Este trabalho tem por objetivos, além de apresentar uma tradução da primeira parte do De libero arbitrio libri tres, de Agostinho de Hipona, empreender um estudo, dos três livros, em seus diferentes aspectos, retóricos e filosóficos. O De libero arbitrio, apesar de seu sentido de unidade, tem características específicas em cada uma de suas três partes. O livro I, de forte influência estóica, apresenta-se um diálogo; o livro II, se mantém a mesma estrutura dialógica, apresenta, porém, evidentes características neoplatônicas. Se as duas primeiras partes podem dizer-se dialéticas, a terceira, no entanto, sofre grave transformação, tanto em sua dispositio, quando Agostinho abdica da forma dialogal para empreender um longo discurso contínuo, como em sua elocutio, ao lançar mão de uma linguagem que, de modo inequívoco, evidencia uma mudança não só de auditório como de pensamento. O De libero arbitrio, em seu livro III, torna-se, a certa altura, uma obra de teologia, em que a concepção platônicosocrática de mundo, do Agostinho dos primeiros dois livros, cede espaço a uma visão mais cristã, influenciada sobremodo pela teologia do apóstolo Paulo, uma visão menos otimista do ser humano como ser autônomo e capaz de soerguer-se, por sua livre iniciativa. Essa mudança conceitual considerável, em seus aspectos discursivo e filosófico, evidencia uma alteração muito mais profunda, uma espécie de turning point, não apenas na obra e na vida do próprio homem, então não mais o filósofo e sim o presbítero de Hipona; não mais o pensador neoplatônico, e sim o doutor eclesiástico; mas também um turning point para a época, demarcando, de certo modo, o fim de toda uma civilização, o fim do mundo antigo, com a derrocada da visão clássica do homem, e o conseqüente princípio da era medieval. / This work has as main objectives, besides offering a translation of the first part of the De libero arbitrio libri tres of Augustine of Hippo, undertake a study of the three books, in its different aspects, rhetorical and philosophical. The De libero arbitrio, in spite of its sense of unity, has specific characteristics in each of its three parts. Book I, predominantly influenced by Stoicism, shows itself a dialog; book II, although maintaining the same dialogical structure, shows, nevertheless, evident Neoplatonic characteristics. If the two first parts may be called dialectical, the third, however, is the object of a severe metamorphosis, as in its dispositio, when Augustine resigns the cross-examination form to undertake a long uninterrupted discourse; as in its elocutio, when he adopts a style that undoubtedly makes clear a change not only in his auditory, but in his thought as well. The De libero arbitrio, then, in its third book becomes at a certain point a theological work, in which the Platonic-Socratic comprehension of the world of the young Augustine (of the first two books) yields to a more Christianized view, much influenced by the theology of the apostle Paul, which sustains a less optimistic image of man as a autonomous being, capable of raising himself through his free choice of the will. This remarkable conceptual change, in its discursive and philosophical aspects, shows a still deeper mutation, a kind of \"turning point\", not only in the works and life of the man, no longer the philosopher, but the presbyter of Hippo; no longer the Neoplatonic thinker, but the Doctor of the Church; but also a \"turning point\" to the epoch, delimiting, to a certain extent, the end of a civilization, the end of Antiquity, with the overthrow of the classical view of man and the consequential beginning of the mediaeval era.

Denna uppsats är huvudsakligen en diskussion av Augustinus försök att förena tesen att människan har en fri vilja med sin predestinationslära. Enligt de definitioner av ”determinism” och ”fri vilja” som föreslås i uppsatsen, utesluter predestinationens förhandenvarande möjligheten för människan att ha en fri vilja. Augustinus utgångspunkt i tron och hans antaganden om Guds och människans egenskaper, gör det omöjligt för honom att acceptera en sådan slutsats. Det samtidiga föreliggandet av predestinationen och den fria viljan utgör en betydelsefull komponent i hans syn på människans relation till Gud. Uppsatsen undersöker hur Augustinus resonemang i De Libero Arbitrio (Om den Fria Viljan) står sig mot en nutida kritik, för att i förlängningen söka påvisa varför hans antagande att människan har fri vilja inte är förenligt med hans samtidiga antagande att Gud har predestinerat alla händelser i världen. / This paper is mainly a discussion of Augustine’s combination of the idea that human beings have a free will with his doctrine of predestination. According to the definitions of “determinism” and “free will” suggested in this paper, the actuality of predestination excludes the possibility of human free will. Since Augustine takes starting-point in his belief in God and his assumptions about the attributes of God and human beings, such a conclusion is impossible for him. The actuality of both predestination and human free will is an important feature of his view of the relationship between human beings and God. This paper investigates how Augustine’s line of argument in De Libero Arbitrio (On Free Choice of the Will) manages to hold against a modern criticism. The primary aim is to show why Augustine’s assumption that human beings have free will is inconsistent with his assumption that God has predestined all events of the world.

