Uma das principais características do Behaviorismo Radical de B. F. Skinner (1904-1990) é sua crítica sistemática às explicações mentalistas para o comportamento. Contudo, o próprio conceito de Mentalismo pode ter muitos sentidos. O objetivo do trabalho foi descrever o que Skinner definia por Mentalismo e que críticas fazia a ele no período de 1931-1959. Após a análise de alguns trabalhos de Skinner nesse período, observou-se que o Mentalismo criticado entre os anos 30 e 40 foi principalmente o presente na Fisiologia Conceitual e nos Behaviorismos de Tolman, Hull, Boring e Stevens. Do final dos anos 40 até 1959, a crítica era dirigida especialmente à Psicanálise de Freud e à Psicologia da Consciência. Em relação aos tipos de críticas feitas por Skinner, não foram observadas mudanças significativas na argumentação de Skinner. As objeções foram apoiadas principalmente na natureza não científica de tais explicações, em sua circularidade, no seu reducionismo, no seu efeito negativo de afastar o estudo do comportamento em si mesmo, impedindo dessa forma a identificação das causas reais da ação, atrasando assim a criação de uma tecnologia do comportamento capaz de ajudar na solução de problemas humanos. Discute-se também como o Antimentalismo seria a principal razão de existir do Behaviorismo Radical, que teria a responsabilidade de abrir espaço para uma Ciência do Comportamento que viesse a substituir a própria Psicologia. As possibilidades dessa missão ser bem sucedida também são avaliadas. / One of the main characteristics of B. F. Skinner's Radical Behaviorism (1904-1990) is his constant criticism against mentalistic explanations for behavior. However, the concept of Mentalism itself may have several different meanings. The purpose of this work is to describe what Skinner meant by Mentalism and what criticism he made against it between 1931 and 1959. After analyzing some of Skinners' works at that period, it was noticed that the Mentalism criticized between the 30's and 40's was the one that was found at Conceptual Physiology and at Tolman, Hull, Boring and Stevens' Behaviorism. From the late 40's to 1959, criticism was directed specially towards Freud's Psychoanalysis and to the Psychology of Consciousness. In relation to the type of criticism made by Skinner, no meaningful change in his argumentation was found. The objections were mainly supported by the non-scientific nature of such explanations, their circularity and reductionism, their negative effect of avoiding the study of behavior in itself, in this way, preventing the identification of the real causes of action, then delaying the creation of a behavioral technology capable of helping to find the solution to human problems. It was also discussed how Antimentalism would be the main reason for the existence of Radical Behaviorism which would be responsible for leading the way to a Science of Behavior that would replace Psychology itself. The possibilities of success of such endeavor will also be evaluated.

Kate Chopin’s stories including “A Pair of Silk Stockings,” “A Very Fine Fiddle” and “Azelie” are rich in subject-object relationships. Close text analysis helps explicate the power of these objects or things. A thing is animate and an object is not. The stockings, fiddle, and store objects are part of a transaction between things and people; what is an object to one character is a thing to another. Exploration of Victorian women and department stores illuminates how stockings overpower Mrs. Sommers. Research on share tenant life, violins’ value, and Louisiana mixed ancestry reveals how the fiddle enables Fifine and Cleophas to re-imagine their identities and cross social boundaries; similarly, “authentic woman” feminist theory highlights how objects affect Azelie’s agency. Functioning atypically, stockings, a fiddle, and store items become things and not just objects. Things invite Chopin’s characters to embrace uncertainty. We are in things and things are in us. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2019. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

In the corpus of Chekhov's prose there is a perceptible evolution in his use of irony. This study involves an examination of the use of irony in the initial, middle and final phases of his artistic career. It will demonstrate that in the initial phase, Chekhov's use of irony was direct and overt; in the middle phase, it was more deliberate and covert; and in the final phase, it was subdued, more transparent and transcendent. Selected stories taken from all three periods will illustrate this evolution.

Kate Chopin, 1851-1904, gained national fame when her local color stories became published in acclaimed magazines such as Vogue and the Atlantic. Her novel, The Awakening (1899), however, criticized for its controversial content and its heroine, Edna Pontellier, whose ambiguous actions and final suicide were focus of the critical attention, received only negative reactions and silenced Chopin as a writer. Interpretations by feminists, realists, or culturalhistorians proved insufficient in their attempts to explain the dilemma of the heroine. Approached from an existentialist point of view, the novel seems to derive new meaning, but the few extant critical discussions remain either too superficial or too general in scope. A thorough explication of J.-P. Sartre's existentialism, in particular, however, would provide a fresh, insightful interpretation not only of The Awakening, but also of selected short stories that had critics equally torn when faced with the seemingly ambivalent decisions of their heroines.Following the literature review of Chapter I, Chapter II will provide background information on Sartrian existentialism while focusing on such terms as anguish, bad faith, and authenticity that are especially relevant for a better understanding of Chopin's works. How several of her short stories and The Awakening will derive new significance when approached from an existentialist perspective will be shown in Chapters III and IV, respectively, the interpretation mainly centering on the argument that the dilemmas of the heroines, formerly described as "female" or "romantic," are essentially "human" and derive universal, therefore existential significance. Finally, I will try to account for Kate Chopin's "existentialism" in Chapter V by not only taking a closer look at the social issues she was surrounded by, and also her personal life that was the foundation of her thinking, being expressed in ideas that would put her way beyond the "Zeitgeist" of her times. / Department of English

