The conception of René Descartes as the arch-rationalist has been sufficiently exploded in recent literature; however, there is still a large lacuna in our understanding of how empirical research and experimentation fits within his philosophy. My dissertation is directed at addressing just this problem. I contend that Descartes’ famed method is not a singular monolith but instead two interdependent methods: one directed at metaphysical and epistemological truth, while the other directed at empirical questions and contingent facts of the world. I claim there is evidence for this position not only in his actual scientific practice, but also in the rhetorical structure of the Discourse on Method and the Principles of Philosophy. In exploring the empirical side of Descartes’ method, I show how his unusual system produces a system of experiment designed to serve both as a discovery and verification tool at the same time. As a further application of my interpretation, I argue that the Passions of the Soul and Descartes’ ethical theory expressed in his correspondence must also be seen as part of his two-fold methodology. Instead of attempting to cast Descartes as a virtue ethicist or deontologist, as is normally done, I emphasize that Descartes’ ethics is centered on the mind-body union, and therefore, includes an empirical element as well. The end result is an ethics that requires a detailed study of mechanics, anatomy, physics, as well as medicine. Lastly, I show how this methodology can help us understand the works of some of his early followers: Claude Gadroys and Jacques Rohault. Both of these philosophers not only serve to ground my interpretation, but also to highlight aspects of Cartesian that have often been passed over. I show how the experimentalism of Jacques Rohault goes beyond the epistemological boundaries set up by Descartes, as signifies a new direction that will ultimately eclipse the Cartesian school of thought. In the case of Claude Gadroys, I present a concrete example of the exploitation of the over generality of Cartesian principles. In so doing, I show that while Descartes’ experimentalism was intended to rule out the possibility of occult causes, he in fact created a system that allowed for them, only under a different guise.

The narratives of abolitionist thinkers Frederick Douglass - My Bondage and My Freedom - and Harriet Jacobs - Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl - both include instances of the authors engaging in resistance against their slaveholders that do not free them from slavery. I begin with these narratives of resistance and make the interpretive claim that both Douglass and Jacobs took themselves to be free in their acts of resistance even though they were still in conditions we would not associate with freedom. In doing so, I determine that Douglass takes himself to be free because he is able to regain an internal sense of self-respect. Differently, I argue that Jacobs takes herself to be free because she is able to exert control over her material circumstances by identifying and pursuing her goal of sexual and reproductive autonomy to the best of her ability. This difference in understanding of freedom is surprising since Douglass and Jacobs find themselves in similar situations. I proceed by addressing this surprise and making the claim that the form of freedom Jacobs found in resistance is preferable to the form of freedom found by Douglass. In order to make this claim, I draw on Isaiah Berlin's discussion of freedom in "Two Concepts of Liberty" and find that Douglass achieves a form of freedom that isolates himself from his external desires whereas Jacobs does not. Jacobs' act of resistance is tightly connected to her desires. I demonstrate that connection to desires in resistance is important because it allows an agent to develop a sense of practical agency which allows them to adapt to future circumstances. Jacobs' understanding of freedom is ultimately preferable because it tells us what it is like to find freedom in our immediate circumstances through persistence. / Master of Arts / It might seem unusual to think of ourselves as being free when we are in circumstances where we are clearly dominated, interfered with, and unable to act according to our will. However, in this paper I argue that this occurs in the narratives of abolitionist thinkers Frederick Douglass - My Bondage and My Freedom - and Harriet Jacobs - Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. This paper is - in part - an attempt to understand what Douglass and Jacobs could possibly mean when they say they are free even though they are not in conditions we would typically associate with freedom. I proceed by demonstrating that Douglass finds freedom because he is able to regain his sense of internal self-respect while isolating himself from the consequences of his act of resistance. Jacobs finds freedom in a different way. To Jacobs, freedom means exerting control over her conditions in a way that brings her material circumstances closer to what she desires - even if the result is imperfect. This difference in the meanings of freedom is surprising because it highlights just how rich and complicated freedom found in resistance is. After establishing this, I then transition to addressing if one form of freedom is preferable to another. I argue that the form of freedom Jacobs found in resistance is preferable to the form of freedom found by Douglass. I draw on the literature to demonstrate that the form of freedom found by Douglass is internal, individual, and achieved by Douglass giving up the things he desires. Differently, Jacobs' act of resistance is tightly connected to the things she desires. I demonstrate that connection to desires in resistance is important because it allows an agent to develop a sense of practical agency which is a quality that allows them to adapt their actions to future circumstances by taking both their desires and conditions into account. Jacobs' understanding of freedom is ultimately preferable because it tells us what it is like to find freedom in our immediate circumstances through persistence.

