A SINGLE REGRET is a murder mystery set on the post Hurricane Sandy Jersey shore. At thirteen, Jimmy Miller killed his father in retribution for murdering his mother. Twenty years later, he returns home because of the murder of his childhood best friend, Dillon Abernathy. Jimmy learns that Gavin, a classmate turned junkie, is charged with murdering Dillon, a scenario Jimmy doesn’t find plausible, so he decides to pursue leads the police won’t. Told in first person past tense, A SINGLE REGRET follows Jimmy as he unearths the secrets behind his friend’s death and also learns the truth behind the destruction of his own family. As in Dennis Lehane’s Mystic River, the novel examines how childhood ties shape perceptions in ways that are both true and false. Jimmy is forced to evaluate his own sense of bitterness and learn how to forgive his own mistakes and those of others.

L’espoir, ce résidu du vase (πίθος) de Pandore, a été soumis aux jugements ambivalents de la philosophie. Bien que l’espoir puisse être considéré comme une forme de voeu pieux qui nous trompe ou comme une attitude qui contribue à l’action morale, le verdict concernant son affiliation avec les malheurs et les épreuves qui frappent l’humanité est toujours en attente. La question, au préalable de tout jugements, qui continue de faciliter ce procès ne peut être formulée de manière plus simple : qu’est-ce que l’espoir? Søren Kierkegaard et Ernst Bloch ont consacré une partie importante de leurs écrits pour aider à clarifier une telle question. Or, que peut apporter la comparaison entre un existentialiste chrétien et un matérialiste spéculatif sur le sujet de l’espoir? Loin de déboucher sur une plaisanterie, une comparaison de leurs concepts révèle comment l’espoir contribue à la critique, à l’action, et ultimement, à la rédemption. Malgré les différences substantielles entre ce qu’ils soutiennent comme l’objet de l’espoir, ils partagent certaines caractérisations de l’espoir qui sont philosophiquement saillantes. Contre l’affirmation selon laquelle l’espoir nous induit en erreur, ils soutiennent que l’espoir nous donne la chance de rompre avec les idées dominantes du statu quo. Cette distance nous offre une expérience nouvelle et critique des problèmes auxquels nous sommes confrontés, tout en pointant vers la possibilité de leur rectification. Contrairement aux émotions édifiantes ou aux humeurs comme la joie et l’optimisme naïf, Kierkegaard et Bloch soutiennent que l’espoir doit être décidé quant à ses attentes. L’espoir implique alors notre résolution d’anticiper et de contribuer à la possibilité de la rédemption. Enfin, l’espoir est considéré comme rédempteur en soi sous forme d’une lutte pour la possibilité - car sans possible, pour ainsi dire on ne respire pas. / Hope, that residue of Pandora’s jar (πίθος), has been the subject of ambivalent philosophical judgments. Pit against being considered a form of wishful thinking that is misleading or an attitude that contributes to moral action, the verdict concerning hope’s affiliation with the illnesses and hardships that befall humanity is still pending. The question, preceding any judgment, that continues to facilitate this trial can be formulated in no simpler way: what is hope? Søren Kierkegaard and Ernst Bloch dedicated a significant portion of their authorship to help clarify such a question. Yet, what can a comparison between a Christian existentialist and a speculative materialist deliver on the topic of hope? Far from leading to the butt of a joke, a comparison of their work reveals how hope may contribute to critique, action, and ultimately, redemption. Despite the substantial differences between their objects of hope, they share certain characterizations of hope that remain philosophically salient. Against the claim that hope is misguided, they argue that hope affords us the chance to break away from the dominant ideas of the status quo. The distance affords us a new and critical experience of the issues we face, while anticipatively pointing towards what may redeem them. Distinguished from uplifting emotions or moods like joy and naïve optimism, Kierkegaard and Bloch argue that hope must be resolute about its expectation. Hope then involves our decision to anticipate and contribute to the possibility of our redemption. Lastly, hope is argued to be redemptive in itself as a struggle for possibility–for without possibility, a person seems unable to breathe.

