This study is about the nature of persons and personal identity. It belongs to a tradition that maintains that in order to understand what it is to be a person we must clarify what personal identity consists in. In this pursuit, I differentiate between the problems (i) How do persons persist? and (ii) What facts, if any, does personal identity consist in? Concerning the first question, I argue that persons persist three-dimensionally (the endurance view), and not four-dimensionally (the perdurarne view), on the ground that objects must always fall under some substance sortal concept S (the sortal dependency of individuation), and that the concept person entails that objects falling under it are three-dimensional. Concerning the second question, I differentiate between Criterianists, who maintain that it is possible to specify a non-circular and informative criterion for personal identity, and Non-Criterianists, who deny that such a specification is possible. I argue against Criterianist accounts of personal identity on the ground that they are either (i) circular, (ii) violate the intrinsicality of identity or (iii) do not adequately represent what we are essentially. I further criticise three Psychological Non-Criterianist accounts of personal identity on the ground that they wrongly assume that 'person' refers to mental entities. Instead I formulate the Revised Animal Attribute View where person is understood as a basic sortal concept which picks out a biological sort of enduring animals. In this, I claim that the real essence of a person is determined by the real essence of the kind of animal he is, without thereby denying that persons have a real essence as persons. / digitalisering@umu

Cette thèse part du constat que le cadre théorique dont les sciences sociales disposent pour décrire l’expérience de mixité conjugale n’est pas adapté à la mouvance de la situation contemporaine. La plupart des théories qui ont été élaborées pour parler de cette expérience de rencontre se conjuguent sous l’emprise de notions vieillies. En s’intéressant aux trajectoires de mixité conjugale dans le contexte du Maroc, cette thèse contribuera à développer un cadre conceptuel qui reflète la mouvance de la réalité contemporaine et ce, en posant les bases d’un habitus discursif valorisant, ce qui constitue l’originalité principale de ce projet de recherche. À partir d’un terrain ethnographique qui a placé l’anthropologie de l’expérience partagée et les récits d’expérience au cœur de la méthodologie de recherche, cette thèse dresse également un portrait ethnographique de la mixité conjugale au Maroc, ce qui a permis de documenter un sujet encore très peu exploré par les sciences sociales. Dans le cadre de cette thèse, la mixité conjugale a été appréhendée sous l’angle de la métaphore du voyage prolongé de Fernandez (2002), ce qui a contribué à dynamiser le cadre théorique entourant la mixité conjugale. En arrière-fond de cette thèse, une réflexion autour du concept de « home » (le chez-soi) suggère que le projet de construction de soi des individus contemporains qui négocient leur quotidien au croisement de références culturelles différentes (dont font partie les participants de cette recherche) n’est pas nécessairement synonyme de déracinement et de fragmentation, mais qu’il porte l’idée d’attachement et de cohérence. / This thesis is based on the premise that the theoretical framework used by social sciences to describe mixed couples experiences is no longer adapted to contemporary situations of mobility. Most theories that have been developed to describe this experience use concepts that are not adapted to the present. By focusing on the paths taken by mixed couples in the context of Morocco, this thesis will contribute to the development of a conceptual framework reflecting the phenomenon as it exists today. Furthermore, the originality of this project lies mainly in the fact that it offers a habitus discursif valorisant for mixed unions. Based on ethnographic field work that puts narratives of experience at the heart of its research methodology, this thesis also offers an ethnographic portrait of mixed couples in Morocco, a subject that has received little attention from social sciences. Mixed couples have been studied in the framework of this thesis from the angle of Fernandez’s (2002) prolonged travel metaphor, which has contributed to revitalizing the theoretical framework for looking at mixed couples. In the background of this thesis there is a reflection around the concept of « home » whereby the self-creation of contemporary individuals negotiating their daily lives at the crossroads of different cultural references (as is the case for the participants of this research) is not necessarily synonymous with uprooting and fragmentation but rather incorporates ideas of attachment and personal continuity.