This thesis aims to provide the appropriate historical context for interpreting John Stuart Mill's Utilitarianism. The central question considered here concerns two views of Mill's intentions for Utilitarianism, and whether the work should be read as Mill arguing for his own version of utilitarianism, or as an ecumenical document expressing and defending the views of many utilitarians. The first view, labeled the orthodox view, as defended by Roger Crisp, is probably the most commonly held view as to how to interpret the document. The second view, labeled the revisionist view, is defended by Daniel Jacobson in a recent article. By examining Mill's place in the history of utilitarianism, his journals, correspondence, and other writings leading up to and after the publication of Utilitarianism, this thesis argues in support of the revisionist position. Furthermore, it is argued that certain portions of the book deserve special consideration apart from other chapters, and this is taken to have implications for the future of research in Mill?s thought. This thesis has four chapters including the first introductory chapter, which outlines the motivations guiding the orthodox and revisionist views. The second chapter provides a general exposition of Utilitarianism, as well as an outline of the primary evidence supporting the orthodox and revisionist positions. The third chapter is a defense of the revisionist position, and it highlights the specific biographical context in which Utilitarianism was composed, as well as evidence from Mill's writings, correspondence, and journals suggesting that he saw the need to write a general defense of the principle of utility and elaborate his theory of justice. This chapter also includes a historiographical analysis of Mill's biographers, which suggests that Utilitarianism is not viewed by Mill's biographers as being especially central to his considered views on utilitarianism. Finally, the chapter includes a section on the early reception and criticisms offered against Utilitarianism, which partly explains why the book has come to be interpreted as it has. The final chapter reviews the evidence for the revisionist position and explains the implications for Mill scholarship in light of the findings of this study.

O presente trabalho tem por objetivo analisar a constituição de princípios éticos na escrita da história no Brasil do século XIX a partir do exame de parte da obra do mais importante historiador brasileiro daquele período: Francisco Adolfo de Varnhagen (1816-1878). Após formação e atuação militar, Varnhagen ingressou na carreira diplomática. Este transcurso como funcionário da burocracia imperial permitiu-lhe o acesso aos arquivos europeus e a possibilidade de produzir importantes obras de síntese sobre a história política e literária brasileira, além de diversos outros estudos, cujo resultado mais conhecido foi a História geral do Brazil (1854-1857). Esta investigação circunscreve suas atividades, sobretudo, entre meados da década de 1830 e meados de 1850, período imediatamente anterior à publicação de seus grandes projetos. Interesses pessoais motivaram sua inserção em diversos espaços letrados, com destaque para a filiação à Academia das Ciências de Lisboa e ao Instituto Histórico e Geográfico Brasileiro (IHGB). Além disso, tal época foi marcada por suas colaborações de caráter tanto históricos quanto ficcionais em periódicos literários portugueses, tais como O Panorama e Revista Universal Lisbonense. A exposição a seguir está dividida em duas partes principais. Na primeira, a operação historiográfica conduzida no IHGB, sediado no Rio de Janeiro, é retomada mediante uma leitura focada na presença e nas apropriações de autores antigos nos textos dos sócios que compunham a primeira geração da referida associação, seguida do exame de duas polêmicas eruditas protagonizadas por Varnhagen. A reconstituição dessas querelas permite o aprofundamento da análise das definições referentes à escrita da história, suas formas e funções, e às competências e compromissos do historiador naquele momento. Na segunda etapa, o foco recai sobre textos esparsos e pouco estudados de Varnhagen, avulsos