Judas Iscariot has been and remains to this day one of the most hated persons in human history. The goal of this project is to examine the evolution Judas as he appears, first within the pages of the Christian canon, then moving over to literature outside the canon, into Apocrypha. Moreover, consulting ancient and modern sources allows for the ability to raise questions regarding the possibility of redemption for Judas as well as an analysis on whether this person was real or simply a literary construct by ancient authors in order to strengthen the core of the Christian belief system. With the inclusion of a clear and present villain in the narrative, the early Christians or proto-Orthodox were able to separate themselves from the initial Jewish community and labelled Judas as the ultimate example of what not to do when it came to being a “true” Christian. The discovery of the Gospel of Judas and its subsequent publication brought mainstream attention to the early years of Christianity, with its many different structures. The exploration of its pages reveal an entirely different message in which Judas Iscariot is a central figure, amidst a more “gnostic” tradition. The character of Judas Iscariot has since travelled through the centuries and it is this project’s mission to demonstrate the evolution of this character, showing how he first appears as merely one of twelve men who follow Jesus to a personification of evil. The project will also demonstrate how a possible misunderstanding of literature could have created a literary scapegoat, resulting in Judas Iscariot’s use as a tool to foster hatred and animosity towards the Jews. The end result leaves the reader with the question of whether Judas deserves absolution for his actions, who may have been an important part of God’s plan for humanity’s salvation.

This essay investigates the philosophies and practices of Simone Weil and Etty Hillesum from the viewpoint of their relation to eating. By analyzing them aided by Renée Girard’s theory of mimetic desire, I discuss similarities and differences between Weils and Hillesums work and spiritual development. Entering their thinking through Robert Daly’s notion of a phenomenology of redemption, which describes the form of  mimetic desire that counters, rather than produces, violence, I discuss, guided by Susan Bordo’s work on eating disorders as well as Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology of perception, how Weil and Hillesum can be said to engage in this respectively. By contrasting Weil’s decreation with Hillesum's compulsive overeating, or “life-gluttony”, my analysis argues that Hillesum's diaries depict how she copes with violence by practicing a kind of radical self-love, through which she becomes able to reconcile with both herself and her outside world. As for Weil, I argue that the self-destructive ethics that her decreation consists in prevent her from reaching a full reconciliation, insofar as it constitutes only internalized violence, and not a refusal of violence as such. Thus, my conclusion is, Hillesum's philosophy might be said to be an expression of a more complete redemption, as I formulate it taking my departure in Daly's concept, than Weil's. / Denna uppsats diskuterar Simone Weils och Etty Hillesums verk och liv med avstamp i Weils formulering av begreppet avskapelse samt den livshunger, eller livsglupskhet, som Hillesum beskriver i sina dagböcker. Med hjälp av Renée Girards teori om mimetiska begär undersöker den hur självsvält och överätande figurerar i Weil och Hillesums liv och verk, och hur dessa fenomen relaterar till deras respektive andliga och etiska övertygelser. Utifrån Richard Dalys tanke om en försoningens fenomenologi, baserad i Girards teori om mimetiska begär, Susan Bordos analys av ätstörningar som kulturellt fenomen samt Maurice Merleau-Pontys kroppsorienterade fenomenologi utreder den skillnader och likheter mellan Weil och Hillesum med avseende på hur deras etiska övertygelser gestaltas av och i deras liv och verk. Min analys gör gällande att Hillesums dagböcker skildrar hur hon gör upp med våld genom att praktisera ett slags radikal självkärlek, genom vilken hon blir förmögen att försonas med såväl sig själv som sin omvärld. Vad gäller Weil, hävdar jag att den självförintande etik som hennes avskapelse består i omöjliggör en fullkomlig försoning, såtillvida som den endast utgör ett internaliserat våld, och inte en uppgörelse med våldet som sådant. Därmed, är min slutsats, kan Hillesums filosofi möjligen sägas vara ett uttryck för enmer fullkomlig försoning, som jag formulerar den med avstamp i Dalys begrepp, än Weils.

This Diploma Thesis "Moral Aspects of Fairy Tales" asks questions - Is it possible to find God's message in the fairy tales? Can God speak to us through these stories? Can the fairy tales be touched by history of redemption? In the beginning, this Diploma Thesis speaks about myth, about it's origin, functions and message, because the fairy tales have their roots in myth. For better apprehension of the fairy tales, there is used the theory of narrative as well as theory and history of fairy tales. The Diploma Thesis analyzes Jung's Archetypes. Archetypes help us to find messages for good life of human beeing in fairy tales. Another issue is "History of mankind as a chain of storries." This issue asks, why there is just few functions in the stories. It analyzes Jesus Christ as the first example of a main hero of fairy tales ant myths. The mankind should follow him in it's own storry. Universality of the storries is demonstrated in comparing of stories from Old Testament (Jonas, Jakob and Eliah) with motives in the fairy tales. Keywords narrative, change, history of redemption, fairy tale, archetypes,etics

