In this project I examine pantheistic views in the history of philosophy and advocate for pantheism as a philosophical position in contemporary philosophy of religion. I take pantheism to be the view that everything that exists constitutes a unity, and that that unity is divine. My contention is that what I call <i>rationalistic pantheism</i>, sufficiently articulated with the help of historical figures, is a position worthy of consideration in contemporary philosophy of religion and metaphysics and not merely as an historical artifact. Pantheism is usually not even considered as an alternative to the belief in the God of perfection theism, a perfect personal God. Often people see atheism as the only alternative to the perfect God of traditional theism. A primary aim of this project is to articulate a version of pantheism that is distinct both from perfection theism and atheism. I discuss in what way the rationalistic pantheist sees all of existence as forming a unity, and what it is about this unity that warrants calling it divine or God. Pantheism has a powerful tradition in the history of philosophy, and the rationalistic pantheism that I develop is based on the views of Spinoza, Herder, and Hegel. In the first three chapters I consider the views of each of these philosophers as distinct but closely related versions of pantheism. I attempt to provide a systematic and charitable account of each of their views while also considering objections to those views from various directions. In the final chapter I provide the basis for what I take to be the most plausible version of pantheism resulting from this historical analysis, which I call rationalistic pantheism. According to this view, God, or the divine, should be conceived of as an all-encompassing unity that exists necessarily, is radically independent, is structured in accordance with rational principles, and provides an explanatory basis for everything that exists. In addition, the recognition of the rational principles of existence on the part of rational agents such as human beings constitutes one of the highest achievements of this divine unity. I briefly consider additional argumentative resources that could support such a view, as well as what I take to be the distinct philosophical advantages of rationalistic pantheism over perfection theism. Ultimately, I think pantheism is worthy of serious consideration as a viable position both in philosophical debates, as well as in discussions of religion at large, providing a refreshing middle ground between traditional theism and atheism.

Le Zibaldone est le grand journal de pensées de Giacomo Leopardi (1798-1837). Le jeune philologue et poète y consigne, sur près de quinze ans (1817-1832) et plus de 4500 pages, des pensées qu’il nomme « de philosophie variée et de belle littérature ». Et en effet, c’est bien la variété, et même la plus étonnante bigarrure qui caractérisent ce monumental magasin d’écriture : bigarrure des matières brassées (théorie de la connaissance, métaphysique, anthropologie, politique, morale, esthétique, autobiographie) ; bigarrure de ses formes (aphorisme, anecdote, maxime, remarque, citation, note érudite, essai) ; bigarrure de ses tonalités (tour à tour sarcastique ou sérieuse, docte ou familière, polémique ou poétique) ; intensité variable de ses rythmes d’écriture etc. Le Zibaldone apparaît donc tout d’abord comme un flux discontinu et disparate de pensée. Cependant, Leopardi n’entend pas y exposer une rhapsodie de vérités isolées et fragmentaires mais une véritable philosophie, un authentique système philosophique. « Il mio sistema » : « mon système se fonde sur un scepticisme raisonné », « mon système ne se fonde pas sur le christianisme mais s’accorde avec lui », « mon système ne détruit pas l’absolu mais le multiplie » etc. La philosophie de Leopardi se place sous le signe d’une assomption répétée et explicite de la systématicité : « il n’existe pas de philosophe véritable sans système ». Affronter la question du système revient alors pour lui à affronter la question de l’ordre. Il ne s’agit pas d’une simple velléité mais d’une exigence aussi bien méthodologique qu’ontologique. Manquer d’esprit de système c’est manquer d’ordre, et c’est surtout manquer l’essence même du réel, de la nature en tant que totalité , une nature qu’il ne saurait concevoir autrement, elle aussi, que comme un système et comme un ordre. Quel est donc l’ordre du système léopardien ? Et dans quelle mesure celui-ci épouse-t-il l’ordre du système de la nature ? Quel est leur fondement commun ? Répondre à ces questions revient à parcourir l’ensemble du manuscrit et à montrer en quoi cette totalité mouvante, ouverte et réticulaire qu’est le Zibaldone est le seul lieu à même d’accueillir une pensée placée devant l’urgence de statuer sur les guises de l’existence et de la contradiction. / The Zibaldone is Giacomo Leopardi’s (1798-1837) famous diary of thoughts. The young philologist and poet recorded, for almost fifteen years (1817-1832) and in over more than 4,500 pages, thoughts that he calls "of varied philosophy and fine literature." And, indeed, it is its variety and even the most striking variegation which characterise this monumental magasin d’écriture: the variegation of its subject matters (theory of knowledge, metaphysics, anthropology, politics, morals, aesthetics, autobiography); the variegation of its forms (aphorism, anecdote, maxim, observation, quotation, scholarly notes, essay); the variegation of its tones (sarcastic or serious, learned or familiar, polemical or poetic); the variable intensity of its writing rhythms and so forth. So the Zibaldone appears as a discontinuous and disparate stream of thought. However, Leopardi does not mean to put forward a rhapsody of isolated and fragmentary truths but a true philosophy, a genuine philosophical system. "Il mio sistema": "my system is based on a well-argued scepticism", "my system is not based on Christianism but is compatible with it", "my system does not destroy the absolute but multiplies it", etc. Leopardi’s philosophy is placed under the sign of a repeated and explicit assumption of systematicity: "there is no true philosopher without a system." For him confronting the question of the system means confronting the question of order. It is not about a simple inclination but about a methodological as well as an ontological requirement. Lacking the spirit of a system is lacking order, and it’s above all lacking the essence of reality itself, the essence of nature as a totality, a nature he cannot conceive otherwise than as a system and an order. So what is the order of the leopardian system? And to what extent does it fit in with the order of the system of nature? What is their common foundation? Answering these questions means browsing through the whole manuscript to show to what extent this moving, open and reticular totality which is the Zibaldone is the only suitable place to receive a thought placed in front of the urgency to pronounce a judgment on the modes of existence and contradiction.

