In the Nicomachean Ethics Aristotle introduces his Doctrine of the Mean, where he argues that virtue is the mean between two extremes, the mean between excess and deficiency. However, Aristotle mentions actions whose wrongness does not seem to be explained in terms of excess and deficiency; rather, it seems that these actions are always wrong, regardless of whether they are excessive, deficient, or neither. Among such actions Aristotle mentions moicheia, androphonia, and klopê (usually translated "adultery," "theft," and "murder"). Thus, with such actions the main questions become, first, what, according to Aristotle, explains the wrongness of these actions, and second, what makes it the case that they are always wrong. With these questions in mind, I will take moicheia as a test case to come up with an account that can answer these questions. In order to build this account, I make use of an objection leveled by Rosalind Hursthouse against the Doctrine of the Mean and of Howard Curzer's response to this objection. Though I claim Curzer's account fails, I make use of Curzer's work in another context in order to respond to Hursthouse's objection. Ultimately, I will claim that the wrongness of actions like moicheia can be satisfactorily explained as failures of the virtue of justice in which the agent goes beyond what properly belongs to her, beyond her proper share. However, in order for this account to succeed, I must get clearer about what resources Aristotle might have to specify what properly belongs to an agent, or what makes for one's "proper share." This can be done by looking deeper at Aristotle's theory of justice. Making use of the work of Richard Kraut, I claim that the concept of proper share involves Aristotle's ideas of nomoi (laws), and the common good. Ultimately though, what will allow us to make sense of prohibitions against acts like moicheia being absolute will be Aristotle's claim that certain laws are based on phusis ("nature"). In the last analysis, it is Aristotle's concept of phusis as it relates to human beings that will be central to his account of absolute moral prohibitions.

The central issue of this study revolves around the necessity of the church to understand its essence in order to maintain a healthy balance between its identity and its relevance. The point of departure of this thesis is based on the supposition that in its attempt to remain relevant, the possibility exists that the church may in the process loose its identity. Yet on the other hand, the possibility exists that in its attempt to preserve its identity, the church may become irrelevant. While the point of departure of this study is based on the above premise, it is also postulated that it is essential for the church to reconsider the essence of its being, in order to fully appreciate the irrefutable meaning of church. Balance between identity and relevance seems nonexistent within the church unless the church understands the fundamental nature and real meaning of itself. In the Prolegomena, introductory remarks analyse the hypothesis as stated above, followed by an explanation of the research problem, a stimulus, the methodology applied, the purpose of the thesis, a chapter defining the terminology applied and a brief explanation of the close relationship between identity and relevance to other areas relative to the church as indicated in point 3 below. Within the thesis it is argued that the essence of the church is an attribute that every member of the church universal must necessarily partake of in order to belong thereto. Historical indications are employed whereby deductions can be made by which the essence, identity and relevance of the church may be demarcated. Discussions include: the origin and nature of the church; the current academic debate about the person of Jesus; the relationship between the kingdom and the church, and the implied current crisis of the church. The thesis closes with the formulation of the conclusion based on this research, namely that in order for the church to maintain a healthy balance between identity and relevance, theologians and church leaders - although situated in a variety of differing contexts - need to acquire a fresh understanding of the essence of the church and who constitutes the church / Systematic Theology & Theological Ethics / D. Th. (Systematic Theology)

The central issue of this study revolves around the necessity of the church to understand its essence in order to maintain a healthy balance between its identity and its relevance. The point of departure of this thesis is based on the supposition that in its attempt to remain relevant, the possibility exists that the church may in the process loose its identity. Yet on the other hand, the possibility exists that in its attempt to preserve its identity, the church may become irrelevant. While the point of departure of this study is based on the above premise, it is also postulated that it is essential for the church to reconsider the essence of its being, in order to fully appreciate the irrefutable meaning of church. Balance between identity and relevance seems nonexistent within the church unless the church understands the fundamental nature and real meaning of itself. In the Prolegomena, introductory remarks analyse the hypothesis as stated above, followed by an explanation of the research problem, a stimulus, the methodology applied, the purpose of the thesis, a chapter defining the terminology applied and a brief explanation of the close relationship between identity and relevance to other areas relative to the church as indicated in point 3 below. Within the thesis it is argued that the essence of the church is an attribute that every member of the church universal must necessarily partake of in order to belong thereto. Historical indications are employed whereby deductions can be made by which the essence, identity and relevance of the church may be demarcated. Discussions include: the origin and nature of the church; the current academic debate about the person of Jesus; the relationship between the kingdom and the church, and the implied current crisis of the church. The thesis closes with the formulation of the conclusion based on this research, namely that in order for the church to maintain a healthy balance between identity and relevance, theologians and church leaders - although situated in a variety of differing contexts - need to acquire a fresh understanding of the essence of the church and who constitutes the church / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / D. Th. (Systematic Theology)

