Thesis--Copenhagen. / "Bibliographical appendix": p. [384]-390.

In this project, I explore the projects of the Indian Buddhist philosopher Nāgārjuna (c. 150-250 CE) and the process metaphysician Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947). Despite their very different historical contexts, I argue that both thinkers defend a process-relational metaphysics: the view that a fundamental aspect of our universe is constant change, in which each moment is interrelated with the next. Though many interpreters have suggested that the projects of Nāgārjuna and Whitehead are fundamentally at odds, I argue that their approaches are compatible and complementary. This interpretation allows us to more deeply understand the central claims of process metaphysics and defend their shared view from two common criticisms, which I call the problems of continuity and identity. In the former, critics of process metaphysics allege that if a person is constantly changing from moment to moment, we cannot explain how that person remains in some sense the same self over time. In the problem of identity, critics allege that if everything is change and process all the way down, nothing could come to be in the first place. Nāgārjuna provides a solution to problem of continuity, but critics argue that he still has trouble answering the problem of identity. Whitehead provides a compelling solution to the problem of identity, but his critics allege that he fails to adequately answer the problem of continuity. By showing how these two philosophers can be read as two sides of a larger system, we can defend process metaphysics from both criticisms at once

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“The fundamental reality in the ontology of African people” is an effort to alert the reader to a crucial omission in most contemporary studies on the religion or culture of African people. The majority of the current anthropologists (scholars in the field of contemporary religions) only make a passing reference to the spirit beings that infest the world of traditional Africa. Apart from inadequate attempts to psychologize the religions of pre-literary man, investigators of pre-scientific cultures have for the most part been unable to account for the unflinching loyalty and meticulous devotion of traditional man to spirit beings. The reason was found to be two-fold, namely: ethnocentrism on the part of the western scholar, and his bias against supernaturalism in favor of empiricism and evolution. The present investigation further showed that affirming or rejecting the reality of supernatural beings does not belong to the field of science because by definition supernatural beings are incorporeal. Therefore, there can be no scientific (set up) or apparatus that can verify such propositions. The appropriate fields were found to be those of metaphysics and epistemology. Further investigation showed that there is no metaphysical or epistemological ground for rejecting the reality of supernatural beings (spirit beings). Belief in spirit beings was shown to be quite consistent with reason and logic. In the ontology of traditional Africa, the highest being is God (the supreme being). He is the same as the Christian God. He created all living things in both the spirit world of lesser “deities” and the physical world of mortal man. He also created both the spirit world and the physical world. The lesser spirits or deities exercise control over man in his physical environment. At death, man becomes an ancestral spirit who then gravitates into the spirit world. As an ancestor, he is worshipped by the living. In return he offers them protection, guidance and care. That is why priests and witch doctors play a dominant role in such societies. They possess special knowledge about the spirit world. They have the power to contact and to manipulate spirit beings. These specialists provide the ordinary man with varying degrees of charms, amulets, magic, and several such devices that enable the latter to ward off the influence of malevolent spirit beings, mischievous humans, and to guarantee success in life. Such is the set up that controls the nerve center of traditional Africa from the cradle to the grave. Herein lies reality to which the physical world of man must remain subservient.

The “one-many” problem is ontological rather than logical. The thesis is a dialogue between thinkers who never met, investigating the question of what reality fundamentally is in the context of change. Textual studies distinguishing Ge Hong’s relational ontology from Platonic causational ontology lead to the conclusion that Daoist cosmogony, moving “from nothing into being” offers an evolutionary solution to Plato’s problem of change “from being to becoming”.

Cette thèse porte sur la diffusion et l’influence des idées d’Aristote en Chine de la fin de la dynastie Ming jusqu’à la période contemporaine. Le but de cette recherche consiste à cerner les impacts interculturels et à favoriser la compréhension des dialogues et des échanges entre la culture d’origine européenne et chinoise. Il était important de découvrir la traduction des oeuvres et les recherches spécialisées concernant la philosophie d’Aristote en Chine. Il semblait aussi pertinent de se pencher sur l’étude comparative entre la philosophie d’Aristote et quelques courants de pensée principaux de la Chine dans certains domaines, comme l’éthique et l’éducation de Confucius, la philosophie naturelle de Lao zi, la logique de Mo zi et la pensée politique de Han Feizi. Et pour conclure, il fallait reconnaître les influences considérables d’Aristote dans ces domaines en Chine. Cette étude s’appuie sur une base documentaire large et variée que j’ai dépouillée en France et en Chine. / This thesis focuses on the spread and the influence of Aristotle¡¯s ideas in China from the end of the Ming`s Dynasty to the contemporary period. The purpose of this research is to identify the interculturals impacts and to promote the understanding of the dialogues and the exchanges between European and Chinese native culture. It was of great importance to find out the translation of the works and also the specialized research on the philosophy of Aristotle in China. In addition, a comparative study on the philosophy of Aristotle and several major schools of thought in China in some areas, such as the ethics and the education of Confucius, the natural philosophy of Laozi, the logic of Mo Zi and the political thought of Han Feizi. At the end, we try to conclude with the considerable influence of Aristotle in several areas in China. This study is based on a wide series of documents we have got through in France and in China.

