Dans ce travail, nous proposons d’interroger la notion d’innéité des facultés de l’esprit, dans l’histoire de la philosophie et dans le débat contemporain. Nous commençons par montrer que toute hypothèse concernant l’innéité des facultés de l’esprit – qu’elle soit innéiste ou empiriste – pose un problème explicatif que nous nommons le « problème de la tautologie ». C’est en dévoilant les présupposés épistémologiques de chaque hypothèse que nous révélons la présence de ce problème au sein du débat classique sur les idées innées, mais aussi au cœur du débat contemporain amorcé par les travaux en linguistique de Noam Chomsky. L’identification d’une faculté innée spécifique ou d’une capacité générale semble toujours découler de choix métaphysiques ou épistémologiques a priori. En ce sens elle n’est jamais justifiée de façon satisfaisante. C’est pourquoi, une position intermédiaire (constructiviste) apparaît plus convaincante. En outre, l’analyse des différentes définitions de l’innéité souligne la nécessité de renoncer non pas à la notion même d’innéité certains philosophes contemporains le pensent, mais à l’attribution d’un contenu a priori à l’innéité. Nous pensons que l’innéité est un terme épistémique auquel il est seulement possible d’attribuer de façon a priori un statut formel. L’innéité doit donc être redéfinie comme une condition du développement. Le terme condition permet en effet, d’une part, de souligner le statut épistémique de l’innéité qui est un terme relatif à une explication, celle du développement ; d’autre part, d’insister sur le fait que l’innéité n’est pas dénuée de consistance ontologique. Le développement cognitif n’aurait tout simplement pas lieu sans elle. Nous défendons ainsi l’idée qu’il est possible de minimiser le « problème de la tautologie » par une redéfinition de la notion d’innéité et par l’élaboration d’une méthodologie propre à établir l’innéité de certaines facultés de l’esprit sans la présupposer et qui prend en compte le développement cognitif. Pour finir, nous appliquons la méthodologie proposée à l’exemple de la faculté de langage et nous essayons de défendre une hypothèse précise concernant son innéité. / In this work, we examine the notion of innateness of faculties of mind, in the history of philosophy as well as in the contemporary debate. Firstly, we show that any hypothesis on innateness of faculties of mind – whether innatist or empiricist – raises an explanatory problem that we called “the tautology problem”. Identifying epistemological presuppositions of each hypothesis leads us to reveal the presence of this problem within both the classical debate on innate ideas and the contemporary debate on innate mind structure initiated by Chomsky’s linguistic work. Assumptions on domain-specific innate faculty or general capacity always seem to follow from a priori metaphysical or epistemological options. If so, they are not satisfactory justified. The constructivist position appears to be an intermediary relevant way, with conditions to be defined. Furthermore, analysis of different definitions of innateness reveals the necessity to renounce to attribute an a priori content to innateness (and not to renounce to the concept of innateness as some contemporary philosophers argue). We think that innateness is an epistemic term to which it is only possible to attribute a priori a formal status. We claim then that innateness must be redefined as condition of development because the term condition underlines on the one side the epistemic status of innateness, which is an explanatory-dependent term; on the other side its propensity to have an ontological plausibility: cognitive development does not occur without something innate. Thus, we advance that it is possible to minimize “the tautology problem” by redefining innateness and by elaborating a methodology capable of establishing innateness of some faculties of mind without presupposing, taking into account cognitive development. To conclude, we apply the advanced methodology to the example of the faculty of language and try to defend an assumption about its innateness.

In der vorliegenden Dissertation wurde ein präsuppositionssensibles Verfahren zur Rekonstruktion von kindlichen Freunschaftskognitionen entwickelt und angewendet. Das Verfahren ist ein interaktionsanalytisches. Es eignet sich, um verbal und nonverbal preisgegebene Informationen zu identifizieren, die Sprecher in Interaktionssituationen als Präsuppositionen setzen. Als Präsuppositionen werden dabei die implizit logischen Voraussetzungen verstanden, die ein Sprecher während einer eigenen Äußerung annimmt, die er aber nicht explizit sprachlich äußert.

