According to the dominant tradition in Christianity and many other religions, human beings are both knowers and actors: beings with conscious beliefs about the world who sometimes act intentionally guided by these beliefs. According to philosopher of mind Robert Cummins the “received view” among philosophers of mind is epiphenomenalism, according to which mental causation does not exist: neural events are the underlying causes of both behavior and belief which explains the correlation (not causation) between belief and behavior. Beliefs do not, in virtue of their semantic content, enter the causal chain leading to action, beliefs are always the endpoint of a causal chain. If that is true the theological anthropology of many religious traditions is false. JP Moreland draws attention to two different ways of doing metaphysics: serious metaphysics and shopping-list metaphysics. The difference is that the former involves not only the attempt to describe  the phenomena one encounter, it also involves the attempt of locating them, that is explaining how the phenomena is possible and came to be given the constraints of a certain worldview. For a physicalist these constraints include the atomic theory of matter and the theories of physical, chemical and biological evolution.   Mental properties are challenging phenomena to locate within a physicalist worldview, and some physicalists involved in “serious metaphysics” have therefore eliminated them from their worldview. Most however accept them, advocating “non-reductive physicalism” according to which mental properties supervene on physical processes. Even if one allow mental properties to supervene on physical processes, the problem of mental causation remains. If mental properties are irreducible to and therefore distinct from physical properties, as the non-reductive physicalists claim, they cannot exert causal powers if one accepts the causal closure of the physical domain – which one must, if one is a “serious physicalist” according to physicalist philosopher of mind Jaegwon Kim.   Alvin Plantinga, in his Evolutionary Argument against Naturalism, shows that if mental properties, such as the propositional content of beliefs, are causally inefficacious, then evolution has not been selecting cognitive faculties that are reliable, in the sense of being conducive to true beliefs. If the content of our beliefs does not affect our behavior, the content of our belief is irrelevant from an evolutionary standpoint, and so the content-producing part of our cognitive faculties are irrelevant from an evolutionary standpoint. The “reliability” – truth-conduciveness – of our cognitive faculties can therefore not be explained by evolution, and therefore not located within the physicalist worldview. The only way in which the reliability of our cognitive faculties can be located is if propositional content is relevant for behavior.   If we however eliminate or deny the reliability of our cognitive faculties, then we have abandoned any chance of making a rational case for our position, as that would presuppose the reliability that we are denying. But if propositional content is causally efficacious, then that either – if we are non-reductive physicalists and mental properties are taken to be irreducible to physical properties – implies that the causal closure of the physical domain is false or - if we are reductive physicalists and not eliminativists regarding mental properties - it shows that matter qua matter can govern itself by rational argumentation, in which we have a pan-/localpsychistic view of matter. Either way, we have essentially abandoned physicalism in the process of locating the reliability of our cognitive faculties within a physicalist worldview. We have also affirmed the theological anthropology of Christianity, in so far as the capacity for knowledge and rational action is concerned. Keywords: Philosophy of mind, mental causation, reductionism, physicalism, the evolutionary argument against naturalism, the myth of nonreductive materialism, Alvin Plantinga, Jaegwon Kim

This study aimed to develop and validate a rating scale for assessing English First Additional Language essays at Grade 12 level for the final National Senior Certificate examination. The importance of writing as a communicative skill is emphasised with the re-introduction of writing as Paper 3 of the English First Additional Language examination at the end of Grade 12 in South Africa. No empirical evidence, however, is available to support claims of validity for the current rating scale. The literature on the concept of validity and the process of validation was surveyed. Theoretical models and validation frameworks were evaluated to establish a theoretical base for the development and validation of a rating scale for assessing writing. The adopted framework was used to evaluate the adequacy of the current rating scale used for assessing Grade 12 writing in South Africa. The current scale was evaluated in terms of the degree to which it offers an appropriate means of assessing Grade 12 Level essay writing while adhering to requirements of the National Curriculum Statement. It was found lacking and the need for a new, validated rating scale was established. Various approaches to scale development were considered in consideration of factors that impact scores directly, viz. the type of rating scale, rater characteristics, scoring procedures and rater training. A new scale was developed and validated following an empirical procedure comprising four phases. The empirical process was based on an analysis of actual performances of Grade 12 English learner writing. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods was used in each of the four phases to ensure the validity of the instrument. The outcome of this project was an empirically developed and validated multiple trait rating scale to assess Grade 12 essay writing. The proposed scale distinguishes five criteria assessed by means of a seven-point scale. / Thesis (Ph.D. (English))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

This study aimed to develop and validate a rating scale for assessing English First Additional Language essays at Grade 12 level for the final National Senior Certificate examination. The importance of writing as a communicative skill is emphasised with the re-introduction of writing as Paper 3 of the English First Additional Language examination at the end of Grade 12 in South Africa. No empirical evidence, however, is available to support claims of validity for the current rating scale. The literature on the concept of validity and the process of validation was surveyed. Theoretical models and validation frameworks were evaluated to establish a theoretical base for the development and validation of a rating scale for assessing writing. The adopted framework was used to evaluate the adequacy of the current rating scale used for assessing Grade 12 writing in South Africa. The current scale was evaluated in terms of the degree to which it offers an appropriate means of assessing Grade 12 Level essay writing while adhering to requirements of the National Curriculum Statement. It was found lacking and the need for a new, validated rating scale was established. Various approaches to scale development were considered in consideration of factors that impact scores directly, viz. the type of rating scale, rater characteristics, scoring procedures and rater training. A new scale was developed and validated following an empirical procedure comprising four phases. The empirical process was based on an analysis of actual performances of Grade 12 English learner writing. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods was used in each of the four phases to ensure the validity of the instrument. The outcome of this project was an empirically developed and validated multiple trait rating scale to assess Grade 12 essay writing. The proposed scale distinguishes five criteria assessed by means of a seven-point scale. / Thesis (Ph.D. (English))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

漢語的動補結構長久以來一直是漢語語言學中一個複雜難解的議題，動補結構中的論元在句法上應如何體現及其相對應的語意應如何解讀更是許多語言學家致力解決的問題。衍生語法學派 (Derivational Grammar) 的學者 (Cheng and Huang, 1994; Cheng et al, 1997; Huang, 2006, 2007; Li, 1995) 及詞彙功能語法學派 (Lexical Functional Grammar) 的學者 (Her, 2004, 2007, 2009; Shibagaki, 2009) 均曾試圖提出對於漢語動補結構最正確有效的分析，本論文旨在證明衍生語法學派之理論在動補結構分析上的錯誤及不足，並點出詞彙功能語法學派之理論在預測動補結構的論元體現 (argument realization) 及語意解讀 (semantic interpretation) 上有較全面的分析。 然而，某些動補結構，如「這一大桌子菜胖死我了」，含有不同於其他動補結構的致使義 (Causativity)，進而產生特殊的論元體現模式，此情形卻未被涵蓋在詞彙功能語法學派的理論分析中，本論文也依循詞彙功能語法的理論框架，試圖提出足以預測此種特定動補結構論元體現的句法規則，以彌補詞彙功能語法理論在分析此動補結構的論元體現上之遺漏，使其整體分析更臻完善。 / Resultative compounds in Mandarin Chinese have long been a complicated issue in Chinese linguistics. Many researchers have put great effort in trying to solve the problem of how arguments of Chinese resultative compounds should be syntactically realized and how corresponding interpretations should be achieved. Researchers of Derivational Grammar (Cheng and Huang, 1994; Cheng et al, 1997; Huang, 2006, 2007; Li, 1995) and those of Lexical Functional Grammar (Her, 2004, 2007, 2009; Shibagaki, 2009) have all attempted to propose analyses that are accurate in predicting the argument realization and compound predication of Chinese resultative compounds. This thesis aims to prove the insufficiency in the prediction power of derivational accounts and endeavors to show that the account of Lexical Functional Grammar is superior in the analysis of resultative compounds in terms of argument realization and compound interpretation. However, some resultative compounds, such as that in zhe yi da zhuozi cai pang-si wo le (‘This whole table of dishes is making me fat.’), have certain causativity that makes them different from others in terms of argument realization. Resultative compounds like these are not included in the analysis of lexicalist accounts. Based on the theoretical framework of Lexical Functional Grammar, this thesis also makes an attempt to propose a syntactic rule that predicts the correct argument realization pattern of the kind of resultative compounds mentioned above. It is the goal of this thesis that the proposed rule covers the analysis of the resultative compounds that is missing in previous accounts and makes the lexicalist account given in this thesis a better solution in working on the issues of Chinese resultative compounds.