ou impressos em jornais para divulgação e instrução pública em Portugal. A estratégia utilizada para abordagem e sistematização desse material consistiu na leitura de parte da obra do jornalista, escritor e historiador português Alexandre Herculano (1810-1877). Contemporâneo de Varnhagen, ambos dividiram espaços na vida letrada da Lisboa oitocentista. A indiscutível importância da atuação de Herculano na imprensa e na pesquisa histórica da época autoriza a ampliação da análise no que diz respeito às ligações entre história e ficção e, mais especificamente, ao novo estatuto do conhecimento produzido por meio do estudo do passado e das responsabilidades do historiador após os movimentos liberais que alteraram a política em Portugal. De maneira geral, a tese preocupa-se em argumentar que, a despeito das imprecisões disciplinares do ofício historiográfico ao longo do século XIX, do papel social assumido pela história, das experiências letradas advindas da assunção política desse saber e das temporalidades justapostas naquele contexto, se pode verificar a consecução de uma ética historiográfica, culturalmente construída e delimitada no tempo. / This work aims to analyze the constitution of ethical principles in Brazil’s History writing during the 19th century, stemming from the work of the most important Brazilian historian from the period: Francisco Adolfo de Varnhagen (1816- 1878). After his studies and military service, Varnhagen started a diplomatic career. This path as a servant of the Imperial bureaucracy allowed his access to European archives and gave him the possibility to produce important synthetic work on the political and literary history of Brasil, as well as several other studies; among these works, the most famous result was Historia Geral do Brasil (1854-1857). The present investigation circumscribes his activities, especially from the mid 1830s to the mid 1850s, the immediate period before his greatest projects. Personal interests caused his insertion in various intellectual spaces, especially his admission to the Academia das Ciências de Lisboa (Science Academy of Lisbon) and to the Instituto Histórico e Geográfico Brasileiro – IHGB (Brazilian Historic and Geographic Institute). Besides, during this time he collaborated to Portuguese journals such as O Panorama and Revista Universal Lisboense with fictional and historical pieces. This thesis is divided into two main parts: In the first one, the historiografical operation performed at IHGB, the institution headquarted in Rio de Janeiro, is analyzed through a detailed reading of the presence and appropriation of ancient authors by members of the first generation of this association, followed by an examination of two erudite controversies led by Varnhagen. The reconstitution of these disputes allows the expansion of the analysis about the definitions of the writing of History, its forms and functions, and of the competences and compromises of the historian during this period. In the second part, the focus concentrates in the scattered and relatively unknown texts by Varnhagen, published in Portugal alone or in newspapers about public instruction. The strategy used here to approach and to classify this material is organized from the reading of the work of Portuguese journalist, writer and historian Alexandre Herculano (1810-1877). Coexisting with Varnhagen, they shared common spaces in the intellectual life of the 19th century Lisbon. The unquestionable weight of Herculano’s writing in the press and historical research during this period allows the broadening of the analysis to the connections between history and fiction. Specifically, it allows the analysis of the status of the study of the past and of the responsibility of the Historian before the liberal movements that changed the politics in Portugal. Generally, this thesis argues that we can verify the achievement of a historiographical ethics, build culturally and bound in time, even taking into consideration the disciplinary imprecision of the historiographical craft, the intellectual experiences based on the political weight of this knowledge and the juxtaposed temporalities of this context.

