Both Plato and the Cambridge Platonists hold the view that moral knowledge depends primarily on cognitive resources which are innate to the mind. There is, nevertheless, a need for our minds to be prompted through experience in order for knowledge to occur. The following study is an attempt to reconstruct and compare the accounts in Plato and the Cambridge Platonists of the empirical conditions that are required for knowledge. For Plato, these conditions are a result of a decline in political and psychological constitutions, through which the intellect is increasingly developed. Dialectical analysis of received customs, laws, opinions, and language may then reveal the moral ideas upon which the polity was initially based and which remain implicit in common sense throughout the historical decline. Philosophical knowledge consists of a recollection of the ancient wisdom which was revealed to the original lawgiver by the gods. In the Cambridge Platonists, philosophical knowledge likewise consists of a recollection of revealed knowledge that stood at the foundation of a form of life, namely, Judaism. The revival of ancient Greek and Jewish philosophical theories in modern times heralds the end of history, in which the complete system of knowledge is both attainable and necessary for salvation. From the perspective of humanity as a whole, knowledge is initially granted through revelation, then generally forgotten, and finally recollected in a highly intellectual age of deteriorating morality and stability. The esoteric traditions of knowledge, coupled with recent developments in science and philosophy, act as the prompts for knowledge, given an intuitive basis that has been formed through the spread of Christianity. This intuitive basis serves as the concrete way in which the natural anticipations of the mind are gradually shaped in order to recognize the truth when it appears in a shrouded manner in modern philosophy. Both Plato and the Cambridge Platonists are critics of the similar intellectual trends in their times and they respond with similar arguments; however, unlike Plato, the Cambridge Platonists are unable to connect their rational critique with their genetic critique of modern ideas, rendering the latter ineffective. / Thesis (Ph.D, Philosophy) -- Queen's University, 2009-09-24 16:19:49.145

Gilles Deleuze’s ontology is often understood to ground a kind of radical pluralism, the political defense of which is thought to be articulated most strongly in the Capitalism and Schizophrenia books. It is clear, however, that this “politics” is defined in a wholly negative way, and that the revolutionary dimension of these books is animated by a strictly ethical logic. In my view, if there is a politics in Deleuze it must be understood in relation to the central problem of his ontology: namely, the problem of understanding how Being is produced. To grasp politics as a singularity, as a mode of ontological production, has a number of radical consequences – consequences, however, that Deleuze himself did not embrace. Ultimately, Deleuze’s conception of ontological production appears marked by an apolitics, in that any effective mobilization of Being’s transformative potential requires that we stand posed to sacrifice anything of the integrity and organizational capacity of political existence that limits the expression of Being itself.

Gilles Deleuze’s ontology is often understood to ground a kind of radical pluralism, the political defense of which is thought to be articulated most strongly in the Capitalism and Schizophrenia books. It is clear, however, that this “politics” is defined in a wholly negative way, and that the revolutionary dimension of these books is animated by a strictly ethical logic. In my view, if there is a politics in Deleuze it must be understood in relation to the central problem of his ontology: namely, the problem of understanding how Being is produced. To grasp politics as a singularity, as a mode of ontological production, has a number of radical consequences – consequences, however, that Deleuze himself did not embrace. Ultimately, Deleuze’s conception of ontological production appears marked by an apolitics, in that any effective mobilization of Being’s transformative potential requires that we stand posed to sacrifice anything of the integrity and organizational capacity of political existence that limits the expression of Being itself.