L’efficacité des interventions pour diminuer la victimisation par les pairs en milieu scolaire est modeste. Un manque de connaissance sur le développement de la victimisation par les pairs en début de scolarité, notamment sur les rôles adoptés par les jeunes enfants (p. ex., agresseurs, victimes) ainsi que sur la contribution des divers comportements sociaux qu’ils exhibent, pourrait contribuer à cette efficacité limitée. Pour y remédier, il est nécessaire d’avoir une meilleure compréhension des enjeux propres à cette période développementale. Ainsi, cette thèse vise à étudier les différents profils de comportements sociaux et de victimisation par les pairs chez les enfants de la maternelle à la deuxième année du primaire, et ce, à l’aide d’un échantillon de 1757 enfants provenant de deux cohortes de naissance (Étude longitudinale sur le développement des enfants du Québec - ELDEQ). Plus spécifiquement, un premier article vise à explorer le développement de ces différents profils de la maternelle à la deuxième année, ainsi que leur stabilité d’une année à l’autre. Des analyses de profils latents sont effectuées à l’aide de mesures annuelles de l’agressivité physique, de l’agressivité relationnelle, de la victimisation subie et des comportements prosociaux des enfants, suivies par des analyses de transitions latentes. Les résultats montrent que les garçons présentent les quatre mêmes profils chaque année (prosociaux, normatifs, physiquement agressifs-victimisés et agressifs-victimisés) alors que les filles en présentent quatre en maternelle (prosociales, normatives, socialement agressives et agressives-victimisées) et cinq en première et deuxième année (prosociales, normatives, victimisées, socialement agressives, et agressives-victimisées). À la différence de la typologie classique, les garçons ne présentent pas de profil uniquement victimisé ou uniquement agressif et les profils des filles présentent des nuances sur la forme d’agressivité privilégiée. Une fois établie, l’appartenance aux profils s’avère relativement stable d’une année à l’autre, indiquant la précocité des problèmes sociaux avec les pairs. Afin de valider cette typologie des comportements sociaux et de la victimisation par les pairs et de suggérer des cibles potentielles d'évaluation ou d’intervention, le deuxième article teste d’abord si les habiletés cognitives préscolaires prédisent l’appartenance aux profils identifiés. Ensuite, il vérifie si l’expérience scolaire concomitante (relation enseignant-élève, engagement scolaire) diffère selon l’appartenance aux profils. Des analyses de régression multinomiale montrent que des habiletés cognitives élevées prédisent une plus grande probabilité de présenter un profil prosocial plutôt qu’agressif-victimisé. L’analyse des variables concomitantes montre que l’engagement scolaire est plus faible et la relation enseignant-élève plus difficile pour les enfants agressifs-victimisés, en comparaison aux enfants prosociaux ou aux filles socialement agressives en première et deuxième année. Ces résultats soulignent les associations précoces entre les difficultés sociales et scolaires, soit dès l'entrée à l'école. Pour finir, les résultats de cette thèse confirment l’existence et la pertinence d’une typologie des comportements sociaux et de la victimisation par les pairs en début de scolarité, soulignant la stabilité de celle-ci et la précocité des problèmes associés. Des cibles sont identifiées pour améliorer le dépistage des enfants à risque et, éventuellement, l‘efficacité des interventions préventives. Les différences garçons-filles, les caractéristiques uniques du profil des filles socialement agressives ainsi que l’expérience scolaire difficile des enfants agressifs-victimisés dès la maternelle sont discutées. / Interventions to reduce peer aggression and victimization in school settings currently show modest effectivity, lead on in part by limited knowledge on the development of peer victimization during the early school years. More specifically, there is a lack of information about which roles, or profiles, linked to peer aggression and victimization exist from school entry onwards, and how they change over time, as well as how children’s social behaviours are associated to them. To address this issue, this thesis aims to understand the different profiles of social behaviour and peer victimization that children can present from kindergarten to second grade. The study included 1757 children from two birth cohorts in the Quebec (Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development - QLSCD). More specifically, the first study included in this thesis explores the development of different profiles related to social behaviour and peer victimization from kindergarten to second grade, using annual measures of children's physical aggression, relational aggression, victimization, and prosocial behaviours. The results of the latent profile analyses performed show that boys present the same four profiles each year: prosocial, normative, physically aggressive-victimized (physically AV) and aggressive-victimized (AV). Girls present four profiles in kindergarten (prosocial, normative, socially aggressive and AV) and five in first and second grade (prosocial, normative, victimized, socially aggressive, and AV). Latent transition analyses aimed at testing the stability of profile membership over time showed that children tend to stay in the same profile over the years, especially if they are prosocial or AV. This study offers a slightly different typology from the one that is typically used in peer victimization theories, and it highlights the precocity of social behaviour and peer victimization problems for some children, stressing the importance of early identification and intervention. The second study of this thesis validates the typology of social behaviour and peer victimization and aims to identify potential targets for evaluation and intervention. It tests whether preschool cognitive abilities predict profile membership from kindergarten to second grade and tests whether children’s concurrent school experience differs according to their profile. For the first aim, results showed that high cognitive abilities predict a greater likelihood of exhibiting a prosocial rather than an AV role when controlling for socioeconomic status. For 6 the second aim, results showed that the quality of AV children’s school engagement and relationship with their teacher is worse than those of prosocial children at all time points, or of socially aggressive girls in first and second grade. Once again, these differences highlighted how early difficulties associated with children’s social problems can start. In conclusion, this thesis confirms the existence and relevance of a typology of social behaviour and peer victimization at the start of schooling, highlighting the stability of profile membership and the precocity of associated problems. Targets are identified to improve screening and the effectiveness of preventive interventions. Differences between boys’ and girls’ typologies and school experience, the uniqueness of the socially aggressive girl profile, and the struggles of AV children from kindergarten onwards are discussed.