En esta tesis se ahonda en el conocimiento que en la actualidad se posee sobre el significado de los adverbios en -mente del español. Se propone un análisis que explica los usos que puede tener un adverbio partiendo de sus propiedades semánticas. Con este fin, se analizan siete subclases de adverbios, de las que se seleccionan 84 unidades, con dos resultados principales: 1) se refinan las descripciones previas sobre el adverbio, que suelen basarse en extrapolaciones del comportamiento de las unidades prototípicas; y 2) se reconocen los rasgos semánticos característicos de cada grupo adverbial que explican el comportamiento de sus miembros. La principal novedad radica en que se analiza la vinculación entre la semántica adjetiva y la adverbial; en concreto, se examina la herencia por parte de los adverbios de la estructura argumental de sus bases adjetivas, así como el modo en que esta estructura argumental determina el uso adverbial. / This thesis is an in-depth study of the semantics of -mente adverbs in Spanish. With the goal of explaining the distribution of these adverbs on the basis of their semantic characteristics, 84 adverbs from seven subclasses were analysed, with two important results: 1) a refinement of the existing descriptions of these adverbs, largely thanks to the consideration of a wider array of data; and 2) a description of the semantic features that characterize each of the seven subclasses and predict their behavior. In particular, we get a clear picture of the relationship between the semantics of the base adjectives and the resulting adverbs, including aspects of meaning such as the inheritance of the argument structure of the adjectives by the corresponding adverbs, and the role argument structure plays in determining the adverbs' uses.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-14T12:43:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 952840 bytes, checksum: 552d253bf5afddf60ebe39b7d26f63bc (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-03-11 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Considering that the argumentation is inherent to the language and, consequently, to the discourse, we aim in this investigation to describe and analyze the argument by authority, one of the forms of polyphony of speakers, and the discursive modal verbs functioning as argumentative strategies in the genre Research Project of TCC. This is a genre of academic circulation and objectives to introduce undergraduate students in the sphere of scientific research. As theoretical approach we used the postulations of Ducrot (1987; 1988; 1997); Koch (2011), Nascimento and Silva (2012), Cervoni (1989) and Castilho and Castilho (1993); Bakhtin (2010), among others. The analysis of argument by authority and the modalization in the referred genre happen not only by the recurrence of these strategies, but also because we aim to observe how these two phenomena occur, concurrently, from the citations, in direct and indirect style, indicating the argumentation in the statements. This is a descriptive and interpretativist study, which corpus is constituted by sixteen (16) Research Projects of TCC: eight (8) from the Course of Licenciatura em Letras and the other eight (8) from the Bachelor Course of Secretariado Executivo Bilíngue. This research showed, during the analyzed corpus, that there is no difference in the speaker‟s commitment responsible for the text (L1) in relation to the discourse presented on direct and indirect style, in the genre Research Project of TCC. Independent of the employed style, L1 compromises with the discourse of the other speakers by presenting them in the form of argument by authority. Furthermore, the arguments by authority appear in concomitance with three different types of modal verbs: asseveratives; almost-asseveratives; evaluatives, with which L1 places in different way before the discourse of other speakers. Further, we verified the occurrence of arguments introduced by no modal terms. In the face of these, L1 only get compromised, but do not get responsible by the discourse of the other, and neither judjes him. Based on these evidences, we could verify that the Research Project of TCC is a polyphonic genre, rich in argumentative strategies. / Considerando que a argumentatividade é inerente à língua e, consequentemente, ao discurso, objetivamos nesta investigação descrever e analisar o arrazoado por autoridade, uma das formas de polifonia de locutores, e os modalizadores discursivos funcionando como estratégias argumentativas no gênero Projeto de Pesquisa de TCC. Este é um gênero de circulação acadêmica e tem por finalidade introduzir os alunos graduandos na esfera da pesquisa científica. Como pressupostos teóricos, utilizamos os postulados de Ducrot (1987; 1988; 1997); Koch (2011), Nascimento e Silva (2012), Cervoni (1989) e Castilho e Castilho (2002); Bakhtin (2010), dentre outros. A análise do arrazoado por autoridade e da modalização no gênero em questão se dá não somente pela recorrência dessas estratégias, mas também porque objetivamos, entre outras coisas, observar como esses dois fenômenos ocorrem, concomitantemente, a partir das citações, em estilo direto e indireto, indicando argumentatividade nos enunciados. Este é um estudo de caráter descritivo e interpretativista, cujo corpus é constituído por dezesseis (16) Projetos de Pesquisa de TCC: oito (8) do curso de Licenciatura em Letras e os outros oito (8) do curso Bacharelado em Secretariado Executivo Bilíngue. Esta pesquisa mostrou, ao longo do corpus analisado, que não há diferença de comprometimento do locutor responsável pelo texto (L1) em relação ao discurso apresentado em estilo direto e indireto, no gênero Projeto de Pesquisa de TCC. Independente do estilo empregado, L1 se compromete com o discurso dos demais locutores por apresentá-los em forma de arrazoado por autoridade. Além disso, os arrazoados por autoridade aparecem em concomitância com três diferentes tipos de modalizadores: asseverativos; quase-asseverativos; avaliativos, com os quais L1 se posta de maneira diferente perante o discurso dos outros locutores. No mais, verificamos a ocorrência de arrazoados introduzidos por termos não modalizadores. Diante destes, L1 apenas se compromete, não se responsabiliza pelo discurso do outro, nem o julga. A partir destas constatações, pudemos verificar que o Projeto de Pesquisa de TCC é um gênero polifônico, rico em estratégias argumentativas.