Under what is arguably the single most dominant approach in modern economic theory, to act rationally is to act in accordance with one’s self-interest, and it is only “rationality as self-interest” that explains behavior in the market sphere. Many economists attribute this idea to Adam Smith, often referred to as the “father of economics.” Yet, in his The Theory of Moral Sentiments, Smith expands the notion of rationality to reasonableness, or the standards one has reason to value and act on, and includes in this concept both self-interested virtues, such as prudence, and other regarding virtues, such as beneficence. Other academics, such as Elizabeth Anderson, have followed Smith’s lead in expanding the notion of rationality to include values outside of self-interest, but have failed to integrate fully Smith’s moral framework as they accept the problematic tenet of reasonableness as self interest in the market sphere. In this thesis, I propose and explore in four chapters the Smith-inspired interpenetrating spheres of association model as a framework for decision-making that is superior both to the economist’s rationality as self-interest model and to Anderson’s sphere differentiation model. Importantly, the model I propose transcends these former models by concurrently assuaging collective action problems, revealing the immorality of women’s double bind situations in the workplace, and sustaining efficient market transactions.

One of the two aims of this research was to elucidate from a philosophical perspective a selected body of Nigerian fiction. The second objective has been to investigate the dominant themes of the two selected novelists and relate them to existentialism. The most essential theme was found to be colonialism and its disruption of the African culture. It was implied in the works of the novelists that authentic African culture was dislocated by British imperialism in Nigeria. The use of force and other features of power was manifested in the takeover. Through various literary devices and innuendo they suggest that the social values of their people had been altered to the advantage of the Europeans. They, however, blame the Nigerians as well for their lack of will power to stabilize things. One of the most important findings is the fact that man will always seek his well-being first before caring for others. The philosophy of the existentialism in whose light the African situation has been analyzed points out that power is the underlying factor in all human situations. Since power determines who gains the upper hand in life’s struggle the existentialists alert man to the notion that everyone has his own existence to guard. To relate this idea to the Nigerian situation, it then means that the Nigerian has his destiny to guard. This is found to be the coded message of the Nigerian novelists to their people.

A philosophical analysis of the thesis of the metaphysic of the non-dual that "the world we are confronted with is nothing but words, words, words" is a difficult one upon which to embark. The difficulty does not lie in assuming this argument, but in examining it from the opponent's position. It is equivalent to an evaluation of the New York Giants in Brooklyn. If we assume the thesis of the metaphysic of the non-dual, finding the proper arguments and quotations to substantiate its claims, all that we would be doing is claiming a victory for "our side” when, indeed, no battle had been fought. The issue is not that what has been said can be said, but that there is a validity in the arguments and a truth in the assertions. As pleasant as it might be to find quotations to support this thesis, it would have little value if our sources were all one-sided. To return to an earlier analogy, if the issue were whether the Giants have the better team, we certainly should not confine our inquiries to only Giant fans. The issue is quite simple and clear. One must find in even the Brooklyn fans a tacit agreement that the Giants are a superior team. Or, putting our playful analogy aside, one must find in even the strongest antagonist's thesis a large place for the final pronouncement upon the nature of the phenomenal world of the metaphysic of the non-dual. The advantages are of course obvious even though it might be a more difficult task. But this is always the role of the mythical hero. If we momentarily forget that the weapons are only paper and typewriter and the armor, rhetoric, we can then, perhaps, see the correspondence. The present fashion in philosophy or at least the most vocal and vociferous, is the forthright denial of metaphysics as a valid intellectual pursuit - even in principle. It is with this school that we encounter our first difficulties. Thus, if we can discern in their writings - the critics of the metaphysic of the non-dual and mysticism - a metaphysical bias as well as either an implicit or explicit use of what, for the moment, we may call typifying reality as a word structure, then we can claim not only a victory, but an ally even if they may prefer a disguise. Again, if we are fortunate enough to see this pattern with the concomitant parts we have mentioned, then it would be interesting, if one is not interpolating too far, to utilize this as a tool for analytical purposes in other kindred fields to see if a general thesis could be maintained to substantiate the non-dualist's claim where the critics might not have lingered. Thus, if the same form can be discovered, an underlying thought process may be discerned that well may prove interesting as well as provide a way of handling thought while escaping the dangers of dogmaticism. If so, this may be the analogue to the non-dualist's thesis presented in a rational context. A word of caution, however. One must recall the Platonic dictum to joke seriously and sport in ernest.

This paper will introduce the theory of blame and demonstrate how it relates to self-blame. I will begin by first highlighting two competing definitions of blame. The first of these forms, upheld by two prominent philosophers, Thomas Scanlon and Linda Radzik, looks at blame as impairing relationships. Both philosophers study how wrongful actions cause impairments in relationships and argue that blame is utilized to the extent of that impairment. Reactive emotions, according to them, are simply a byproduct of blame and not of quintessential importance to the theory of blame. The second form of blame, presented by Susan Wolf and R. Jay Wallace, refutes the Impaired Relations Theory and, instead, studies the theory of blame in accordance with reactive emotions. These two philosophers contend that blame is the reactive attitudes one has, or should have, towards wrongful actions. These emotions are, therefore, required in order for an agent to be blamed. This paper will first thoroughly outline the differences between these two forms of blame. It will then introduce the notion of self-blame with respect to these four philosophers’ viewpoints and compare them to one another. It will ultimately conclude by revealing how the Reactive Attitudes Theory represents a more accurate account of self-blame.