[pt] O Código Civil de 2002 inovou em relação ao antecessor, incluindo em seu corpo um capítulo dedicado aos direitos da personalidade. Ocorre, porém, que a forma tipificada de tais artigos se apresenta como insuficiente para tutelar a personalidade, não só porque os dispositivos reproduzem a técnica utilizada para a normatização dos direitos patrimoniais, mas principalmente por desconsiderar a abrangência do instituto ante a crescente e inelutável necessidade de tutela da pessoa humana. Em tais condições, entende-se que o princípio da dignidade da pessoa humana tem uma função protetiva irradiadora, servindo então ao escopo constitucional de uma tutela integral, o que implica sua consideração de uma forma mais efetiva no que tange à personalidade. É nessa seara que se considera a reformulação italiana do direito da personalidade em termos de um direito à identidade pessoal, significando uma fórmula sintética para distinguir o sujeito do ponto de vista global, na multiplicidade de suas características específicas e manifestações. O desrespeito à identidade pessoal se perpetra com a atribuição - mediante qualquer forma de deturpação - de atos, pensamentos ou afirmações que a contrariem, manifestando, assim, o interesse da pessoa em ver reconhecido o próprio patrimônio ideológico-cultural, constituído pelos seus pensamentos, opiniões, crenças, comportamentos que projetam no mundo da intersubjetividade. É em torno desse direito, ainda pouco explorado e conhecido no Brasil, mas de suma importância, que versa o presente trabalho, abordando sua origem, características, objeto e limites, e a garantia de sua tutela no ordenamento jurídico brasileiro. / [en] The Civil Code in 2002 has innovated in relation to its antecessor, inserting in its body a chapter dedicated to the right to be oneself. The point is that the typified form of such Articles is insufficient to protect one`s personality not only because they reflect a technique used for the normatization of equity rights but mainly because it fails to consider the range of the institute as to the increasing and unceasing need to protect the human individual. On such conditions it is known that the principle of dignity has a protective irradiating function, in the service of a constitutional scope of integral guardianship, which implies (implicates) its consideration of individual`s personality in a more effective manner. It is in this area of study, the Italian reformulation as to individual`s right to personality is considered. It is approached in terms of a right to personal identity, or otherwise, the right to be oneself, which means the set of attributes and characteristics which allow for individualization of a person in society. The disrespect to personal identity perpetrates with the attribution - in face of many different forms of distortion - of acts, thoughts, statements which oppose to it, thus expressing the person`s interest in verifying that their own cultural- ideological asset - constituted by their thoughts, beliefs, opinions, behaviour, which they project in the intersubjective world - is acknowledged. It is about this law, not yet sufficiently taken into consideration in Brazil, although of utmost importance, that this present study is dedicated to, with the focus on its origins, characteristics, object and limits, as well as the defense of its protection in the Brazilian judicial order.

Although women increasingly contribute their labour to an ever-burgeoning workplace, little is understood about their roles and sense of identity at work. Adopting a phenomenological approach to this study will allow the researcher to discover what women’s experience of their sense of identity at work encompasses. Furthermore, a review of the contemporary literature, and a phenomenological approach to the study employing semi-structured interviews and an explication of the protocols using the ‘modified’ Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen method (Creswell, 1998), may be used to explore women’s experience of their sense of identity in the workplace. Recommendations may be made for future research and organisational practice. The main findings indicated, inter alia, that the participants expressed their sense of identity at work from a ‘collective’ or social identity orientation. This finding also supports various feminist researchers’ viewpoints that women may develop a unique sense of identity relative to the environment in which they find themselves (Ely, 1994; Hakim, 1996). Themes that arose from the interviews with the participants included the concerns women express universally to a greater extent, yet included their interests, abilities, traits and material characteristics to a lesser extent (Ashforth & Mael, 1989; Hogg & Turner, 1987). The study findings also questioned psychology-based “person-centred” ideas about women’s relationships with other women at work, and added credence to the supposition that the demographic composition of an organisation may influence an individual’s experiences at work (Ely, 1994, p. 203). Furthermore, as social v identities are more significant in organisations, due to the incidence of social groups (Fisher, 1986; Mortimer & Simmons, 1978; Van Maanen, 1976), it would appear that as fewer women are employed in management and the upper echelons of organisations, they would therefore not benefit from being involved in the social environment of work, and would therefore not be in a position to adopt the identity of their counterparts (Becker & Carper, 1956). The contribution of this research to understanding women’s experience of their sense of identity, and the provision of a basic framework in this regard, may assist female employees, and their employers and managers, in their relationships at work, and in this way improve the employment prospects and retention of women. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

