This thesis argues that bioethics emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s not as a novel way to engage new technological or social ethical questions of life (bios), but rather as a late, post-Enlightenment secular phenomenon. In particular, bioethics seeks to adopt a methodology of theorizing on morality that is prominent in modern science, and this is a strategy that I contest by following Wittgenstein’s critique of scientific theorizing. Wittgenstein’s later exercises with language present a critical and clarifying way to identify the immanent and self-referential schema of principlism in bioethics. Additionally, I show how Wittgenstein’s approach to philosophy as a skillful and therapeutic activity rather than a cognitive content is informative for bioethics. Hence, I suggest that in pre-modern, traditional eras—or even in many contemporary non-Western global sectors—bioethics largely would be indistinct from religious and theological dogma and practices. I argue that the modern mind prioritizes material causality, leading to a moral techne that divides spirit from matter, vios from bios. Within such a schema, nature—and especially the medicalized human body—is managed, produced, and constructed. Furthermore, I argue that Wittgenstein gestures towards an ancient transcendent way beyond the modern division of vios and bios, and that a full vision of seeing life may be glimpsed through an apophatic epistemology that guides one towards an understanding of ethics itself as a form of apophatic and embodied knowledge.

This dissertation’s contribution consists in providing a novel interpretation of the role time plays in Kant’s transcendental idealism. A significant part of Kant scholarship on the Critiques tends to assume that time, as understood in transcendental philosophy, is solely a formal property of intuition. This assumption has led several commentators to overlook a fundamental feature of transcendental idealism, namely, that in being the most basic form of intuition time is, also, a provider of content in and for experience. In looking attentively at such feature this dissertation shows that time is the activity of the self that grounds the possibility of objectivity and explores the philosophical implications of such an interpretation. In the first Chapter I conduct a comprehensive survey of relevant literature and show that it is impossible to separate general metaphysics from transcendental logic in the context of Kant’s transcendental philosophy without making serious philosophical sacrifices. I then argue, in the second Chapter, that time is not merely a formal property of intuition but is, rather, the fundamental form of intuition and that, even if space is in no way reducible to, or derivable from it, time has nonetheless primacy over space on both logical and ontological grounds. From this I argue that by time, or self-affection, Kant understands the activity of subjectivity that brings about the possibility of relating to objects through the power of imagination. In the third Chapter, I show that such relation is not left wholly undetermined and that, instead, it occurs in accordance with the layout presented by Kant in the Table of Judgments, the Table of Pure Concepts of the Understanding, the Schemata and, importantly, in the System of Principles of the Understanding. I show that only an interpretation that acknowledges the systematicity found in the Analytic section of the Critique of Pure Reason can justify the distinction drawn by Kant between the mathematical and the dynamical and conclude, from that, that time does indeed provide a specific content in and for experience to be found in the Schematism doctrine. Finally, in the fourth Chapter I broaden the philosophical scope and inquire as to whether Kant has the theoretical means to articulate something like an uncategorized schema or time-determination. I conclude that, although in the Critical period Kant can do so only problematically, in the post-Critical period there are means to do so categorically: system, as such, is a time-determination for which the understanding lacks a pure concept.

The continued presence and importance of Christian moral values in our daily lives, coupled with the fact that faith in Christianity is in continual decline, raises the question as to why having lost faith in Christianity, we have also not lost faith in our Christian moral values. This question is also indicative of a more pressing phenomenon: not only have we maintained our faith in Christian values, we fail to see that the widespread collapse of Christianity should affect this faith. To tackle this latter phenomenon, I claim, we have to pose the Nietzschean question of the value of our moral values, so as to see that this value can be a possible object of questioning. In chapter one, I consider different approaches found in the history of moral philosophy that look like potential candidates for this task. I argue that, ultimately, the task requires simultaneously taking our familiarity with Christian moral values as both sui generis and a questionable phenomenon. In chapter two, I articulate in detail the sui generis nature of this familiarity with moral values,in terms of the phenomena of habituation and sedimentation. In chapter three, I consider the possibility of estrangement that is built into our familiarity with moral values, by focusing on the role of cognition. I demonstrate how cognition, in the form of self-consciousness, can disrupt the sedimented, habituated nature of our moral values through a form of ironic disruption. In chapter four, I develop this account by considering the possibility of an appeal to an alternative moral outlook. To do so, I draw upon the structural isomorphism that is present between the process of estrangement and a rite of passage.

