Cette thèse, intitulée Le pohète initié : Illumination et esthétique ésotérique dans l’œuvre de Gellu Naum, analyse trois œuvres importantes de Gellu Naum, le roman Zenobia, les proses La voie du serpent et Medium, ainsi que le rapport entre la poésie picturale de Gellu Naum et la peinture narrative de Victor Brauner. Les œuvres de Gellu Naum que nous analysons possèdent des points communs synthétisés dans la figure de l’illumination, qui signale l’existence d’un régime de connaissance refondé. L’illumination se base sur des théories ésotériques et surréalistes et s’ouvre également sur une nouvelle interprétation du sacré, dénouée de tout caractère religieux. L’illumination institue et entretient un climat mystique à travers les écrits de Gellu Naum et les productions plastiques de Victor Brauner et consolide en même temps leurs doctrines esthétiques. Pour Gellu Naum, l’illumination est le but suprême de l’existence. Elle a affaire avec la capacité de voir avec les yeux du dedans. Dans ce registre ésotérique, la possibilité d’arriver de l’autre côté, c’est-à-dire dans la part invisible de la réalité, stratifiée jusqu’à son niveau archaïque, est réelle et révélatrice. Selon Gellu Naum, l’artiste doit mettre son œil à l’état sauvage pour décrire l’état transcendantal dans lequel résident ses héros; ceci en essayant de contrecarrer un grave bouleversement historique, puisque le totalitarisme roumain a éclipsé à tout jamais l’espace de l’existence. L’écriture de Naum porte les traces noires de cette incidence néfaste. Pour Victor Brauner, l’illumination a une fonction initiatrice. Elle cristallise l’art du peintre et l’éclaire tout au long de sa quête identitaire. L’illumination entretient et provoque une catharsis aux connotations inattendues dans la production artistique, s’articulant avec une consécration de l’ésotérisme. Partant d’une perspective interdisciplinaire, la thèse se divise en trois parties, Le roman Zenobia et la question de la pensée illuminée, L’état transcendantal et ses variables ou De la logique occulte de l’écriture et Les expressions de la poésie picturale et de la peinture narrative à travers les œuvres de Gellu Naum et de Victor Brauner, chacune d’entre elles analysant la figure de l’illumination et établissant aussi les invariantes esthétiques des deux Surréalistes. Dans leur quête de nouvelles formes de représentations artistiques, Gellu Naum et Victor Brauner ont recours à un surréalisme essentiellement cognitif. Les deux font appel à la rationalité, à la lucidité accrue, ce que les Surréalistes rejetaient parfois avec véhémence. / This thesis, entitled The Initiated pohet : Illumination and Esoteric Aesthetics in Gellu Naum’s work, analyzes three important literary productions by Gellu Naum, the novel Zenobia, his writings The Serpent’s Way and Medium, as well as the relationship between Gellu Naum’s pictorial poetry and Victor Bruner’s narrative painting. Gellu Naum’s works analyzed in this study have many similarities synthetized in the trope of illumination. The notion of illumination is based on esoteric and Surrealist theories, opening an interpretation of the sacred devoid of religious substance. Illumination develops a mystical climate throughout Gellu Naum’s writings and Victor Brauner’s art productions and consolidates their aesthetic doctrines. For Naum Gellu, illumination is the ultimate goal of existence. It has to do with the ability to see with the eyes within, revealing a blinding and terrifying alternative to the factual world. Within this esoteric tone, the possibility of reaching the other side – the invisible, advancing deep to the archaic level – is real and revealing. According to Gellu Naum, the artist must reach the wild state in order to describe the transcendental state infusing his heroes. This perspective counteracts a severe historical turmoil, since Romanian totalitarianism severely abbreviated life conditions. Naum’s writings bear the dark traces of this negative impact. For Victor Brauner, illumination has an initiation function. It crystallizes the painter's art throughout his quest for identity. Illumination causes and maintains catharsis, with unexpected connotations in the art production. It articulates a form of esotericism that only rarely infuses the Surrealist movement in the West. Advancing an interdisciplinary approach, my thesis is divided into three parts: The novel Zenobia and the Notion of "Illumination Thinking" The Transcendental State and Its Variables or The Occult Logic of Writing and Expressions of Pictorial Poetry and of Narrative Painting in the Works of Gellu Naum and Victor Brauner. These chapters analyze the figure of illumination and establish the aesthetic invariants grounding the works of the two Surrealists. In their quest for new forms of artistic representations, Gellu Naum and Victor Brauner employ a mainly cognitive form of Surrealism. Both appeal to rationality, to cruel lucidity, which often Surrealists strongly rejected.

