Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:12:11Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 RogerioEGA_DISSERT.pdf: 1043921 bytes, checksum: 998b8c0e3542ed26e5d6bf8fae16b93a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-11-16 / Made from the bases of metaphysics, this dissertation is related do Kant‟s moral philosophy. But the itinerary to reach the main speculation used to develop this current understanding of Kant‟s thoughts, it is nothing but an attempt to make the formal rigor more flexible, which has always been associated to Kantian ethics‟ perspectives. From the awareness of what this formalism could be, while a moral arrangement, it is how we will be able to come upon a teleological Kant. That is the fundamental element to comprehend some of the significant aspects in that ethical system, which necessarily comes through the effort to demonstrate the proximity between reason and sensibility, as well as nature and liberty. In this environment, the journey to achieve the autonomy, as the bedrock of liberty and morality, evokes the support of education in Kantian patterns, which enables a course of improvement of the human being, as an individual e, more significantly, as specie. This evolution progress, which tents to reveal the destiny of the humanity, is evolved in the relationship between necessity and finality, as a condition to make the structure of a project to humanity possible. We should mention that it is a rational, an educational and a moral project to be developed in the course of history. As a consequence, the amount of all these elements permits the development of the man‟s natural disposition as a creature that looks for self knowledge , becoming, afterward, dignified to be qualified as a human being. Finally, this study intent to figure out the necessity of the human being inclusion to nature, which happens throughout the acquirement of the individuals‟ conscience / Constru?da nos alicerces da metaf?sica, a presente disserta??o trata da filosofia moral kantiana. Mas o itiner?rio das especula??es que regem a elabora??o dessa (re)leitura, dos pensamentos daquele fil?sofo, ? uma tentativa de flexibilizar o rigor formal, desde sempre associado aos horizontes da ?tica kantiana. Ser? da compreens?o do que vem a ser esse formalismo, em sua arquitetura da moralidade, que poderemos caminhar ao encontro de um Kant teleol?gico; e, esse ? o elemento fundamental para entender alguns aspectos significativos naquele sistema ?tico, os quais passam necessariamente pela aproxima??o que tentamos demonstrar entre raz?o e sensibilidade, bem como entre natureza e liberdade. Nesse diapas?o, temos que a jornada ao encontro da autonomia, enquanto alicerce da liberdade e da moralidade, convoca o auxilio da educa??o nos padr?es kantianos, do que se pode vislumbrar uma trajet?ria de aperfei?oamento do homem, enquanto indiv?duo e, muito mais significativamente, enquanto esp?cie. Esse movimento evolutivo, que tende a revelar o destino da humanidade, est? engendrado na rela??o entre necessidade e finalidade, sendo a condi??o de possibilidade para a estrutura??o de um projeto para a humanidade. Vale salientar que ? um projeto racional, educacional e moral a ser desenvolvido no decurso da hist?ria. Da?, a somat?ria de todos esses elementos proporciona o desenvolvimento das disposi??es naturais do homem enquanto ser que busca se auto-conhecer , tornando-se, assim, digno de ser qualificado como humano. Por fim, o estudo visa compreender a necessidade de inclus?o do homem na natureza, o que se d? atrav?s da aquisi??o de consci?ncia dos indiv?duos

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:12:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 CarlosMO_DISSERT.pdf: 1127722 bytes, checksum: e9a5c17148e68b77352ce58553784883 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-11-29 / This dissertation examines the Kantian moral in a teleological perspective. It consists of a reconstruction of philosophy practice that departs from the investigation of the categorical imperative, the concepts of duty, will, good will, as well as an approach on the ways of investigation of nature, which will enable the foundation to engage in the teleological argument, investigating the organized human beings, the harmonious system, its relationship with the ultimate and most important purpose, always flexing the analysis of these concepts the idea of purpose. Subsequently we will establish an argument about the end terminal and the implication of this concept to think about the real idea of the system in Kant and his relationship or support for moral theory. In essence this paper approaches the moral point of view of ethics, outlining the insufficiency of this field for the foundation of architectural moral, which will enable the final touch or the indispensability or the teleological argument as fundamental to the Kantian moral Theory / A presente disserta??o analisa a moral kantiana em uma perspectiva teleol?gica. Trata-se de uma reconstru??o da filosofia pr?tica que parte da investiga??o do imperativo categ?rico, dos conceitos de dever, vontade, boa vontade, bem como uma abordagem sobre as formas de investiga??o da natureza, o que possibilitar? o fundamento para enveredarmos no argumento teleol?gico, investigando os seres organizados, o sistema harm?nico, a rela??o deste com o fim ?ltimo e o mais relevante, sempre flexionando a analise desses conceitos a ideia de finalidade. Posteriormente estabeleceremos uma argumenta??o sobre o fim terminal e a implica??o deste conceito para pensar a pr?pria ideia de sistema em Kant e sua rela??o ou suporte para a teoria moral. Em ess?ncia este trabalho aborda a moral do ponto de vista deontol?gico, delineando a insufici?ncia deste campo para a funda??o da arquitet?nica moral, o que possibilitar? o arremete ou indispensabilidade do argumento teleol?gico como fundamental para teoria moral Kantiana