Concept éminemment polysémique, le sens commun a été déprécié par un vaste pan de la philosophie occidentale, qui y a vu au mieux l’expression de croyances infondées, au pire la manifestation de croyances erronées et naïves. Là où bon nombre de commentateurs ont repéré dans les pensées mêmes d’Henri Bergson, Stanley Cavell et Gilles Deleuze, trois grandes figures de la philosophie du cinéma, des critiques adressées au sens commun, nous nous efforçons ici de tirer au clair la conception positive qu’ils développent de cette notion, en dépit des soupçons occasionnels qu’ils font peser sur elle. Plus précisément, nous tâchons d’expliquer jusqu’à quel point certaines acceptions du sens commun permettent de satisfaire l’ambition de connaître le réel lui-même. En premier lieu, nous passons en revue l’argumentation élaborée par certains réalistes spéculatifs (en particulier Quentin Meillassoux et Graham Harman) afin de clarifier d’une part des réflexions qui feront l’objet de discussions et de répliques dans les chapitres subséquents et, d’autre part, de montrer que la dépréciation philosophique du sens commun se prolonge jusque dans les débats les plus actuels sur l’objectivité. Nous faisons ressortir par la suite les angles sous lesquels le sens commun est susceptible de nous rapprocher du réel d’après Bergson, Cavell et Deleuze. En second lieu, nous entrons de plain-pied dans le domaine du cinéma et examinons en quoi différentes œuvres du renouveau du cinéma québécois (Denis Côté, Stéphane Lafleur, Sébastien Pilote, Rafaël Ouellet, Xavier Dolan, Anne Émond, Rodrigue Jean, le collectif Épopée, Mathieu Denis et Simon Lavoie) viennent à leur manière compléter, radicaliser ou critiquer les réflexions développées dans la première partie autour du sens commun et du réel. À l’encontre de ceux qui qualifient ces œuvres de « mimétiques », « peu songées » et « esthétisantes », nous mettons donc en évidence la façon dont ces films, attentifs à la profondeur de l’expérience ordinaire et à l’exigence de trouver un certain équilibre entre le devenir incessant et la stabilité constante, parviennent à nuancer et à raffiner la philosophie. / The eminently polysemic concept of common sense was depreciated by a vast segment of Western philosophy, which saw at best in it the expression of unwarranted beliefs, at worst the manifestation of erroneous and naïve beliefs. Where many commentators have pinpointed critiques of common sense in the thoughts of Henri Bergson, Stanley Cavell and Gilles Deleuze, three prominent figures of the philosophy of cinema, we strive here to bring out the positive conception they develop of that concept, notwithstanding the occasional suspicion they may cast on it. To put it in more precise terms, we seek to explain to what extent certain meanings of common sense are apt to satisfy the ambition of knowing reality itself. In the first place, we review the argument elaborated by certain speculative realists (specifically Quentin Meillassoux and Graham Harman) in order to clarify, on the one hand, reflections which will be the object of discussions and replies in the subsequent chapters, and, on the other hand, to show that the philosophical depreciation of common sense goes on even in the most contemporary debates on objectivity. We then bring out the angles under which, according to Bergson, Cavell and Deleuze, common sense is apt to bring us closer to reality itself. In the second place, we enter fully into the field of cinema and examine in what way different works associated with the revival of Quebec cinema (Denis Côté, Stéphane Lafleur, Sébastien Pilote, Rafaël Ouellet, Xavier Dolan, Anne Émond, Rodrigue Jean, the collective Épopée, Mathieu Denis and Simon Lavoie) end up completing, radicalizing or criticizing in their way the reflections developed in the first part around common sense and the real. In opposition to those who characterize those works as « mimetic », « thoughtless » and « aestheticizing », we thus bring to the fore the way in which those films, paying attention to the depth of ordinary experience and to the requirement of finding a certain balance between incessant becoming and constant stability, do succeed in nuancing and refining philosophy.

Esta dissertação apresenta a concepção de juízo político de Hannah Arendt. Afastando-se de uma leitura ortodoxa dos textos kantianos, Arendt vislumbra no juízo reflexionante estético de Kant a estrutura do juízo político. Em um constante diálogo com a obra kantiana a autora se apropria de vários conceitos, tanto conceitos constantes na Crítica da faculdade do juízo, que é a obra que ela afirma conter a verdadeira filosofia política de Kant, como conceitos de outras importantes obras kantianas. No decorrer deste texto, quando entendemos que ocorre uma apropriação conceitual buscamos situar minimamente o conceito no contexto da obra kantiana para compreendermos a concepção e o gesto interpretativo de Arendt. Através da análise de seus escritos mostramos como ela compreende o modo de funcionamento da faculdade humana de julgar os eventos políticos, por meio da exposição e discussão dos