Th. D., 1987. / Bibliogr. p. [295]-324. Index.

Diss.--Freiburg--Universität, 1997. / Bibliogr. p. 439-459. Index.

Thesis (Th. M.)--Grace Theological Seminary, 1979. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 162-176).

This thesis has attempted to examine Paul Riceoeur's work as a whole. Its aim has been to enquire whether the dialectics of difference and identity played any essential part in his hermeneutic phenomenology. The introduction gave an overall view of Ricoeur's writings situated within the contemporary landscape of French philosophy. Part I set out to study Ricoeur's abstract phenomenology. The results obtained showed : 1. That Ricoeur's philosophical background, especially Husserl's phenomenology and Marcel's existentialism, had a deep influence on him; 2. That his structural phenomenology of the will, developed from an imaginative combination of Husserl's epistemological method and Marcel's ontological vision, to constitute a framework towards the understanding of human nature; 3.That 'man's non-coincidence with himseIf' brought an existential distance within structural unity,thus leading to an abstract reflection upon the structures of human reality, and to the disclosure of a 'fault'. Part II enquired into the emergence of Ricoeur's hermeneutics, a turning point towards concrete phenomenology. This study demonstrated:1. That the 'same' of meaning could be reached only indirectly through the 'other' of signs, of symbols and myths calling for interpretation; 2. That such an 'other' had to be critically deciphered if it was to disclose the 'same' of consciousness; 3. That the structure of symbols, understood in terms of archaeology and teleology, explained the conflict of interpretations which, in turn, and when arbitrated, revealed a 'same'.Part III studied Ricoeur's concrete phenomenology of language and narrative. This discussion showed:1. That the hermeneutic circle of explanation and understanding was itself a dialectics of difference and identity, at the level of text and semantic innovation; 2. That identity could only be a narrated identity since man finds himself via the mediation of stories and histories. Thus, the conclusion must be drawn that the dialectics of difference and identity is the touchstone beneath Ricoeur's hermeneutic phenomenology.

This thesis investigates the social context of the Apostle Paul and the communities to which he preached with the aim of showing that early Pauline Christianity was shaped by a social milieu that included: first, a Greco-Roman and particularly Stoic philosophy, second, a universalizing Jewish movement and third, an overarching Roman political framework. Paul’s philosophy was built on a foundation of Judaism, interpreted with the tools of Stoic philosophy, and communicated to a largely Roman audience. Chapter One presents the figure of Paul as a Jew and Roman citizen with a Greek education, a product of three cultural worlds. Chapter Two argues that through allegory, Paul replaced Jewish nationalistic and ethnocentric aspects with symbolic ones, and communicated its ethical core with Stoic language and concepts to a primarily Roman audience. Chapter Three examines this audience and determines that they were largely Roman citizens who were both steeped in the prevalent philosophy of the time, Stoicism, as well as being associated with the Jewish community as sympathizers, God-fearers, or “Highest-God” worshippers, as a result of the popular Judaizing movement in the first century. Through the study of Paul, his letters, and his audience, this thesis argues that Pauline Christianity was, at its core, a Stoic interpretation of Judaism. / Graduate / 0579 / dcoad@uvic.ca

By the word "langage" is meant the manner in which a poet uses his native tongue to express his thoughts and ideas. The German poet can actually create language, according to Ernst Curtius; the French poet cannot, - he must deal with the language as it exists. In order to express his ideas as clearly as possible Valéry insisted on observing rigid rules and constraints in language. Only by so doing could he achieve clarity. He considered his poems as exercises to this end. He felt that inspiration should have little or no part in the poetic creation, but only by exerting the intellect can a poet approach the state of pure poetry. Valéry took great pains in his choice of words both for their sense and for their musical effect. He was an admirer of Wagner, and as a symbolist sought to express music in words, both as an end in itself and as a support for his images. To Valéry the chief function of the human being lay in the intellect, in the process of thought, and he considered poetry the only road to the essence of being, pure conscience, as for him it was the act of thought. The purer the poetry the closer one approached to the absolute of pure conscience, and the problem of pure poetry is a problem of language. The law of continuity in the method of Leonardo da Vinci interested Valéry much, and in his images he tries to observe it and obey it. As a result his images are often obscure, mainly because of their extreme condensation. Too, Valery often ascribes special meanings to words, and places words together in unusual and unexpected manners, his verbs are always very full, especially verbs of motion, and he makes great use of words of light and colour. The sea also plays a great part in his poetry. There run through the poetry of Valéry certain words which are characteristic of his thought, and which recur time and again with slight variances of meaning. The two most important of these are "absence" and "pur", both of which have to do with the concept of the absolute. These may be termed key-words, and others not quite so important, master-words. To sum up, Valéry's interest was in the intellect and its functioning, poetry was to him the supreme creative activity because it was the intellect in action, so to speak. But poetry involves the use of language, therefore Valery approached the handling of language with an intensity and a capacity which have made him one of the masters of language among the French poets. / Arts, Faculty of / French, Hispanic, and Italian Studies, Department of / Graduate