O presente trabalho tem por objetivo analisar a constituição de princípios éticos na escrita da história no Brasil do século XIX a partir do exame de parte da obra do mais importante historiador brasileiro daquele período: Francisco Adolfo de Varnhagen (1816-1878). Após formação e atuação militar, Varnhagen ingressou na carreira diplomática. Este transcurso como funcionário da burocracia imperial permitiu-lhe o acesso aos arquivos europeus e a possibilidade de produzir importantes obras de síntese sobre a história política e literária brasileira, além de diversos outros estudos, cujo resultado mais conhecido foi a História geral do Brazil (1854-1857). Esta investigação circunscreve suas atividades, sobretudo, entre meados da década de 1830 e meados de 1850, período imediatamente anterior à publicação de seus grandes projetos. Interesses pessoais motivaram sua inserção em diversos espaços letrados, com destaque para a filiação à Academia das Ciências de Lisboa e ao Instituto Histórico e Geográfico Brasileiro (IHGB). Além disso, tal época foi marcada por suas colaborações de caráter tanto históricos quanto ficcionais em periódicos literários portugueses, tais como O Panorama e Revista Universal Lisbonense. A exposição a seguir está dividida em duas partes principais. Na primeira, a operação historiográfica conduzida no IHGB, sediado no Rio de Janeiro, é retomada mediante uma leitura focada na presença e nas apropriações de autores antigos nos textos dos sócios que compunham a primeira geração da referida associação, seguida do exame de duas polêmicas eruditas protagonizadas por Varnhagen. A reconstituição dessas querelas permite o aprofundamento da análise das definições referentes à escrita da história, suas formas e funções, e às competências e compromissos do historiador naquele momento. Na segunda etapa, o foco recai sobre textos esparsos e pouco estudados de Varnhagen, avulsos ou impressos em jornais para divulgação e instrução pública em Portugal. A estratégia utilizada para abordagem e sistematização desse material consistiu na leitura de parte da obra do jornalista, escritor e historiador português Alexandre Herculano (1810-1877). Contemporâneo de Varnhagen, ambos dividiram espaços na vida letrada da Lisboa oitocentista. A indiscutível importância da atuação de Herculano na imprensa e na pesquisa histórica da época autoriza a ampliação da análise no que diz respeito às ligações entre história e ficção e, mais especificamente, ao novo estatuto do conhecimento produzido por meio do estudo do passado e das responsabilidades do historiador após os movimentos liberais que alteraram a política em Portugal. De maneira geral, a tese preocupa-se em argumentar que, a despeito das imprecisões disciplinares do ofício historiográfico ao longo do século XIX, do papel social assumido pela história, das experiências letradas advindas da assunção política desse saber e das temporalidades justapostas naquele contexto, se pode verificar a consecução de uma ética historiográfica, culturalmente construída e delimitada no tempo. / This work aims to analyze the constitution of ethical principles in Brazil’s History writing during the 19th century, stemming from the work of the most important Brazilian historian from the period: Francisco Adolfo de Varnhagen (1816- 1878). After his studies and military service, Varnhagen started a diplomatic career. This path as a servant of the Imperial bureaucracy allowed his access to European archives and gave him the possibility to produce important synthetic work on the political and literary history of Brasil, as well as several other studies; among these works, the most famous result was Historia Geral do Brasil (1854-1857). The present investigation circumscribes his activities, especially from the mid 1830s to the mid 1850s, the immediate period before his greatest projects. Personal interests caused his insertion in various intellectual spaces, especially his admission to the Academia das Ciências de Lisboa (Science Academy of Lisbon) and to the Instituto Histórico e Geográfico Brasileiro – IHGB (Brazilian Historic and Geographic Institute). Besides, during this time he collaborated to Portuguese journals such as O Panorama and Revista Universal Lisboense with fictional and historical pieces. This thesis is divided into two main parts: In the first one, the historiografical operation performed at IHGB, the institution headquarted in Rio de Janeiro, is analyzed through a detailed reading of the presence and appropriation of ancient authors by members of the first generation of this association, followed by an examination of two erudite controversies led by Varnhagen. The reconstitution of these disputes allows the expansion of the analysis about the definitions of the writing of History, its forms and functions, and of the competences and compromises of the historian during this period. In the second part, the focus concentrates in the scattered and relatively unknown texts by Varnhagen, published in Portugal alone or in newspapers about public instruction. The strategy used here to approach and to classify this material is organized from the reading of the work of Portuguese journalist, writer and historian Alexandre Herculano (1810-1877). Coexisting with Varnhagen, they shared common spaces in the intellectual life of the 19th century Lisbon. The unquestionable weight of Herculano’s writing in the press and historical research during this period allows the broadening of the analysis to the connections between history and fiction. Specifically, it allows the analysis of the status of the study of the past and of the responsibility of the Historian before the liberal movements that changed the politics in Portugal. Generally, this thesis argues that we can verify the achievement of a historiographical ethics, build culturally and bound in time, even taking into consideration the disciplinary imprecision of the historiographical craft, the intellectual experiences based on the political weight of this knowledge and the juxtaposed temporalities of this context.

