This research regarding power/knowledge abuse within the church was conducted within the postmodern social construction discourse and in the context of narrative therapy, feminist theology and practical theology. It presents a chronicle of five individuals who experienced abuse within their congregations. It reflects on the co-authoring journey of these five individuals personally and within the context of the narrative group. As part of the narrative group they came to re-author their lives around what they had experienced regarding abuse within their churches. Together they challenged those dominant structures that are so often hidden just below `sacred' tradition. In conclusion the five individuals experienced a renaissance within themselves and their personal theology of God and His dealings within the church. This renaissance has led them to seek out others who have experienced this form of abuse and to give them the hope that they discovered together. / Practical Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology - with specialisation in Pastoral Therapy)

Die Johannese geskrifte (Evangelie en Briewe) word veralgemenend binne die Christendom gelees en die uniekheidsbeklemtoninge ten opsigte van Jesus as enige Verlosser word ook so verstaan. Hierdie hoofsaaklik sosiaal-wetenskaplike ondersoek was gefokus op Johannes se aansprake ten opsigte van Jesus en is gedoen om bewus te maak van die sosiaal-kulturele onderbou van die geskrifte. As sodanig is dit bedoe! om heuristies in te werk ten einde bestaande hermeneuse beter te dien sodat die boodskap van die Nuwe Testament effektiewer oorgedra kan word. Dit is ook gepoog om bevindinge uit die studie deur te trek na die gesekulariseerde samelewing en pluralistiese religieuse standpunt wat te Iande bestaan. Die teksgedeeltes wat eksegeties ondersoek is, bevat die aspekte van aanvaarding of verwerping van Jesus as die unieke Godsagent wat ewige /ewe meedeel. Dit het geblyk dat die begrip in Johannes nie net op oneindigheid in die hiemamaals dui nie, maar veral op kwaliteit in die hede. Johannes se postulaat is dat Jesus konstant hierdie lewe meedeel aan hulle wat in Hom glo. Die vraag na relevansie van 'n religie uit Judaistiese oorsprong in 'n AfroWesterse samelewing en kultuur is vanuit die aspekte van kulturele relatiwisme en relatiwiteit hanteer. Dit word aanvaar dat die ingrype van God deur Jesus Christus binne die Israelitiese volksmilieu en Mediterreense kultuur plaasgevind het, maar dat dit wat Johannes aan sy lesers herbevestig het, vir aile mense relevant is. Jesus is die unieke Godsagent wat ewige lewe meedeel, wat, as sodanig, nie menslike sterflikheid negeer nie, maar dit transendeer. / The social-scientific research for this treatise concentrated on John's assertion of Jesus' uniqueness. The selected Scripture portions for exegesis contain the aspects of receiving or rejecting Him as God's Agent who bestows eternal life. Eternal lifo in John does not so much denote never ending life, but rather excellent quality of life in the present. The relevancy of a religion from a Judaistic origin in an Afro-Western cultural society was treated on the aspects of cultural relativism and cultural relativity. The conclusion accedes to the fact that God's interaction with man in the person of Jesus Christ took place within an Israelite national milieu and Mediterranean culture, but what John reasserted is relevant for all time- the life that Jesus bestows does not negate mortality, but transcends it. / New Testament / M. Th. (Nuwe Testament)

This thesis tries to give a critically considered view of what New Age thought is about, where it came from, and where it takes education and the scientific quest for truth. The interest of this study lies in exposing the underlying New Age beliefs and premises so that the implications that New Age thought has for truly meaningful human development and the educational and scientific quest for truth can be determined. A historical investigation which proceeds from the assumption that New Age thought is a phenomenon with philosophical underpinnings that lie in Western historical dynamics is utilised in order to extract and give context to the beliefs and premises in which New Age thought is anchored. Firstly, the movements in the West's alternative mystical and magical spiritual tradition from which current New Age spiritual approaches issue are scrutinized. This is followed by an exploration of mainstream Western history. Foundational premises and central ideas concerning New Age anthropology, morality, cosmology, and epistemology which issue forth from theories in Western philosophy, psychology, and science are identified and critically analysed. From these analyses, the meaning and direction that New Age thought circumscribes for human development and learning are fully explored and evaluated. It is found that New Age thought upholds a magical worldview in which the objective existence of truth is denied. Because New Age thought does not create educational space in which the quest for truth as obedience to truth can be learnt and practised, emotional, moral, and cognitive development is arrested and the real, educational value in scientific inquiry is defeated. This study is concluded with suggestions that are personal yet grounded in the findings of this research as to the defense and upholdment of the idea of objective truth in moral and intellectual education. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (History of Education)