The purpose of this study is to investigate the elements in the theology of Tillich which would have enabled him to enter into the intensive encounter with data from the history of Religion, which encounter he thought offered the only acceptable hope for the future of theology and of Religions as such. Tillich conceives religion as man's concern for ultimate meaning fulfillment. It forms the true substance of all culture, because all cultural activities are essentially responses to the immanence of the Ultimate Ground of reality which breaks through the concrete forms as a revelatory demand on man to transcend the concrete meaning structures. Revelation and man's self-transcending responses to it are universally present, but the latter are ambiguous as they are embodied in concrete, limited forms, which tend to absolutize themselves. As symbols, however, these forms have the power to mediate man's relation to the Ground of being and as such be life-giving. Symbolic mediation, in Tillich's opinion, must be related to the historical setting of a concrete community. It is effective to the extent that it enables man to live in the paradox of accepting concrete forms and moments {Kaivoi) as the representatives of what concerns him ultimately. Our approach to religious symbols, then, must be that of a double hermeneutics. We must be radically critical lest any contingent form claims ultimacy and at the same time we must be entirely committed to accepting the tradition as the source of meaning fulfillments.. We have related Tillich to the two major hermeneutical approaches of our time and we found that his own position not only accomodates any scientific study of Religions but also illustrates how a different tradition can become an integral part of a community's hermeneutical horizon. Tillich proposed the ideal of a unifying theonomy, as the alternative to heteronomy and absolutism on the one hand, and autonomous secularism and relativism on the other. He rehabilitates myths and symbols as indispensable parts of all religion. By this system, we think, Tillich created sound theological conditions for the required dialogue, even though he did not develop an adequate heuristic tool for the analysis of non-Western Religions and failed to emphasize the need of intensive practical contacts. / Arts, Faculty of / Classical, Near Eastern and Religious Studies, Department of / Graduate

Cette thèse examine le dialogue avec le divin mis en scène dans le théâtre de Jean Racine et dans la Trilogie des Coûfontaine de Paul Claudel. Bien qu’éloignés tant par l’époque que par l’esthétique dramaturgique, ces deux auteurs donnent au divin une place importante dans leur théâtre, et en cela peuvent être rapprochés. La représentation du divin qu’on retrouve dans les tragédies profanes et religieuses de Racine éclaire celle, beaucoup plus complexe, du théâtre claudélien. Nous étudions d’abord les transformations que subit le visage du divin dans la dramaturgie racinienne, passant des traits flous et énigmatiques des tragédies profanes à ceux plus précis, parce que plus humains, des tragédies religieuses, en nous concentrant plus particulièrement sur la relation que les personnages entretiennent avec lui et sur les modifications de l’espace et du temps que cause son apparition sur la scène de théâtre. Le rapport au divin présent dans les drames de Claudel est ensuite analysé à la lumière des conclusions tirées de l’étude des tragédies raciniennes.

L'objectif ou l'intention de la présente these est de tenter d'éclairer la nature et le développement du thème de l'espoir humain chez le poète Paul Eluard. Les critiques de cette oeuvre tres riche semblent insister sur le mérite de la poésie eluardienne d'une première période de l'oeuvre, a l'exclusion de la dernière partie, ou vice-versa. En nous basant sur une étude de l'oeuvre, nous tentons justement de montrer le dynamisme de ce passage progressif chez Eluard de l'amour exclusif a la vision, fondée sur cet amour premier, d'un amour total de l'humanité. Progression qui sera mise en valeur par quatre voies d'approche: évolution biographique, étude de l'évolution de la conception théorique de la poésie chez Eluard, analyse critique de certains thèmes et concepts principaux de l'oeuvre, et etude stylistique d'images caractéristiques qui incarnent ou traduisent 1'orientation humaine. Le premier chapitre est consacre aux principales influences historiques et littéraires qui ont mené Eluard de l'activité surréaliste a celle, publique, de la maturité. Nous essayons de donner une juste idée de l'orientation sociale de la révolte surréaliste, et de distinguer quelles activités politiques ou humanitaires, parallèlement aux épreuves personnelles, ont amène Eluard a certaines prises de position politiques et ti une poésie engagée. Le deuxième chapitre examine le développement idéologique du thème de l'espoir humain. II présente successivement deux aspects principaux de cette inspiration: la progression générale du thème dans l'oeuvre, et les affirmations de l'espoir humain dans les divers textes théoriques d'Eluard. Notre troisième chapitre constitue une présentation des poèmes significatifs et des recueils caractéristiques illustrant la progression du thème de l'espoir humain a travers l'oeuvre. Pour donner une juste idée de l'importance des thèmes dans l'économie de chaque recueil, on distinguera trois périodes principales de ce développement. Le quatrième chapitre est une analyse plus détaillée de l’évolution de certains thèmes et concepts dynamiques de l'oeuvre eluardienne. Nous observons alors 1'articulation des thèmes humanitaires sur les thèmes amoureux a travers les images de la ressemblance, du corps humain, et du monde cosmique. En relevant toute indication de mouvement ou de dynamisme, l'on verra comment se précise chez Paul Eluard la notion du devenir vital, Humain, et poétique à la fois. / Arts, Faculty of / French, Hispanic, and Italian Studies, Department of / Graduate

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