O presente trabalho tem por objetivo analisar a constituição de princípios éticos na escrita da história no Brasil do século XIX a partir do exame de parte da obra do mais importante historiador brasileiro daquele período: Francisco Adolfo de Varnhagen (1816-1878). Após formação e atuação militar, Varnhagen ingressou na carreira diplomática. Este transcurso como funcionário da burocracia imperial permitiu-lhe o acesso aos arquivos europeus e a possibilidade de produzir importantes obras de síntese sobre a história política e literária brasileira, além de diversos outros estudos, cujo resultado mais conhecido foi a História geral do Brazil (1854-1857). Esta investigação circunscreve suas atividades, sobretudo, entre meados da década de 1830 e meados de 1850, período imediatamente anterior à publicação de seus grandes projetos. Interesses pessoais motivaram sua inserção em diversos espaços letrados, com destaque para a filiação à Academia das Ciências de Lisboa e ao Instituto Histórico e Geográfico Brasileiro (IHGB). Além disso, tal época foi marcada por suas colaborações de caráter tanto históricos quanto ficcionais em periódicos literários portugueses, tais como O Panorama e Revista Universal Lisbonense. A exposição a seguir está dividida em duas partes principais. Na primeira, a operação historiográfica conduzida no IHGB, sediado no Rio de Janeiro, é retomada mediante uma leitura focada na presença e nas apropriações de autores antigos nos textos dos sócios que compunham a primeira geração da referida associação, seguida do exame de duas polêmicas eruditas protagonizadas por Varnhagen. A reconstituição dessas querelas permite o aprofundamento da análise das definições referentes à escrita da história, suas formas e funções, e às competências e compromissos do historiador naquele momento. Na segunda etapa, o foco recai sobre textos esparsos e pouco estudados de Varnhagen, avulsos ou impressos em jornais para divulgação e instrução pública em Portugal. A estratégia utilizada para abordagem e sistematização desse material consistiu na leitura de parte da obra do jornalista, escritor e historiador português Alexandre Herculano (1810-1877). Contemporâneo de Varnhagen, ambos dividiram espaços na vida letrada da Lisboa oitocentista. A indiscutível importância da atuação de Herculano na imprensa e na pesquisa histórica da época autoriza a ampliação da análise no que diz respeito às ligações entre história e ficção e, mais especificamente, ao novo estatuto do conhecimento produzido por meio do estudo do passado e das responsabilidades do historiador após os movimentos liberais que alteraram a política em Portugal. De maneira geral, a tese preocupa-se em argumentar que, a despeito das imprecisões disciplinares do ofício historiográfico ao longo do século XIX, do papel social assumido pela história, das experiências letradas advindas da assunção política desse saber e das temporalidades justapostas naquele contexto, se pode verificar a consecução de uma ética historiográfica, culturalmente construída e delimitada no tempo. / This work aims to analyze the constitution of ethical principles in Brazil’s History writing during the 19th century, stemming from the work of the most important Brazilian historian from the period: Francisco Adolfo de Varnhagen (1816- 1878). After his studies and military service, Varnhagen started a diplomatic career. This path as a servant of the Imperial bureaucracy allowed his access to European archives and gave him the possibility to produce important synthetic work on the political and literary history of Brasil, as well as several other studies; among these works, the most famous result was Historia Geral do Brasil (1854-1857). The present investigation circumscribes his activities, especially from the mid 1830s to the mid 1850s, the immediate period before his greatest projects. Personal interests caused his insertion in various intellectual spaces, especially his admission to the Academia das Ciências de Lisboa (Science Academy of Lisbon) and to the Instituto Histórico e Geográfico Brasileiro – IHGB (Brazilian Historic and Geographic Institute). Besides, during this time he collaborated to Portuguese journals such as O Panorama and Revista Universal Lisboense with fictional and historical pieces. This thesis is divided into two main parts: In the first one, the historiografical operation performed at IHGB, the institution headquarted in Rio de Janeiro, is analyzed through a detailed reading of the presence and appropriation of ancient authors by members of the first generation of this association, followed by an examination of two erudite controversies led by Varnhagen. The reconstitution of these disputes allows the expansion of the analysis about the definitions of the writing of History, its forms and functions, and of the competences and compromises of the historian during this period. In the second part, the focus concentrates in the scattered and relatively unknown texts by Varnhagen, published in Portugal alone or in newspapers about public instruction. The strategy used here to approach and to classify this material is organized from the reading of the work of Portuguese journalist, writer and historian Alexandre Herculano (1810-1877). Coexisting with Varnhagen, they shared common spaces in the intellectual life of the 19th century Lisbon. The unquestionable weight of Herculano’s writing in the press and historical research during this period allows the broadening of the analysis to the connections between history and fiction. Specifically, it allows the analysis of the status of the study of the past and of the responsibility of the Historian before the liberal movements that changed the politics in Portugal. Generally, this thesis argues that we can verify the achievement of a historiographical ethics, build culturally and bound in time, even taking into consideration the disciplinary imprecision of the historiographical craft, the intellectual experiences based on the political weight of this knowledge and the juxtaposed temporalities of this context.