This research regarding power/knowledge abuse within the church was conducted within the postmodern social construction discourse and in the context of narrative therapy, feminist theology and practical theology. It presents a chronicle of five individuals who experienced abuse within their congregations. It reflects on the co-authoring journey of these five individuals personally and within the context of the narrative group. As part of the narrative group they came to re-author their lives around what they had experienced regarding abuse within their churches. Together they challenged those dominant structures that are so often hidden just below `sacred' tradition. In conclusion the five individuals experienced a renaissance within themselves and their personal theology of God and His dealings within the church. This renaissance has led them to seek out others who have experienced this form of abuse and to give them the hope that they discovered together. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology - with specialisation in Pastoral Therapy)

Die Johannese geskrifte (Evangelie en Briewe) word veralgemenend binne die Christendom gelees en die uniekheidsbeklemtoninge ten opsigte van Jesus as enige Verlosser word ook so verstaan. Hierdie hoofsaaklik sosiaal-wetenskaplike ondersoek was gefokus op Johannes se aansprake ten opsigte van Jesus en is gedoen om bewus te maak van die sosiaal-kulturele onderbou van die geskrifte. As sodanig is dit bedoe! om heuristies in te werk ten einde bestaande hermeneuse beter te dien sodat die boodskap van die Nuwe Testament effektiewer oorgedra kan word. Dit is ook gepoog om bevindinge uit die studie deur te trek na die gesekulariseerde samelewing en pluralistiese religieuse standpunt wat te Iande bestaan. Die teksgedeeltes wat eksegeties ondersoek is, bevat die aspekte van aanvaarding of verwerping van Jesus as die unieke Godsagent wat ewige /ewe meedeel. Dit het geblyk dat die begrip in Johannes nie net op oneindigheid in die hiemamaals dui nie, maar veral op kwaliteit in die hede. Johannes se postulaat is dat Jesus konstant hierdie lewe meedeel aan hulle wat in Hom glo. Die vraag na relevansie van 'n religie uit Judaistiese oorsprong in 'n AfroWesterse samelewing en kultuur is vanuit die aspekte van kulturele relatiwisme en relatiwiteit hanteer. Dit word aanvaar dat die ingrype van God deur Jesus Christus binne die Israelitiese volksmilieu en Mediterreense kultuur plaasgevind het, maar dat dit wat Johannes aan sy lesers herbevestig het, vir aile mense relevant is. Jesus is die unieke Godsagent wat ewige lewe meedeel, wat, as sodanig, nie menslike sterflikheid negeer nie, maar dit transendeer. / The social-scientific research for this treatise concentrated on John's assertion of Jesus' uniqueness. The selected Scripture portions for exegesis contain the aspects of receiving or rejecting Him as God's Agent who bestows eternal life. Eternal lifo in John does not so much denote never ending life, but rather excellent quality of life in the present. The relevancy of a religion from a Judaistic origin in an Afro-Western cultural society was treated on the aspects of cultural relativism and cultural relativity. The conclusion accedes to the fact that God's interaction with man in the person of Jesus Christ took place within an Israelite national milieu and Mediterranean culture, but what John reasserted is relevant for all time- the life that Jesus bestows does not negate mortality, but transcends it. / New Testament / M. Th. (Nuwe Testament)