principais conceitos envolvidos em sua teoria. Assim, apresentamos as condições de possibilidade do juízo representadas pelas faculdades da imaginação e do senso comum, bem como as duas perspectivas pelas quais essa faculdade se manifesta no mundo público, o juízo do ator e o juízo do espectador. Depois, analisamos a conexão entre as faculdades de pensamento e juízo para extrair as implicações éticas da faculdade humana de julgar. Estas reflexões são uma tentativa de compreender como, para Arendt, opera a faculdade de julgar; por que ela considera esta faculdade a mais política das habilidades espirituais do homem, e qual é a relevância política desta atividade do espírito. / This dissertation presents the conception of Hannah Arendt’s political judgment. Moving away from an orthodox reading of Kantian texts, Arendt glimpses in the aesthetic reflective judgment of Kant, the structure of the political judgment. In one constant dialogue with Kantian Work the author appropriates several concepts, as concepts constant in the Critique of judgment, which is the Work that she affirms that contains the true Kant’s political philosophy, as concepts of other important Kantian Works. In elapsing of this text, when we understand that a conceptual appropriation occurs, we try to situate the concept in the context of the Kantian Work to understand Arendt’s conception and the interpretation gesture. Through the analysis of her writings we show as she understands the way of functioning of the human faculty to judge the political events, by the exposition and debate of the main involved concepts in her theory. So, we present the conditions of judgment possibility represented by the faculties of the imagination and the common sense, as well as the two perspectives for which manifests this faculty in the public world, the judgment of the actor and the judgment of the spectator. After that, we analyze the connection between the faculties of thought and judgment to extract the ethical implications of the human faculty to judge. These reflections are an attempt to understand how does the faculty of judge operate for Arendt; why does she consider this faculty the most political of men’s mental abilities, and what is the politic relevance of this spirit’s activity.

Esta dissertação apresenta a concepção de juízo político de Hannah Arendt. Afastando-se de uma leitura ortodoxa dos textos kantianos, Arendt vislumbra no juízo reflexionante estético de Kant a estrutura do juízo político. Em um constante diálogo com a obra kantiana a autora se apropria de vários conceitos, tanto conceitos constantes na Crítica da faculdade do juízo, que é a obra que ela afirma conter a verdadeira filosofia política de Kant, como conceitos de outras importantes obras kantianas. No decorrer deste texto, quando entendemos que ocorre uma apropriação conceitual buscamos situar minimamente o conceito no contexto da obra kantiana para compreendermos a concepção e o gesto interpretativo de Arendt. Através da análise de seus escritos mostramos como ela compreende o modo de funcionamento da faculdade humana de julgar os eventos políticos, por meio da exposição e discussão dos principais conceitos envolvidos em sua teoria. Assim, apresentamos as condições de possibilidade do juízo representadas pelas faculdades da imaginação e do senso comum, bem como as duas perspectivas pelas quais essa faculdade se manifesta no mundo público, o juízo do ator e o juízo do espectador. Depois, analisamos a conexão entre as faculdades de pensamento e juízo para extrair as implicações éticas da faculdade humana de julgar. Estas reflexões são uma tentativa de compreender como, para Arendt, opera a faculdade de julgar; por que ela considera esta faculdade a mais política das habilidades espirituais do homem, e qual é a relevância política desta atividade do espírito. / This dissertation presents the conception of Hannah Arendt’s political judgment. Moving away from an orthodox reading of Kantian texts, Arendt glimpses in the aesthetic reflective judgment of Kant, the structure of the political judgment. In one constant dialogue with Kantian Work the author appropriates several concepts, as concepts constant in the Critique of judgment, which is the Work that she affirms that contains the true Kant’s political philosophy, as concepts of other important Kantian Works. In elapsing of this text, when we understand that a conceptual appropriation occurs, we try to situate the concept in the context of the Kantian Work to understand Arendt’s conception and the interpretation gesture. Through the analysis of her writings we show as she understands the way of functioning of the human faculty to judge the political events, by the exposition and debate of the main involved concepts in her theory. So, we present the conditions of judgment possibility represented by the faculties of the imagination and the common sense, as well as the two perspectives for which manifests this faculty in the public world, the judgment of the actor and the judgment of the spectator. After that, we analyze the connection between the faculties of thought and judgment to extract the ethical implications of the human faculty to judge. These reflections are an attempt to understand how does the faculty of judge operate for Arendt; why does she consider this faculty the most political of men’s mental abilities, and what is the politic relevance of this spirit’s activity.