My dissertation focuses on the moral philosophy of Descartes, Pascal, and Spinoza in the context of the revival of Stoicism within the seventeenth century. There are many misinterpretations about early modern ethical theories due to a lack of proper awareness of Stoicism in the early modern period. My project rectifies this by highlighting understated Stoic themes in these early modern texts that offer new clarity to their morality. Although these three philosophers hold very different metaphysical commitments, each embraces a different aspect of Stoicism, letting it influence but not define his work. By addressing the Stoic themes on the morality of these three authors, I also hope to help better capture the intellectual climate of the time by bringing Stoic themes into the foreground. Stoicism is a Hellenistic philosophy that considered the passions a sickness of the intellect and the source of all human suffering; they believed the cure was virtue, which was obtained through replacing irrational passions with rational beliefs. Stoicism had a revival in the Renaissance ushering in a wave of Neostoic authors who play an important role in shaping the intellectual landscape of the following centuries. My first two chapters discuss Descartes, who wrote a “provisional morality” early in his public life, only (as I show) to ignore the subject of ethics until near his death. In my first chapter I argue that, though many present-day scholars misread Descartes’ first ethics as part of his final ethics, this earliest “provisional morality” mimics Neostoic Skeptics such as Montaigne and is provisional because his method of doubt is also provisional. In my second chapter I show that Descartes’ late, and more developed, moral theory attempts to synthesize a variety of ancient, and seemingly contradictory, ethical traditions: Stoicism, Epicureanism, and Aristotelianism. In many ways Descartes embraces Stoic morality, but as a mechanist he does not view passions as an intellectual sickness; rather they are a physiological event, an amoral instrument that can be used to help control one’s irrational desires. I further defend my thesis externally by showing that this is the reading supported by Descartes’ contemporaries including critics such as Leibniz and early Cartesians such as Antoine Le Grand and Pierre-Sylvain Régis My third chapter discusses Pascal, who embraces Stoicism differently. Pascal offers Stoicism as the first tier of a binary ethics: modeled after Augustine’s city of God and city of man, it is an alternative moral code for those who are ignorant of the good and true happiness. Finally, in my fourth chapter, I discuss two common misinterpretations of Spinoza’s ethics: one of them neglects the Stoic influence on his thought while the other embraces it too strongly, portraying him as an unadulterated Stoic. Although there are ways that he is more Stoic than Descartes and Pascal, such as in his panpsychism and monism, this does not extend to his morality. Rather than accepting either of the two readings, I highlight anti- Stoic themes that are also present. I conclude that if the discussion is contained to his morality, Spinoza is no more Stoic than the other Neostoics I discuss in previous chapters.