L'objectif de cette thèse est d'introduire la grammaire générative dans l'étude philosophique de la signification linguistique des langues naturelles, tout en l'articulant à une théorie contextualiste du sens. Nous montrerons d'abord en quoi les procédures syntaxiques sont autonomes de toute contrainte sémantique externe (thèse d'autonomie de la syntaxe), tout en contraignant la construction du sens linguistique (thèse du syntactocentrisme). Nous montrerons également qu'un filtrage contextuel des expressions grammaticales mais pas utilisables s'opère à un niveau post-syntaxique sur le résultat des dérivations syntaxiques. Dans un deuxième temps, nous montrerons que la syntaxe détermine la structure de la signification. Nous commencerons par critiquer les conceptions lexicalistes, selon lesquelles la structure de la signification dérive d'informations contenues dans les items lexicaux. Puis nous montrerons que les formes sémantiques des expressions sont des structures événementielles dont chaque élément correspond strictement à un élément de la structure syntaxique. Dans un troisième temps, nous montrerons que tandis que la structure interprétative est rigidement déterminée par la structure syntaxique, le contenu des termes mobilisés dans les expressions est quant à lui le résultat d'une interaction entre contenu conceptuel, structure syntaxique et filtrage contextuel. Cela s'accompagnera d'une conception des concepts comme entrées encyclopédiques comportant une multiplicité d'informations sur lesquelles s'opère une sélection locale de l'information pertinente en fonction du contexte. / The goal of this dissertation is to introduce generative grammar into the philosophical study of linguistic meaning in natural languages, while articulating it with a contextualist theory of meaning. First, we will show that syntactic procedures are autonomous from any external semantic constraints (autonomy of syntax thesis) while constraining the construction of linguistic meaning (syntactocentrism thesis). We will also show that the results of syntactic derivations that are grammatical but not usable are contextually filtered out at a post-syntactic stage. In a second part, we will show that syntax determines the structure of meaning. We will start by criticizing the lexicalist conceptions accordinf to which the structure of meaning derives from data included in lexical items. Then we will show that the semantic forms of expressions are event structures of which each element strictly corresponds to an element in syntactic structure. In a third part, we will show that while interpretive structure is rigidly determined by syntactic structure, the content of terms used in expressions is the result of an interaction involving conceptual content, syntactic structure and contextual filtering. This entails a conception of concepts as encyclopedic entries made up of a multiplicity of data on which a local selection of contextually relevant information operates.

