Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 309-331).

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L’objet de ce travail de thèse est l’analyse des monstruosités biologiques en tant qu’elles posent question quant à la nature même de la vie et quant à la puissance de la raison à pouvoir l’appréhender. En mettant l’accent sur le travail d’Étienne et d’Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, nous nous sommes attachés à montrer en quoi la tératologie parvenait à intégrer les monstres dans des procédures rationnelles – ici celles des sciences biologiques. Mais cette intégration se fait au prix d’un oubli : la dimension nécessairement normative du concept de monstre. Nous nous sommes alors efforcés d’intégrer cette dimension normative et nous avons alors mis au jour la question de savoir ce qu’est la vie en elle-même pour qu’elle soit capable de produire des êtres vivants monstrueux. Cette question nous a amené à élaborer une métaphysique de la vie selon laquelle elle est, en son être même, errance vitale. Penser les monstres revient à devoir penser la vie comme puissance d’écart. / This thesis analyses the concept of biological monstrosity. This concept questions the nature of life and the power of reason. We study the teratology of E. and I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire in order to understand how they are successful to think monsters rationally. But both forget the normative dimension in the concept of monster. We try to take this normative dimension into consideration. What should be life to product monstrous beings ? This question leads to develop a metaphysic of life which puts forward the notion of “vital wandering” (“errance vitale”) and the notion of “variation” (“écart”)

Many histories of natural history see it as a descriptive science, as a clear forerunner to modern studies of classification, ecology and allied sciences. But this thesis argues that the story of unproblematic progression from eighteenth-century natural history to nineteenth-century and modern natural history is a myth. Eighteenth-century natural history was a distinct blend of practices and theories that no longer exists, though many individual elements of it have survived. The natural history that I discuss was not solely about collecting, displaying, naming and grouping objects. Though these activities played an important part in natural history (and in many histories of natural history) this thesis focuses on some other key elements of natural history that are too often neglected: elements such as experimenting, theorising, hypothesising, seeking causes, and explaining. Usually these activities are linked to natural philosophy rather than natural history, but I show how they were used by naturalists and, by extension, create a new way of understanding how eighteenth-century natural history, natural philosophy and other sciences were related. The first chapter is about the end of eighteenth-century natural history and looks at the role of the Linnean Society of London. It argues that this society tried to homogenise British natural history through the promotion of the Linnean sexual system of plant classification and through the suppression of the kinds of experimental and theoretical work described in this thesis. To understand that experimental and theoretical work, and to see what British natural history really entailed in this period, three central chapters focus on specific case studies. The second chapter shows how English-based naturalists such as John Ellis (1710-1776) approached the problem of distinguishing plants from animals, and especially about how they used chemical experiments to decide whether things such as coral and corallines should be placed in the animal or plant kingdom. The third chapter discusses sensitive plants and the overlaps between natural history and natural philosophy. It draws on case studies of naturalists who investigated things like plant motion and apparent plant sensitivity with different observational and experimental methods, and tried to explain them using various mechanical and vitalist explanations. The fourth chapter focuses on the controversy over whether plants (like animals) can be male or female and shows the theoretical and experimental tools that naturalists used to address this issue. Together, these chapters give a very detailed insight into the everyday practices and theories used by eighteenth-century naturalists and show the variety of activities that made up the field. The next two chapters focus on the identity and interactions of naturalists and show how they created a distinctive science: the fifth chapter is about how someone in England could go about becoming an authority on natural history in the late eighteenth century; and the final chapter looks outwards from Britain and examines how British natural history influenced, and was influenced by, European natural history; it uses correspondence to examine how British naturalists communicated with their overseas counterparts and what each party gained from those exchanges.

L'objet de ce travail de thèse est l'analyse des monstruosités biologiques en tant qu'elles posent question quant à la nature même de la vie et quant à la puissance de la raison à pouvoir l'appréhender. En mettant l'accent sur le travail d'Étienne et d'Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, nous nous sommes attachés à montrer en quoi la tératologie parvenait à intégrer les monstres dans des procédures rationnelles - ici celles des sciences biologiques. Mais cette intégration se fait au prix d'un oubli : la dimension nécessairement normative du concept de monstre. Nous nous sommes alors efforcés d'intégrer cette dimension normative et nous avons alors mis au jour la question de savoir ce qu'est la vie en elle-même pour qu'elle soit capable de produire des êtres vivants monstrueux. Cette question nous a amené à élaborer une métaphysique de la vie selon laquelle elle est, en son être même, errance vitale. Penser les monstres revient à devoir penser la vie comme puissance d'écart.