This study was conducted in order to assess the effectiveness of practitioner training in underprivileged early childhood settings. The quantitative study set out to test a target group of 800 Grade R children, ranging in age from five to six and a half years, in order to determine the impact that practitioner training on early intervention has on young children. A pre-test evaluated the initial level of each child‟s abilities, including physical-motor, language and speech, cognitive, play and social and emotional development. Children were placed into control and experimental groups through random selection of practitioners. The experimental group's teachers (practitioners) underwent an eight-month part-time intervention programme which focused on the importance of early intervention, the domains of development, planning, preparation and assessment as well as encouraging community awareness. The control and experimental groups continued with their normal school programmes, but the practitioners in the experimental group were developing a deeper understanding of early childhood development and activities which enhance development in children. The results indicate that the impact of effective practitioner training and enhancing a deep understanding of stimulation in young children can have positive, long-term results in children's cognitive ability, laying foundational concepts and scope for development. Vast differences were noted in the ability level of children which were stimulated, as compared with those children who were not as stimulated. / Psychology of Education / D. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

Tbis study has as primary objective the development of an appropriate model to assist ' teachers, in South Africa, to be able to understand and assist learners with behaviour problems. The need for the study has its genesis within the current difficulties teachers experience in dealing with behaviour problems in the classroom and the fact that increasing numbers of children are involved. A key facet of the research is its accent on the unmet emotional needs of learners that function as a behavioural determinant. The study is analytical descriptive in nature and as such is based on two fundamental dimensions:- to acquire a sound theoretical understanding of the concepts, causative 'factors and underlying behaviour problems and the most appropriate means to deal therewith and substantiating the insights acquired by means of interviews with teachers, school principals, and other significant role players. An earnest attempt was made to analyse behaviour problems in terms of the various theoretical frameworks presented within contemporary literature. The ecological systems model was found to be the most appropriate for the development of the . referenced model. This stands in sharp contrast to the traditional medical model which in many instances still forms the basis of current theory and practice. Learners with emotional problems experience behaviour problems which serve as barriers to effective learning. Little attention however, has been attributed to putting appropriate systems in place to assist these learners. A key consideration embodied within the new Education Policy (NCS DOCUMENT 1997:1 0) is the issue of meeting the needs of all learners so that they are able to actualise their potential - this includes their emotional needs. The findings of this study need to be seen within the light of meeting this objective. In order to address the unmet emotional needs of learner, teachers must attend to the cognitive mind maps which embody internalized feelings and cognition. A model for understanding the cognitive maps has been developed as part of this study and serves as introduction to the model developed to assist learners wi~h behaviour problems. The study provides a new perspective directed at understanding instead of managing behaviour problems. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Special Needs Education)