La réalisation de prédictions précises et surprenantes est une pratique essentielle des sciences empiriques et la confirmation de ces prédictions semble représenter l’un de leurs principaux succès théoriques et pratiques. Ainsi de nombreux scientifiques et épistémologues attribuent-ils aux succès prédictifs le pouvoir de confirmer des hypothèses, d’influencer le cours de l’histoire scientifique, voire de révéler quelles théories reflètent la réalité. Pourtant les prédictions s’appuient souvent sur des représentations simplifiées, idéalisées ou fictionnelles de la réalité. L’objectif de cette thèse est d’analyser l’activité prédictive pour comprendre en quoi consistent les succès prédictifs et quelle portée on peut légitimement leur conférer. L’enjeu de cette analyse est notamment de savoir si une théorie ayant engendré un succès prédictif peut être considérée comme vraie ou partiellement vraie.La première partie de la thèse est consacrée à l’analyse de l’activité prédictive et conclut qu’il existe une pluralité de raisonnements et de succès prédictifs. La deuxième partie étudie l’influence de ces succès sur l’évolution d’une discipline, la cosmologie, de 1917 à nos jours et montre que les scientifiques attribuent de l’importance aux prédictions qui indiquent la capacité prédictive d’une hypothèse ou d’une théorie. Dans la troisième partie, je soutiens que le rôle des prédictions dans le choix rationnel des hypothèses est de permettre de juger de leur fécondité. La quatrième partie étudie les limites de la portée des succès prédictifs en montrant qu’ils ne permettent pas de savoir quels aspects des théories dont ils sont issus reflètent la réalité. / Deriving precise and surprising predictions is a key feature of scientific activity. The confirmation of these predictions by severe tests seems to represent major theoretical and practical successes in the field of empirical sciences. Therefore, many scientists and philosophers of science view predictive successes as having an important weight in scientific change, theory choice and for the identification of true claims about reality. However, predictions are often derived from simplified or idealised representations of real-world systems. The aim of this dissertation is to analyse the predictive activity of empirical sciences in order to circumscribe the scope of predictive success. First, I claim that predictive successes come in many forms and structures. In the second part, I investigate the impact of successful predictions in the history of modern cosmology since 1917 and argue that scientists value predictions attesting the predictive capacity of new hypotheses. In a third part, I examine the weight of successful predictions in the confirmation of hypotheses and claim that they serve as a proxy for one of the most important virtues of theories: fruitfulness. The last part is dedicated to the limits of scientific successes and shows that novel predictions cannot help us to circumscribe which posits of scientific theories are worthy of belief.

In this thesis I attempt to introduce Galen Strawson's position, which he adopts in the free will debate followed by the debate about his Basic Argument. While giving a de-tailed account of responsibility as a reflective rational responsiveness, I show that re-sponsibility is in no respect causa sui and therefore it is not impossible for human beings to reach it, explained with the reasons given by Strawson. I refuse steps B, C, 8, 9 and 10 of the Basic Argument. I claim that undetermined self-determination consists in the ability to make a decision in the light of actually revised principles of choice. Such revision is granted by actual ability to reflect the validity and adequacy of principles of choice in relation to motivating values in question by using methodical doubt as a universal tool do to so. Such reflection, with respect to what matters for decision making in question, is potentially ultimate. I claim that Strawson underestimates the uniqueness of reflective rationality especially, when missing the crucial difference between Fido the dog and Nemo the man in the situation of choice. Moreover, I suspect Strawson of excluding the subject of action or choice and its actual principles of choice from the realm of intelligible things. This leads to disruption of request to conception of the world as internally consistent and in principle attainable by human beings. Finally, I show why I find sophisticated fatalism problematic in both of its versions, deterministic as well as indeterministic.

With our modern deluge of information through social media, news and blogs, the importance of giving our children a better understanding of source criticism and critical thinking has become increasingly clear. In the field of critical thinking, the use of argument mapping software, a visual way of structuring arguments, has been shown to increase the understanding of arguments, and college students using the method score as much as three times higher on critical thinking tests.  This thesis presents a simplified digital argument mapping tool, developed in order to explore the feasibility of argument mapping for students in secondary school (aged 13-15). The tool is then tested on two secondary school classes. The thesis shows that the students are proficient at basic argument mapping with the tool, but also that the more complex facets of the method require more instruction in order to be used by the students. Recommendations are presented for further development of the argument mapping tool, as well as further studies of critical thinking using argument mapping in secondary school. The thesis has shown the argument mapping has potential for use in secondary school, and should be further studied. / Med vårt moderna överflöd av information genom sociala media, nyheter och bloggar, så ökar vikten av att ge våra unga en bättre förståelse för källkritik och kritiskt tänkande. I fältet kritiskt tänkande har en metod som kallas argument mapping, en visuell metod för att strukturera argument, visats öka förståelsen av argument, samt vid användning studenter i universitet har metoden ökat resultaten på test i kritiskt tänkande upp till tre gånger. Uppsatsen presenterar ett förenklat digitalt argument mapping-verktyg, utvecklat för att studera hur elever på högstadiet (13-15 år) kan använda sig av metoden, som sedan testas på två högstadieklasser. Resultatet visar att studenterna klarar av grundläggande argument mapping med verktyget, men att de mer komplexa delarna av metoden behöver vidare instruktion för att eleverna ska kunna förstå. Rekommendationer presenteras baserat på den data som samlats in, både för vidareutveckling av det designade verktyget, samt för framtida studier av kritiskt tänkande och argument mapping i högstadiet. Uppsatsen visar att argument mapping har potential för användning av högstadieelever, och bör därmed undersökas vidare.