La present tesi doctoral analitza la confrontació que va tenir lloc al llarg del segle XVIII entre el naturalista francès Georges-Louis Leclerc, comte de Buffon, iniciador de la teoria de la degeneració i la inferioritat americanes, i el principal redactor de la Declaració d’Independència dels Estats Units, Thomas Jefferson, qui va realitzar la desarticulació de la mateixa. S’ha dut a terme un buidatge en profunditat de les obres d’aquests dos autors que ha permès establir els paràmetres principals de les posicions corresponents, i s’hi han afegit també les d’altres autors secundaris que van participar en la polèmica de manera significativa per tal d’obtenir una millor perspectiva. L’objectiu primordial ha estat establir la importància d’aquest debat en la creació del discurs identitari de la jove nació nord-americana a través de l’estudi comparatiu de la influència en aquest sentit de les temàtiques més tractades. / This doctoral thesis analyses the confrontation that took place throughout the 18th century between the French naturalist Georges-Louis Leclerc, comte de Buffon, initiator of the American degeneracy theory, and the main writer of the United States’ Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson, who dismantled it. The works of these two authors have been thoroughly examined in order to establish the main parameters of their corresponding positions. Also, the works of secondary authors who participated in the polemic in a significant way have been added in order to obtain a better perspective. The main goal has been to establish the importance of this debate in the creation of the identity speech of the young North American nation by using a comparative study of the influence, in this sense, of each one of the topics treated.

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / O presente trabalho tem por finalidades: demonstrar o problema da agulha de Buffon, fazer uma pequena generalizaÃÃo do resultado obtido e apresentar aplicaÃÃes baseadas nos fundamentos do referido problema. O problema da agulha de Buffon està inserido no estudo da Teoria das Probabilidades, particularmente na subÃrea de probabilidade geomÃtrica. Para chegarmos à soluÃÃo desta questÃo, alÃm dos conceitos e propriedades atinentes à Teoria das probabilidades à necessÃrio o conhecimento de noÃÃes bÃsicas do cÃlculo integral. Nos capÃtulos 2, 3 e 4 à apresentado um estudo preliminar sobre probabilidade, com os conceitos bÃsicos, propriedades e a formulaÃÃo de alguns modelos probabilÃsticos. Durante o desenvolvimento do trabalho, sempre que possÃvel, os conceitos e definiÃÃes sÃo inseridos com o auxÃlio de um problema motivador e para fixaÃÃo dos mesmos sÃo mostrados exemplos resolvidos. O Ãltimo capÃtulo evidencia a importÃncia do problema de Buffon como mÃtodo para realizar estimativas e como fundamento para o processo de captaÃÃo de imagens pelos aparelhos de tomografia computadorizada, um grande avanÃo para a Medicina no que diz respeito ao diagnÃstico por imagens. / This paper has the objective of showing Buffon's needle problem, doing a minor generalization of the results obtained hereby, and also presenting some applications based upon the fundamentals of such problem. Buffon's needle problem has been inserted into the study of Theory of Probability, particularly in its sub-area of geometrical probability. In order to attain the solution to this question, in addition to the concepts and the properties concerning the theory of probabilities, it is necessary that one should have some basic knowledge about integral calculus. In chapters 2, 3, and 4 there is a preliminary study of probability, with the basic concepts, properties and formulation of some probabilistic models being presented. During the development of this paper, whenever it was possible, the concepts and definitions were inserted with the aid of a motivational problem and they were solved by means of fixing the same examples as shown. The final chapter presents the importance of Buffon's needle problem as a method of making estimates and as a foundation for the process of capturing images in CT (computerized tomography) scanning machines, such a great breakthrough in what concerns the diagnosis by means of imaging.