A mudança de paradigmas na sociedade atual tem atingido os mais variados âmbitos da vida humana, dentre os quais destacamos a religiosidade. Nesse contexto, o movimento "Nova Era" tem encontrado terreno fértil para seu desenvolvimento em vivências religiosas das mais variadas possíveis. Este trabalho, partindo do conceito de "Religião Invisível" de Thomas Luckmann, que apresenta a subjetividade como lugar das opções e construção da experiência religiosa a partir da biografia de cada indivíduo, busca entender alguns aspectos da construção de identidade(s) religiosa(s) neste movimento que se caracteriza por um sagrado sem lugar, uma religiosidade errante, favorecendo identidade(s) flutuante(s) / The change of paradigms in the current society has reached the most varied fields of the human being life, from which we detach the religiosity. ln this context, the movement "New Age" has found fertile land for its development in the varied possible religious experiences. This work, through the concept of "invisible Religion" of Thomas Luckmann, who presents the subjectivity as the place of the options ánd the construction of the religious experience from the biography of each individual searchs the understanding of some aspects of the construction of the religious identity(s) in this movement that is characterized by a sacred without place, a nomadic religiosity, favoring floating identity(s)

Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-01T18:12:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 dissetacao_aerton_alexander.pdf: 2291305 bytes, checksum: 5691170904a5e04238ac5dfb50867a54 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-03-31 / The change of paradigms in the current society has reached the most varied fields of the human being life, from which we detach the religiosity. ln this context, the movement "New Age" has found fertile land for its development in the varied possible religious experiences. This work, through the concept of "invisible Religion" of Thomas Luckmann, who presents the subjectivity as the place of the options ánd the construction of the religious experience from the biography of each individual searchs the understanding of some aspects of the construction of the religious identity(s) in this movement that is characterized by a sacred without place, a nomadic religiosity, favoring floating identity(s) / A mudança de paradigmas na sociedade atual tem atingido os mais variados âmbitos da vida humana, dentre os quais destacamos a religiosidade. Nesse contexto, o movimento "Nova Era" tem encontrado terreno fértil para seu desenvolvimento em vivências religiosas das mais variadas possíveis. Este trabalho, partindo do conceito de "Religião Invisível" de Thomas Luckmann, que apresenta a subjetividade como lugar das opções e construção da experiência religiosa a partir da biografia de cada indivíduo, busca entender alguns aspectos da construção de identidade(s) religiosa(s) neste movimento que se caracteriza por um sagrado sem lugar, uma religiosidade errante, favorecendo identidade(s) flutuante(s)