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:05:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2663.pdf: 8403936 bytes, checksum: 20ebe5a87d4faad6fe7ae99f16b1b97a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-09-24 / Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos / This research describes how common sense knowledge can help to define and to tell stories in narrative games. In order to evaluate this possibility, it has been developed a Web narrative game, called Contexteller, which allows educators to teach some skills that are part of the student s education and life, such as: ways to express themselves and to work in group. Nowadays, there are several educational challenges to teach some skills at school. For instance, educators can not easily find a tool or activity in order to help them to work collaboratively with their students. Therefore, this game allows educators, as co-authors, to create the story taking into account their goals, pedagogical approach and the student s cultural reality. Through the game, they can get some information related to the student s values, culture and knowledge, i.e., student s common sense. Then, teachers can use common vocabulary before and during the narrative, considering myths, beliefs and knowledge of the students´ group and, consequently, enabling them not only to identify but also to get interested in collaborate with the teacher and the other students to develop the story. In order to observe the use of this game in an educational environment and collect the opinion of target group a study case, described in this thesis, was performed at a school in Itapira/SP. / Neste trabalho é descrito como o conhecimento de senso comum pode apoiar na criação e condução de histórias em jogos do tipo narrativo. Para verificar a viabilidade do uso de senso comum foi desenvolvido um jogo narrativo Web, chamado Contexteller, que tem como objetivo permitir ao educador ensinar aos alunos algumas habilidades que fazem parte do processo de aprendizado e da vida, tais como: o trabalho colaborativo e a livre expressão de idéias; uma vez que, as escolas ainda encontram muitos desafios educacionais para ensinar habilidades como essas, preparando o aprendiz para ser um cidadão participante em sua comunidade. Os educadores têm dificuldades para encontrar ferramentas e/ou atividades que os apóiem a trabalhar essas habilidades com seus alunos, estabelecidos os objetivos pedagógicos e percebidas as necessidades dos aprendizes. Nesse contexto, este trabalho apresenta o Contexteller para permitir aos educadores promover a atividade de contar histórias colaborativamente e, através destas histórias, ensinar e/ou trabalhar essas habilidades com seus alunos. Este jogo permite ao educador, como co-autor, criar histórias de acordo com os seus objetivos e princípios pedagógicos, considerando a realidade cultural dos alunos, pois, durante a elaboração e condução da história, o jogo disponibiliza informações relacionadas a cultura, valores, o vocabulário, enfim com o senso comum dos alunos. Através dessas informações culturais, o educador pode utilizar um vocabulário comum a todos durante a narrativa, considerando mitos, crenças, conhecimento de um certo grupo de alunos, permitindo que eles se identifiquem e, possam ter maior interesse e engajamento para se expressar e colaborar com a história. Com o intuito de observar o uso desse jogo em um ambiente educacional e coletar a opinião do público alvo, foi realizado um estudo de caso na Escola Educacional Vivência SS Ltda., parceira do LIA nos projetos educacionais, de Itapira/SP, relatado neste trabalho.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:06:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 5489.pdf: 2144785 bytes, checksum: 5c239d11261b4817f357b24eb40ff8d5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-06-07 / Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais / We are currently in the third wave of research in the Human Computer Interaction (HCI) area, whose focus is on the context of applications. Technology has been spreading from the workplace to our homes; it becomes part of our everyday lives. Thinking about it, one way of trying to provide this contextualization can be done through culture insertion in applications. However, culture is a very broad concept that encompasses different factors, among them, the common sense, which is a subset of culture consisting of the knowledge we gain in our day-to-day routine activities. Within this context, this work aims to create a new strategy to culturally contextualize an application. Thinking about that, it was created a new module called Cultural Filter that, through the use of a given knowledgebase, filters the stored information to create small cultural contextualized slices according to