Thesis--Columbia University. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Bibliography: p. [308]-314.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--New York University, Graduate School of Arts and Science, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 567-597). Also available on the Internet.

Man's prime interest is man. This interest has been and still is the prime mover in all that man does. For no matter what his method, he is ultimately seeking to solve the riddle of himself. It is imperative that he obtain this information so that he may be better able to direct himself in the fulfillment of his being. Thus, it is the connate objective of all men, in their own diverse ways, to seek the essence, the 'ding an sich, that which makes man man. In this search many efforts have been and are still being made. Each individual feels that his is the correct method, and so far as he does, he directs his devotion with more or leas fervour. So some men can be seen dismembering the bodies of the deceased down to the minutest cell, others testing and compounding chemicals and elements, while others seek the solution of the why and wherefore of the human machine in other actions of nature.

Man's prime interest is man. This interest has been and still is the prime mover in all that man does. For no matter what his method, he is ultimately seeking to solve the riddle of himself. It is imperative that he obtain this information so that he may be better able to direct himself in the fulfillment of his being. Thus, it is the connate objective of all men, in their own diverse ways, to seek the essence, the 'ding an sich, that which makes man man. In this search many efforts have been and are still being made. Each individual feels that his is the correct method, and so far as he does, he directs his devotion with more or leas fervour. So some men can be seen dismembering the bodies of the deceased down to the minutest cell, others testing and compounding chemicals and elements, while others seek the solution of the why and wherefore of the human machine in other actions of nature.

The early 9th century Carolingian manuscript of the Epistola Anne ad Senecam was discovered by B. Bischoff in the Archiepiscopal library of Cologne and published by him 1984. It is a short, incomplete Latin text of some ninety lines that Bischoff identified as a late antique Jewish missionsschrift addressed to certain unidentified fratres. There is little agreement in the current literature on the identity of the author or the addressee(s), nor on the date of its composition, and it has been proposed that the text is in fact Christian. The titulus has been taken as a later interpolation with no relation to the work. There have been two subsequent editions (Jacobi and Hilhorst) and a German translation (Wischmeyer) all dependent on Bischoff’s editio princeps. No extended study of the text has been published. The present study reexamines the text and presents a corrected edition of the Latin from the original manuscript together with an English translation. An analysis of the latinity and rhetoric of the text shows it to be have been written by a highly literate author aimed at a pagan, aristocratic audience similar to the group seen in the works of Macrobius. The fratres are not the prime addressee of the text but represent a Iamblichan neoplatonic group addressed in an apostrophe within the text. The use of a mixed cursus in the clausulae indicates a late 4th-5th century date. The work is shown to allude to Genesis and sapiential texts, particularly Wisdom but does not quote directly from them. There are indications that the author is using Biblical texts that are substantially different from the Vulgate Latin and possibly dependent on the Hebrew. The Epistola also appears to show a familiarity with a number of works of Seneca; Naturales Quaestiones, De Beneficiis and De Supersitione. An intertextual link between the text and Augustine’s De Civitate Dei and the De Reditu Suo of Rutilius Namatianus suggest a composition of the text in the second decade of the fifth century, c. 415. This would allow the author to be identified with the Annas didascalus Iudaeorum mentioned in the Theodosian code as active on behalf of the Jewish community at the imperial court in Ravenna, and a plausible context is reconstructed for such a scenario. Placed in the historical context of late paganism, the text is interpreted as constituting a protreptic exhorting its audience to avoid the obscurities of neoplatonism and the inanities of the cult of Liber Pater and to follow a philosophical faith consonant with that of the author. It can thus be seen as an attempt to establish a Jewish-Pagan dialogue in the face of the continuing Christianisation of the empire at a time when this process was still not seen as irreversible.

O presente trabalho propõe a análise da trajetória do protagonista do mangá Angel Sanctuary, da autora Yuki Kaori, publicado originalmente no Japão entre 1994 e 2000, sob a luz da jornada do herói de Joseph Campbell, a fim de traçar seu perfil como herói japonês contemporâneo de mangá. Propõe-se juntamente a análise do diálogo da obra com a mitologia judaico-cristã, principal fonte de inspiração e referências da autora para a confecção de sua história. Para tanto, é feita uma apresentação dos elementos próprios das histórias em quadrinhos e da jornada do herói, para que depois sejam aplicadas ao mangá Angel Sanctuary, no qual são apontadas as etapas da jornada e seus arquétipos, assim como suas relações com as mitologias nas quais são baseados. A análise aponta para uma diferença entre o pensamento tipicamente japonês, que tende a encarar com naturalidade a presença de forças opostas num mesmo ser e na natureza, em contraste com a forte separação entre Bem e Mal presente nas religiões judaico-cristãs. / This dissertation thesis proposes the analysis of the trajectory of the manga Angel Sanctuarys protagonist, from author Yuki Kaori, originally published in Japan between 1994 and 2000, considering Joseph Campbells Heros Journey, in order to trace his profile as a contemporary Japanese manga hero. It also proposes the analysis of the mangas dialog with the Judeo-Christian mythology, main source of the authors inspiration and references for the confection of her story. To do so, the characteristic elements of comic books and the Heros Journey are presented, so that they can be applied to Angel Sanctuary, in which the journeys steps and archetypes are indicated, as well as their relations to the mythologies in which they are based. The analysis points to a difference between typical Japanese thinking, that tends to face the presence of opposing forces inside a single being and in nature with naturality, in contrast with the well-defined separation between Good and Evil existent in Judeo-Christian religions.