<p>There is longstanding interpretive dispute between commentators over Spinoza’s commitment to <i>necessitarianism</i>, the doctrine that all things are metaphysically necessary and none are contingent. Those who affirm Spinoza’s commitment to the doctrine adhere to <i>the necessitarian interpretation</i> whereas those who deny it adhere to what I call <i>the semi-necessitarian interpretation</i>. As things stand, the disagreement between commentators appears to have reached an impasse. Notwithstanding, there seems to be no disagreement among commentators on the question of necessitarianism’s philosophical plausibility as a metaphysical view: the doctrine is wildly untenable. This consensus view is more relevant to the interpretive debate than few have recognized, since leading semi-necessitarian commentators take the doctrine’s alleged absurdity to be one of the most compelling reasons (if not <i>the</i> most compelling reason) to prefer their reading over the necessitarian interpretation: for, as a matter of methodological principle, great philosophers like Spinoza should not be ascribed ridiculous views in the absence of better evidence. </p> <p>This dissertation seeks to defend Spinoza’s commitment to necessitarianism on both the interpretive and philosophical fronts. I argue not only that the necessitarian interpretation of Spinoza is more plausible than the semi-necessitarian interpretation on textual grounds, but that Spinoza’s necessitarianism is a serviceable philosophical view whose tenability has been almost entirely overlooked and perfunctorily rejected. The principal basis upon which I build this defense is Spinoza’s rich and fascinating view of essences—what I simply refer to as his <i>essentialism</i>. Spinoza’s essentialism forms the bedrock of his metaphysics and is significant not least because it underlies and informs doctrines like his necessitarianism. Spinoza’s essentialism supplies resources to answer not just interpretive problems associated with necessitarianism, but philosophical challenges to the plausibility of the doctrine. My defense of Spinoza’s necessitarianism on philosophical grounds also offers a novel way of getting past much of the current interpretive impasse among commentators by effectively undercutting the methodological motivation for the semi-necessitarian reading. In addition to my defense on the interpretive front, then, my defense on the philosophical front provides supplementary reason to <i>a fortiori</i> favor the necessitarian reading of Spinoza.</p>

[pt] O objetivo deste trabalho consiste em analisar como o movimento que nasceu dentro da filosofia analítica do século XX denominado Epistemologia das Virtudes poderia representar um ponto de inflexão dentro da epistemologia contemporânea, sobretudo ao trazer para dentro da teoria do conhecimento elementos antes considerados exclusivamente do campo da ética ou da moral. Investigo, para tanto, como essa corrente responde a alguns dos principais problemas da teoria do conhecimento, presentes desde os escritos de Platão (428 - 348 a.C.) chegando até os dias atuais, em especial no tocante às disputas que ocuparam espaços centrais dos debates epistemológicos entre as décadas de 1960 e 1980. / [en] The aim of this work is to analyze how the movement born within the analytical philosophy of the 20th century called Virtue Epistemology represents a turning point within contemporary epistemology, especially by bringing elements previously considered exclusively from the field of ethics or morals into the theory of knowledge. Therefore, I investigate how this current answer to some of the main problems of the theory of knowledge, present since the writings of Plato (428 - 348 BC) until the present day, especially regarding the disputes that occupied central spaces of epistemological debates between the 1960s and 1980s.