La thèse présente une analyse du transhumanisme et de ses enjeux, en partant de l’examen de sa philosophie, l’extropianisme, ainsi que de son projet. La mission transhumaniste est d’élever la condition humaine en offrant à l’espèce humaine le pouvoir de vivre indéfiniment grâce aux progrès des technosciences, mais aussi de s’améliorer cognitivement pour devenir plus intelligente et plus heureuse. L’objectif de la thèse est de mettre au jour les fondements philosophiques qui constituent le socle de la rhétorique transhumaniste afin de comprendre son efficience et pour analyser les enjeux éthiques qui en découlent concernant notre rapport à la mort, à l'existence et au temps. Il s’agira également de revenir sur la façon dont les fondateurs du transhumanisme se sont positionnés au sujet de ces enjeux pour insister sur l’importance d’une connaissance approfondie des principes et des valeurs du transhumanisme et de sa complexité pour proposer une critique de son projet. / The thesis presents an analysis of transhumanism and its issues, starting from an examination of its philosophy, extropianism, and its project. The transhumanist mission is to elevate the human condition by giving the human species the power to live indefinitely thanks to the progress of technoscience, but also to improve cognitively to become smarter and happier. The aim of the thesis is to uncover the philosophical foundations of transhumanist rhetoric to understand its efficiency and to analyse the ethical issues that arise from it in relation to our relationship with death, existence and time. It will also be necessary to consider the way the founders of transhumanism have positioned themselves on these issues to insist on the importance of a thorough knowledge of the principles and values of transhumanism and its complexity to propose a critique of its project.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-27T13:49:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MARIA LUCIA PEREIRA DE OLIVEIRA.pdf: 675415 bytes, checksum: d259f2cc96969944f555cd6a091e4bf3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-02-23 / This essay has as the center of the discussion the question of personal identity in the process of conversion into Universal Church. This study analyses the psychosocial processes which take identities out of the context and disorganizes the person leading him to mistrust, hopelessness, or in other words, creates an identity crisis. It analyses the way in which people arrive to Universal Church and what it has to offer them. At last, it analyses the new vision of itself and of the world after conversion to Universal Church of the kingdom of God. / Esta dissertação tem como centro o debate sobre a questão da identidade pessoal no processo de conversão à Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus. Este estudo analisa os processos psicossociais que descontextualizam identidades e que desestruturam a pessoa, levando-a à desconfiança, desesperança, ou seja, instalando na pessoa a crise de identidade. Analisa como essas pessoas chegam à Igreja Universal e qual oferta esta tem a lhes oferecer. Por fim, faz uma análise da nova visão de si e do mundo depois da conversão à Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus.

Esta tese estudou o impacto das operações de fusão e aquisição (F&A) sobre as identidades dos empregados investigando professores e coordenadores em operações de F&A. Operações de F&A são estratégias frequentes nos últimos vinte anos e têm sido uma fonte de conflitos e de dificuldades generalizadas para os empregados das empresas. A maioria das operações de F&A demanda esforços significativos de adaptação dos empregados diante de novas diretrizes, de diferentes culturas e distintos padrões sociais e administrativos de conduta. Nas operações de F&A, a adaptação não se limita aos aspectos funcionais do desempenho, mas, atinge estruturas mais profundas da subjetividade, como é o caso das identidades. A experiência dos últimos vinte anos mostra que nas operações de F&A, os empregados enfrentam alterações em suas identidades, adaptando-se a novas condições na relação eu-outro. Eles mesmos administram essa adaptação, mesmo quando não há apoio algum por parte de seus gestores. A compreensão da adaptação das identidades foi aqui estudada pela Teoria da Identidade Social, de Henri Tajfel, pela Teoria de Identidade de Sheldon Stryker e pela perspectiva da Identidade Narrativa de Roy Baumeister. Essa análise foi complementada por uma pesquisa empírica na qual foram observados sujeitos que sofreram impactos em suas identidades dentro de programas de F&A. Foram estudados sujeitos envolvidos em operações de F&A nos quais um único grupo econômico adquiriu diversas empresas. A restrição a um único adquirente permitiu homogeneidade de demandas e distintas condições dos sujeitos das empresas adquiridas. Essa pesquisa foi realizada através de entrevistas narrativas e seus dados foram interpretados a partir de metodologias de análise de conteúdo. Confirmando as deduções da análise teórica, os resultados da observação revelaram que a identidade é uma estrutura complexa que sofre impactos significativos nos processos de F&A. Além disso, confirmaram que os indivíduos administram a adaptação de suas identidades e que sem a gestão das identidades, as operações de F&A têm seus problemas aumentados e suas dificuldades