The claim that a principle known as Irreducible Complexity (IC) is empirically discoverable is investigated successively from the perspective of engineering, then molecular biology and finally theology, with the aim of evaluating the utility of IC for an interdisciplinary dialogue between all three. In the process, IC is subjected to the principle objections presented against it in the literature, leading to the conclusion that IC is sufficiently resistant to scientific criticism to be accepted as a true property of certain living systems. The ubiquity of machine descriptors in the professional literature of molecular biology is scrutinised in the context of the role of metaphor in science, as well as in the context of entailment models. A Biblical Theological approach to the Bible is harnessed to establish a framework for estimating the extent to which the story of Christ warrants expectation of first order design formalisms in nature, and whether that story within itself provides any homomorphic exemplification of IC. Additionally, key theological criticisms of IC are evaluated as well as criticisms of the Neo Darwinian revisioning of the Biblical account. The overall conclusion is that a true interdisciplinary dialogue where IC is the nexus holds theoretical as well as experimental promise. / Thesis (M.A. (Dogmatics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

La carrière intellectuelle d'Ernest Seillière de Laborde (1866-1955) s'étendit de l'affaire Dreyfus (son premier essai remarqué, une étude consacrée à Ferdinand Lassalle récompensée du prix Marcellin-Guérin de l'Académie française, parut en 1897) à la fin de la Seconde Guerre mondiale (il fit son entrée sous la Coupole en 1946). Parce qu'il considérait que tout bon représentant de l'élite avait pour mission de guider l'ensemble de la civilisation sur la voie du progrès, ce polytechnicien de formation dédia sa vie à l'élaboration d'une doctrine. Sa philosophie de l'Impérialisme, appuyée sur une vision organiciste de la société et une conception disciplinaire de la religion, imprégnée de darwinisme, de nietzschéisme et de gobinisme, et marquée par la mode des sciences psychologiques ainsi que par certains courants de la pensée allemande de son temps, n'avait pour autre but que de permettre à une bourgeoisie déclinante de répondre de manière adaptée à la montée en puissance et aux revendications sociales et politiques des masses. Le Romantisme, d'abord perçu comme un facteur de dégénérescence, fut progressivement envisagé par Seillière comme le pourvoyeur d'une formidable énergie qu'il importait de canaliser dans un sens impérialiste utilitaire. Opposant un Romantisme allemand énergique et virile à un Romantisme français féminin et anémiant, le germaniste en vint à faire la promotion d'un Socialisme rationnel que lui-même et certains de ses commentateurs crurent identifier dans les différents régimes totalitaires qui se développèrent au cours de l'Entre-deux-guerres. Celui qui se présentait comme un historien-psychologue se garda de jouer les premiers rôles dans les grands débats qui agitèrent le monde intellectuel français de son temps. La pensée de cet auteur prolifique ne fut pas pour autant ignorée de ses contemporains, et fit même quelques émules aux sensibilités et trajectoires diverses, mais dont les pensées demeuraient animées par une même obsession du déclin. / French thinker Ernest Seillière de Laborde (1866-1955) pursued a long career from the affaire Dreyfus (his first notable study dealing with Ferdinand Lassalle, rewarded by the prix Marcellin-Guérin of the Académie française, was published in 1897) to the end of the World War II (he entered the Académie française in 1946). The polytechnicien dedicated his entire life in developping a doctrine, claiming that an authentic member of the elite had to lead the whole civilization on the path to progress. His philosophy of Imperialism, based upon an organicist outlook of society and a constraining approach of religion, imbued with Darwinism, Nietzscheanism and Gobinism, and affected by a growing interest for psychological sciences and a number of contemporary german thinking movements, aimed to enable a decaying bourgeoisie to respond efficiently to the issu of the political rise and social demand of the masses. At first, Romanticism was seen by Seillière as a degeneration factor. But it was soon considered by the thinker as a provider of a great power that had to be controlled in an imperialistic utilitarian way. Drawing a comparison between a virile and dynamic Germanic Romanticism and a feminine and weakening French one, the Germanist promoted a rationalitic Socialism he and some of his commentators foresaw in the totalitarian regimes that emerged during the interwar period. He who described hisself as an historian-psychologist did not play the first part in the various intellectual debates of his time. However, the thought of this prolific writer was not ignored by his contemporaries, and raised interest within various thinkers obsessed with the idea of decline.