Players of an open-world video game are more than merely audience members watching a narrative play out--they actively participate and perform in the world. Drawing from scholars like Edmund Husserl, Konstantin Stanislavski, Ossy Wulansari, and PJ Manney, this paper explores principles of performance, phenomenology, and empathy to examine how open-world role-playing games, specifically Red Dead Redemption II, help players experience empathy. Constructing this experience through character attachment, length of play, and identification in a safe experimental space, these games become a bridge leading to greater empathy for people who are different from the player. The immersive nature of these games provides a suitable area for studying the effects of this media on a player's development of empathy for the character they play, others in the game world, and beyond. This paper focuses on this phenomenon through the player's performance of the main character, Arthur Morgan, and attempts to connect how this experience applies to the real-world building of player empathy.

No description available.

Eugène Ionesco's plays are often thought of only as absurd. This thesis explores another possible interpretation of his plays, including Rhinocèros, Le Roi se meurt, Jeux de massacre, Les Chaises, Victimes du devoir, La Jeune fille à marier, and La Leçon. These plays are investigated with the help of anthropologist René Girard's theory on ritual, violence, and sacrifice. Since these elements are recurring themes in Ionesco's plays, Girard's theory is a useful key to unlocking what may seem at times to be nothing but nonsense, but is full of meaning. In the first chapter, the rituals and repetitions that abound in Ionesco's plays are discussed in the light of Girardian theory, illustrating the negative effects of ritual without substance. Chapter two analyses the violent and sacrificial nature of these plays, and their contagious qualities. The third chapter discusses where redemption can be found amidst the violence. This thesis also debates the possible Christian aspects within Ionesco's works relating to the themes of ritual, violence, and redemption.

Camille Claudel is a sculptor who has traditionally been approached in terms of her relationship to Rodin and his influence on her work. Indeed, the two shared a passionate relationship and there are certainly similarities between the two sculptors' work which provide for fascinating analyses. However, one of the acknowledged but previously unexplored speculations on Claudel's art suggests that it involves a measure of veiled spirituality sealed within its stone. It is precisely this sacred element within her sculptures that offers viewers an opportunity to experience transcendence while identifying with fundamental themes. Furthermore, Claudel created her figures as a method of interior healing and deliverance. This theme of redemption will be essential to arriving at the more profound, multifaceted interpretations of her sculptures. To highlight the connections to the various artists and movements discussed in the thesis, Claudel's piously thematic art can be compared to the nontraditional illustrations by Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, and the religious depictions of James Tissot, as well as being seen as engaging with the idea of theosophy and the Symbolist art movement. It is true that in fin-de-siècle France, due to the advancing secularization of society, viewers did not understand religious and spiritual symbolism in art as comprehensively as they had in the past. However, it will be necessary to show that Claudel was not the only artist interested of her era who persisted in conveying spiritual themes within supposedly secular scenes. Yet, Claudel's work remains unique in that it communicates the theme of redemption through its creation as well as through its creator. Chez Claudel, the art and the artist are united and one cannot be fully understood without the other. Moreover, through her masterpieces, she did not only offer insight into the meaning of existence; through her redemptive works she found momentary salvation for herself and for others from the excruciating outward oppression present at the close of the 19th century. Unfortunately, since the moment she began to successfully achieve recognition for her work critics have been content to view each of Camille Claudel's sculptures as a deliberate response to her tumultuous relationship with Rodin. This thesis will investigate more enlightened interpretations made possible when one simultaneously considers the role of her spirituality. It will become unmistakably clear that Camille's brother Paul was right when he stated that her work is vastly different from all other artists' "because it welcomes light and radiates the inner dream that inspired it" (Ayral-Clause 157).

Denna undersökning i form av en textanalys besvarar frågeställningen: Hur trovärdig är hästarnas gestaltning i Red Dead Redemption II? Undersökningen analyserar hästarnas gestaltning utifrån fyra delar; roll och beteende, anatomi, färg och rörelse baserat på datorspelsinriktade studier samt facklitteratur och studier om hästar. Analysens fyra delar konkluderar till hög trovärdighet i gestaltning av spelets hästar samt öppnar en diskussion för ytterligare frågeställningar om vilka faktorer bidrar till att spelinnehåll uppfattas som trovärdigt.