exacerbadas. Esta pesquisa concluiu que que a adaptação das identidades é um tema ainda longe de ser compreendido em sua complexidade e em seus impactos. Por esse motivo, o avanço na compreensão das F&A depende do investimento em novas pesquisas / This thesis studied the impact of Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) on the identities of employees observing professors and heads of departments. M&A have been common managerial strategies for the past twenty years, as have been a source of conflicts and of generalized difficulties to both enterprises and their employees. Most of the M&A impose heavy demands of adaptation to new policies, cultures and social as well as administrative patterns on the part of employees. That adaptation is far from being limited to functional features to reach the deep subjective structures, as this is the case of identities. The M&A experiences of the past twenty years have put into light changes in employees identities following the new conditions created by the self-other relationships. The employees manage those identity changes even when no managerial support is offered to them. Here, the theoretical understanding of that adaptation of employees identities was grounded in Tajfel´s Social Identity Theory, in Sheldon Striker´s Identity Theory and in the vision of Narrative identity Theory proposed by Roy Baumeister. That theoretical ground was complemented by empirical data gathered from employees involved in M&A programs. That empirical research was carried out with the employees of distinct organizations, which were acquired by one single enterprise. That strategy favoured the homogeneity of the managerial demands in the distinct cases. The data were gathered through narrative interviews and scrutinized through content analysis methodologies. The outcomes confirmed the theoretical analyses disclosing that identity is a complex subjective structure, which undergo regularly impacts in M&A processes. Furthermore, the results confirmed that the employees manage their identities adaptation and that when the adaptation fails problems and tensions increase. Yet the data confirmed that the adaptation of identities is an issue still far from full understanding, which still requires much more investigation and theoretical investments

La personne est un concept tributaire de la catégorie de substance, à laquelle la métaphysique contemporaine continue souvent de l'assimiler. Or, la substance méconnaît la nature profondément relationnelle de la personne, et n'est quasiment plus d'aucune utilité en dehors de la métaphysique elle-même. Nous lui substituons d'autres catégories, afin de distinguer méthodiquement la personne d'une part de l'animal humain, comme nous y invite l'ontologie animaliste, et d'autre part de l'ego cartésien, si fortement critiqué par Parfit. Ce faisant, nous retrouvons les deux thèses les plus puissantes de la personne : la thèse chrétienne* qui en fait un centre de relations, et la thèse bouddhiste* qui en fait un complexe de propriétés. Toutefois, la première affilie la personne au modèle particulier de la Sainte Trinité, tandis que la seconde aboutit le plus souvent à un nihilisme de la personne tout aussi spéculatif. Nous proposons de penser la personne comme un processus, ou une série d'événements, afin de faire droit à l'idée de "personhood" : c'est à travers l'interaction entre les niveaux psychologiques et sociaux que la personne émerge, comme une activité auto-organisatrice qui ne se réduit pas à des propriétés biologiques, et n'est pas davantage soluble dans des structures collectives. Le saut quantique que la personne accomplit au sein de la nature, sans correspondre à une rupture ontique, peut être mieux apprécié : l'agentivité et la dignité propres à la personne sont aussi des phénomènes émergents, et des caractéristiques objectives. La personne est donc moins une entité qu'une instance, ou un réseau particulier de relations au sein d'un monde en perpétuel mouvement. / The concept of a person is historically dependent on the metaphysical category of substance, and contemporary metaphysics keeps assimilating one and the other. But the substance ignores the deeply relational nature of the person, and is virtually of no use outside of metaphysics itself. That is why we substitute other categories, to systematically distinguish the person firstly from the human animal, as prompted by the animalist ontology, and secondly from the Cartesian ego, so strongly criticized by Derek Parfit. In doing so, we find the meaning of the two most powerful theories of the person: the Christian thesis*, making it a center of relationships, and the Buddhist thesis*, making it a complex of properties. However, the first one affiliates the person to the particular model of the Holy Trinity, while the second leads most often to a nihilism of the person just as much speculative. We therefore propose to consider the person as a process, or series of events, so as to stand for the the metaphysical idea of an emergent personhood: it is through the interaction between psychological and social levels that the person continuously emerges as a self-organizing activity that cannot be reduced to biological properties, and is not more soluble in collective structures. The quantum leap that the person accomplishes in nature, without corresponding to an ontological rupture, can in turn be best appreciated: the agentivity and the dignity of the person, are also emerging phenomena, which count as objective features. The person is considered less as an entity than as an instance, that is to say a particular network of relations in a changing world.