Leo Strauss affirme avoir redécouvert l’art d’écrire oublié des philosophes du passé. Il s’agit d’une technique littéraire consistant en un discours de prime abord orthodoxe - c'est le niveau ou l'enseignement exotérique d'un texte -, mais qui communique « entre les lignes » la pensée véritable de l’écrivain, de nature hétérodoxe - c'est le niveau ou l'enseignement ésotérique. La lecture de tels auteurs requiert donc une herméneutique adaptée, permettant de saisir l’écart entre l’évidence de ce qu’affichent les écrits de l’auteur, et la vérité secrètement distillée derrière la lettre de ses écrits. Cette méthode de lecture est le point d’orgue de travaux entrepris par Strauss dès les années 1920. Elle est formalisée à la fin des années 30, et accompagne une mutation de l’écriture de l’auteur. Les travaux traitant de cette partie de l’œuvre du philosophe consistent généralement d’une part à critiquer sa clé herméneutique, en confirmant ou en infirmant sa pertinence, ou d’autre part à envisager la portée politique et philosophique de l’exo/ésotérisme. Les études s’attachant à comprendre la construction de ce prisme de lecture à travers le parcours intellectuel de Strauss demeurent sauf exception relativement parcellaires, et s’attachent à éclairer l’art d’écrire en le rattachant à certaines références. Les examens se focalisant sur la façon dont l’exo/ésotérisme se forme au fil du corpus straussien affleurent depuis quelques années, et c’est notamment au sein de ce champ de recherche que se situe la thèse. Au-delà, il s’agit de porter l’attention sur le propre style de Strauss, en se concentrant précisément sur la façon dont il conçoit et fait usage des catégories de l’exotérique et de l’ésotérique. La façon dont l’auteur s’en empare et le rôle qu’elles jouent dans l’économie de sa pensée peut renseigner quant à la façon de le lire et de le comprendre. Revenir aux sources de l’art d’écrire, examiner sa formation et observer son emploi par Strauss lui-même permet ainsi de donner un éclairage nouveau sur la thèse controversée de l’écriture entre les lignes des philosophes. / Leo Strauss asserts having rediscovered the lost art of writing of philosophers of past. It is a literary technique consisting of a speech at first sight orthodox - it is the exoteric teaching or level of a text -, but which communicates "between lines" the real thought of the writer, heterodox in nature - it is the esoteric teaching or level of the speech. The reading of such authors thus requires an adapted hermeneutics, allowing to seize the gap enter the obvious fact of what show obviously the text of the author, and the truth secretly distilled behind the letter of its papers. This method of reading is the climax of works begun by Strauss from the 1920s. It is formalized at the end of the 30s, and appears with some modifications of the style of writing of the author.The studies dealing with this part of the work of the philosopher consist generally on one hand in criticizing his hermeneutic key, by confirming or by countering its relevance, or on the other hand to envisage the political and philosophic impact of the exo/esotericism. The studies attempting to understand the construction of this prism of reading through the intellectual course of Strauss remain allowing exception relatively fragmented, and attempt to highlight the art of writing by connecting it with certain references. The examinations focusing on the way the exo/esotericism forms in the course of the straussian corpus appear since a few years, and it is in particular within this field of research that is situated this thesis. Beyond, it pays attention on the own style of Strauss, by concentrating exactly on the way he conceives and makes use of categories of the exoteric and of the esoteric. The way the author seizes it and the role which they play in the economy of its thought can inform as for the way of reading it and understand his thought. Returning to the sources of the art of writing, examining its formation and observe its use by Strauss himself can give a new lighting onto the controversial theory of the writing between lines of philosophers.

H.P. Blavatsky’s (1831-1891) Theosophy has been defined as central to the history of modern Western spirituality and esotericism, yet to this date no major study has mapped and analysed the major themes of Blavatsky’s writings, how Blavatsky used the concept ‘Theosophy’ or to what extent she was engaged with the intellectual contexts of her time. Thus the purpose of this thesis is to fill this gap. The proposed theoretical framework is based on the centrality of language in the production of intellectual products, such as texts—but contrary to the dominant focus on strategies, rhetoric and power this thesis will focus on the construction of meaning coupled with a set of methodological tools based on contextual analysis, intellectual history and intertextuality. In addition to an overview of Blavatsky research this thesis will map and analyse Blavatsky’s use of the concept ‘Theosophy’ as well as Blavatsky’s primary discourses, identified as: (1) discourse for ancient knowledge, (2) discourse against Christian dogmatism, (3) discourse against the modern natural sciences and materialism, (4) discourse against modern spiritualism, (5) discourse for system and (7) discourse for universal brotherhood. In mapping and analysing Blavatsky’s discourses, it was found that her construction of meaning was significantly interconnected with broader intellectual contexts, such as ‘modern historical consciousness’, ‘critical enlightenment ideas’, studies in religion, studies in mythology, the modern sciences, spiritualism, systemic philosophy, reform movements and practical ethics. It, for example, becomes clear that Blavatsky’s search for an ancient ‘Wisdom Religion’ was actually a part of a common intellectual occupation during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and that her critique of the Christian dogmas was equally a common intellectual trend. To read Blavatsky’s discourses as the idiosyncratic strategies of an esotericist, isolated from their larger contexts or only engaged with them in order to legitimise minority views would therefore largely fail to account for the result of this thesis: that in historical actuality, they were a part of the larger cultural web of meaning.