Esta dissertação é um estudo da doutrina evolucionária do gradual desenvolvimento da mente de Herbert Spencer, em especial como aparece na terceira parte de seus Principles of Psychology: General Synthesis (1855). Atenção é dada aos princípios epistemológicos basilares do seu sistema da Filosofia Sintética, assim como os conceitos de complexidade, estrutura, função e teleologia, em sua concepção evolucionista pré-darwiniana. Examinam-se também alguns debates em que se envolveu Spencer nesse período vitoriano / This thesis is a study of the evolutionary doctrine of gradual development of the mind of Herbert Spencer, especially as it appears in the third part of his Principles of Psychology: General Synthesis (1855). The basic epistemological principles of his Synthetic Philosophy are studied, as well as the concepts of complexity, structure, function and teleology, in his pre-Darwinian evolutionary conception. Some of his debates in this Victorian era are also examined

Trata-se de mostrar que Rousseau formula, ao longo de seus escritos, em especial no conjunto de seus Discursos, no Contrato Social e no Emílio, uma filosofia da história onde figura um movimento dialético e a ideia de um sentido último para o desenrolar dos eventos humanos. A sucessão de eventos que liga a natureza humana intocada pelos males sociais a seu destino - a qual Rousseau quer chamar de história - traria em seu bojo a possibilidade do progresso moral, consubstanciada na volta ao ordenamento natural. Assim como, frente ao espetáculo e as aparências de seu tempo, Rousseau retrocede ao homem natural, constrói a expectativa de que os tempos vindouros tragam a reconciliação do homem consigo mesmo e com a natureza, tendo o Estado, nos termos em que é proposto pelo Contrato Social, um papel fundamental para esse acontecimento. Por fim, pretende-se desenvolver a ideia de que, a partir de uma noção de história como marcha da natureza, que engendra os meios para emancipação humana, Rousseau aproxima-se do pensamento religioso, produzindo, a partir de sua filosofia da história, uma teodicéia. / This essay aims to show that Rousseau formulates, through his writings, specially in his Discourses, Social Contract and Emile, a Philosophy of History, depicting a dialectic movement and the idea of an ultimate goal or sense for the unraveling of humanity\'s events. The succession of all the events that binds an untouched by social iniquities human nature to its destiny - that Rousseau wants to name history - would bring in its bowels the possibility of moral progress, con-substantiated on the return of a natural order. As in which, facing the spectacle and appearances of his time, Rousseau leans back to this natural man; he also builds an expectation for a reconciliation for man with itself and with nature, playing the State, in the terms laid by the Social Contract, a fundamental role for this to happen. Finally, it is intended to develop the idea that, from a notion of history as a march of nature, engendering the means for human emancipation, Rousseau leans towards the religious thinking, producing in his philosophy of history, a theodicy.

This research is a historical-exegetical analysis of Hegel’s reformulation of Kant’s regulative principle of teleology into a constitutive principle. Kant ascribes teleology to the faculty of reflective judgment where it is employed as a guide to regulate inquiry, but does not constitute actual knowledge. Hegel argues that if Kant made teleology into a constitutive principle then it would be a much more comprehensive theory capable of overcoming contingency in natural science, and hence, bridging the gap between natural science and theology. In this paper I argue that Hegel’s defense of the transition from natural science to theology is ultimately unsuccessful because it is built upon on an instinct of reason, which is the instinctive feature of human rationality to transition beyond the contingency remaining in our empirical understanding of nature, to a theological understanding of nature, in which all aspects of nature are necessarily related.

Over forty years ago, Hanna Pitkin expressed concern that social scientists were failing to give concepts the attention which they needed (Pitkin 1972, 277). This thesis takes up the same theme, asking how the concept of responsiveness is treated by political scientists. The goal to reveal confusion that surrounds widely used concepts such as responsiveness. The analysis offered in this thesis has significance for the discipline of political science in three ways. First, it highlights confusion surrounding the concept of responsiveness itself. Responsiveness is a widely utilized concept employed throughout the social sciences; however, as this thesis shows, there is wide disagreement in how the concept is understood. This confusion is fueled by the frequent failure of scholars to critically analyze the concept and the assumptions which have been attached to the understanding of responsiveness. Second, by analyzing the related concepts of representation and democracy, this thesis suggests that there is a lack of attention to concepts which are employed for research that extends beyond responsiveness. Many other concepts that are foundational to our discipline warrant increased scrutiny. Third and finally, the thesis highlights the danger of ignoring the ideological commitments of political scientists, commitments that can shape in hidden but consequential ways how we study the world around us.