The purpose of the present study is to analyze the structural techniques and genre of Chekhov's plays. / The many books and articles published on Chekhov's plays far exceeds his own works. Although there have been numerous studies analyzing the structural techniques of his play, considerable controversy still exists among literary and theatre scholars regarding the genre of his plays. Most of the studies simply avoid this complex and intricate problem. / In this study particular emphasis is also placed on the dramatic techniques used by Chekhov: the sequence of events, the nature of the roles and the so-called "unfinished" endings.

Anton Chekhov pursued two careers simultaneously throughout his life—that of a doctor as well as a writer of prose and drama. It is not surprising, therefore, to discover many physicians amongst his characters but it is puzzling that the portrayal of doctors is frequently unflattering despite his admitted indebtedness to the profession. The thesis herein proposed is that the poor image Chekhov presents points to the necessity of self-determination in matters of emotional and spiritual health; if the doctors are incapable of healing themselves and those in their care, the patients might well take the biblical directive, "Arise! Take up thy bed and walk." In his stated desire to show people how bad and dreary their lives are, thereby assisting them in fashioning better lives, Chekhov's prescription is one of self-help. The short stories—Late-Blooming Flowers, Anyuta, Ward No. 6, The Head Gardener's Tale and The Doctor's Visit—and the plays— Platonov, Ivanov, The Seagull, The Wood-Demon, Uncle Vanya and Three Sisters—have been examined; beneath the incompetence and villainy of the doctors an affirming statement is discovered in the otherwise melancholy canon of Chekhov. / Arts, Faculty of / Theatre and Film, Department of / Graduate

Beliefs a writer holds dear clearly influence the selection and treatment of ideas in his fiction: the purpose of this study is to examine the effect of Greene's religious sensibility on theme, mode, and characterization in a representative selection of his novels. From the late 30's to the early 50's, Greene's novels deal with dilemmas of faith that beset his Catholic characters; In The Power and the Glory (1940) he achieves startling and dramatic effects from the religious paradigms at the core of the novel. After the contentious success of the so-called 'Catholic' trilogy, The End of the Affair (1951) illustrates the difficulties to which an overzealous concern with specific issues of doctrine can lead when religious premises conflict directly with artistic requirements. From this point on, the perspective of Greene's novels is less and less specifically religious as he turns to considerations of a wider moral and social kind. In The Quiet American (1955), Greene explores the more existentialist questions of the freedom of choice and the responsibility of individual existence; however, his long preoccupation with Catholicism still intrudes in ways detrimental to the established development of the fiction. With the publication of The Comedians (1966) it is evident that Greene has moved even further away from the crises of faith that hounded his earlier characters as he focuses on an uncommitted anti-hero surrounded by an assortment of ideologies and forms of commitment. The development in Greene's religious vision has made him see and respond to the world of experience differently so that the themes and techniques of his fiction have changed accordingly. The broadening of his religious concerns has resulted in fiction that is less doctrinaire, less controversial, and perhaps more accessible. The negative presentation of the necessity of any form of faith through an anti-heroic central character has meant some loss of the intensity he could achieve as a novelist of urgent spiritual conflicts in his 'Catholic' period: it has also meant he could transcend specific issues of doctrine that could be so binding on his literary imagination, enabling him to create a more detached and witty representation of his broader religious ideas. / Arts, Faculty of / English, Department of / Graduate

Fessenden’s Worlds: Biosys is a short film inspired by the 1937 short story “Fessenden’s Worlds” by Edmond Hamilton. The first chapter situates the original story in science fiction film and media, and in wider folklore. Parallels and contrasts within the storylines of the original “Fessenden’s Worlds” and the Biosys short film are discussed. The second chapter examines all production techniques used to create Fessenden’s Worlds: Biosys. Aspects of filmmaking include storyboarding and previsualization research, production design and prop building, and filming for green screen compositing. The post-production software techniques used to create Fessenden’s Worlds: Biosys are discussed, including hard surface and organic 3D modeling in Maya; texturing in Substance Painter; rendering in Arnold; particle and geometric procedural visual effects using Trapcode Particular, Mir, and Shine; and motion graphics design for device displays in Adobe After Effects. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.F.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2021. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

This paper examines the metaphoric structures that underlie Chopin's major novel, The Awakening, as well as those underlying selected short stories. Drawing on the modern theory of metaphor described by Mark Turner, George Lakoff, and Mark Johnson, the author argues that conceptual metaphors are the structural elements that underlie our experiences, thoughts, and words, and that their presence is revealed through our everyday language. Since these conceptual structures are representative of human thought and language, they are also present in literary texts, and specifically in Chopin's texts. Conceptual metaphors and the linguistic forms that result from them are so basic a part of our thinking that we automatically construct our utterances by means of them. Accordingly, conceptual metaphor mirrors human thought processes, as demonstrated by the way we describe our experiences.

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