Social theorists have long argued that literacy is one of the principal causes and hallmark features of complex society. However, the relationship between literacy and social complexity remains poorly understood because the relevant data have not been assembled in a way that would allow competing hypotheses to be adjudicated. The project set out in this thesis provides a novel account of the multiple origins of literate behaviour around the globe, the principal mechanisms of its cultural transmission, and its relationship with the cultural evolution of large-group human cooperation and complex forms of socio-political organisation. A multi-method large-scale cross-cultural approach provided the data necessary to achieve these objectives. Evidence from the societies within which literate behaviour first emerged, and from a representative sample of ethnographically-attested societies worldwide (n=74), indicates that literate behaviour emerged through the routinization of rituals and pre-literate sign systems, eventually spreading more widely through classical religions. Cross-cultural evidence also suggests that literacy assumed a wide variety of forms and socio-political functions, particularly in large, complex groups, extending evolved psychological mechanisms for cooperation, which include reciprocity, reputation formation and maintenance systems, social norms and norm enforcement systems, and group identification. Finally, the results of a cross-cultural historical survey of first-generation states (n=10) reveal that simple models assuming single cause-and-effect relationships between literacy and complex forms of socio-political organisation must be rejected. Instead, literacy and first-generation state-level polities appear to have interacted in a complex positive feedback loop. This thesis contributes to the wider goal of transforming social and cultural anthropology into a cumulative and rapid-discovery science.

This dissertation engages with contemporary interpretations of Nietzsche and Heidegger on the issue of self-knowing with respect to the notions of honesty and authenticity. Accounting for the two philosophers' developing conceptions of these notions allows a response to interpreters who conceive the activity of self-knowing as a primarily personal problem. The alternative accounts proposed take as a point of departure transitional texts that reveal both thinkers to be engaged in processes of revision. The reading of honesty in Chapters 1 and 2 revolves around Nietzsche's groundwork on prejudice in Morgenröthe (1880-81), where he first problematizes the moral-historical forces entailed in actuating the 'will to truth'. The reading of authenticity in Chapters 3 and 4 revolves around Heidegger's lectures on what motivates one's thinking in Was heißt Denken? (1951-52). The lectures call into question his previous formal suppositions on what calls forth one's 'will-to-have-a-conscience', in an interpretation of Parmenides on the issue of thought's linguistic determination, discussed further in the context of Unterwegs zur Sprache (1950-59). Chapter 5 shows how Heidegger's confrontation with Nietzsche contributed to his ongoing revisions to the notion of authenticity, and to the attending conceptions of critique and its authority. Particular attention is given to the specific purposes to which distinct Nietzschean foils are put near the confrontation's beginning--in Heidegger's lectures on Nietzsche's second Unzeitgemässe Betrachtung (1938), and in the monograph entitled Besinnung (1939) which they prepare--and near its end, in the interpretation of Also Sprach Zarathustra (1883-85) presented in the first half of Was heißt Denken? Chapter 6 recapitulates the developments traced from the vantage point of the retrospective texts Die Zollikoner Seminare (1959-72) and the fifth Book of Die fröhliche Wissenschaft (1887). Closing remarks are made in relation to recent empirical research on the socio-environmental structures involved in determining self-identity.

Heutige Roboter sind nur begrenzt in der Lage etwas zu erlernen, sich unerwarteten Umständen anzupassen oder auf diese zu reagieren. Als Antwort auf diese Fragen, develomental robotics setzt sich den Aufbau eines künstlichen Systems zum Ziel, das motorische und kognitive Fähigkeiten analog zur menschlichen Entwicklung durch Interaktion mit der Umgebung entwickeln kann. In dieser Arbeit wird ein ähnlich Ansatz verwendet, mit Hilfe dessen grundlegende Verhaltenskomponenten identifiziert werden sollen, die eine autonome Aneignung motorischer und kognitive Fähigkeiten durch die Roboter ermöglichen könnten. Diese Arbeit untersucht die sensomotorische Interaktion als Mittel zur Schaffung von Erfahrungen. Es werden Experimente zu explorative Verhaltensweisen zur Aneigung von Arbewegungen, der Werkzeugnutzung und von interaktiven Fähigkeiten vorgestellt. In diesem Rahmen wird auch die Entwicklung sozialer Fähigkeiten, insbesondere durch joint attention, behandelt. Dabei werden zwei Vorraussetzugen zu joint attention untersucht: Zeigegesten und Erkennung von visueller Salienz. Dabei wurde das Framework der interen Modelle für die Darstellung von sensomotorischen Erfahrungen angewendet. Insbesondere wurden inverse und Vorwärtsmodelle mit unterschiedlichen Konfigurationen am sensorischen und motorischen Daten, die vom Roboter durch exploratives Verhalten, durch Beobachtung menschliche Vorführern, oder durch kinästhetisches Lehren erzeugt wurden geschult. Die Entscheidung zu Gunsten dieses Framework wurde getroffen, da es in der Lage ist, sensomotorische Zyklen zu simulieren. Diese Arbeit untersucht, wie grundlegende kognitive Fähigkeiten in einen humanoiden Roboter unter Berücksichtigung sensorischer und motorischer Erfahrungen implementiert werden können. Insbesondere wurden interne Simulationsprozesse für die Implementierung von Kognitivenfahigkeiten wie die Aktionsauswahl, die Werkzeugnutzung, die Verhaltenserkennung und die Self-Other distinction, eingesetzt. / State-of-the-art robots are still not properly able to learn from, adapt to, react to unexpected circumstances, and to autonomously and safely operate in uncertain environments. Researchers in developmental robotics address these issues by building artificial systems capable of acquiring motor and cognitive capabilities by interacting with their environment, inspired by human development. This thesis adopts a similar approach in finding some of those basic behavioural components that may allow for the autonomous development of sensorimotor and social skills in robots. Here, sensorimotor interactions are investigated as a mean for the acquisition of experience. Experiments on exploration behaviours for the acquisition of arm movements, tool-use and interactive capabilities are presented. The development of social skills is also addressed, in particular of joint attention, the capability to share the focus of attention between individuals. Two prerequisites of joint attention are investigated: imperative pointing gestures and visual saliency detection. The established framework of the internal models is adopted for coding sensorimotor experience in robots. In particular, inverse and forward models are trained with different configurations of low-level sensory and motor data generated by the robot through exploration behaviours, or observed by human demonstrator, or acquired through kinaesthetic teaching. The internal models framework allows the generation of simulations of sensorimotor cycles. This thesis investigates also how basic cognitive skills can be implemented in a humanoid robot by allowing it to recreate the perceptual and motor experience gathered in past interactions with the external world. In particular, simulation processes are used as a basis for implementing cognitive skills such as action selection, tool-use, behaviour recognition and self-other distinction.