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the didactic potential, and applicability of fiction in religious education. The subject I wanted to examine was J.R.R. Tolkiens The Fellowship of the Ring and whether it could be enriching for religious studies in upper secondary school, focusing on normative ethics.The study used a qualitative research method and the empirical material consisted of J.R.R. Tolkiens The Fellowship of the Ring. The book was read several times and sorted and reduced using focused coding searching for ethical dilemmas and different thematic units. The result was analyzed with the help of the high school’s curriculum, previous research, and selected theoretical concepts, normative ethics and didactic potential.The results showed that the book contained a large number of ethical dilemmas and several thematic units wich could help realize its didactic potential. The book’s usefullnes and didactic potential, focusing on normative ethics in religious studies, could then be proven on the basis of the upper secondary school’s and religious studies curriculum, as well as using previous research. The ethical dilemmas and thematic units found throughout the book make it highly usefull for discussing issues of normative ethics in the classroom.

Selon Aristote, la cause finale est double, suivant ce qu’il indique en cinq endroits stratégiques du corpus : à propos de la relation causale entre la finalité et la matière, dans Physique II ; par rapport à la finalité de la reproduction animale, dans De Anima II ; et un peu plus loin, dans cette même ouvrage, le dualisme est affirmé pour éclairer la manière dont l’âme est fin pour le corps ; dans l’Éthique à Eudème, où il s’agit de préciser la façon dont le dieu est fin pour la sagesse pratique ; enfin, concernant la causalité téléologique du Premier Moteur, dans Métaphysique Λ. Ce dualisme téléologique, formulé dans les occurrences du De Anima II à travers l’expression technique τὸ οὗ et τὸ ᾧ, ayant été développée dans une étude qui ne nous est pas parvenue, est fréquemment comprise en fonction de la finalité de la production technique et traduite par « le but visé » et « le bénéficiaire ». Toutefois, cette tentative d’éclaircir cette expression laconique pose des problèmes assez importants, dont celui de sa pertinence pour l’approche des phénomènes naturels qu’elle est censée expliquer. Cette étude cherche à restituer ce dualisme de la fin au centre de la compréhension aristotélicienne de la téléologie. L’examen des occurrences, ainsi que l’étude des thèmes majeurs de la finalité dans la philosophie de la nature d’Aristote, nous conduisent à mettre en avant deux notions qui permettent expliciter ce à quoi fait référence le dualisme téléologique : la notion d’usage, χρῆσις, et celle de préservation, σωτηρία. / According to Aristotle, the final cause is twofold, as it indicates in five strategic places of the corpus: concerning the causal relation between finality and matter, in Physics II; with respect to the purpose of animal reproduction, in De Anima II; and a little further on, in this same work, this dualism is affirmed to enlighten the way in which the soul is end for the body; in Eudemian Ethics, where is it to specify the way in which the god is an end for practical wisdom; finally, concerning the teleological causality of the Prime Mover, in Metaphysics Λ. This teleological dualism, formulated in the occurrences of De Anima II through the technical expression τὸ οὗ and τὸ ᾧ, having been developed in a study that has not survived to our times, is frequently understood in terms of purpose in technical production and translated by "purpose" and "beneficiary". However, this attempt to clarify this laconic expression raises quite significant problems, including that of its relevance for the approach of the natural phenomena that it is supposed to explain. This study attempts to restore this dualism of the end at the centre of Aristotelian understanding of teleology. The examination of occurrences, as well as the study of the major themes of finality in Aristotle's philosophy of nature, lead us to put forward two notions that make explicit what the teleological dualism refers to: the notion of usage, χρῆσις, and that of preservation, σωτηρία.