<p>Unfortunately I have had bit of difficulty with setting up the page numbers appropriately. I have been unable to figure out how to make the preliminary part of document in Roman numerals while at the same time separating this from the main body of the text using Arabic numbers. My apologies, but I sincerely do not know how to resolve this frustrating problem. I can resolve this problem if I send you the preliminary part and main body as separate documents, but just not as one continuous document. Please contact me if this latter method is the way to go.</p> / <p>This thesis provides an expository account and critical analysis of Friedrich Nietzsche’s genealogical position on cruelty. Its primary engagement is with Nietzsche’s <em>On The Genealogy of Morals</em>, however, other works by this author are discussed when relevant. The general import of this thesis is threefold. First, it demonstrates Nietzsche’s genealogical account of cruelty, detailing its complex evolutionary progression and its various facets of influence. Second, this work identifies some authors who are critical of Nietzsche position on cruelty. These criticisms are identified and are then largely refuted on various grounds. Third, this thesis argues that an appropriate critical analysis of Nietzsche’s genealogical theorizing will be based on a cross-examination of his positions with current palaeoanthropological findings. The conclusion drawn from this analysis is that there is insufficient empirical evidence to substantiate Nietzsche’s accounts and his methodical approach to genealogical theorizing is, furthermore, untenable.</p>

Increasingly, teachers are encouraged to use data resources in their classrooms, which are becoming more widely available on the web through organizations such as Digital Library for Earth System Education, National Science Digital Library, Project Kaleidoscope, and the National Science Teachers Association. As "real" data becomes readily accessible, studies are needed to assess and describe how to effectively use data to convey both content material and the nature of scientific inquiry and discovery. In this study, we created two introductory undergraduate physical geology lab modules for calculating plate motion. One engages students with a model-driven approach using contrived data. Students are taught a descriptive model and work with a set of contrived data that supports the model. The other lab exercise uses a data-driven approach with real data. Students are given the real data and are asked to make sense of it. They must use the data to create a descriptive model. Student content knowledge and understanding of the nature of science were assessed in a pretest-posttest experimental design using a survey containing 11 Likert-like scale questions covering the nature of science and 9 modified true/false format questions covering content knowledge. Survey results indicated that students gained content knowledge and increased their understanding of the nature of science with both approaches. Lab observations and written interviews indicate these gains resulted from students experiencing different pedagogical approaches used in each of the two labs. / Master of Science

[pt] Esta dissertação explora a noção de sábio e suas implicações em Heráclito, defendendo a hipótese de que, mesmo que seja difícil atingir tal estado de sabedoria, o pensador concebeu essa possibilidade para todos os humanos. O objetivo epistêmico da aquisição desse estado seria a realização da unidade – apresentada no fragmento B 50 – e podemos ver em outros fragmentos (como B 29) que a unidade, de fato, era considerada como um objetivo que deveria modular a conduta humana em vida, ou seja, que podemos considera-la também como um objetivo ético. Explora-se, aqui, a relação entre essa característica da unidade enquanto paradigma e a noção de divindade que Heráclito forma, sugerindo a possibilidade de uma relação de identidade entre o divino e o humano. Por último, propõe-se uma interpretação para o caminho de conhecimento que Heráclito concebe para aqueles que buscam o estado do sábio, um caminho baseado na relação complementar entre certa noção de autoconhecimento e o uso dos sentidos. / [en] This dissertation explores the notion of wise and its implications in Heraclitus, defending the hypothesis that, even though attaining such a state of wisdom may be challenging, such a possibility was conceived for all humans. The ultimate goal would be the realization of Unity – presented on fragment B 50 – and we can see in other fragments (such as B 29 and 49) that Unity was indeed considered an objective that should guide human conduct in life, in other words, it was also seen as an ethical goal. This work examines the relationship between this characteristic of unity as a paradigm and the concept of divinity that Heraclitus forms, suggesting the possibility of an identity between the divine and the human. Finally, an interpretation is proposed for the path of knowledge that Heraclitus conceives for those who seek this state, a path based on the complementary relationship between a certain notion of self-knowledge and the use of the senses.