Jusqu’à présent, les travaux sur la réception de la théorie darwinienne en France ont surtout porté sur le monde savant. Ils ont conclu à un échec de sa diffusion. En élargissant cette étude à la société dans son ensemble, on découvre qu’il s’agit, en réalité, d’un succès. Le rôle du débat public dans l’introduction du darwinisme en France fait l’objet d’une première partie. Les thèses darwiniennes suscitent d’autant plus la curiosité d’un large public, à Paris et en province, qu’elles paraissent suggérer des réponses à des questions qui sont dans l’air du temps. Une deuxième partie analyse les enjeux soulevés par le darwinisme dans la société, qui expliquent pour une bonne part son audience. Au-delà des réflexions sur l’évolution suscitées par Darwin dans la plupart des pays, le contexte politique et social entraîne des interprétations et des peurs spécifiquement françaises. Une troisième partie étudie les réticences du monde savant. Malgré l’engouement public pour le darwinisme, la science officielle reste à l’écart du débat. Finalement, il a fallu qu’un vaste débat public s’instaure et que le darwinisme devienne l’enjeu d’affrontements politiques pour que Darwin soit reconnu par les institutions académiques parisiennes. / Most works on the reception of Darwin’s theory in France have heretofore chiefly focused on the scientific community. They conclude that the theory failed to spread to the whole country. By widening the scope of this analysis to French society as a whole, we realise that, in fact, Darwin’s theory had successfully circulated in most social circles. In the first part of this study, we will analyse how the public debate contributed to introducing Darwinism in France. Darwinian theories were all the more appealing to the wider public, both in Paris and in the rest of the country, as they seemed to suggest answers to topical concerns. Then, we will study the issues raised by Darwinism in French society, and how these issues can account for Darwinism’s wide audience. In addition to the reflexions on evolution triggered by Darwin’s theory in most countries, the social and political context paved the way for specifically French interpretations and fears. The third part of this work deals with the scientific reluctance to adopt Darwin’s theory. We can therefore conclude that it is precisely the fact that Darwinism triggered a vast public debate, and became a central political issue, that allowed this theory to be acknowledged by Parisian academic institutions.

The thesis focuses on Denis Dutton's cluster definition of art, its critique and possible defence in the context of evolutionary aesthetics. The main theme that accompanies the thesis is the connection between the evolutionary origins of art and its definition today. After an introductory presentation of evolutionary aesthetics' approaches to the search for the origin and definition of art, the central section is devoted to Dutton's cluster theory. This is presented from two perspectives - against the background of his understanding of the Darwinian-inspired concept of art, that is, based on natural and sexual selection, and against the background of Berys Gaut's original cluster theory. Dutton's theory has faced criticisms of the normative universalism that his evolutionary theory has the potential to set up, the subjectivity regarding antipathy to modern art, and the over-openness of the cluster. The thesis will attempt to evaluate the critique and to clarify whether Dutton succeeds in advocating a link between the origins of art and its modern definition. Keywords: Denis Dutton, evolutionary aesthetics, darwinism, adaptation, cluster theory, definition of art.

This study conducts an analysis of the Classical Liberal doctrines, namely Natural Rights, Utilitarianism, and Social Darwinism, in the context of historical events contributing to the successful establishment of autonomous governance by the Kurdish population in Iraq. The research methodology employed is qualitative case study, with the case subject being the Kurdistan region in northern Iraq. The study draws upon secondary sources encompassing scholarly books and articles, to gather pertinent information. Throughout the course of history, the Kurdish people have ardently aspired to create their own homeland, Kurdistan. Despite their determination and historical occurrences, the four constituent parts constituting Kurdistan have not been able to coalesce into a unified entity. Nevertheless, the Kurdistan region in Iraq has made remarkable progress and presently governs itself autonomously within the Iraqi state. This progress can be attributed to a myriad of historical events, ranging from major turning points to subtle influences. In the comtext of this study, all three aforementioned Liberal doctrines hold relevance, although to varying degrees. Utilitarianism and Natural Rights emerge as the primary influential doctrines, while Social Darwinism, though present, exerts a lesser impact on the studied developments.

