Transcendent Meaning Research Articles

Simulating Simulation: Art and Modernity in Faust II

Challenging what they considered the predicaments of modern bureaucratic reason, early German Romantics such as Novalis, Schelling, and Fried rich Schlegel argued for a rebirth of mythology in order to imbue modern secularized history with transcendental meaning and secure the construction of traditional cultural identities. German Romantics around 1800 envisioned in the hermetic realm of poetry the power to reduce the institutional complexity of their society, hoping to establish links to timeless resources of orientation, judgement, and interpretation. Seen from today's historical distance, however, it seems legitimate to maintain that it was not Romantic poetry and aesthetic speculation proper, but rather the poetic imagery of industrial life itself and the phantasmagorical tendencies of commodity culture that were able to generate the desired mythic powers of the past. Nineteenth-century capitalism introduced numerous new technological achievements and market products in the form of historical restitutions, citing old and well-known forms and appearances out of context. In the urban metropoles of the mid-nineteenth century, one encountered endless iconographic references to a mythical world that had seemingly survived the often iconoclastic thrust of eighteenth-century Enlightenment. Just as fashions during the French Revolution and the Napoleonic era mimicked Greek customs and styles, so the inchoate consumer culture of the nineteenth century donned the cloak of imitation and cross-cultural masquerade. As a result of curious processes of citation, inversion, and displacement, the outward appearances of technologically assembled goods often reproduced the visual surfaces of those old premodern products they were to overcome:

Oedipa Crisis: Paranoia and Prohibition in <i>The Crying of Lot 49</i>

Near the end of <em>The Crying of Lot </em>49, Oedipa Maas finds herself trapped in a stultifying "symmetry of choices" (181). In the process of executing her ex-lover's will, she has seemingly stumbled upon the Tristero, a secret, perhaps anarchic, organization. But is the Tristero the sublime thread which might lead Oedipa out of her own suburban inertia, even out of the hopelessness of her America? Or is the Tristero instead the thread of an idea with which she weaves a sublime delusion? As Oedipa reflects, "Behind the hieroglyphic streets there would either be a transcendent meaning, or only the earth" (181). Indeed, this binary system is readily acknowledged, even thematized, in Pynchon's novel, but the suppositions which ground the duality are not so clear. Ostensibly, discovering the Tristero <em>qua </em>reality would be tantamount to the validation of meaning, while acknowledging the delusion of meaning (which Oedipa considers paranoid) would be the acceptance of meaninglessness. But if, at the level of its expression, paranoia is so quantified as to suggest its impossibility, then perhaps that implicit denial conceals another possibility: might an originary paranoiac CriSIS have brought the symmetry – meaning or meaninglessness – to bear?

Transcendence and Immanence: Common themes in Eckhart, Shankara and Ibn Arabi

I would like begin this talk by stressing the orthodoxy was strictly observed and prescribed by Eckhart, Shankara and Ibn Arabi. This needs be stressed at the outset since so many of their pronouncements go beyond the boundaries of religion narrowly-conceived, and thus have been taken by some as pretexts for abandoning formal religion in the name of a supra-religious mystical essence. My reading of these great mystics, however, leads me the opposite conclusion: it is only through the faithful practice of religion the transcendence of its formal aspects and the realisation of its mystical essence can be attained. Ibn Arabi says his· perspectives do not go against religion, but simply render explicit what is already implicit within religion, I believe this can be applied also to' both' Eckhart and Shankara. Ibn Arabi poured scorn on those pseudo-Sufis who arrogated themselves the right abandon the Sharia; Shankara aggressively defended the tenets of Hindu orthodoxy against both Buddhist and atheist doctrines; and Eckhart, in addition abiding strictly by Catholicism, made it clear his teachings on silence' 'and unknowing are intended only for the good and perfected people in whom dwell the' worthy life and lofty teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ. They must know the very best and noblest attainment in this life is be silent and let God work and speak within· (emphasis added). This having been said, one may make the following objection: -can all of Eckhart's pronouncements be regarded as orthodox? Without wishing enter into the charges of heresy levelled against Eckhart, I would argue, firstly, a clear understanding of the meaning of transcendence helps greatly in elucidating the intention behind Eckhart's apparently unorthodox statements; and, secondly, a comparative analysis such as the present one can in tum clarify the conceptual ellipses transcendence seems occasionally call for. For example, heaven is diidectically posited by Eckhart as the reward given'to asses who may have noble intentions and commit the most pious actions, but whose knowledge is defective. Shankara succinctly states a principle which greatly clarifies Eckhart's antinomian hyperbole: When the Self has once been known, everything else is seen as eviI.2 In' Eckhart it is the Birth or would be stressed rather than the Self', it being in this union that·is found ~'thesoul's whole -in light of which, alone, all lesser attainments are seen as evil. Shankara's principle also helps elucidate Eckhart's intention in saying to pray for this and for that is pray for evil, as well as numerous other at first sight scandalous pronouncements. It is only in the context of the supreme aspiration any lesser goal or action can be regarded as a kind of evil; it is not prayer as such is evil: rather, is evil which falls short of absolute good, the transcendent beatitude Eckhart wishes focus upon. In another sermon Eckhart offers an esoteric interpretation of the dismissal by Christ of the and the doves from the Temple. The merchants are those