This thesis offers a systematic analysis of the ideological structure in the Islamic Republic of Iran through the lens of Lacanian psychoanalytic critique of ideology. The Lacanian emphasis on the libidinal constitution of ideology changes the object of analysis from social reality in its empirical aspects to the unconscious or disavowed conditions sustaining social reality in the Islamic Republic. The overall analysis of this thesis is divided into three interrelated research domains: the first domain of political subjectivity examines how subjectivity in Iran is embedded in the ideological order, as well as how that order was constructed through the 1979 Islamic revolution by tapping into the unconscious agency of political subjectivity; the second theologico-political domain inquires into the form of ideology materialised in the socio-political framework of the Islamic Republic and analyses its libidinal sustainability; the third domain explores the political economy in Iran by conflating its historical and ontological inquiry. The analysis of the three domains helps me to discern the inherent contradictions of the ideological structure in contemporary Iran and the peculiar way these contradictions are mediated. Their mediation conversely ensures the reproduction of ideology on an unconscious level. This thesis therefore explores how ideology in the Islamic Republic of Iran enables a consistent experience of social reality and how subjectivity sustains the ideological order through libidinal investments.

Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Farmácia, Florianópolis, 2010 / Made available in DSpace on 2012-10-25T13:48:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 287219.pdf: 2032656 bytes, checksum: 13524cd63e1323da14928dfee8240bbc (MD5) / A toxicidade da Anfotericina B - desoxicolato (ABDOC) tem sido a maior limitante de sua utilização. Contudo, devido ao baixo custo desta formulação e o amplo espectro de atividade da AB, tem se mantido há décadas como um dos fármacos antifúngicos de maior relevância no tratamento de infecções fúngicas invasivas (IFI). Neste sentido, o objetivo do presente estudo foi avaliar os eventos adversos e o custo da terapia com ABDOC em pacientes imunodeprimidos do Hospital Universitário da Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina no período de janeiro a dezembro de 2008. Durante este período 53 pacientes foram tratados com ABDOC e os mesmos foram classificados de acordo com a doença de base: Grupo I - HIV (n = 23, 43,4%); Grupo II - Leucemias (n = 11, 20,8%); Grupo III - Câncer (n = 11, 20,8%) e Grupo IV - Outros (n = 8, 15,1%). A dose média por dia de ABDOC administrada aos 53 pacientes foi de 36,7 mg, a cumulativa de 548,5 mg e o tempo da terapia de 14,4 dias, sendo que foi significativamente menor no grupo III quando comparado ao grupo I. O tempo de infusão variou de 2 a 6 horas entre os pacientes. A utilização como terapia empírica foi responsável por mais da metade (73,6%) das indicações médicas de ABDOC e as IF confirmadas antes e após o início da terapia representaram 26,4 e 67,9% dos casos, respectivamente. Nestes, o Cryptococcus neoformans e a Candida spp. foram responsáveis por 37,4 e 26,4%, respectivamente. Os antibacterianos foram administrados concomitantemente a ABDOC em 90,6% dos pacientes, os quais não foram relacionados à nefrotoxicidade observada durante a terapia. Entre os efeitos adversos relacionados à infusão os mais frequentes foram: febre (n = 21, 39,6%), calafrio (n = 15, 28,3%), náuseas (n = 11, 20,8%), dor (n = 10, 18,9%) e cefaleia (n = 10, 18,9%). A administração de analgésicos, corticóides e anti-histamínicos foi observada predominantemente 30 minutos antes da infusão. Os efeitos nefrotóxicos hipocalemia e hipercreatininemia foram os mais observados nos prontuários de 24 (45,3%) e 17 (42,1%) pacientes, respectivamente. A observação dos exames laboratoriais também mostrou aumento significativo de uremia e hipomagnesemia após início da terapia com ABDOC. A azotemia, hipocalemia e hipomagnesia predominaram no grupo I, sobretudo devido ao tempo médio da terapia que foi significativamente maior quando comparado aos outros grupos e à dose média cumulativa de ABDOC. Todavia, estes efeitos adversos provocados pela infusão de ABDOC ocorreram de forma mais branda que a relatada na literatura, provavelmente em função da terapia hidroeletrolítica que foi administrada aos 53 pacientes. A administração de KCl 19,1%, MgSO4 50% e solução glicosada 5% concomitante a terapia com ABDOC foi observada em 50 (94,4%), 40 (75,5%) e 39 (73,6%) dos pacientes, respectivamente. A