This dissertation deals with how the concept of virtue (dygd) is used in Swedish occasional poetry addressed to merchants before 1780. Occasional poetry was the major kind of literature in Sweden in the seventeenth and the eighteenth century, and usually addressed to the nobility and other dominant groups. As a part of the elites’ conspicuous consumption, and mainly aimed to demonstrate the addressees’ virtue, it played an important role in legitimising the social and political dominance of the elite. Merchandise, however, was regarded with moral suspicion. The main purpose of the thesis is to study the argumentative strategies the poets use to honour merchants, and to determine in what ethical traditions they have found the arguments to back up their reasoning. It is thereby possible to detect subtle changes in how they use the concept of virtue. These strategies and arguments are seen from a rhetorical point of view; the poets’ main purpose was to praise the tradesmen persuasively. The dissertation consists of three parts, dealing with, respectively, the period before 1650, the years 1670–1680 and the period 1770–1780. Each part is divided into three chapters: a brief presentation of the main ethical discussion of the period, a concise examination of the occasional poetry written for groups other than merchants, and an analysis of the argumentative strategies used in honouring tradesmen. The earliest merchant prints are constructed as defences rather than actual complimentary poems. Whereas the poems written for other addressees mainly make use of an Aristotelian concept of virtue, focusing on the services done for society and on the honour that follows from this, the merchant poems take a Lutheran law conception of ethics as their starting point. The key point is to claim that the merchant in question has not broken the Ten Commandments, or any other law belonging to man. Neither has he ever done any harm to his neighbours. In the 1670’s, this argumentative strategy is still abundant, but the poets also claim that the merchants have contributed to society, either through Christian charity or, with an allusion to mercantilism, by always trading with the aim of enriching their fatherland. In some cases, economic success in itself is regarded as a ground for honouring the merchant, the claim being that this was necessary for his charity, or by reference to the Lutheran ethics of calling or vocation. A main point is that the poets sometimes use the word virtue to describe these qualities, thereby in effect widening the concept itself. In the 1770’s, all earlier argumentative strategies are still used by the poets. In some cases, however, the texts consist in an attack on the Aristotelian concept of virtue. The poets argue that virtue is an inner, almost invisible quality having nothing to do with performing an occupation or belonging to a special social stratum. Instead they focus on sincerity as a quality essential to real virtue and as an important virtue in itself, thereby also claiming that virtue and glory could and should be separated.

This thesis aims to restore the balance of modern investigations into Christian asceticism and anthropology by reading the texts of Sts. Irenaeus and Clement within their theological perspectives, and thereby examine the presuppositions determining how we think about sexual difference. In the Introduction I examine the projects of M. Foucault and P. Brown, arguing that they do not remain faithful to the concerns of the texts which they treat. In Part One, I show how asceticism, for Irenaeus, is the expression of the human living the life of God in the body, that which is most characteristically human and the image of God. Sexuality is fundamental to human existence, forming a permanent part of the framework within which humans grow towards God. This growth results from humans acting responsively to the creative activity of God. That God is the source of the life which is lived by humans, demands an openness on their part towards God. Any attempt to avoid the reality of their created nature, for instance, through a self-imposed continence, overturns the basic structure of this relationship. In Part Two, I consider the asceticism proposed by Clement, which strives, through human effort, to achieve a godlike life, buttressing the rational mind, that which is properly human and in the image of God, by the exercise of virtues, so protecting it from disturbances, especially those arising from the body and the vulnerability of dependency. Whilst Clement has a vivid sense of the new life granted in baptism, and praises marriage, this desire for a divine life leads inexorably to the restriction of human sexuality to the function of procreation and its redundancy thereafter. After summarizing, I indicate possible lines for further investigation, and suggest that only within the Irenaean perspective can the issue of sexual difference be raised meaningfully.

Why has international society been unable to develop political and judicial collective-security arrangements to limit external aggression? The thesis argues that efforts to limit aggression in moral and legal theory have created an unjust order in which great powers have used these theoretical traditions to reinforce their power in the global order. The thesis argues that is not a new development but can be found in one of the oldest traditions of moral reflection on war, the just war tradition. To substantiate this point, the thesis critically surveys the philosophers of the ancient Greek, Roman, Medieval Christian Renaissance, and early modern theorists of just war and demonstrates that their just war ideas contain assumptions about exclusion, identity and power reflecting their cultural superiority which underlie the practices and theories of the leading states and justifications of their aggressive wars. The thesis connects these moral reflections to the emergence of modern international law and the European pluralist international society of states based on mutual respect for sovereignty and the norm of non-intervention, highlighting how justifications of its colonial aggression against non-Europeans established an unjust solidarist order against them which persists in the post-Cold War era. To conclude it presents suggestions for improvement in the current pluralist international arrangements to address the issue of aggression.