This thesis tries to give a critically considered view of what New Age thought is about, where it came from, and where it takes education and the scientific quest for truth. The interest of this study lies in exposing the underlying New Age beliefs and premises so that the implications that New Age thought has for truly meaningful human development and the educational and scientific quest for truth can be determined. A historical investigation which proceeds from the assumption that New Age thought is a phenomenon with philosophical underpinnings that lie in Western historical dynamics is utilised in order to extract and give context to the beliefs and premises in which New Age thought is anchored. Firstly, the movements in the West's alternative mystical and magical spiritual tradition from which current New Age spiritual approaches issue are scrutinized. This is followed by an exploration of mainstream Western history. Foundational premises and central ideas concerning New Age anthropology, morality, cosmology, and epistemology which issue forth from theories in Western philosophy, psychology, and science are identified and critically analysed. From these analyses, the meaning and direction that New Age thought circumscribes for human development and learning are fully explored and evaluated. It is found that New Age thought upholds a magical worldview in which the objective existence of truth is denied. Because New Age thought does not create educational space in which the quest for truth as obedience to truth can be learnt and practised, emotional, moral, and cognitive development is arrested and the real, educational value in scientific inquiry is defeated. This study is concluded with suggestions that are personal yet grounded in the findings of this research as to the defense and upholdment of the idea of objective truth in moral and intellectual education. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (History of Education)

<p>The aim of this thesis is to describe and analyse pupils’ and teachers’ views on pupils’ responsibility for their schoolwork and how this relates to a more comprehensive ideology of school and today’s high modern society. The analysis is inspired by Anthony Giddens’ structuration theory and the concepts of discursive consciousness, practical consciousness, rules, routines and resources.</p><p>At school level pupils’ and teachers’ views of pupils’ responsibility is shown in their practical and discursive consciousness. To capture this consciousness, observations were made during fifteen lessons in school year 9 (15-16 years of age). These lessons - “study times” - were introduced to increase freedom of choice, flexibility and responsibility. Sixty-eight pupils and twenty-two teachers were interviewed. The ideology expressed in pupils’ and teachers’ views on pupils’ responsibility was related to the official school ideology expressed in the national curriculum. Finally, an analysis was carried out inspired by Anthony Giddens’ and Ulrich Beck´s concepts used in their descriptions of the high modern society, individualism and value-relativism.</p><p>The results showed a discursive consensus between teachers and pupils concerning their views pupils’ responsibility for their schoolwork. The meaning of responsibility was taken for granted and implied doing the school tasks and to complete them in time. Both teachers and pupils expressed that many pupils’ have difficulties in taking this responsibility. A discrepancy between the pupils’ discursive and practical consciousness was found.</p><p>Rules and routines were created by the teachers to control the freedom of space offered during the “study times”. The pupils legitimated the teachers’ controlling function but in practice they offer resistance against the demand for responsibility.</p><p>The overall analysis identified three issues that are important for further discussions in research and educational practice. Responsibility and learning: Responsibility was observed as a part of a “culture of doing” separated from learning as such. Also, responsibility was linked to individual work. The freedom offered during the “study times” was used by both pupils, and teachers, to build relationships. This means that relationships were not created through work but rather despite it. Responsibility and the view of the pupils’: In pupils’ and teachers’ view of responsibility pupils were easy going, ruled by lust and/or responsible but not always according to the conditions stipulated by the school. The pupils were offered a freedom to choose but they were also held responsible for the consequences. While they could make the choice not to work, this would influence the evaluation of the achievements, and in reality make it a “non-choice”. The freedom was limited and conditioned. Responsibility as a democratic principle: The connection between responsibility and pupil participation expressed in the national curriculum was not to be found in pupils’ and teachers’ views of responsibility. While the pupils were offered participation in relation to which assignments to choose to work with during the “study times”. They were not invited to shape the rules and the routines for the schoolwork or to have influence on the contents of the work or the working environment. The pupils’ did not ask for more participation, but rather feared it would lead to chaos. The separation between participation and responsibility indicated in the study is suggested to weaken the idea of responsibility as one of the democratic principles.</p><p>In conclusion: The view of pupils’ responsibility for their schoolwork was built upon an individualistic ideology. known from Giddens and Becks description of high modernity. In contrast to their description, however my results show no signs of value-relativism</p>

