapter 3.2. --- 對人之有限性的「悲覺」與「悲覺」對這有限性之轉化 / Chapter 一、 --- 引子 / Chapter 二、 --- 於「悲覺」中「回歸自身」並「持守自身」 / Chapter 三、 --- 觀照之即化除之 / Chapter 四、 --- 由「悲覺悲情」本身到「能悲」一一向「慧根覺情」之轉進 / Chapter 第四章、 --- 生命、智慧與學問 --- p.121 / Chapter 4.1. --- 智慧之一多共殊及悲情與智慧間的多種關係 / Chapter 一、 --- 轉化安立作為無限歷程：可悲性常存與可悲性之轉型 / Chapter 二、 --- 智慧之一多共殊、以及「悲中生慧」與「以悲為慧」之別 / Chapter 4.2. --- 生命與智慧 / Chapter 一、 --- 對於智慧、悲情與虛無感之間的關係作進一步闡發 / Chapter 1) --- 引子 / Chapter 2) --- 從共同的方面看 / Chapter 3) --- 從分殊的方面看 / Chapter A. --- 憂患意識 / Chapter B. --- 桎梏意識與苦業意識 / Chapter 二、 --- 通過「生命作為要於其表現中成為自身者」的見解貫穿智慧的一多共殊 / Chapter 1) --- 引子 / Chapter 2) --- 關於「生命要於表現中成為自身」的初步討論 / Chapter 3) --- 作為問題的「表現」與「生命」之關係 / Chapter 4) --- 儒家智慧與生命表現´ؤ´ؤ表現之奠基、充實與貞定：表現作為創生與貫徹 / Chapter 5) --- 道家智慧與生命表現´ؤ´ؤ表現本身之「徼向性」與徼向中相反相成之辯證性格 / Chapter 6) --- 佛家智慧與生命表現´ؤ´ؤ表現之「相狀」及其「執取」與「湧現機制」 / Chapter 三、 --- 悲感慧見與生命整體性和有限而無限性 / Chapter 1) --- 以悲慧為本的生命表現之整體´ؤ´ؤ悲慧生命與自然生命、定向機能生命及個體生命之統一和諧 / Chapter A. --- 智慧與生命的種種具體表現 / Chapter B. --- 智慧與生命之個體性 / Chapter C. --- 智慧與自然生命 / Chapter D. --- 智慧與不同定向的生命機能 / Chapter 2) --- 生命之有限而無限性與自身關係 / Chapter 4.3. --- 由智慧的證會與修持到生命的學問 / Chapter 一、 --- 引子 / Chapter 二、 --- 由智慧到學問 / Chapter 1) --- 智慧´ؤ´ؤ生命自主自力地與自身建立關係的活動 / Chapter 2) --- 生命´ؤ´ؤ既自主亦依他、既分殊亦統一 / Chapter 3) --- 生命的學問´ؤ´ؤ相應於不同方向的歧出之復歸指引 / Chapter 三、 --- 生命的學問之分解性與體系性 / Chapter 四、 --- 由經典之形成到學問系統之開展建構再到系統之消融 / Chapter 五、 --- 智慧與學問之間的緊張及其消融 / Chapter 4.4. --- 生命的學問與哲學 / Chapter 一、 --- 生命的學問與哲學思考 / Chapter 二、 --- 生命的學問與作為立法作用和理性體系的哲學 / 總結與檢討´ؤ´ؤ由生活、生命與智慧到生命的學問 --- p.181 / Chapter - --- 總結 / Chapter 一、 --- 由「自述」經「自身尋找」到「自覺自立」 / Chapter 二、 --- 基本存在感受的轉進與「由悲入慧」的歷程 / Chapter 三、 --- 「悲感」和「表現」的中介地位、生命整體之統一和諧 / Chapter 四、 --- 智慧和生命與自身的關係 / Chapter 五、 --- 「生命之學問」體系的開展與消融 / Chapter 六、 --- 傳統學問形式與自述 / Chapter 七、 --- 教下哲學、純哲學思考、將教與哲學徹底融合於其中的理性體系 / Chapter 八、 --- 存在進路與牟宗三學思的定位 / Chapter - --- 整體上的檢討與澄清 / Chapter 一、 --- 關於全文論述結構的一些回顧與檢討 / Chapter 二、 --- 關於全文論述進路及其成果之性質的一些回顧與檢討 / 中文參考書目 --- p.198 / 英文參考書目 --- p.201

Thesis (Ph.D. (Pastoral))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Notre Dame, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 420-436).

Thesis (M.A.)--Trinity International University, 2001. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 92-105).

Habilitationsschrift--Munich.

Many of today's children find themselves with an unprecedented amount of freedom to choose what sort of life to pursue. A corollary of this freedom however is the burden of sorting through the many options which life offers. Without some guidance in wading through this values-minefield, some children simply become stuck, unable to choose or to choose well. What is a good life? What sorts of goods in life ought we to pursue? These questions motivate the present project but they are not ones which I attempt to answer. Instead, I examine the kinds of tools that could help students to answer such questions in a thoughtful, intelligent and caring way. In order to live a good life, we need to choose well regarding what is valuable. In this thesis I argue that such a process, choosing well about what is valuable, is the result of wisdom. Wisdom is that set of characteristics which allows us to live well. This thesis is the development and justification of this conception of wisdom. It explores how wisdom is related to three key concepts: knowledge, value and morality. I do not argue that this is the only way to think about wisdom. However, it is a way of thinking about wisdom which could usefully and justifiably find a place in the educational system of a liberal democratic state. This thesis is an attempt to understand how educators can teach for the most important goal in life: how to live well.

The research investigates English proverbs, i.e. how human experience is reflected in them, study of literal and figurative meanings of proverbs and stylistic devices. / Darbe tyrinėjamos angliškos patarlės, t.y. kokia gyvenimo patirtis jose atsiskleidžia, tyrinėjamos jų tiesioginės ir perkeltinės reikšmės bei analizuojamos stilistinės priemonės.