solução de NaCl 0,9% foi administrada antes e após a infusão de ABDOC em 35,8% e 20,7% dos 53 pacientes, respectivamente. Durante a terapia todos os 53 pacientes (100%) receberam NaCl 0,9%, sendo que em 21 (39,6%) o volume foi maior em relação ao período anterior a infusão de ABDOC. O custo médio por dia da terapia com ABDOC foi superior no grupo II, provavelmente em consequência dos custos dos exames laboratoriais realizados durante a terapia que foram significativamente superiores. O mesmo foi observado para a terapia empírica com ABDOC que foi significativamente mais onerosa quando comparada ao tratamento das infecções fúngicas confirmadas. A magnitude dos efeitos adversos observados, das intervenções para minimizá-los e do menor custo em relação à formulação lipídica, contribuem com a continuidade da utilização de ABDOC na instituição. No entanto, a formulação lipídica deve estar disponível como segunda linha de terapia conforme recomenda a literatura. / The toxicity of amphotericin B - deoxycholate (ABDOC) has been the most limiting of their use. However, due to the low cost of this formulation and the broad spectrum of activity of AB, it has remained for decades as one of the most relevant antifungal drugs in the treatment of invasive fungal infections (IFI). In this sense, the objective of this study was to assess adverse events and cost of therapy with ABDOC in immunocompromised patients at Hospital Universitário da Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina between January to December of 2008. During this period 53 patients were treated with ABDOC and they were classified according to underlying disease: Group I - HIV (n = 23, 43.4%) and Group II - leukemia (n = 11, 20.8%), Group III - Cancer (n = 11, 20.8%) and Group IV - Others (n = 8, 15.1%). The average dose per day of ABDOC administered to 53 patients was 36.7 mg, 548.5 mg the cumulative dose and the time of therapy 14.4 days, which was significantly lower in group III compared to Group I. Infusion time ranged from 2 to 6 hours between patients. The use as empirical therapy was responsible for more than half (73.6%) of medical indications for ABDOC and IF confirmed before and after use of therapy occurred in 26.4% and 67.9% of cases, respectively. In IF confirmed, Cryptococcus neoformans and Candida spp. occurred in 37.4% and 26.4%, respectively. Antibacterial drugs were administered concomitantly to ABDOC in 90.6% of patients, which were not related to the nephrotoxicity observed during therapy. Among the adverse effects related to infusion the more frequent were: fever (n = 21, 39.6%), chills (n = 15, 28.3%), nausea (n = 11, 20.8%), pain (n = 10, 18.9%) and headache (n = 10, 18.9%). The administration of analgesics, corticosteroids and antihistamines was predominantly observed 30 minutes after the infusion of ABDOC. The nephrotoxic effects hypokalemia and hypercreatininemia were most frequently observed in the charts of 24 (45.3%) and 17 (42.1%) patients, respectively. The observation of laboratory tests showed an increase in blood urea and hypomagnesemia also significant after initiation of therapy with ABDOC. The azotemia, hypokalemia and hypomagnesemia predominated in group I, mainly due to the average time of therapy that was significantly higher when compared to other groups and the average accumulated dose of ABDOC. However, these adverse effects caused by infusion of ABDOC were more moderated than that reported in the literature, probably due to fluid and electrolyte therapy that was administered to the 53 patients. The administration of 19.1% KCl, 50% MgSO4 and 5% glucose solution concomitant to ABDOC therapy was observed in 50 (94.4%), 40 (75.5%) and 39 (73.6%) patients, respectively. The 0.9% NaCl solution was administered before and after ABDOC infusion in 35.8% and 20.7% of the 53 patients, respectively. During therapy all 53 patients (100%) received 0.9% NaCl and in 21 (39.6%) the volumes were higher than in the period before ABDOC infusion. The average cost per day of ABDOC therapy was higher in group II, probably due to the costs of laboratory tests performed during the therapy that were significantly higher. The same was observed for the empirical therapy with ABDOC which was significantly more expensive than the treatment of confirmed fungal infections. The magnitude of the observed adverse effects, the interventions to minimize them and the lower cost compared to the lipid formulation, allows the continued use of ABDOC by the institution. However, the lipid formulation should be available as second-line therapy as recommended in the literature.