In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde mit einer Reihe von Experimenten geprüft, ob sich die Tonarterinnerung von Nichtabsoluthörern durch aus der Gedächtnisforschung abgeleitete Einflussfaktoren erklären lässt. Zunächst erfolgte eine theoretische Betrachtung des Tonartgedächtnisses sowohl aus musikpsychologischer als auch aus gedächtnispsychologischer Perspektive. Die Analyse von Befunden zum „latenten“ und „echten“ absoluten Gehör zeigte, dass eine Reihe von potenziellen Einflussfaktoren auf die Tonarterinnerung betrachtet werden muss, um herauszufinden, ob es sich bei diesen beiden Phänomenen um unterschiedliche Ausprägungen derselben Fähigkeit handelt. Um den Einfluss von Faktoren der Melodien, der Melodie-Lernenden und der Art des Melodie-Lernens auf die Tonarterinnerung zu prüfen, wurden insgesamt 268 Probanden gebeten, vertraute Melodien aus dem Gedächtnis zu singen. Unabhängige Variablen waren die musikalische Expertise der Probanden, ihre Fähigkeit Töne zu benennen, die Form und die Intensität des dem Experiment vorangegangenen Melodie-Lernens sowie verschiedene Charakteristika der Melodien. Abhängige Variable war die Genauigkeit, mit der die Originaltonarten der Melodien produziert wurden. Es konnten Effekte der Hör-Häufigkeit, der musikalischen Expertise, der Tonbenennung, der Melodie-Eingängigkeit sowie ein Effekt motorischer Kontextinformationen auf die Genauigkeit der Tonarterinnerung nachgewiesen werden. Um den Häufigkeitseffekt mit einer weiteren Anforderung zu untersuchen, wurde in einem weiteren Experiment die Tonbenennungsleistung von Absoluthörern und Nichtabsoluthörern verglichen. Dabei kam die Methode der Pupillometrie zum Einsatz, um Unterschiede in der mentalen Beanspruchung beim Benennen von Tönen unterschiedlicher Klangfarbe und Tonklasse nachweisen zu können. Die Ergebnisse stützen die Annahme, dass das häufige Hören bestimmter Töne sowohl bei Absoluthörern als auch bei Nichtabsoluthörern die Tonbenennung erleichtert. Dies verweist darauf, dass auch bei der musikspezifischen Aufgabe der Tonbenennung ein so grundlegendes Prinzip des menschlichen Gedächtnisses wie die Stabilisierung von Gedächtnisinhalten durch Wiederholung zum Tragen kommt. Insgesamt weisen die Ergebnisse darauf hin, dass Tonarterinnerung ein komplexes Phänomen ist, für das eine alleinige Erklärung als „latentes absolutes Gehör“ zu kurz greift. Statt einer schwachen Ausprägung einer hochspezialisierten Fähigkeit scheint es sich eher um eine eigene Form des Erinnerns, die auf allgemeingültigen Gedächtnisprinzipien beruht, zu handeln. / In this thesis, memory for musical keys among absolute pitch nonpossessors, which is often referred to as “latent” absolute pitch, is examined. A theoretical analysis focused on existing research about “latent” and “manifest” absolute pitch. Evidence from music-psychological and general memory research as well as neuropsychological evidence was considered. The review of existing research revealed that several factors are potentially relevant for the memory of musical keys and should be considered in trying to determine whether “latent” and “manifest” absolute pitch can be described as different levels of the same ability on an “absolute pitch continuum”. To examine whether characteristics of learned melodies, of melody-learners, and of melody-learning influence memory for musical keys among absolute pitch nonpossessors, 268 participants were asked in a series of experiments to sing familiar melodies from memory. Independent variables were the musical expertise of participants, their ability to label pitches, type and intensity of melody-learning, and characteristics of the learned melodies. The accuracy with which learned melodies could be produced in the original key was the dependent variable. Results revealed that frequency of melody-learning as well as participants’ musical expertise and ability to label pitches influence the accuracy of key production. Whether or not a melody is catchy as well as the existence of different types of motor imagery are further influencing factors for the accuracy of key production. To examine the frequency-of-hearing effect in more detail, another experiment compared the pitch labeling performance of absolute pitch possessors and nonpossessors. Pupillary responses were measured in order to show differences in mental resource allocation when labeling pitches of different key colors or timbres. Results support the assumption that frequent exposure to pitches of certain key colors or timbres facilitate their labeling among both absolute pitch possessors and nonpossessors. This suggests that basic principles of human memory such as learning by frequency of exposure affect also very specific tasks such as pitch labeling. Taken together, the results suggest that memory for musical keys is a complex phenomenon which can not adequately be described as being simply a “latent” or weak form of absolute pitch. Instead, memory for musical keys can be described as a “normal” memory mechanism, influenced by factors known to influence numerous other forms of human memory.