A Journey from the Wordless is a study of the development of the author’s own professional knowledge.  After an introductory chapter on theory and method, there are four chapters treating of the author`s academic training as an artist (Ch. 2), a presentation and analysis of his own exhibitions (Ch. 3), a chapter on a cooperative effort entitled Pompeii in Time and Space (Ch. 4), and a concluding discussion of the nature of personal knowledge (Ch. 5). Questions are addressed concerning artistic knowledge; how it is built and transferred and how it is developed and transformed. Since the author`s own professional knowledge is the object of the research, special perspectives on personal experience emerges that otherwise would be difficult to articulate. The thesis is also a contribution to the debate surrounding artistic research in the visual arts, focusing on the importance of reflection and analysis in art education and creative art work.

<p>U radu nastojimo da pokažemo da Hegelovi pojmovi spekulativne logike, povesti i objektivnog duha omogućuju da se u potpunosti shvati Aristotelov pojam praktičkog i njegovo razvijanje. Aristotelova praktčka filozofija bivstvo praktičkog dovodi do pojma=logosa, te vladajući pojam=logos praktičkih stvari, koji nije izvan onog alogičkog=žudnje, omogućuje delatnost=energeiju praktičkog. Pojam=logos praktičkog u Aristotela stoga nema teorijski i retrospektivni karakter u samom praktičkom kako to izvodi hermeneutička filozofija, već upravo jeste su&scaron;tina praktičkog odno&scaron;enja koju izlaže i ističe Aristotelova praktička filozofija. Spekulativni pojam onog praktičnog je tačka jedinstva Aristotelove i Hegelove filozofije. Hegel u pojmu političke=unutra&scaron;nje države kao običajnosnog organizma prevladava uz očuvanje Aristotelov logos entelehije polisa=pojam dejstvenosti grada-države. Razlika Aristotelove i Hegelove filozofije o praktičkom je povesna, sistemska i logička. Povesna razlika leži u Hegelovom situiranju modernog principa subjektivnosti kao prava posebnosti subjekta na zadovoljenje u pojam građanskog dru&scaron;tva sistema filozofije prava, te u sledstvenom specifičnom podru&scaron;tvljenju kako privatne sfere tako i sfere države. Logička razlika leži u Hegelovom određenju ideje praktičkog saznanja=ideje objektivnog duha i apsolutne ideje u sistemu spekulativne logike.</p> / <p>In the paper we are trying to show that Hegel&#39;s concepts of speculative logic, history and objective spirit are enabling us to fully understand Aristotle&#39;s concept of practical and its development. Aristotle&rsquo;s practical philosophy brings the being of practical down to the concept=logos, and the ruling concept=logos, that is not beyond the a-logical=desire, enables the effectiveness=energy of the practical. Therefore, with Aristotle, the concept=logos of practical does not have a historical and retrospective nature in the practical itself the way hermeneutic philosophy derives it, but it is the very essence of the practical relation proposed and accented by Aristotle&rsquo;s philosophy of practical.<br />Speculative concept of the practical is the point of unity between Aristotle&rsquo;s and Hegel&rsquo;s philosophy. Hegel, in the concept of political=inner state as ethical life overrules with retention Aristotle&rsquo;s logos of polis entelechy=concept of the effectiveness of the city-state. The difference between Aristotle&rsquo;s and Hegel&rsquo;s philosophy on practical is historical, systematic and logical. The historical difference is in Hegel&rsquo;s placement of modern principle of subjectivity as the right of one&rsquo;s individuality to satisfaction into the concept of civil system of the philosophy of right, and in the specific consequential socialization as both a private affair and a state one. Logical difference is in the Hegel&rsquo;s specification of the idea of practical cognition=idea of the objective spirit and an absolute idea in the system of speculative logic.</p>

The thesis of this paper is twofold. First, there is the general concern to investigate and demonstrate clearly that there are relationships between certain superficially unrelated disciplines, namely philosophy, aesthetics and literary criticism. Second, by way of accomplishing the first aim, there is an attempt made to synthesize and explicate the contributions of a significant twentieth century intellectual. The particular procedure employed to attain these ends is the consideration of an academic field which is continually being reshaped by other separate but related disciplines. For my purposes the figure of Jean Paul Sartre and the field of literary criticism are both, as shall be demonstrated, appropriate for this investigation. The format for analyzing Sartre’s literary criticism shall be as follows. (1) There is an investigation of Sartre’s philosophical claims. (2) There follows a discussion of Sartre’s view of literature, its value, significance, and role in society. (3) The next section relates Sartre’s views of literature to traditional problems in literary criticism. (4) In the final portion there is a brief evaluation of Sartre’s contributions to a contemporary literary criticism.