In this work I attempt to explore and correct a misconception of democracy. Standard accounts of democracy, I argue in Chapter One, adopt a functional/normative approach and focus upon either the institutional mechanisms for the fair and peaceful resolution of conflicts, or upon the moral opportunities of citizenship which the Liberal Democratic State provides, or upon the intrinsic benefits of political participation. The adoption of these perspectives leads to an account of democracy in which the citizen is seen as the holder of nominal political power. That this obstructs our understanding of democracy can be seen by asking what would be required in order to further democratise political agency, independently of extending democratic practice into non-expressly political life-spheres. The answer to this question requires a conception of the citizen as exercising effective political power; and only from this point can we construct the institutions within which such power is to be exercised. This is referred to as a 'bottom-up' perspective of democracy. The problem of democracy which confronts us is thus conceptual. The task is that of elaborating a concept of democracy which is centred on the citizen as the holder and exerciser of effective political power; i.e. one grounded on a 'rich' conception of citizenship. The argument of the thesis develops as follows. In Chapter Two I consider whether the justification of government is to be sought for solely in its good consequences or whether political participation is a necessary element. Here, I develop J S Mill's argument by considering the rule of a benevolent despot which would obviate the need for a protective function in political participation. The argument forms the ground for a critique of the instrumentalist view of political participation. In Chapter Three I begin the reconceptualisation of democracy by constructing non-functional models of democracy; models which are ordered according to the effective and formal power held by the individual citizen and which take the minimum expression of political power to be 'anterior popular consent'. The three models generated are termed Minimal, Medial and Maximal Democracies. The construction of these models restricts its focus to a central theme of democratic theory: the legislative process. This refusal to address the problem of the democratisation of executive, administrative and judicial powers both aids clarity and serves to emphasise the enormity of the project of democratisation. The models presuppose no given socio-economic context. Chapter Four seeks to clarify some of the sources of confusion in the conceptualisation of medial and maximal democracy by examining three non-minimal models: Robert Paul Wolff's model of an 'Instant Direct Democracy'; Jean-Jacques Rousseau's theory of the sovereignty of the general will; and the democratic practice of classical Athens. Both Wolff and Rousseau, it is argued, present medial and not maximal models of democracy. Our understanding of democracy, I argue, is underpinned by a conception of the responsible exercise of power. In Chapter Five I construct the reflective model of medial democracy: that of democracy as popular assent. The project here is essentially Rawlsian: of using the model to examine and refine our intuitions regarding democracy, thereby achieving a 'reflective equilibrium'. The model assumes an elective legislature which generates, discusses and revises, and approves or rejects legislative proposals; but that the ultimate power of enactment rests with the citizenry: popular assent must be secured before such proposals can become law. The reflective model envisages concentrating this power of assent in randomly chosen sub-sets of the citizen-body. This provides an opportunity for all citizens to exercise effective political power, but not conjointly. This places in a position of therapeutic trust those citizens chosen to confer or withhold assent for any given legislative proposal. The reflective model is thus analogous to the familiar practice of jury service. The question of whether all citizens should be invited to exercise effective political power is thus brought into sharp relief; and the tensions between the twin demands of democratic equality and democratic utility are explored. Chapter Six pursues that question through the attempt to sketch the characteristics of a rich conception of citizenship. The approach adopted is to ask what would have to be the case for citizenship to be considered a worthwhile activity. Mill's theory of lower and higher pleasures is adapted for this purpose. Neither the rich conception of citizenship, nor the consideration of political judgment which follows, conclusively resolves the tension between the demands of democratic equality and democratic utility. The attempt to elaborate a bottom-up theory of democracy, grounded on a conception of the citizen as the holder and exerciser of effective political power, represents a radical challenge to the pluralist conception of the Liberal Democratic State. That challenge, however, need not be external to liberalism. In Chapter Seven I argue that the eunomic strain of utopian thought, as represented by Thomas More's Utopia, offers a competing liberal conception of the State. This chapter thus examines some central issues in and critiques of utopian thought. The analysis of the Utopia is set within the context of More's life and leads to the identification of the 'utopian project' as the attempt to stimulate the desire for political reform by extending the bounds of plausibility with respect to political possibilities. The chapter concludes with the attempt to defend utopianism against both its liberal pluralist and its Marxian critics and argues that there is a need for a utopian element within Marxian socialism.

The aim of this thesis is to explore the relationship between anxiety on Working Memory (WM) performance and academic achievement. Research has highlighted negative effects of anxiety on cognition showing effects on both WM performance (e.g. Shackman et al., 2006; Schoofs et al., 2008) and academic tasks (e.g. Gumora & Arsenio., 2005). Research has aimed to understand the conditions under which anxiety impacts on cognition through considering the role of different threat manipulations on the interrelationship between anxiety, WM and academic performance (e.g. Owens et al., 2008). This has led to further research examining the role of implementing universal anxiety based interventions and WM skills training within both clinical and non-clinical samples to counteract the negative impact of anxiety on school performance. Following previous research (e.g. Shackman et al), the current thesis highlighted that spatial WM was selectively impaired by a physical threat in those who experienced increased levels of physiological arousal (study 1), and levels of worry impaired verbal WM under the same threat (studies 1 and 2). In addition, verbal WM was selectively impaired when individuals with increased levels of worry experienced a social threat (study 3). Both CBT interventions and WM training was shown to improve WM and academic performance (study 4) and CBT treatments decreased the level of anxiety and worry experienced (study 4). With future research in mind, considering the benefits of implementing universal CBT and WM treatment programmes to reduce the detrimental effects of increased anxiety and poor working memory on academic performance is crucial for young people to achieve their best in an academic environment