The aim of the thesis is to classify the form of political leadership and domination in Shia islam's political ideology, their development and ability to succeed in political reality. I especially focus on the Shia understanding of political power and its connection to infallible Imam as secular and religious leader of the Shia community. For analysis of the concepts I use the description of early Islam, including the Shia reasons for the dissolution of Muslim ummah, as well as the reasons that led to the multiple division of Shiism. I analyse specific examples of ideological break up of the Shia community (Ithnasharia, Isma'ila, Hashashins, Alawi, Duryz and modern Islamic Republic of Iran) and finally cardinal reformulation of understanding of political leadership and domination by Ayatollah Khomeini. His concept Wilājat al-faqīh (Guardianship of the jurist) started the era of radical transformation of the Shia political ideology, although he wanted only to modernize it and not to establish a brand new set up. My aspiration is therefore to analyze whether Wilājat al-faqīh can still be seen as the return to the roots of traditional Shiism or if it has a new quality without connection to previous Shia history.

This thesis seeks to answer the question of the origin of some of the most fundamental additions made to early Christian baptism. Christian baptism began in a relatively simple liturgical form, but became, by the fourth century, a much more dramatic set of initiation rituals. Among the added elements to baptism were washing ceremonies in the nude, physical anointing with oil, being marked or signed with the cross on the forehead, and receiving white garments. Scholars have proposed different theories as to the origins of these baptismal rituals. Some claim the elements existed in the New Testament practice of the rite. Others have supposed that the Christian church adopted the elements from either the Jewish synagogue or from contemporary pagan modes of initiation. This thesis argues that the initiation rituals of the Israelite tabernacle and temple provide a much more likely source for the added elements of Christian baptism. The esoteric practices of the temple priests became the esoteric tradition of early Christianity. The rites of this temple-oriented esoteric tradition in both the Old and New Testaments parallel, and may have been the origin for, the evolutions made to Christian baptism during the third and fourth centuries of the church. Christian groups such as the Valentinians provide evidence of higher esoteric rites being interpreted as baptism. Somehow the esoteric rites of the Israelite temple and the esoteric rites of early Christianity were adopted into the practice of Christian baptism.

The purpose of this work is to explore the interactions between occultism and scholarly Egyptology from 1875 to 1930. Within this timeframe, numerous esoteric groups formed that centered their ideologies on conceptions of ancient Egyptian knowledge. In order to legitimize their belief systems based on ancient Egyptian wisdom, esotericists attempted to become authoritative figures on Egypt. This process heavily impacted Western intellectualism not only because occult conceptions of Egypt became increasingly popular, but also because esotericists intruded into academia or attempted to overshadow it. In turn, esotericists and Egyptologists both utilized the influx of new information from Egyptological studies to shape their identities, consolidate their ideologies, and maintain authority on the value of ancient Egyptian knowledge. This thesis follows the Egypt-centered developments of the Freemasons, the Golden Dawn, Aleister Crowley's A∴A∴, the Theosophical Society, the Anthroposophical Society, and the Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis to demonstrate that esotericism evolved simultaneously with academia as a body of knowledge. By examining these fraternal occult groups' interactions with Egyptology, it can be better understood how esotericism has affected Western intellectualism, how ideologies form in response to new information, and the effects of becoming an authority on bodies of knowledge (in particular Egyptological knowledge). In turn, embedded in this work is a challenge to those who have downplayed or overlooked the agency of esotericists in shaping the Western intellectual tradition and preserving the legacy of ancient Egypt.

The present work examines the crossroads of social transformation from the contextual standpoint of the "Second World" - a political and socioeconomic term descriptively pointing to the unique location of the Former Eastern-European Block countries - in between worlds. The work involves in a dialogue some of the major trends within the contemporary Eastern-European philosophical environment: dichotomized between Neo-Marxism and Neo-Freudianism on the one hand, and Postmodernism on the other. While examining the most significant elements between the dialectical paradigms for social change of the above theories (and their ethical foundations), the text strives towards a theological paradigmatic formulation for an authentic social transformation that draws its dialectical content and passion from the hopeful eschatological vision of Christ and the Kingdom as an embodiment of the Christian alternative for human emancipation and liberation. In light of this, the work attempts to establish the following thesis: the radical Christian praxis of the eschatological reality of the Kingdom in light of the Cross is the Church’s alternative to contemporary philosophies and initiatives for social transformation. This praxis affirms the revolutionary, history-shaping force which makes Christianity relevant to the problems of Modernity and Postmodernity through its self-identification with the Crucified God. It marks the moment of conception of an authentic, liberating, life giving, transforming hope as a source of humanization and redemption of social order. Christianity is concerned with the birth and formation of a new socio-political reality - the Kingdom of God, and its embodiment on earth (through the Holy Spirit) in a new ethnos: the Church, the Body of Christ, the communion of the saints. Therefore, it is the Church's calling and obligation to exemplify the reality of the Kingdom, being a living extension of the living Christ and thus, the incarnation of the eschatological future of the world and its hopeful horizon in the midst of the present. Recognizing the vital need for a relevant Christian response to the spiritual demands of the Post-modern human being and his/her desacralized, pluralistic socio­ political context, the work concludes with a conceptual outline offering a strategy for the Church in the Postmodern setting. / Philosophy, Practical & Systematic Theology / D.Th. (Theological Ethics)

This is an unconventional study, which addresses the thematic field and the esoteric nature and essence of Corporate Identity. The thesis concentrates in the understanding of Corporate Identity aiming towards an holistic explanation of the concept appropriate for practical multidisciplinary use. It proposes a systematic methodology and establishes a design practitioner perspective, which aims at reliable co-ordination and control of Corporate Identity operations. The methodology to structure the literature A Strategic methodology of questions was developed to operate as a research methodology, which explored Corporate Identity, by revealing the “Form” of its concepts, its connections and its anomalies, as they occur extensively in the published and public domain. The review of published literature was carried out through a discussion process of published material subjected to diagnostic questions; through which the Terminology, Functional concepts, Methodologies are reported to influence Corporate Identity; contributing to the understanding of Corporate Identity’s Form and to further clarifying research issues. Literature review, was subjected to discussion, provisional observations and conclusions and is presented into 8 chapters. The Strategic Enquiry continued and extended on discussing Corporate Identity Field Examples, to interrogate real life experience material, to reveal an extended understanding of overt and covert issues of Corporate Identity’s Form, and to focus research planning accordingly. This process contributed into bringing together clusters of relevant information, gleaned from a rather fragmented published literature, thus forming a more holistic and broader understanding of the concept. However, from this holistic picture it was observed that certain essential texts are missing. Hence a further information literature search, was carried out which reported on texts which are not sufficiently or at all covered in specialised Corporate Identity literature but were regognised by this researcher as essential for a meaningful development of this thesis. The most important information brought into the context of Corporate Identity, at this stage, was a well established tool applicable to complex design projects, which was considered to be useful towards a more effective and holistic Corporate Identity control. The Field work This systematic approach and treatment of the published material contributed to an holistic understanding of the nature, scope, importance, complexity and topicality, of the subject; and lead to a diagnostic understanding of important problems that continually challenge the field. This was achieved through the research design of the thesis, which incorporated the inferences and observations of the Strategic Enquiry and the tried and tested systems design model for the organisation of complex design projects was used as a reference datum to inform the compilation of the questions of a semistructured interview. The Field study explored how Corporate Identity processes were holistically carried out in a Big UK financial institution specifically looking for practice discontinuities and deviations in the procedures. A diagnostic tool appropriate to investigate Corporate Identity operations was created as a result. The interview material was also subjected to content analysis to explore whether the thesis’ inferences and deductions could d also be grounded in practice. The thesis was then evaluated by relating the thesis material, to the thesis objectives, highlighting the outcomes and limitations employing SWOT analysis. As an epilogue to this thesis, within resources available this study appears to have contributed a substantial insight to the Form and operations of Corporate Identity. It also identified the opportunity for more valuable research, to be carried out.