The Dirty Realism of Enrique Medina

The Dirty Realism of Enrique Medina David William Foster Arizona State University Since the publication in 1972 oÃ- Las tumbas, a novel dealing with the reformatory experiences of a child abandoned by a single mother who cannot care for him (Foster, "Rape and Social Formation"), Enrique Medina has esrablished himself as the majoi voice in Argentine literature of the urban lumpen proletariar. The author of over twenty works of fiction (novels and short stories), chronicles, and a work of children's theater, Medina was, during the military dictatorship known as the Proceso de Reorganización Nacional (1976-83), the author with the largest inventory of books banned by the censorship apparatus. Las tumbas, which has been one of the best selling novels of contemporary Argentine fiction , was unavailable until the end of the dictatorship, and it was once again a bestseller after it was reissued.1 Las tumbas established the basic features of all of Medina's writing, and it is difficult to know which order of importance to assign to them: 1) a determined effort to engage in "dirty realism," understood as the commitment to describe the daily experiences of life with no attempt to euphemize them, either by turning away from certain aspects as somehow too gross to be related in literal terms or by supplementing them with a transcendent (social, political, ieligious) meaning that would detract from the imperative to examine the facts of life as unflinchingly as possible. Such a commitment is as much a defiance of the censorship imposed directly and indirectly on cultural production by tyrannical govArizona Journal of Hispanic Cultural Studies Volume 1, 1997 78 Arizona Journal of Hispanic Cultural Studies ernments as it is a repudiation of the norm of good taste that usually serves as a de facto censorship with an obligation, precisely, to augment the depiction of reality with transcendent meanings. Dirty realism also means a strict regard not just for what gets expunged from the "artistic" contemplation of the social record. It basically refers to the choice of which segment of the social record one focuses on. While it may not always be subaltern groups and marginal individuals— certainly, there are plenty of dirty hidden stories to tell about the privileged sectors of society—and those on which a writer like Medina will choose to focus are those social entities that, because their reality cannot be euphemized and transcendentalized, simply do not get reported on. Argentina has a long tradition of proletarian (Portantiero) and social realist writing (Foster, Social Realism in the Argentine Narrative), and there are many antecedents to Medina that can be mentioned: Roberto ArIt, Elias Castelnuovo, Leónidas Barletta, Bernardo Verbitsky, Bernardo Kordon, José Rabinovich, Alvaro Yunque, Max Dickmann are a few of the names that come to mind, and various versions of a literature of commitment continue to produce other writers and artists, now enhanced by the strong presence of women's voices, whose work bears degrees of resemblance to Medina's project. However, most of these writers either wrote in a period in which to write about certain things and to utilize certain linguistic registers of expression would have either meant not to publish at all or to experience an unbearable degree of social opprobrium. Also, many writers of social commitment are, in fact, tied to a transcendent signifier (e.g., social revolution, the fulfillment of History, salvation through commitment itself) that imposes a supplementary level of rheir writing, as much as it may serve to distract them from executing a full account of the social iecord: rhe movement toward the transcendent signifier necessarily means leaving the concrete details of social life behind. Medina has claimed that the discovery of Louis-Ferdinand Celine's books was a factor in his empowerment as a writer and showed him how one could write without yielding to a chimerical criterion of transcendence . Although Medina wrote with the goal of provoking the reigning principle of cultural decency in Argentina, such that works of his were banned, he was energetically condemned by sectors of the cultural press, and many bookstores refused to carry his titles (for example, the prestigious and ultraconservative Ateneo). The extreme circumstances of the dictatorships between...

Transcendence: The meaning of great-grandmothering

Great-grandparents are increasing in number in the United States. This case study examined how eight African-American and eight Caucasian community dwelling great-grandmothers found transcendence in their great-grandmotherhood. Subjects, who ranged in age from 75 to 89 years, indicated that family was the common factor which influenced the transcendence of great-grandmothering. Five domains, connectedness, religion, being wise, values, and stories, generated the meaning of transcendence. Domains evolved into one cultural theme: By finding opportunities to influence great-grandchildren, the great-grandmother enhances possibilities for meaning and transcendence. Nurses can help great-grandmothers enhance family relationships to promote transcendence.

Suffering, meaning, and bioethics.

Suffering evokes moral and metaphysical reflection, the bioethics of suffering concerns the proper ethos of living with suffering. Because empirical and philosophical explorations of suffering are imprisoned in the world of immanent experience, they cannot reach to a transcendent meaning. Even if religious and other narratives concerning the meaning of suffering have no transcendent import, they can have aesthetic and moral significance. This understanding of narratives of suffering and of their custodians has substantial ecumenical implications: chaplains can function as general custodians of narratives and sustainers of a generic religious meaning. This understanding is contrary to traditional Christianity, which discloses a transcendent significance of human suffering found in a very particular history involving particular persons: Christ as the second Adam through the submission of the second Eve has taken on our nature so that we can be united with God. Human suffering is tied to human sin, not simply as a punishment for sin, much less as an opportunity to discharge a supposed temporal punishment due to sin. Human suffering is the result of our rebellious free choices. It provides an opportunity for humility and submission, so that, united to the cross of Christ, sin can be forgiven and suffering set aside in the Resurrection. Knowledge of this framing context for all human suffering is accessible not through rational argument. It is a knowledge garnered through repentance, purification of the heart, illumination by God's grace, and unification with God. Christian bioethics is embedded in the narrative of suffering, which is part of the history of salvation and which encompasses and places all of medicine in its terms.

Hegel and the Spirit: Philosophy as Pneumatology.

and the explores the meaning of Hegel's grand philosophical category, the category of Geist, by way of what Alan Olson terms a pneumatological thesis. Hegel's philosophy of spirit, according to Olson, is a speculative pneumatology that completes what Adolf von Harnack once called the orphan in Christian theology - the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Olson argues that Hegel's development of philosophy as pneumatology originates out of a deep appreciation of Luther's dialectical understanding of Spirit and that Hegel's doctrine of Spirit is thus deeply interfused with the values of Wurttemberg Pietism. Olson further maintains that Hegel's Enzyklopadie is the post-Enlightenment philosophical equivalent of a Trinitatslehre and that his Rechtsphilosophie is an ecclesiology. Thus and the demonstrates the truth of Karl Barth's observation that Hegel is the potential Aquinas of Protestantism. Exploring Hegel's philosophy of spirit in historical, cultural and personal religious context, the book identifies Hegel's relationship with Holderlin and his response to Holderlin's madness as key elements in the philosopher's relibious and philosophical development, especially with respect to the meaning of transcendence and dialectic.

Nature and Scripture: Demise of a Medieval Analogy

Throughout the history of Christian thought the theological role of scripture as source of transcendent meaning has exercised considerable influence on the art and manner of biblical interpretation. In the early church the problems revolved mostly around the canon, specifically although not exclusively the New Testament, as defining the confines of scripture. The question arose, therefore, which biblical writings were divinely inspired and which were of doubtful origin. The latter were unacceptable for the Christian communities that had broken away from their ancestral Judaic religion. Even before the canon was fixed, however, the problems shifted from the divinely inspired composition of the Bible to its intrinsic signification; interpreters saw scriptural language itself as infused with theological content. As exegetical positions led to the development of credal statements that solidified into theological dogma, the early church established a link between biblical interpretation and sound doctrine. By enforcing sanctioned interpretations through effective excommunication, an ever more powerful church sealed the dominance of orthodoxy over heresy with the nearly divine force of ecclesiastical authority. In the church-dominated culture of the Middle Ages, the adequacy of scriptural interpretation—its method, its content, the credentials of its practitioners—often depended on its conformity with an expanding theological tradition.

"Where Is the Glory of Troy?" "Kleos" in Euripides' "Helen"

Near the end of Euripides' "Helen", Helen reportedly exhorts the Greek troops to rescue her Egyptian foes: "Where is the glory of Troy (to Troikon kleos)? Show it to these barbarians" (1603-1604). Helen's rallying cry serves as a point of departure for investigating the nature and status of kleos in a play which invites reframing her question: Where, indeed, is the glory of Troy if the report of Helen's abduction by Paris is untrue? The drama deconstructs the notion of a unitary, transcendent meaning of "kleos" by demonstrating the slippage between its two root-meanings in Homer as "immortal fame," legitimated by the gods, and as mere "report" or "rumor." A diminution of the status of the proper name runs in parallel with this slippage between the two senses of "kleos": the heroic name loses its privileged status as a stable, transparent sign of character and becomes instead a signifier vulnerable to dissemination (cf. Jacques Derrida, La dissémination [Paris, 1972]). As a vehicle of deception, Helen's phantom-twin becomes a figure for the polysemy of the signifier, both visual and linguistic. The phantom's substitution for Helen also highlights her symbolic role as a marker of men's (and gods') status in a competitive system of exchange. If the play presents Helen as a continual object of men's attempts to capture her in song as well as in war, it presents heroic kleos as an equally insecure possession, insofar as it is always contingent on the "report" of others. Indeed, Helen becomes a metaphor for the duplicity inherent in the mimetic process by which fame is transmitted. That "kleos" turns out to have been a dangerously deceptive signifier is a lesson of more than literary interest for the Athenians watching Euripides' "Helen" (412)-the forces of the Sicilian expedition had been annihilated only a year earlier.

It's about transformation

Ten years ago activists in this country committed to both peace and the arts were getting sore throats trying to convince others of the relationship between the two. Many of us felt patronized, marginalized, and ostracized from organizations, political programs, and discussions to which we thought we could offer a lot. We saw—so clearly!—how people's lives could be changed fundamentally through the process of painting a mural about their neighborhood, of writing and performing plays based on their unexplored cultural backgrounds, and of producing electronic artworks (film, video, audio) that presented the viewpoints and ideas of people not imaged in mainstream mass culture. And we saw how the products of such cultural/social change‐oriented energies could be staggeringly beautiful in their aesthetic execution, imaginativeness, and transcendent meaning, equaling the greatest masterpieces. But, to most organizers, it seemed “cultural work” was limited to finding artists to paint banners before demonstrations and singers to prepare the crowd for important speeches; and to most arts people, “political art” was what undergraduates and incompetents made to protest the unfairness of the way the world treated them. Things have changed since then, however. It's now quite common to see museum exhibits and arts periodicals organized around environmental and political themes; local, national, and international film festivals showing and publicly discussing work on urgent socal issues; and regional theaters programming controversial, politically oriented productions and reinterpretations of Shakespeare and other classics as part of their normal seasons. I also see more political organizations incorporating cultural thinking into their campaigns, more foundations accepting grant proposals for arts projects to address social problems, and more activist conferences including artists on their agendas. The struggle is still far from over, but a lot, it seems, has changed in ten years.

The Novels of John Gardner: Making Life Art as a Moral Process (review)

Reviewed by: The Novels of John Gardner: Making Life Art as a Moral Process Robert A. Morace Leonard Butts . The Novels of John Gardner: Making Life Art as a Moral Process. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP, 1988. 143 pp. $22.50. The Novels of John Gardner grew from a chapter in Leonard Butts's 1979 dissertation to become the most recent addition to the long list of books about a writer whose reputation remains doggedly and surprisingly insecure. In taking "an obvious and necessary first step" away from the more or less critical introduction approach of his able predecessors, Greg Morris (A World of Order and Light, 1984) and David Cowart (Arches and Light, 1984), Butts does not so much strike out in a radically new direction as begin to fine tune earlier assessments, working toward a clearer and more specific understanding of Gardner's achievement by narrowing the discussion to the ways in which the main characters in Gardner's novels either succeed or fail as artists or as artist-figures. In making his case for "making life art as a moral process," as the book's awkward subtitle puts it, Butts does not challenge Gardner's definition of, or self-proclaimed faith in, "moral art," but he does explain what many have, perhaps willfully, failed to notice: that for Gardner, morality and moral fiction are never didactic, always evolving toward the goal of "aesthetic wholeness." Butts's readings are closely argued and sharply focused; his pairings of the ten novels in five chapters on the basis of similar characters, settings, ideas, or (in the case of stillness and shadows) chance circumstances, rather than order of publication, yield interesting results, including new insights into the ways in which compassion, community, saintly intercessors, and ominous strangers figure in Gardner's work. Butts's "Conclusion: A Brief Evaluation of the Novels," on the other hand, proves rather disappointing: perfunctorily written, as if only reluctantly appended. Butts is clearly in sympathy with Gardner's stated aims, intuitively able to take the author at his word, at least insofar as that word was made flesh in that [End Page 304] less than entirely reliable guide to Gardner's own art, On Moral Fiction (1978). Butts's emphasis on affirmation and aesthetic wholeness leads him away, however, from the evolutionary process of "making life art" to the positing of an ultimately static product, a consumable fiction of transcendent meanings, at the expense of that play of images, ideas, voices, and forms the analysis of which would, I believe, begin to establish Gardner's reputation as a decidedly contemporary writer in ways that much of the published criticism has failed to do. Read in the contextual glare of On Moral Fiction, Gardner's novels do indeed seem to invite the kind of reconciliation and resolution to which the majority of his most sympathetic critics have committed themselves, but to embrace "the buzzing blooming confusion," as Gardner, quoting William James, called it, ought to be the task not only of Gardner's characters but also of his critics: to embrace, that is, a less cloying and more ambiguous "aesthetic wholeness." Rather than speaking so confidently of "Gardner's actual intent" (or deciding that Taggert Hodge did in fact murder Clive Paxton, a matter which The Sunlight Dialogues leaves notably unclear and unresolved), Gardner's critics would do well to pay less attention to Gardner's theories and more to those of, say, Bakhtin, whose dialogism may well tell us more about the novels than has yet been said. Put another way, Gardner criticism remains too safely within the boundaries set by the writer himself when speaking in but one of his several voices. Robert A. Morace Daemen College Copyright © 1989 Purdue Research Foundation

Changing Values of Work and Leisure

That work is both necessary and desirable, for individuals and for society, is one of the most deeply ingrained beliefs in the value system of Western civilisation (Macarov, 1985). The concept of work is one of the most widely spread and deeply embedded elements in individual psyches, the structure of societal institutions, and the value system of industrial civilisations. It is the measuring rod of individuals, the goal of organisations, and the basis of society. It is almost as encrusted with value-orientations and transcendental meanings as is religion. Work is seen as both necessary and desirable for the individual and for society (Macarov, 1981). Political, social and economic programmes are all based upon the assumption that people need to and want to work, and that society needs all the work that everyone capable of labouring can produce. Work structures the day, the year, and the career. On an individual basis, people are judged not only by the work that they do, but also by the manner in which they work. People who do not or cannot work are viewed as somehow outside the mainstream of life (Ritti & Hyman, 1977). 'A hard worker' is an accolade, while 'he (or she) is lazy' is a damning indictment. Social welfare programmes throughout the world are linked to the realm of work through restrictions on coverage, vestedness, administration, and payments arising from past or present work situations (Macarov, 1980). Rehabilitation efforts-physical, social or emotional-use work as the principal instrument, and holding a job as evidence of success. Prisons use work as punishment, as rehabilitation, and as timefilling devices. Governments expend enormous resources of time, energy, and money in attempting to achieve full employment, and social workers in some areas spend the great bulk of their time dealing with the unemployed and problems which arise from lack of work.

The Symbolist Landscapes of Henry van de Velde

In his introductory essay for The Mystic North, an exhibition held at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto in 1984, Roald Nasgaard describes the Symbolist painter's expressive aim:true Symbolists do not so much search out new themes and subjects as invest given ones with subjective and transcendental meaning… . [They] achieve seamless continuity between external forms and states of inner feeling, freely transforming their subjects and reorganizing their forms and colours in the belief that meaning and form are inseparable.

The role of religious values in coping with cancer

The relationship between transcendent meaning attribution, religious orientation, and psychological well-being was studied in cancer and noncancer patients to test the hypotheses that intrinsic religious values and life meaning enhance coping and well-being during the course of the life-threatening illness. Subjects were 44 patients receiving medical treatment for cancer and noncancer medical conditions. In the cancer group, higher levels of attributed life meaning were positively linked with intrinsic religious orientation, and associated with lower levels of despiar, anger-hostility, and social isolation. Cancer patients scored higher than noncancer patients on depersonalization, suggesting the presence of psychic numbing in response to their illness. Noncancer group results were characterized by positive correlations between the two groups in coping styles and salience of life meaning attribution. A rationale for the observed differences in coping styles between the two groups is presented, highlighting perceived life threat as a key differentiating variable.

Barthian Ostraca: Ethical and Epistolary FragmentsEthics. Karl Barth , Geoffrey W. BromilyThe Christian Life: Church Dogmatics IV, 4, Lecture Fragments. Karl Barth , Geoffrey W. BromilyKarl Barth Letters: 1961-1968. Karl Barth , Geoffrey W. Bromily

The translation and publication of these volumes of Karl Barth's theological ethics and his final correspondence should permanently lay to rest the criticism that has been made ever since he began to formulate his Church Dogmatics' over half a century ago. That criticism-that Barth's emphasis on the supernatural transcendence, exclusive finality, and unilateral efficacy of the Word of God makes it unnecessary and even impossible for him to construct a credible and viable ethic -has, of course, ignored his masterly discussion of ethics in CD 11,2 (general ethics) and CD III,4 (special ethics) where he clearly stipulates that the God who calls man2 through sovereign election is also the God who simultaneously commands him to obedience. The covenant of God with his creature, then, is intrinsically ethical; and since the covenant is created and extended to us by God alone, ethics belongs, not only to theological discourse, but even to the doctrine of God himself. Theological ethics is itself dogmatics, not an independent discipline alongside it. We obey only an academic necessity in treating it separately. Ethics, too, reflects on the Word of God as the transcendent meaning, theme, and bearer of Christian preaching in the form of criticism of the pious human word....Ethics is theological ethics to the extent that it sees the goodness of human conduct in the reality of the Word of God that sanctifies man (E, pp. 18-19). Yet,

RELIGIOUS METAPHORS: MEDIATORS BETWEEN BIOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL EVOLUTION THAT GENERATE TRANSCENDENT MEANING

Abstract. Humans can be described as existing somewhere on a descriptive continuum between the poles expressed by the metaphors “humans are machines” and “humans are animals.” Arguments for these metaphors are examined, and the metaphors are rejected as absolute descriptions of humans. After a brief examination of the nature of metaphor, all metaphors are discovered to mediate (interact) between biological and cultural evolution. Contrary to the reductionist program of sociobiologists, religious metaphors that generate transcendent meaning offer a legitimate description of humans.

LOCATIONAL PROBLEMS OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES IN PERIPHERAL AREAS

The topic for this symposium first carves to mind because this particular convention of the Association of Japanese Geographers was held in Hokkaido, an area in Japan which is considered peripheral. The concept underlying the term “periphery” is multidimensional; there are peripheral areas in territories on a national scale in contrast with peripheral areas of care areas ; there are marginal productive areas in the economic sense such as the mountainous areas of a country, developing or dependent countries versus metropolitan or developed countries on a worldwide scale, and so on. The symposium aimed at not only presenting the multifaceted nature of the periphery concept but also at discovering characteristics common to peripheral areas of various kinds and dimensions and the peculiarities of changing dimensions in the periphery concept. The location of socio-economic activities in peripheral areas cannot be interpreted in terms of abstract economic theories but must be analysed in the context of historical dominancy/dependency relationships, segmentation/integration processes, and the political dynamics of the relationships between centralisation and regional autonomy. The problems concerned require new approaches in geographical studies and, in this sense, the organizers' intent was that the discussions contribute to the progress of methodology in contemporary geography. The paper session and the general discussion were presided over by Y. Okuda (Chuo Univ.) and K. Takeuchi (Hitotsubashi Univ.). Before the general discussion, the following seven papers and three commentaries were read: Y. Fuaita (Aiichi Univ.): Characteristics of mountain villages as peripheral areas and some important themes of studies on this subject H. Sakamoto (tiara Univ.): Agricultural location in the peripheral areas, focussing mainly on cases in Hokkaido K. Yamashita (Hokkaido Univ. of Education): Public investments in the agricultural sector in Hokkaido M. Miyagi (Ryukyu Univ.): Excessive imbalances in the location of administrative functions concerning maritime and air traffic and meteorological observation in periphe-ral areas in Hokkaido and Okinawa T. Ishihara (Okayama Univ.): Regional policies in France, with special emphasis on the case of Brittany H. Kurihara (Ochanomizu Univ.): he-examination of the “periphery” concept in the case of Spain M. Koga (Hitotsubashi Univ.): Locational problems in the peripheral areas of developing countries K. Ito (Keio Univ.) : Commentary on industrial development in the peripheral areas of Japan, in relation with regional policies F. Mizuoka (Hitotsubashi Univ.) Commentary on the periphery as an internal colony F. Yamaguchi (Hosei Univ.): Commentary on the emergence and relevancy of regional problems pertaining to peripheral areas The general discussion which was very animated was focussed mainly on the following four points: 1. The conceptual distinction of “periphery” of various kinds and dimensions and the transcendental meaning of the concept, granting that said meaning exists. In this connection, the difference between the terms “periphery”, “frontier”, and “border” was also discussed. 2. Problems concerning the articulation of economic aspects with socio-cultural aspects in geography. 3. The mechanism of reproduction/persistency of the centre-periphery relationship. 4. Measures for overcoming the peripheral character. In tEis connection, questions concerning actual regional policies in Japan and the regionalist movement were discussed.

More on the meaning of transcendence.

More on the meaning of transcendence.

More on the meaning of transcendence.

More on the meaning of transcendence.

Melodrama in Proust

In The Melodramatic Imagination Peter Brooks has shown how a popular nineteenth-century art form such as melodrama was adapted to the novel by such writers as Balzac, Hugo, and, later, Henry James.' In this new literary context, melodrama underwent considerable transformation, becoming what Brooks terms the mode. It is the purpose of the present study to show how Marcel Proust finds his place among these writers and how he used melodrama and the melodramatic mode for his own purposes. Melodrama seems to have appealed to these novelists because of its very excess, its radical polarities, its patent oversimplifications, its unrestrained exploitation of the emotions. Specifically, it allowed a lively contention betwen clearly delineated forces of good and evil, although obscuring the wellspring of the motivations or moral elements at work so that the antagonists had the ambiguous luster of enigmatic symbols, their battles the mythical dimensions of cosmic struggles. Melodrama, once transformed in the novel into the melodramatic mode, lost much of its naive oversimplification but retained the capacity to indicate, beyond the problematical surface of reality, the presence of a deeper reality. This reality the surface appearances could only denote through signs which in themselves did not carry a clear or transcendent meaning. At first sight, a scene such as the drame du coucher might seem scarcely to offer any of the heady stuff just reviewed. It is, of course, more than just a domestic argument over the somewhat rigorous program the parents have devised for their high-strung child. From