Esta tese estudou o impacto das operações de fusão e aquisição (F&A) sobre as identidades dos empregados investigando professores e coordenadores em operações de F&A. Operações de F&A são estratégias frequentes nos últimos vinte anos e têm sido uma fonte de conflitos e de dificuldades generalizadas para os empregados das empresas. A maioria das operações de F&A demanda esforços significativos de adaptação dos empregados diante de novas diretrizes, de diferentes culturas e distintos padrões sociais e administrativos de conduta. Nas operações de F&A, a adaptação não se limita aos aspectos funcionais do desempenho, mas, atinge estruturas mais profundas da subjetividade, como é o caso das identidades. A experiência dos últimos vinte anos mostra que nas operações de F&A, os empregados enfrentam alterações em suas identidades, adaptando-se a novas condições na relação eu-outro. Eles mesmos administram essa adaptação, mesmo quando não há apoio algum por parte de seus gestores. A compreensão da adaptação das identidades foi aqui estudada pela Teoria da Identidade Social, de Henri Tajfel, pela Teoria de Identidade de Sheldon Stryker e pela perspectiva da Identidade Narrativa de Roy Baumeister. Essa análise foi complementada por uma pesquisa empírica na qual foram observados sujeitos que sofreram impactos em suas identidades dentro de programas de F&A. Foram estudados sujeitos envolvidos em operações de F&A nos quais um único grupo econômico adquiriu diversas empresas. A restrição a um único adquirente permitiu homogeneidade de demandas e distintas condições dos sujeitos das empresas adquiridas. Essa pesquisa foi realizada através de entrevistas narrativas e seus dados foram interpretados a partir de metodologias de análise de conteúdo. Confirmando as deduções da análise teórica, os resultados da observação revelaram que a identidade é uma estrutura complexa que sofre impactos significativos nos processos de F&A. Além disso, confirmaram que os indivíduos administram a adaptação de suas identidades e que sem a gestão das identidades, as operações de F&A têm seus problemas aumentados e suas dificuldades exacerbadas. Esta pesquisa concluiu que que a adaptação das identidades é um tema ainda longe de ser compreendido em sua complexidade e em seus impactos. Por esse motivo, o avanço na compreensão das F&A depende do investimento em novas pesquisas / This thesis studied the impact of Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) on the identities of employees observing professors and heads of departments. M&A have been common managerial strategies for the past twenty years, as have been a source of conflicts and of generalized difficulties to both enterprises and their employees. Most of the M&A impose heavy demands of adaptation to new policies, cultures and social as well as administrative patterns on the part of employees. That adaptation is far from being limited to functional features to reach the deep subjective structures, as this is the case of identities. The M&A experiences of the past twenty years have put into light changes in employees identities following the new conditions created by the self-other relationships. The employees manage those identity changes even when no managerial support is offered to them. Here, the theoretical understanding of that adaptation of employees identities was grounded in Tajfel´s Social Identity Theory, in Sheldon Striker´s Identity Theory and in the vision of Narrative identity Theory proposed by Roy Baumeister. That theoretical ground was complemented by empirical data gathered from employees involved in M&A programs. That empirical research was carried out with the employees of distinct organizations, which were acquired by one single enterprise. That strategy favoured the homogeneity of the managerial demands in the distinct cases. The data were gathered through narrative interviews and scrutinized through content analysis methodologies. The outcomes confirmed the theoretical analyses disclosing that identity is a complex subjective structure, which undergo regularly impacts in M&A processes. Furthermore, the results confirmed that the employees manage their identities adaptation and that when the adaptation fails problems and tensions increase. Yet the data confirmed that the adaptation of identities is an issue still far from full understanding, which still requires much more investigation and theoretical investments

Navigating personal identity changes through the cancer journey can be challenging, especially for women in a culture that places emphasis on traditional gender roles and values close-knit families. Drawing on a story circule approach, this study examined the intersecting identities of female cancer survivors in southern Appalachia. Stories of 29 female Appalachian cancer survivors from Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia were collected via a mixed methods approach in either a day-long story circule (N-26) or an in-depth interview (N=3). Transcripts from both phases were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim; NVivo 8.0 facilitated qualitative content analysis of the data. Inductive analysis revealed that women in this study appeared in struggle with (1) maintaining place in the family, (2) mothering, and (3) navigating physical changes. Ideas of family versus self appeared to overlap and intertwine with how women in Appalachia navigate personal identify changes through the cancer journey.