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / O presente trabalho consiste numa abordagem didÃtico-pedagÃgica do estudo e do ensino da Teoria das Probabilidades na EducaÃÃo BÃsica, com Ãnfase no conceito de Probabilidade GeomÃtrica, sua importÃncia e relevÃncia para uma aprendizagem mais significativa, efetiva e atrativa. Inicia-se com a histÃria e evoluÃÃo deste singular ramo da MatemÃtica Aplicada, seguindo-se uma seÃÃo com teoria e prÃtica atravÃs da resoluÃÃo de exercÃcios. O conceito de probabilidade geomÃtrica à introduzido e desenvolvido a fim de mostrar quÃo mais abrangente pode ser a Teoria das Probabilidades (como apresentada nos livros didÃticos no Brasil), tanto em termos de conteÃdo quanto de aplicaÃÃes e relaÃÃes com outras Ãreas da prÃpria MatemÃtica. Algumas aplicaÃÃes interessantes e conhecidas na literatura sÃo apresentadas, resolvidas e analisadas de modo simples, algumas vezes fazendo uso de matemÃtica menos elementar, outras explorando apenas os aspectos intuitivos. Nesta seÃÃo voltada para as aplicaÃÃes do conceito de probabilidade geomÃtrica, trata-se da soluÃÃo de problemas como o Problema das Agulhas de Buffon, o Problema do MacarrÃo e o Problema do Encontro, dentre outros, encerrando com o problema do Paradoxo de Bertrand. Seguem-se as consideraÃÃes finais do autor e um apÃndice com algumas demonstraÃÃes de resultados de geometria plana que sÃo utilizados ao longo do texto. / This work is a didactic-pedagogical approach to the study and teaching of Probability Theory in Basic Education, with emphasis on the concept of Geometric Probability, its importance and relevance to a more meaningful, effective and attractive learning. It begins with the history and evolution of this unique branch of Applied Mathematics, followed by a section with theory and practice by means of problem solving. The concept of geometric probability is introduced and developed in order to show how broad the theory of probability can be (as presented in textbooks in Brazil), both in terms of content, as well as applications and relations with other areas of mathematics itself. Some interesting and well-know applications in the literature are presented, analyzed and solved in a simple fashion, sometimes by making use of less elementary mathematics, others times by exploring only intuitive aspects. In this section, focused on the application of the concept of geometric probability, we deal with the solving of problems, such as the Problem of Buffonâs Needles, the Pasta Problem and the Problem of the Encounter, among others, closing with the problem of Bertrandâs Paradox. On the sequence the author offers his final remarks and appendix with some demonstrations of results in plane geometry that are used throughout the text.

Tableau d’honneur de la Faculté des études supérieures et postdoctorales, 2008-2009 / Notre thèse interroge la manière dont s'est construite cette portion de la monumentale Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière de Georges-Louis Leclerc, comte de Buffon (1707-1788), que la critique a nommée l'Histoire des quadrupèdes. L'Oeuvre de celui qui est considéré comme le plus grand naturaliste entre Aristote et Darwin, perçue comme le point de rencontre du scientifique et du littéraire, comme le dernier état d'une République des Lettres menacée par l'éclatement de l'unité du savoir classique, convoque plusieurs approches théoriques qui vont de la rhétorique classique (inventio, dispositio) à l'esthétique (du génie), en passant par la poétique (ou rhétorique profonde) et la rhétorique scientifique (de la preuve) ; toutes permettent de dégager les éléments d'une méthode qui est fondée sur les notions d'ars inveniendi, d'ars iudicandi et de " discipline " de l'imagination, qui vont permettre à Buffon de revisiter la faune (principalement la nomenclature et l'iconographie), telle qu'elle avait été présentée depuis les écrits zoologiques de l'Antiquité et de la Renaissance, jusque dans les relations de voyage des XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles. L'étude se divise en deux parties, respectivement consacrées à la mise en place d'un appareil conceptuel, puis à l'analyse de la pratique du " Buffon lecteur " de ses prédécesseurs. Nous montrerons que, dans la fabrique des descriptions animalières de l'Histoire des quadrupèdes, l'ars inveniendi se réalise à l'intérieur d'un cadre délimité par l'ars iudicandi (c'est-à-dire l'épistémologie) : le génie scientifique constitue en quelque sorte le chef d'orchestre qui maintient l'harmonie entre l'art du jugement et l'art de l'invention, ce qui va permettre à Buffon d'imaginer de nouvelles hypothèses (éthologiques, taxinomiques ou biogéographiques) et de progresser sur le chemin menant à la découverte.

In the recent years, the internet has been developed rapidly. By this convenient medium, the information can be spread easily all over the world. Using the convenience and variety of internet, e-learning has become a burgeoning and efficient way for learning. The main idea of e-learning is applying the concept of Asynchronous Course Delivery, and establishing a learning environment on the internet. With the connection between computer and the internet, user can learn more in a convenient environment. In order to apply the concept of e-learning to the course of statistics, we use the Java programming language to establish an on-line interactive environment. In addition to learn some fundamental concepts of statistics, learner can also strengthen the abilities of researching and surfing by themselves. In this paper we developed six interactive examples. Not only interpreting and illustrating, we also introduce the motive, goal, relative concepts and applications in detail for each example. Finally, we hope that user can easily learn more knowledge of statistics by this learning environment, then our e-learning to statistical education, can be achieved.