Joseph Smith Junior, founder of the Mormon faith, presented himself to America and the world as a prophet with the same powers as the widely known prophetic figures of the Bible. Like Moses and Elijah, he made God's will known to humankind. Before assuming this role, Smith had used divining rods and then seer stones to find underground water, buried treasure, lost items, and stray livestock. This thesis charts Joseph Smith's progression from rodsman to seer to prophet. For the most part, I present Joseph Smith's divinatory development as he himself experienced it. Dowsing with a rod, seeing things in stones, and receiving heavenly revelations were as real to Smith as harvesting wheat. In order to understand his progression from rodsman to seer to prophet, one must first understand his worldview. The mental universe of early American water witches and village seers forms one of the historical and cultural contexts in which Joseph Smith developed his divinatory abilities.

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This study focuses on understanding the reasons for the consciousness emerged towards Judeo-Spanish starting from the late seventies. This consciousness was followed by the establishment of several institutions, centers and even departments at Universities mainly in Israel, later in Turkey and all over the world aimed at maintenance of Judeo-Spanish by perceiving it as the unique medium of the continuance of the Sepahardic cultural heritage. The mentioned awareness towards Judeo-Spanish has become salient through the rise and the encouragement of the creative writing produced on distinct ethnic communication platforms by several Judeo-Spanish speakers composing of both native speakers and the generation raised by them, the youngest of whom was born around 1945. As a result of the analysis of three ethnic communication platforms which consist of Judeo-Spanish part of Salom newspaper, Salom&rsquo / s entirely Judeo-Spanish supplement El Amaneser, and the on-line correspondence circle Ladinokomunita Yahoo Group, it is concluded that the activity based on recalling of memories regarding the past Sephardic life as a part of the recent creative writing activities in Judeo-Spanish present that the Jewish language is still internalized and represents &lsquo / we&rsquo / in the eyes of the remaining speech community. It can be argued that through the cultivation of Judeo-Spanish on the ethnic communication platforms, Sephardic identities are strengthened and even reconstructed in some cases. It is concluded that the recent creative writing in the Jewish language is crucial both to preserve and archive the Sephardic cultural heritage embedded in the Jewish language for the next generations.

xi, 69 p. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / In the context of Judeo-Christian theology, I develop what appears to be the first formal economic model to analyze the joint interactions between human actors and a divine actor involved in the production of good works. Human actors are identified as trusting believers, doubting believers, or nonbelievers. The divine actor is perceived as offering four different alternative contracts, an ex ante contract without a penalty, an ex post contract, an ex ante contract with a penalty, and a covenant. Contract types are identified with specific religious affiliations. The amount of good works produced depends on the strength of faith and the contractual choices of the individual, as implied by religious affiliation. I test explicit predictions of the model using individual survey data from a nationally representative sample. My results suggest that (1) ex post contracts "work" (attendance is greater for trusting believers under ex post contracts than under ex ante contracts without a penalty); (2) strength of faith does not matter (good works are equivalent for both trusting and doubting believers under ex ante contracts); (3) penalties do not "work" for believers (attendance is no greater for believers under ex ante contracts with a penalty than under ex ante contracts without a penalty); and (4) covenants "work" (attendance is the same for believers under covenants as under ex ante contracts without a penalty). Tests focus either on the model's counterintuitive predictions for the role of strength of faith for a given contract type or on the role of religious affiliation and contract type for a given strength of faith. The tests suggest substantial power for the model's predictions. Even so, the dissertation emphasizes throughout the limitations of a purely economic analysis of the Judeo-Christian tradition and theology. / Committee in charge: Joe Stone, Co-Chairperson, Economics; Jo Anna Gray, Co-Chairperson, Economics; Larry Singell, Member, Economics; Jean Stockard, Outside Member, Planning Public Policy & Mgmt