On the assumption that there are no objective normative facts, what is the best theory of normative language? I try to answer this question. Chapter 1 argues for a presumption against noncognitivism and explains why error-theories are of limited interest: they concern adverbs and adjectives like ‘moral’, but not words like ‘ought’, ‘good’ and ‘reason’. This narrows down the options: the best subjectivist theory of normative language is a truth conditional, non-error-theoretic account. Chapter 2 argues for contextualism about normative statements. Contextualists hold that their truth conditions (can) vary with the context of utterance. Chapter 3 starts the assessment of contextualist theories. It looks into Humean accounts. Problems are revealed with both Harman’s and Schroeder’s versions. Chapter 4 develops a form of indexical relativism according to which the truth of normative statements depends on contextually salient rules. I present imperative-based analyses of ‘ought’ and ‘reason’ and show how they can explain why ‘A ought to X’ entails that the balance of reasons favours that A X-es. Chapter 5 further develops the theory of chapter 4 and applies it to the words ‘good’ and ‘must’. It turns out to be hard to analyse ‘good’. It also emerges that ‘must’ and ‘ought’ cannot be given different truth conditions. Chapter 6 explains Stephen Finlay’s end-relational theory. On this account, normative statements concern the relation in which acts or objects stand to contextually salient ends. In the case of ‘ought’ and ‘good’, this relation is one of probability raising. Chapter 7 discusses and answers some familiar objections to Finlay’s view. Chapter 8 raises some new problems, related to the fact that normative judgments are often made in the light of several ends. Chapter 9 explains why the end-relational theory is nonetheless the best subjectivist theory of normative language.

La recherche entreprise est une étude des œuvres romanesques de Luigi Pirandello, étude dont le fil conducteur est le rapport inextricable d’ordre et de désordre. Prisonniers d’une forme, les personnages pirandelliens tentent de se libérer à travers un questionnement existentiel sans fin qui leur fait prendre conscience des limites de leur être, mais aussi de leur difficulté à communiquer. Confrontés au regard de l’ « Autre », ils apparaissent toujours porteurs d’un masque, ce qui leur dénie toute identité stable et définitive. Et il n’est pas étonnant, dans ces conditions, que chaque personnage soit tout à la fois « un, personne et cent mille ». D’où le relativisme de Pirandello et sa théorie de l’humorisme qui vise à montrer les choses dans leur profondeur et leur abyssale complexité. En effet, pour Pirandello la réalité est multiple et changeante en fonction des points de vue. De plus, elle est souvent le résultat d’une série de hasards qui la mettent à l’épreuve du chaos, ce qui induit, chez les personnages, doute, incertitude et mal-être. C’est pourquoi leur quête de vérité et d’authenticité sera toujours infinie, sans cesse renouvelée. Entre désir de fuite et retours en arrière, leur vie sera – quelle qu’en soit la forme – illusoire. Tout au plus une fiction. / The research undertaken here is a study of Pirandello’s novels ; a study with the inextricable relationship between order and disorder as a main theme. Imprisoned in their form, Pirandello’s characters attempt to free themselves through an endless existential questioning which makes them aware of their limitations as beings, and their difficulties to communicate. Confronted to the eyes of “others”, they always appear with a mask on, which denies them any stable and clear-cut identity. As a consequence it is not surprising that each character is at once “one, nobody and a hundred thousand”. This explains Pirandello’s relativism and his theory of humour which aims at showing things in depth and in their abyssal complexity. Indeed, in Pirandello’s view, reality is multiple changing depending on the points of view; Moreover, it is often a series of chances which puts it to the test of chaos, which entails doubt, uncertainty and discomfort on the characters. That is why their quest of truth and authenticity will always be infinite, continually renewed between the will to escape and backwards looks to the past, their lives –whatever their forms – will be illusory- a fiction at the most.