Le biomimétisme est une approche de design grandissante et perçue comme prometteuse en termes d’innovation et de résolution de problèmes. Elle est considérée comme une stratégie de développement possédant un vaste potentiel en respect des perspectives de durabilité. Des études récentes démontrent cependant une situation contradictoire. La pratique biomimétique est qualifiée comme technocentriste et bio-exclusive. Cette situation est symptomatique d’une discontinuité entre les programmes de la durabilité et de la biomimétique. Le déploiement de la typologie de Nigel Cross comme outil conceptuel permet d’analyser le contexte méthodologique du biomimétisme d’une manière révélatrice : l’étude biologique du design nécessite d’être formalisée sous la bannière du biomimétisme. Pour y parvenir, un examen de littérature sur l’application du cadre darwinien, génétique et des méthodes de classification sur la culture matérielle est réalisé. Cet examen méthodologique permet d’introduire les mécanismes d’évolution à la théorie du design comme les mécanismes de conception de l’objet de design, soit comme un modèle ontogénique cohérent et formalisé. L’examen procède aussi à l’analyse de l’usage des méthodes de classification du règne artificiel et permet de formuler un modèle ontologique des objets de design. Ensemble ces modèles ontogéniques et ontologiques constituent un modèle descriptif complémentaire de microévolution et de macroévolution. Finalement le besoin d’un modèle de durabilité est abordé. Basé sur les modèles descriptifs précédents, le principe biologique d’adaptation est proposé comme modèle de durabilité à caractère évolutionniste pour la pratique biomimétique. / Biomimicry is a growing design approach perceived as promising in terms of innovation and problem solving. It is considered a development strategy possessing a vast potential regarding durability prospects. Nevertheless, recent studies report a contradictory situation. Biomimicry is described as techno centrist and bio-exclusive. This situation is symptomatic of a discontinuity between the biomimicry and the durability programs. The implementation of Nigel Cross’s typology as a conceptual device enables us to analyze the methodological context of biomimicry in an insightful manner: the biological study of design remains to be formalized under the biomimicry umbrella. To achieve this, a literature review examining the application of the Darwinian and genetics framework, as well as the classification methods upon our material culture is carried out. This review allows us to introduce the known evolutionary mechanisms to design theory as the development mechanisms of the designed object. This constitutes a cohesive and formalized ontogeny model. The review proceeds to analyze the applications of classification methods on the artificial realm which allows to formulate an ontological model on the designed object. Together these models form a complementary descriptive model of micro and macroevolution. Finally, the need for a model of sustainability is addressed. Based upon the aforementioned descriptive models, the biological principle of adaptation is presented as an evolutionary model of sustainability for biomimetic design practice.

This dissertation examines the intellectual and historical roots of the Anglo-American “Special Relationship,” most notably Anglo-Saxonism and social Darwinism, and their effect on the noted policy organs of the Royal Institute of International Affairs (or Chatham House) and the Council on Foreign Relations (or the Council). It first traces the origins of Anglo-Saxonism and considers its effect on important historical events such as the Spanish-American War and the Second Boer War. This thesis also presents a definition of Anglo-Saxonism which appreciates the complexity of the term and allows a better understanding of its effects. It then shows the memberships of both groups were strongly affected by these Victorian and Edwardian phenomena, a fact which augments our understanding of them. Furthermore, this relationship between Anglo-Saxonism and Chatham House and the Council is not fully appreciated by many modern academics. Ultimately, the language of Anglo-Saxonism developed during the Victorian and Edwardian eras became institutionalised during the formative years of these groups’ memberships, predisposing both to the importance of permanent Anglo-American cooperation.