(Deutsch) Diese Arbeit versucht sich unter Einbeziehung interkultureller Quellen im Dialog mit Julio Cortázars Erzählung "der Verfolger" [el perseguidor] an einer Verfolgung der Jagd. Sie hofft, mit dem Begriff der Jagd und seiner Ausdifferenzierung in verschiedene Modi fundamentale Bewegungsrichtungen der menschlichen Existenz zu beschreiben. Die menschliche Existenz kommt dabei als spannungsreiches Zwischen ("inter") von sinngetragener medialisierter Bezogenheit und außer-sinnhafter realer Faktizität in den Blick. Im Verlaufe der Arbeit werden anhand ausgewählter Szenen der Erzählung nicht nur die Spannung des Zwischen selbst, sondern auch seine Pole zum Gegenstand des philosophischen Fragens gemacht. Schlüsselworte: Jagd, Cortázar, Zwischen (inter), Sinn, außer-Sinn, Reales, Leib, absolutes Nichts

Certains extraits naturels sont très rares et onéreux. La tentation est alors forte pour les producteurs de matières premières ou intermédiaires d’avoir recours à des adultérations. Le mélange avec des extraits issus d’origines botaniques apparentées, d’origines géographiques différentes, l’ajout d’un composé synthétique présent dans l’extrait naturel ou d’un autre extrait végétal, l’utilisation de produits phytosanitaires réglementés, la mise en place de procédés d’extractions non standardisés, en sont quelques exemples. Ces différences de qualité sont de plus en plus difficilement décelables. Cette thèse a pour objet de mettre au point une méthodologie rapide, efficace et non ciblée. Une approche métabolomique en UHPLC-HRMS est développée pour identifier ces défauts ou pratiques frauduleuses pour les absolues destinées au secteur arômes et parfums. Cette mise en évidence est réalisée par la détection de métabolites marqueurs. Les absolues présentent un défi particulier : entre 50 et 95 % de l’extrait peut être constitué de composés non volatils, rarement décrits dans la littérature. La recherche d’authenticité de ces extraits est alors plus complexe que dans le cas d’un extrait volatil tel qu’une huile essentielle, dont la composition peut être plus facilement déterminée par des techniques analytiques éprouvées et l’utilisation de bases de données. Deux plantes emblématiques de la parfumerie ont été étudiées : la violette (Viola odorata) et la rose (Rosa damascena et Rosa centifolia). Des marqueurs d’origine géographique ont été identifiés dans le cas de la violette, et des marqueurs d’origine botanique dans le cas de la rose. / Some natural extracts are very scarce and expensive. The temptation is therefore very high for producers or brokers to resort to adulterations. Mixing of extracts from related botanical origins, from different geographical origins, addition of synthetic compounds with natural occurrence in the extract, or addition of another vegetal extract, use of phytosanitary products, non-standardized extraction processes, are some examples. The quality differences are more and more difficult to detect. The objective of this PhD study was to develop a fast, efficient and non-targeted methodology. Metabolomics approach in UHPLC-HRMS was developped to identify defects or fraudulent practices in absolutes used in flavour and fragrances. These identifications are realized by the detection of chemical markers. Absolutes are a great challenge: between 50 and 95 % of the extracts consist of non-volatile compounds; moreover these products are seldom described in literature. The quest for validation for authenticity is then much more complex than in cases of volatile extracts such as essential oils, whose composition can be more easily determined by robust analytical instruments and numerous databases. Two symbolic plants used in perfumery were studied: viola (Viola odorata) and rose (Rosa damascena and Rosa centifolia). Markers of French origin were identified for viola, and markers of R. centifolia were identified for rose. Their characterizations were nevertheless the fundamental limit for this technique being at trace level in the extract. This work demonstrated the performance and limitation of the non-targeted metabolomics approach on absolutes, which are specialties of perfumery.