Esta tese de doutorado estuda o perspectivismo na obra de Nietzsche, bem como o confronto com a verdade que ele representa. Para tanto, procuramos mostrar que esse confronto atravessa toda a obra de Nietzsche, pois já os seus escritos iniciais investigam as condições para o surgimento da crença na verdade, além dos interesses a que ela atendia. Expondo que Nietzsche, apropriando-se do legado crítico de Kant em suas primeiras obras, ensaia uma destruição completa da verdade, pretendemos demonstrar que ele falha em seus objetivos porque a radicalidade de seus argumentos destruiria os próprios pressupostos em que estão baseados, ou seja, os do idealismo transcendental kantiano. Nesse momento em que circunscrevemos nossa análise aos escritos inicias, tentamos demonstrar que Nietzsche limita-se a refutar a noção de verdade como adequação com a coisa-em-si, mas falha ao querer ampliar esse refutação além desses limites. Por isso, analisando a maneira pela qual o combate à verdade se posiciona a partir dos escritos da década de 80, defendemos que neles o perspectivismo se torna decisivo para os problemas enfrentados inicialmente por Nietzsche. Interpretando o perspectivismo como um fenomenalismo da consciência e um interpretacionismo, investigamos, no decorrer deste trabalho, a forma pela qual Nietzsche re-elabora a crítica à verdade em seus escritos tardios. Considerando essa crítica ainda a partir da apropriação de Kant, buscamos demonstrar que ela atinge os fins perseguidos por Nietzsche sem, contudo, ficar preso aos impasses das primeiras 5 obras. Isso implica mostrar que Nietzsche vai recusar não apenas a noção de verdade como adequação com a coisa-em-si, mas também a concepção moderna de verdade como certeza e fundamento para o conhecimento. Eis por que Nietzsche alveja a noção cartesiana do eu penso como a primeira verdade, assim como a concepção kantiana de verdade expressa nos juízos lógicos. Sustentamos, assim, que o fenomenalismo da consciência refuta a noção de unidade, pressuposto fundamental às filosofias cartesiana e kantiana. Em seguida, analisamos como Nietzsche, apropriando-se da ideia kantiana de princípios regulativos, afirma que todas as visões com que avaliamos o mundo são ficções, erros, ótica-de-perspectivas da vida com valor regulativo para a existência. Defendemos, por fim, que embora se posicione radicalmente contra a verdade a partir da luta de interpretações, o perspectivismo não se torna um relativismo, na medida em que se liga à teoria da vontade de potência, a qual é o critério para avaliar as perspectivas e ela mesma apresentada como interpretação. / This Doctoral Thesis studies perspectivism on the work of Nietzsche, as well as the confrontation with the truth it represents. In order to do so, we try to show that this confrontation pervades Nietzsche\'s work, as his former writings investigate the conditions for the emergence of the belief in the truth, beyond the interests to which it served. By expounding that Nietzsche, borrowing Kant\'s critical legacy in his early works, starts out a complete destruction of truth, we intend to demonstrate that he fails in his objectives. This occurs because the radicalism of his arguments would destroy the very foundations which they are based upon, that is, Kantian transcendental idealism. At the moment we circumscribe our analysis to the early writings, we intend to demonstrate that Nietzsche limits himself to refuting the notion of truth as an adequacy to the thing-in-itself, but fails to widen this refutation beyond these limits. Therefore, we analyze the means of the fight against the truth, as presented in his writings from the 80`s. We defend that, in these writings, perspectivism becomes decisive in relation to the problems formerly faced by Nietzsche. By interpreting perspectivism as a phenomenalism of the conscience and interpretationism, we investigate the means by which Nietzsche re-elaborates the critique of truth in his late writings. Through the understanding of this critique as an appropriation of Kant\'s ideas, we try to demonstrate that it reaches the goals set by Nietzsche. Therefore it bypasses the impasses of his early work. This is to show that Nietzsche declines not only the notion of truth as adequacy to the thing-in-itself, but also the modern concept of truth as certainty and foundation of knowledge. That is 7 why Nietzsche aims at the Cartesian notion of \"I think\" as the first truth, as well as the Kantian conception of truth as expressed in logical judgments. Therefore, we sustain that phenomenalism of the conscience refutes the notion of unity, fundamental presupposition to Cartesian and Kantian philosophies. Additionally, we analyze the way Nietzsche, appropriating the Kantian idea of regulative principles, asserts that every vision we take to evaluate the world is fiction, a mistake, a perspectives-optic of life with a regulative value to existence. We defend, finally, that, even perspectivism radically stands against the truth - understood as strife of interpretations. It does not become relativism, since it is connected to the Theory of the Will to Power, which is the criterion to evaluate perspectives and which is itself presented as interpretation.