This thesis argues for a move beyond the division of contemporary western experiences into separate social and political spheres. This includes a comparative study of the theories of Hannah Arendt and Michel Foucault alongside historical and contemporary examples in support of the relevance of their theories and that of this thesis. The synthesis between Arendt and Foucault made here corrects the respective weaknesses in each theory by using the strengths of the other. Furthermore, this synthesis informs a move beyond the social and political referred to above. The critique of sovereignty, the defence of plurality and the critique of instrumental reason are shown here as the most important parallels between the two thinkers and the central ways that people in contemporary western society are disempowered. This thesis argues for a reconsideration of these issues in order to redress this disempowerment. The thesis also looks at the major divergence between the two thinkers which is shown to rest on their respective treatment of the social and political. This argument rejects the Arendtian argument for the separation of the social and political to favour Foucauldian resistance located on and within the everyday experiences of western individuals. This shown to be political action rooted in the social aspects of the individuals' lives and stands in opposition to the claims of Arendt regarding the social. However, this retains the political strengths of her vision. The synthesis of the strengths of both theorists alongside the ultimate rejection of the Arendtian separation of the social and political that this Foucauldian resistance exemplifies is concluded as constituting a move beyond the social and political to have more relevance, meaning and ultimate empowerment for individuals because it more accurately reflects the realities of their everyday lives.

Divine voluntarism (Divine command theory) is a series of theories that claim that God is prior to moral obligation and that moral obligation is determined by God's will. Divine voluntarism has to be formulated in a way that it does not have undesirable implications, e.g., that moral obligation is arbitrary and that God's goodness is trivial. Also, while it avoids these undesirable implications, divine voluntarism must not imply that God is, in some way, restricted by moral obligation which exists independently of Him. Divine voluntarism can admit God's sovereignty over moral obligation and avoid making moral obligation arbitrary or God's goodness trivial by admitting various aspects of God's will. Moral obligation is relevant to both God's will for human moral obligation and God's will for human moral good. After all, God's will for human moral obligation is God's willing that His own will for human moral good constitute moral obligation for humans.

There has been a movement towards research on the therapist and their capacity in providing treatment for eating disorders (Garner, 1985; Thompson & Sherman, 1989). This Doctoral Thesis Portfolio attempts to provide insight into therapy with the eating disordered population from therapists’ subjective experiences. It attempts to approach eating disorders from both a scientific and practitioner perspective using counselling psychology philosophy to understand and enlighten the therapeutic process when working with these clients. Rizq (2005) said that counselling psychology concentrates on two aspects in therapy, as it promotes the use of the therapist’s self as a tool for therapeutic change alongside adopting psychological theory for the enquiry of this experience. This portfolio will focus on the integration of these two aspects. Therapy with eating disorders was analysed from a theoretical, personal, and professional perspective. This will be explored in this portfolio via three individual components. Firstly, research is presented that investigated therapists’ emotional experience after sessions with a client being treated for anorexia. Secondly, the literature on alexithymia in anorexia is critically reviewed with particular reference to inform counselling psychology and to develop understanding of the therapeutic process with this client group. In the final section a case study will be presented in relation to the concept projective identification in order to illustrate the inter-subjective nature oftherapy with a bulimic client.

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<p> This thesis explores Derrida&rsquo;s engagement with Plato, primarily in the texts &ldquo;How to Avoid Speaking: Denials&rdquo; and <i>On the Name.</i> The themes of participation and performance are focused on through an analysis of the concepts of <i>mystery</i> and <i> metaxy</i> (&mu;&epsi;&tau;&alpha;&xi;&nu;). The crucial performative aspects of Plato and Derrida&rsquo;s texts are often under appreciated. Neither author simply <i>says</i> what he means; rather their texts are meant to <i>do</i> something to the reader that surpasses what could be accomplished through straightforward reading comprehension. This enacted dimension of the text underscores a participatory worldview that is not just intellectually formulated, but performed by the text in a way that draws the reader into an event of participation&mdash;instead of its mere contemplation. On this basis, I propose a closer alliance between these authors&rsquo; projects than has been traditionally considered.</p>

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The central theme of this thesis is methodological pluralism in systems science: that is, how it might be possible to draw upon different systems methods that are traditionally thought to be based in incommensurable paradigms. The thesis is split into three sections. Section One begins by reviewing ideas about pluralism as they have been expressed in the literature on Critical Systems Thinking. This section also sets out the basic 'problem' pluralists have to deal with - that the approaches drawn upon are usually thought of as philosophically contradictory. An initial (partial) resolution of the problem is presented. Section Two takes a step back in order to examine why the focus upon pluralism is important. Here the social and ecological contexts of the debate are explored. It is discovered that many of the issues we are currently dealing with in systems science, especially complex global issues, can only be dealt with adequately through a pluralist research practice. Section Three looks at the implications of these social and ecological arguments for a pluralist systems science, and reexamines some of the philosophical ideas lying behind Critical Systems Thinking. Through this reexamination a different understanding of ontology begins to emerge. Having developed a set of interlinked arguments ranging from the ontological to the practical, the thesis concludes with an assertion that pluralism is actually necessary for the continued legitimation of systems science.

The study of the psychological experience of the personal body in the discipline of psychology, through the concept referred to as the body image, has its roots in neurology and psychoanalysis. This thesis begins with a review of body image research across three disciplines: neuroscience, psychoanalysis and psychology. The literature review places the work titled 'The image and appearance of the human body' by neurologist and psychoanalyst Paul Schilder (1935/1978) at the intersection of these three disciplines. Schilder's text described the organization of the body image as a dynamic and tri-dimensional structuralization. Since the midtwentieth century, psychological research has taken special interest in the body image as a topic for study. However, the paradigm guiding that research enterprise has transformed the holistic quality of Schilder's work, identified its organization as antiquated and often unsuitable for empirical research. This thesis argues that Schilder's theory is as relevant today as ever, and that psychology would benefit greatly from a re-consideration of its relevance to empirical study. To demonstrate the potential of Schilder's theory, the present study conducted 15 semi-structured interviews with women participating in three styles of movement and performance: contemporary dance, Middle-eastern dance (or belly dance) and aerobics (instructors). The investigation considered core propositions described by Schilder with respect to the role of movement and the body image, to explore structuralization from the point of view of procedural movement. The study sought also to examine the extent to which the findings might serve the development of theory on the body image. The findings established a priori and a posteriori themes, and these served to demonstrate how Schilder's theory provides a sound framework for empirical inquiry in psychology. The implications of the present study highlight the explanatory power of that theory, especially the way it illuminates a new perspective from which a fuller understanding of the role of the body image might be gleaned. Finally, the implications highlight the importance of the actual presence of the physical body in the construction of the body image, particularly the kinesthetic perceptual system, and underline the importance of re-visiting Schilder's theory in order to open up new opportunities for interdisciplinary research.