This study was conducted in order to assess the effectiveness of practitioner training in underprivileged early childhood settings. The quantitative study set out to test a target group of 800 Grade R children, ranging in age from five to six and a half years, in order to determine the impact that practitioner training on early intervention has on young children. A pre-test evaluated the initial level of each child‟s abilities, including physical-motor, language and speech, cognitive, play and social and emotional development. Children were placed into control and experimental groups through random selection of practitioners. The experimental group's teachers (practitioners) underwent an eight-month part-time intervention programme which focused on the importance of early intervention, the domains of development, planning, preparation and assessment as well as encouraging community awareness. The control and experimental groups continued with their normal school programmes, but the practitioners in the experimental group were developing a deeper understanding of early childhood development and activities which enhance development in children. The results indicate that the impact of effective practitioner training and enhancing a deep understanding of stimulation in young children can have positive, long-term results in children's cognitive ability, laying foundational concepts and scope for development. Vast differences were noted in the ability level of children which were stimulated, as compared with those children who were not as stimulated. / Psychology of Education / D. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

Tbis study has as primary objective the development of an appropriate model to assist ' teachers, in South Africa, to be able to understand and assist learners with behaviour problems. The need for the study has its genesis within the current difficulties teachers experience in dealing with behaviour problems in the classroom and the fact that increasing numbers of children are involved. A key facet of the research is its accent on the unmet emotional needs of learners that function as a behavioural determinant. The study is analytical descriptive in nature and as such is based on two fundamental dimensions:- to acquire a sound theoretical understanding of the concepts, causative 'factors and underlying behaviour problems and the most appropriate means to deal therewith and substantiating the insights acquired by means of interviews with teachers, school principals, and other significant role players. An earnest attempt was made to analyse behaviour problems in terms of the various theoretical frameworks presented within contemporary literature. The ecological systems model was found to be the most appropriate for the development of the . referenced model. This stands in sharp contrast to the traditional medical model which in many instances still forms the basis of current theory and practice. Learners with emotional problems experience behaviour problems which serve as barriers to effective learning. Little attention however, has been attributed to putting appropriate systems in place to assist these learners. A key consideration embodied within the new Education Policy (NCS DOCUMENT 1997:1 0) is the issue of meeting the needs of all learners so that they are able to actualise their potential - this includes their emotional needs. The findings of this study need to be seen within the light of meeting this objective. In order to address the unmet emotional needs of learner, teachers must attend to the cognitive mind maps which embody internalized feelings and cognition. A model for understanding the cognitive maps has been developed as part of this study and serves as introduction to the model developed to assist learners wi~h behaviour problems. The study provides a new perspective directed at understanding instead of managing behaviour problems. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Special Needs Education)