Testament Abstract The aim of this thesis was to provide a comprehensive analysis of the testament, one of the most important institutes of inheritance law. Act No. 89/2012 Coll., the New Civil Code, focuses on strengthening testamentary freedom, which permits the testator to decide, how his property is disposed of upon his death. This work is divided into three chapters. Chapter one brings general and comprehensive overview of legislation on inheritance law, notably with respect that inheritance law is part of to the private law. Attention has been paid to principles on which the law is based on. The work then defines the other two inheritance titles, i.e. heritage contract and intestate succession, and compares them with the "will". Second chapter, which is main theme of this master's thesis, outline discusses about the institute of last will, including obligatory and optional elements of testament, permissible forms of will, clauses, legatum and revocation the testament, while briefly considering some institutes more closely in the light of the current legislation. Finally, the paper examines Polish inheritance law, with an eye towards field of testate succession and explains the nuances within both systems. It sets out the fundamental differences. On the other hand points out the similarities, even...

L'Avicenne latin constitue un corpus de textes philosophiques et médicaux disponible en Occident à partir de la fin du XIIe siècle. Le « Liber de anima » (la Psychologie) et le » Liber de philosophia prima » (la Métaphysique) transmettent notamment aux Latins les doctrines originales du philosophe Ibn Sîna qu'influencent à la fois l'aristotélisme et le néoplatonisme. Si la réception d'Avicenne dans le domaine noétique ou concernant le cadre émanatiste a été étudiée, plus rares sont les travaux qui renseignent sur les notions de volonté et de désir, supposées relever de la philosophie pratique. La volonté est-elle une espèce de désir ? Pourquoi les traducteurs du Liber de anima, font apparaître un concept de volonté qui n'est pas dans l'original arabe? Volonté et désir peuvent-ils être dès lors être identifiés ? La définition de la volonté divine comme exempte de désir incite au contraire à distinguer les deux notions. Toutefois notre travail montre que, pour les êtres possibles, ce n'est pas tant une distinction du désir et de la volonté qu'Avicenne fonde, mais une composition de ces deux concepts, étayée par les doctrines de son ontologie. Ainsi ce n'est pas dans le champ éthique que le désir et la volonté acquièrent le statut de concepts, mais bien dans celui métaphysique. Ces définitions constituent ainsi de nouvelles données pour documenter les grandes interrogations éthiques des médiévaux latins comme le libre arbitre, ou le déterminisme. / The Avicenna Latinus is a corpus of philosophical and medical texts available in the West from the end of the 12th Century. The “Liber de anima” and the “Philosophia prima” transmit Ibn Sînâ's original doctrines which are influenced both by Aristotelism and Neoplanism. Whereas Avicenna's reception is well documented in the fields of noelics or related to the emanastic scheme for example, less studies have been dedicated to the notions of will and desire, which are supposed to belong to practical philosophy. ls the will a species of desire? Why do the Latin translators have introduced the concept of will which is absent from the Arabic text? Should will and desire be identified? The definition of divine will, as free from any desire, leads therefore to distinguish between the two. But we show that as far as possible beings are concerned, desire should not be distinguished from will but is composed with will. This composition is grounded on avicennian ontological doctrines. Thus, it is not in the ethical field but in the metaphysical one that desire and will are thought as concepts by Avicenna. These definitions constitute new information which are useful to study the Latin medieval important questions about free will or determinism.

This qualitative investigation addresses the notion of using the film The Matrix (Silver, & Wachowski, Wachowski, 1999) as a fortigenic tool. Fortigenesis is a process of developing strengths. Within the relatively new field of positive psychology (PP) the premise is that character strengths and virtues can be fostered to lead a better life with positive goals and richer meaning. This positive outlook has several links with existentialism. As such PP and existentialism were used as theoretical points of departure in this reading of the film. For this new field to grow, positive psychologists embrace the idea of using many foci. Hence many looking-glasses or lenses were used in this reading: these are PP, existentialism, philosophy, Christianity and fairy-tales. As a result, several PP notions such as self-efficacy, love, hope, courage, open-mindedness, creativity and faith and two existential themes, freedom of choice and will to meaning, were read into this motion picture. Thus conceptually, The Matrix is specifically explored as a filmic container. Its application as a fortigenic tool is highlighted through the use of Broaden-and-Build theory to validate and solidify constructs. Broaden-and-build theory is founded on the idea that positive emotions lead to a broadening of cognition (e.g. new and creative ways of thinking), which in turn allows for a broader repertoire of positive actions that people can consider. Lastly, conclusions are discussed, one being that more research about the positive in psychology is necessary. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / tm2015 / Psychology / MA / Unrestricted