the profile of the users who will use this application. In this case, information such as age, gender, education level, and geographic location are used in the process of creating these cultural slices. In order to observe the viability of this strategy, an instance of the cultural filter was instantiated using the cultural knowledgebase of project Open Mind Common Sense in Brazil (OMCS-Br). In this case, the filter acts creating cultural slices from the project complete knowledgebase. In the background, this also aims to further the collection of data for this database in question, collecting data generated from the use of these contextualized software. To make this set of cultural filter and knowledge collector accessible to developers and users in general, it was developed an online system that allows any interested person to use the knowledgebase of the project OMCSBr in its applications or, still, just do culturally contextualized searches in the base. We intend to expand access to the Brazilian cultural knowledgebase and make the collection and use of the OMCS-Br knowledgebase operations more flexible, facilitating the development of applications using such a database and, with the filter being part of the OMCS-Br architecture, applications become lighter, closer to the RIA (Rich Internet Application) concept. To achieve the proposed objectives, the OMCS-Br architecture was restructured and expanded. Two new modules have been developed in order to connect with the project API (Application Programming Interface), namely: (i) the Cultural Filter, responsible for performing the filtering in order to retrieve contextual data from the knowledgebase according to the predefined profile and (ii) the Knowledge Collector, responsible for entering collected data through the use of culturally contextualized software into the OMCS-Br project knowledgebase. As a proof of concept, the filter was used in some already existing applications from LIA and, therefore, it was possible to observe the appropriateness of its operation. / Atualmente, estamos na terceira onda das pesquisas na area de Interacao Humano Computador (IHC), cujo foco, encontra-se na contextualizacao das aplicacoes. A tecnologia se espalha a partir do local de trabalho para nossas casas, ela passa a fazer parte de nossas vidas cotidianas. Pensando nisso, uma das maneiras de se tentar prover essa contextualizacao se da atraves da insercao de cultura nas aplicacoes. Porem, cultura e um conceito muito amplo que abrange diferentes fatores, dentre eles, o senso comum, que e um subconjunto da cultura composto pelo conhecimento que adquirimos no nosso dia-a-dia. Dentro desse contexto, este trabalho tem como objetivo criar uma nova estrategia de se contextualizar culturalmente uma aplicacao. Para isso, foi modelado um modulo denominado Filtro Cultural que, atraves do uso de uma dada base de conhecimento, filtra as informacoes armazenadas a fim de criar recortes culturais contextualizados de acordo com o perfil dos usuarios que irao utilizar a aplicacao. Neste caso, informacoes como idade, genero, nivel de escolaridade e localizacao geografica sao utilizadas no processo de criacao desses recortes culturais. Com o intuito de observar a viabilidade dessa estrategia, uma instancia do filtro cultural foi implementada utilizando a base de conhecimento cultural do Projeto Open Mind Common Sense no Brasil (OMCS-Br). Neste caso, o filtro atua criando recortes culturais a partir da base completa do projeto. Em segundo plano, almeja-se tambem ampliar a forma de coleta de dados para essa base em questao, coletando os dados gerados a partir do uso desses software contextualizados. Para disponibilizar esse conjunto de filtro e coletor de conhecimento cultural contextualizado aos desenvolvedores e usuarios em geral, foi desenvolvido um sistema online que permite ao interessado utilizar a base de conhecimento do projeto OMCS-Br em aplicacoes ou, entao, apenas realizar consultas culturalmente contextualizadas na base. Com isso, pretendemos ampliar o acesso a base de conhecimento cultural brasileiro e flexibilizar as operacoes de coleta e uso da base de conhecimento do OMCS-Br, facilitando o desenvolvimento de aplicacoes que utilizem tal base e, com o filtro sendo parte da arquitetura do OMCS-Br, as aplicacoes se tornam mais leves, aproximando-se do conceito de RIA (Rich Internet Application). Para alcancar os objetivos propostos, a arquitetura do projeto OMCS-Br foi reestruturada e ampliada. Dois novos modulos foram elaborados, de forma a se conectarem com a API (Interface de Programacao de Aplicativo) do projeto, sendo eles: (i) o Filtro Cultural, responsavel por realizar a filtragem de modo a resgatar dados contextualizados da base de conhecimento de acordo com os dados do perfil definido e (ii) o Coletor de Conhecimento, responsavel por inserir na base de conhecimento do projeto OMCS-Br os dados coletados atraves do uso de softwares culturalmente contextualizados. Como prova de conceito, o filtro foi usado em algumas aplicacoes ja existentes no LIA e, com isso, foi possivel observar a adequacao de seu funcionamento.