Due to the fact that Scripture is the authoritative Word of God (Belgic Confession. Article 5), the infallible written Word of God. is and stays the basis for Christian ethics. Scripture is not just another single source for Christian ethics among other sources, but it is the decisive source among all other sources. The question then arises - how is it possible in the ever-changing life situation of the modem day context of society? In an ever increasing secularized society places the Christian life and also the Christian ethics under more pressure. The acceptance of the authority of Scripture is therefore indispensable for Christian ethics. Scripture does however not present a text as an absolute answer for every possible or similar ethical problem. The deep-seated principles of Scripture must be exposed. From these principles norms should be derived that is applicable to the modem problem. The problem statement that follows from this culminates as the following: Can a thematic analysis of the Biblical dogma present a fundamental working foundation for Christian ethics in modem day society and serve as a corrective for the problematic approaches of a biblicistic as well as an over critical view of Scripture for the basis of ethics? The central theoretical argument of the study is the following: A thematic analysis of the Biblical dogma can indeed present a fundamental, working foundation for Christian ethics in modem day society and can serve as a corrective for the problematic approaches of a biblicistic as well as an over critical view of Scripture for the basis of ethics. In the second chapter the definitions of what could be defined as Christian ethical perspectives and principles is examined. In other words, the purpose of the chapter is to examine and to give a broad overview of the understanding of ethics, morality, morals etc. The qualified deontological approach is chosen due to the fact that normative approach with its focus on Scripture as authoritative therein plays a big role. The third chapter focuses on which view of Scripture and use of Scripture is normally applied in Reformed ethics in the use or interpretation of Scripture. Special attention is given to the authority of Scripture, view of Scripture and an attempt is made to convey the hermeneutical points of departure (axioms) in order to derive an intra-biblical use of Scripture. The chapter comes to the conclusion that even though the Christian ethicist does have in theory at his disposal a biblical-founded hermeneutical model it does not safeguard him against a faulty use or interpretation of Scripture in practice in the fourth chapter the present-day Scriptural principles that serves as basis and cadre for the interpretation of Scripture in light of the answering of Christian ethical questions is examined. In light of the present-day situation seems that although there is a sound hermeneutical axiom that serves as filters in the interpretation of Scripture in the reformed ethics, in practice either a biblicistic or a Criticism of Scripture approach to Scripture is chosen. The approaches of the fundamentalistic/biblicistic and Criticism of Scripture is examined and m e s to the conclusion that both, in their own way, does bring the authority and the message of Scripture in disrepute. In the event of the fundamentalistic and biblicistic approach the divine inspiration character of Scripture is overemphasized and all Scriptural Utterances is treated on the same level to such an instance that everything is sanctioned. In the event of the Criticism of Scripture the human fallible character is again overemphasized to the extent that the normative authority of Scripture for Christian ethics is not taken into account . The chapter comes to the conclusion mat a "third way” must be examined to circumvent the many pitfalls of either a fundamentalistic/biblicistic of Criticism of Scripture in the interpretation of Scripture in light of a modem day ethical problem. In the fifth chapter an adjudication and evaluation of the quality of the use or Interpretation of Scripture in light of capital punishment within the biblical view of a right to life is given as a representative of modem day ethical problems. In light of the principles given in Chapter 3 and 4 it is shown that Scripture is most often misused despite fair hermeneutical principles Only to reflect the ethicist own preconceived ideas. The last chapter indicates an approach that might possibly serve as an alternative/valid use or interpretation of Scripture in reformed ethics other than a typical biblicistic/fundamentalistic or Criticism of Scripture approach. The chapter draws to the conclusion that the contextual-paradigmatic approach is at this time the only capable approach of acknowledging the proper interpretation of Scripture to shed some light on the ethical problems of modem day society, without stepping into the boundaries of either a biblicistic/fundamentalistic of Criticism of Scripture interpretation of Scripture. The contextual-paradigmatic approach succeeds in preventing the ethicist to misinterpret Biblical texts that seems to be of importance to the debate of capital punishment and to make a scientific contribution lo important debates in South Africa today, especially those related to the interpretation of the Bible and its use in the development of South Africa. In this way an attempt is made to contribute towards and to provide guidelines for a healthy and responsible society and for the functioning of Christians within the current South African state. The message of the Bible must thus be established in a responsible and valid way, and communicated effectively to society. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Ethics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006

This dissertation argues that philosophers Barbara Forrest and Robert T. Pennock fail to discredit William A. Dembski's Design Inference as a legitimate scientific program. Chapter 1 is the introduction, explaining the problem and the research methodology used in the dissertation to ascertain a conclusion. Chapter 2 is a background survey and analysis of contemporary Intelligent Design (ID) theory and Dembski's part within the overall schemata of the Intelligent Design enterprise. Particular aspects of Dembski's Design Inference framework and its corresponding "explanatory filter" are explained in Chapter 3. Both Forrest and Pennock had significant influence on the judge's final opinion in the Kitzmiller v. Dover trial, which brought serious scrutiny against ID's scientific merit. Criticism against Dembski was an important part of Forrest and Pennock's respective expert testimony against ID. Based on this trial testimony and their respective academic writings, Chapter 4 therefore argues for the legitimacy of Forrest and Pennock as influential critics when considering Dembski's scientific relevance. The chapter also surveys their substantive arguments against Dembski. Dembski's own response to the categorical criticisms by Forrest and Pennock are addressed in Chapter 5. The concluding analysis is in Chapter 6, arguing that Dembski's Design Inference maintains as viable science, despite the critiques by Forrest and Pennock. / This item is only available to students and faculty of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. If you are not associated with SBTS, this dissertation may be purchased from <a href="http://disexpress.umi.com/dxweb">http://disexpress.umi.com/dxweb</a> or downloaded through ProQuest's Dissertation and Theses database if your institution subscribes to that service.