OF DISSERTATION IN ENGLISH Doctoral Student: JUDr. Kateřina Juřicová Topic of Dissertation: Limitations on Freedom of Contract in the Civil Law Supervisor of Dissertation: Prof. JUDr. Jan Dvořák, CSc. Doctoral Programme of Study: Theoretical Legal Sciences - Civil Law, Univerzita Karlova, Právnická fakulta, katedra občanského práva Date of Closing of Dissertation: 31.12.2019 The dissertation covers the limitations on freedom of contract in civil law and provides with the summary and following analysis of both general and specific limitations on freedom of contract in civil law. The general limitations consist of mandatory rules and stipulations prohibited by law. As part of the analysis of the general limitations both character and distinction between mandatory and non-mandatory rules are analyzed, as well as the criteria for the provisions to be designated as mandatory such as statutory prohibition, stipulations contrary to good morals, public order or the law concerning the status of persons, including the right to protection of personality rights. Similarly, the list of specific limitations on self-authorship describes legal relationships between landlord and tenant, employer and employee or consumer and entrepreneur, various cases in the community property of spouses or contracts with minors,...

The Concepts of Decadence and Health in Nietzsche's Late Philosophy The thesis deals with the concepts of decadence and health, which feature prominently in Nietzsche's late thinking. The core sources of the thesis are Nietzsche's works from 1888, namely The Case of Wagner, Twilight of the Idols, The Anti-Christ, Ecce Homo and Nietzsche contra Wagner, although earlier works are occasionally cited as well. The thesis aims to explore what the motives decadence and health mean in the context of late Nietzsche's thinking, what role they play in his grand philosophical project of the revaluation of all values, and how they interplay with each other. A consistent motive is applied throughout the thesis, that of decadence and health being opposites in terms of "amount" or "direction" of will to power manifesting itself through them - decadence, or bodily decay, is taken to represent a descending line of life characterized by a lack of will to power, and suffering from "a lack of life", while health is taken to represent an ascending line of life which is characterized as overflowing with life and suffering from it as well. The concepts of decadence and health are thus interpreted as physiological manifestations of these two directions, or, roughly said, "vectors" of will to power. The first chapter of the thesis...

Statute of limitations of a plea concerning the voidability of a will as part of inheritance proceedings Abstract This thesis deals with the possible statute of limitations of a plea concerning the voidability of a will as part of inheritance proceedings or, as the case may be, identification of the conditions under which such statute of limitations is possible, since this becomes a current issue in a situation when there is an increase in the number of drawn up wills and length of inheritance proceedings. The thesis describes related legal institutions, including an analysis of related case law, and is applied to a specific case, whereas the author concludes that the statute of limitations of a plea concerning the voidability of a will as part of inheritance proceedings is possible, when the limitation period commences on the day that a disinherited descendant provably learned of the existence of a will and not the drawing up of a will or death of the testate. The author's conclusion, to a considerable extent, contradicts the very latest judgement of the Supreme Court of the Czech Republic which is also analysed in the thesis. From the author's point of view, this judgement is a strongly law-making decision which is not entirely consistent with the previous decision-making of the Supreme Court of the Czech...

Nihilism is a popular and heavily studied topic which is prominently displayed in Javier Marí­as' novel Berta Isla. In this article, both Nietzschean and Heideggerian concepts of nihilism will be identified and analyzed within the context of Marí­­as's novel. Through textual analysis, the origin of nihilism will be explored as it relates to the will to power and valuative schema of the individual. It will be suggested that nihilism stems from valuative thinking induced by the herd-mentality of a community and that the fulfillment of such is the acceptance of absolute truth grounded in being and becoming.

The Prose Edda chapter, Ragnarok as recorded by Snorri, was taken as a pivotal point for exploring fate according to the Norse mythology. The eschatological concept of collapsing gods and destruction of the world was explored through the logical and theological fatalist theory, diverging the orientation from standard textual exploration. The thesis examines the concept by employing the methodology of hermeneutics to scrutinise the text. The analysis derived results confirmed the existence of belief in fate embedded in the text; the logical fatalism that polarises statements by their truthfulness, even though it was not found or indicated textually, provided a strong contrast to theological fatalism, evidenced throughout the text. The weak theological fatalism (determinism) was suggested in the findings based on Ragnarok text, by which the inexorable change of aeons as set-in motion by the Universal Force (predicted by the three Volvas), does not entirely compromise the Aesir's free will; such as the cosmic order includes the free will in its mechanism; while Aesir's voluntary choice was dependent on God's forescience, it was still free to operate within the remit of its emission, unperturbed within the cosmic design. The Nietzschean concept of Amor Fati (Love for Fate) in accepting the inevitable, through the cyclicality of time, and as it appears with a reason that is to keep one happy, additionally illuminated our understanding of fate in Ragnarok. To counterbalance this idea and bring it into equilibrium, I reflected upon the notion of "Designer of Destiny", whereby human beings are assumed to run the entirety of their destiny, soon to learn that this human urge clashes with theit biology (over which they do not have complete control) and the cosmic power that has already predetermined the human path.