O presente trabalho teve como objetivo descrever o fenômeno da adesão nas igrejas neopentecostais a partir da psicologia social, mais especificamente, da teoria das representações sociais. Desta maneira, nós procuramos identificar os elementos constitutivos das práticas religiosas decorrentes de um determinado grupo religioso neopentecostal correlacionando-os àss representações sociais. Destarte, este trabalho identificou e analisou o processo de utilização do senso comum religioso pela comunidade neopentecostal Igreja Mundial do Poder de Deus, como instrumento gerador de adesão, considerando-se os fatores emocionais pertinentes ao senso comum do grupo como força motivadora de adesão à igreja referida. Deste modo, chegamos a quatro temas básicos que nos possibilitaram identificar as representações sociais construídas na interatividade da igreja. Os temas foram: oferta de milagres e feitos extraordinários; a singularidade da Igreja Mundial do Poder de Deus; a batalha entre o bem e o mal; o líder espiritual e sua relação com os adeptos de sua comunidade. As representações sociais identificadas foram: representação social da igreja como lugar de bênçãos e feitos extraordinários; representação social dos demônios; representação social do divino; representação social do ungido de Deus. Tendo em vista as representações identificadas e analisadas, o que se conclui é que, na igreja pesquisada, o senso comum - enquanto significações circulantes entre os membros desta igreja - aliado a fatores emocionais que lhe são pertinentes, se constitui como fator causativo de adesão, na medida em que os sujeitos percebem que as soluções para suas demandas e males são ofertadas, pela igreja, de maneira identificada com os significados já presentes neste senso comum. / The purpose of this thesis was to describe the phenomenon of adherence to the neo-pentecostal churches from the point of view of social psychology, and more specifically, of the theory of social representations. This way, our proposition was to identify the constitutive elements of a religious practice establishing a relationship with these social representations. Specifically, the research identified and analysed the process of utilization of the religious common sense by the neo-pentecostal commuty called Igreja Mundial do Poder de Deus [World Church of Gods Power], as a generative instrument of adherence, taking into consideration the emotional factors which are relevant to the common sense of the group, as the driving force motivating their attachment to this church. This way, we reach the four basic themes which allow us to identify the social representations built upon the interactivity of the church. The four themes are: miracle offerings and extraordinaty deeds; the singularity of the church; tha battle between Good and Evil; the spiritual leader and the people. The social representations identified were: the social representation of the church as a place for blessings and extraodinary deeds; the social representation of the demons; the social representation of the Divine and the social representation of the Gods Anointed. Having in mind the representations identified and analysed we came to the conclusion that, in the researched church, the common sense - while circulating significations among the church members - combined with emotional factors which are pertinent to them, constitutes the causative factor of the adherence, to the extent that the individuals realise that the solutions for their demands and misfortunes are offered by the church in an identified manner with the meaning already present in this common sense.

Previously, studies in the intersection of power and development have predominantly concentrated on power as domination; how powerful actors can force recipient countries into embracing specific policies due to economical asymmetries. Yet, with the introduction of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP) approach to development employed by the Bretton Woods Institutions (BWI), conditions on certain policies have decreased and it is said that the approach allows for country ownership as development strategies are written by the countries themselves. As a critical response, the conception of power is broadened here through the separate employment of governmentality theory and neo-Gramscian International Relations theory. They share among them a theoretical premise which allows for an understanding of power that extends beyond domination to the realm of discursive practices which, it is argued, allows for influence despite the notions of ownership and without power as domination. The object of this thesis is to suggest how the discourses of the PRSP regime can influence subjects whom they addressed. The two theories have different assumptions here. More specifically, the neo-Gramscian theory argue that discursive practice may render ideological issues as common sense why they can come to be embraced by subjects, whereas the governmentality theory assume that discourses can, perhaps without conscious recognition, reshape the very identities of subjects. The theories differences are retained and bracketed when a discourse analysis of the PRSP regime is conducted which concludes that the BWIs require that suitable skills are embraced by subjects appropriate for a good governed market economy. These skills are located to basic capacities in calculating, accounting and social capital accumulation. Thereafter a practical example of discursive practice in a capacity building mission is reviewed to explicate how these skills are actualized through training modules enabling influence towards preferred standards of the BWIs without power as domination. The two theories are brought in for a discussion on how these discursive practices may be understood according to their respective premises, but also to discuss the usefulness of these theories for studies of this kind. It is argued, among other conclusions, that the neo-Gramscian understanding of power as operating on the conscious level can fruitfully be coupled with the proposition of governmentality that powers also work on an unconscious level for understanding practises of capacity building. As concerning the weaknesses of the theories it is put forth that the neo- Gramscian theory suffers from an assumption of class identity presented as a “brute fact” before the realm of the political, whereas the governmentality theory suffers from an exclusive focus on discourse and leaves behind how different actor constellations may seek to appropriate discourses. To remedy these weaknesses, the thesis concludes with an argument that a combination of these theories can provide a lucrative foundation for further studies.