This study examines the philosophical question of how it is possible to appreciate music aesthetically as an expressive art form. First it examines a number of general theories that seek to make sense of expressiveness as a characteristic of music that can be considered relevant to our aesthetic appreciation of the latter. These include accounts that focus on resemblances between music and human behaviour or human feelings, on music's powers of emotional arousal, and on various ways in which music may be imaginatively construed by listeners. It argues that none of these are entirely satisfactory. Then it proposes an alternative account, focusing on what is involved when our appreciation of music as an expressive art is informed by our awareness of it as something that is expressively interpreted in performance. It is claimed that this offers the basis for a better understanding of at least some aspects of expressiveness in music and its relevance to aesthetic appreciation.

This thesis is concerned with Arendt’s political theory, particularly those elements of it concerned with political institutions. It treats her work as a response to a mis-conceptualisation of politics as being fundamentally formed of rulership and command, which is to say that she opposes treating sovereignty as an essential component of political practice. What Arendt offers, as an alternative, is a full-fledged account of how politics could operate in the absence of sovereignty. This thesis argues that it is a coherent picture, consistent across the course of her work. A particularly important element of this consistency is the closeness of fit between the material which forms the basis of Arendt’s understanding of politics and her account of political foundations. To do so, the thesis begins with a discussion of Arendt’s concept of ‘action’, which forms the basis of her understanding of politics. One of the most distinctive features of this is the importance of individual initiative, understood as responsiveness to the already given. This part of action is an essential part of linking it harmoniously to those other elements of her work which appear here. Arendt’s work on ‘judgment’ is the focus of its own chapter; it is important because judgment is Arendt’s conceptualisation of political discussion modelled on opinion, which has previously been treated as a late-career development, is here treated as consistent with and, essentially, an extension of, certain features of action. On the basis of this combined reading of action and judgment, it is possible to read Arendt’s description of political foundations as an example of the same kind of political activity. Contra Honig’s reading of the political foundation as an opportunity for resistance, this thesis treats it as a political act which invites the participation of later citizens. Finally, an account of Arendt’s institutional thought is completed by presenting her description of the ‘council system’ in combination with Thomas Jefferson’s ‘ward system’. The two combine to form an example of political organisation which both does without a reliance on sovereignty and maximises opportunities for meaningful political engagement.

This thesis explores relationships between music produced around 1800 for domestic consumption and the fictional genre of romance – a genre of fantastic atmospheres, settings and characters, quest plots with dramatic events, and a sense of antiquity and desire that represents remoteness and addresses the cultural periphery. What this fiction says about music offers a new view of romanticism in British print culture, making this thesis serve as counterhistory to studies of nineteenth-century European operatic and orchestral canons and their links with later fiction. I survey the use of music in romance novels by Ann Radcliffe, Matthew Lewis, Sir Walter Scott and James Hogg in the period 1790-1830, interrogating the ways that music served to create mood and atmosphere, enlivened social scenes and contributed to plot developments. I explore the connections between musical scenes in romance fiction and the domestic song literature – short accompanied songs, both sacred and secular, by composers such as Thomas Attwood, John Wall Callcott, Matthew Cooke, John Baptist Cramer, John Barnett, François Hippolyte Barthélemon, Charles Dibdin, William Hawes, Thomas Moore, John Parry, William Reeve, Reginald Spofforth, and Sir John Stevenson. My intersectional reading revolves around a series of imaginative figures – including the minstrel, fairies, ghosts, witches, and other supernatural figures, and Christians engaged both in virtue and vice – the identities of which remained generally consistent as influence passed between the art forms. While authors quoted song lyrics and included musical descriptions and characters, their novels recorded and modelled the performance of songs by the middle and upper classes, influencing the work of composers and the actions of contemporary performers who read romance fiction. My thesis shows how the intersection of romances with vocal music recorded a society on the cusp of modernisation, with a printing industry emerging to serve people’s growing appetites for entertainment amidst their changing views of religion and the occult. No mere diversion, fiction was integral to musical culture and together both art forms reveal key intellectual currents that circulated in the early nineteenth-century British home.