The thesis of this dissertation is that the political dimension of Martin Heidegger's philosophical work has been widely misinterpreted in the United States, and that this misinterpretation has been caused by censorship, historical and political ignorance, and poor scholarship. This study reveals the extent to which Heidegger engaged in politically motivated editing of his work after the war, and shows how such edited German editions were used as a basis for many English translations of his work. It also shows that Heidegger suppressed the publication of some politically sensitive texts while he was alive, and that archival materials in different parts of Germany have been manipulated so as to protect Heidegger from critical scrutiny. Such practices have also been employed by (or in the service of) other philosophers who worked in Germany at the time; the manipulation of post-war editions of philosophical texts written in Germany between 1933-1945 seems to be a widespread phenomenon. To improve the US reader's understanding of the historical context of Heidegger's political thought, this study also relates Heidegger's professional and political actions to those of all of the other 213 professors of philosophy who taught at a German university between 1933 and 1945. Heidegger's political arguments are compared to those of the other philosophers who, as university Rectors, were in similar positions of political responsibility as Heidegger. The presentation of this new information allows the US reader to understand better the development of philosophy in Germany, and reveals the uniqueness of Heidegger's philosophical commitment to a particular version of National Socialist ideology. Finally, this study identifies the main sources of interpretive error in the US reception of Heidegger's political thought, and shows how philosophers can avoid such mistakes in the future.

The tendency to assume that Schiller's early works follow a pro-revolutionary program and from there to assume Schiller's positive uncritical anticipation of the French Revolution show great disregard for Schiller's highly articulated moral-philosophical concept of rebellion prior to 1789 and accordingly obscures the interpretation of Schiller's specific reactions to the French Revolution. Schiller's first writings on aesthetics and moral philosophy comprise a moral philosophical and teleological system with which Schiller analyzed the moral dynamics of political rebellions. This concept stem from Schiller's categorization of action dominated by either sensual drives or abstract reason and his use of these categories for the critical analysis of rebels and rebellion. These early categories reveal that Schiller's distance from the French Revolution should have come as no surprise, on the contrary, in light of this highly articulated concept of rebellion, anything more than ambivalence would have marked a surprising change of direction. In Chapter I, this system provides the basis for the analysis of Schiller's judgement of his own dramatic portrayal of rebels and rebellion and of those in his historical works. Schiller's portrayals of rebellion up to the execution of Louis XVI will be analyzed in order to demonstrate that his later concept of rebellion corroborates his early moral philosophy and teleological theories, and thus was not notably altered by the French Revolution. Schiller's distance shows no change in his written reactions at any point in the early French Revolution. In Chapter II examples from Schiller's most famous quotes regarding the French Revolution are discussed in context, in order to demonstrate that none of these letters, conversations, and events indicate anything but Schiller's ambivalence toward the French Revolution, in contrast to the ideologically polarized interpretations they have inspired, which have in turn clouded the understanding of Schiller's politics in general. Chapter III analyses Schiller's biography and publications from the years 1788–1796, in which Schiller's poetic and dramatic production decreased and during which Schiller undertook a study of aesthetics, years which coincidentally correlate with the French Revolution and the publication of Kant's Kritik der Urteilskraft (1790). This approximate synchronicity led to the theory that Schiller, disappointed by the political reality and under the dominant influence of Kant, turned his back on politics and sought refuge in the abstract world of philosophy. Since, however, Schiller was not shocked, and since his preoccupation with politics was never documentably stronger than directly after the execution of Louis XVI, it is evident that the disregard of Schiller's early writings is the prerequisite for the misleading canonical periodization of Schiller's concept of rebellion into the phases (1) hope for, (2) disappointment in, (3) flight from political rebellion.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves [383]-396).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves [383]-396) Also available in print.

The Best PhD Thesis in the Faculties of Architecture, Arts, Business & Economics, Education, Law and Social Sciences (University of Hong Kong), Li Ka Shing Prize, 1997-1999. / published_or_final_version / Philosophy / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

This thesis is a contextual study of the work of Orkney theologian John Oman (1860- 1939), with reference to personal freedom as the unifying principle. Oman’s early life in Orkney, his philosophical awakening in Edinburgh and his wide reading of European thought are the contexts explored. From these contexts emerges a theology that is eclectic in nature and which finds coherence in the principle of personal freedom. Oman’s concept of freedom is defined theologically, metaphysically and personally; this is followed by discussion of its application to the specific subject areas of Christology and Ecclesiology. The priority that Oman gives to personal freedom results in a distinctive theology of Christ and the Church. Thus, the uniqueness of Christ lies in the freedom which he exemplifies in humanity; and the Church is a community of freedom transcending institutional expression. The thesis concludes that Oman’s sui generis theology is the outcome of the heritage of freedom gifted in various contexts. However, this heritage of freedom was radicalised by Oman, as he developed his own theological vision.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1994. / Permission to use letters at end of volume 2. Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 462-595). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1994. / Permission to use letters at end of volume 2. Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 462-595). Also available on the Internet.

No description available.

La thèse s'attache à étudier la validité conceptuelle de la notion de révisionnisme pour la compréhension de la dynamique idéationnelle et programmatique de la social-démocratie européenne. / Doctorat en Sciences politiques et sociales / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished