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Thomas Aquinas on Hope
Bezoušková, Alena ; Tropia, Anna (advisor) ; Němec, Václav (referee)
(in English) This thesis examines hope and its relation to action in Thomas Aquinas' Summa theologica. In the human soul, there are two types of hope, according to Aquinas. First, there is hope, which belongs to a sensitive soul, and by means of which we aim at sensory objects (hope-passion). Second, there is hope, which belongs to an intellective soul, enabling us to aim at objects grasped with abstract concepts (Aquinas writes specifically about hope-virtue aiming at beatitude). Having hope-passion means setting realistic goals and figuring out how to reach them. On that account, Aquinas says that hope facilitates action. Those who have hope-virtue are oriented towards salvation and rely on God to help them achieve it. Hope-virtue may seem passive. But in fact, it leads a Christian to attach to God and work on his relationship with Him. Hope-virtue, therefore, manifests as an internal spiritual activity, which leads to developing charity. In the text, Aquinas' understanding of hope is occasionally compared with the concepts of hope of Aristotle and Paul of Tarsus. Aquinas was inspired by these thinkers. Also, comparing enables us to see specifics of Aquinas' account.
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St. Augustine on Pride: Ilusion of Pride and Breaking Trough
Bezoušková, Alena ; Karfíková, Lenka (advisor) ; Němec, Václav (referee)
(in English) According to Augustine, to be proud means to aspire to a position which belongs to God. That is, to not admit one's dependence on God and to misunderstand one's relationships towards others. In my thesis I analyse the experience of one who becomes proud and stays in a sin of pride as well as someone who overcomes pride. Pride appears when a man starts to see himself as a source of his goodness. A sin of pride is accompanied by a false image of oneself and of the world and also by an inability to reflect on one's poverty. Only when pride manifests itself in an act is it possible for a sinner to admit and overcome it. This is because the acts of the proud have different results than he expects. They lead to his humiliation. I devote the most space in my thesis to the manifestation of pride in actions and their consequences. To better understand this process, I present an analysis of Augustine's interpretation of three biblical stories, in which, according to Augustine, pride manifests. This analysis also shows that the manifestation of pride in an action doesn't necessarily have to lead to overcoming pride in the proud.
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Emile Durkheim and the Value of Work for Modern Man
Bezoušková, Alena ; Mlynář, Jakub (advisor) ; Šubrt, Jiří (referee)
(in English) My bachelor thesis deals with Durkheim's conception of value of work for modern man. My interpretation is based on Durkheim's texts, in which he considers work as something, to what man is motivated by internalized social values. That is mainly his lecture on family, Suicide and lectures on professional ethics. According to Durkheim, for pre-modern people the most important value was preservation of a community, they lived in (broader family, professional group). Work was considered important because it contributed to this goal. In contrast modern people aren't members of stable and permanent communities, which preservation they could aim. Their motivation for work has its source in value of an economic growth, which dominates whole modern society. In final reflection I argue, that Durkheim's innovative theory of action (as Talcott Parsons describes it) had a direct impact on his analysis of work. Using the work of Hannah Arendt I also point out possible problematic nature of Durkheim's normative approach, which stress preservation of a community as one of essential moral values.
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