Ernst Haeckel (1834-1919), Professor für Zoologie an der Universität in Jena, war der bedeutendste Vertreter des deutschen Darwinismus und wurde zum Wegbereiter einer neuen naturwissenschaftlich-monistischen Weltanschauung. Vor allem beeinflusst durch Goethes pantheistische Ideen und Darwins Entwicklungslehre betonte Haeckel die Beseeltheit der Natur, die Einheit von Gott und Welt, Geist und Materie, und anorganischer und organischer Natur. Im ersten Teil dieser Arbeit werden das Leben und Werk Haeckels mit einem besonderen Bezug zu denjenigen monistischen Themenbereichen, die auch in Tschechien Resonanz gefunden haben, vorgestellt. Im zweiten Teil wird die Rezeption des Haeckelschen Monismus im tschechischen Kulturraum am Ende des 19. und am Anfang des 20. Jahrhunderts präsentiert. Ausgehend von den tschechischen "Vordenkern" einer monistischen ganzheitlichen und einheitlichen Weltbezogenheit wird der Zeitgeist vor allem in Bezug auf die Tendenzen zur Entwicklung einer eigenständigen tschechischen nationalen Wissenschaftlichkeit und die durch diese Aspekte bestimmte Rezeption des Darwinismus charakterisiert. Der offensichtliche Mangel an tschechischen Übersetzungen von Schriften Darwins und Haeckels wird insbesondere durch die an Haeckel gerichtete Korrespondenz belegt. Vor allem Josef Bulova...

[pt] A Epistemologia Pós-Darwiniana de Sir Karl Popper é uma tentativa de esclarecer um ponto específico da obra do filósofo austríaco Karl Popper: a função da teoria evolutiva de Charles Darwin na obra epistemológica tardia. Alguns críticos encontram na epistemologia evolucionária, núcleo da obra tardia de Popper, uma virada naturalista baseada na biologia. O principal objetivo dessa dissertação é negar tais interpretações. As bases de aproximação de Popper com o darwinismo em sua epistemologias são lógicas e não naturalísticas. De acordo com Popper, a estrutura lógica do darwinismo ( seus elementos a priori ) é a mesma do processo de conjecturas e refutações do raciocínio dedutivo. Isso explica porquê o darwinismo, que não é uma teoria científica, mas um programa metafísico de pesquisa, pode ser tão frutífero e útil para a ciência. Assim, se estivermos certos, o rótulo de naturalismo aplicado à obra epistemológica tardia de Karl Popper é um simples caso de má interpretação. / [en] The Sir Karl Popper`s PostDarwinian Epistemology intends to clarify an specific issue: the function of Evolutionary Theory by Charles Darwin in Sir Karl Popper`s late epistemological works. Some critics find a naturalistic turn based on biological grounds in the evolutionary epistemology, bulk of the late works of Popper. The main objective of this dissertation is to deny these interpretations. The basis of Popper`s approach to Darwinism in his epistemology is not naturalistic but logical. According to Popper, the logical structure (a priori elements) of Darwinism is the same of conjecture and refutation process of deductive reasoning. This explains why Darwinism, which is not a scientific theory but a metaphysical research program, is so fruitful and helpful to science. Hence, if we are right, the label of naturalism attributed to the late epistemological works of Karl Popper is a simple case of misunderstanding.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-25T19:20:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Soemis Martinez Guzman.pdf: 565836 bytes, checksum: 38ae2b66e1ca23917b4056a15be17a91 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-12-07 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Ernest Becker targeted to understand the human condition by stating that the fear of death is the terror installation at the psychological base of man, from this realization he produced a work constituted by a synthesis of thoughts based on Kierkegaardian philosophy and psychoanalysis derived from Freud and his collaborators, with emphasis on Otto Rank, and a Darwinian evolution approach thus characterizing his interdisciplinarity. He believed it to be necessary the perception of being and society the true knowledge base in the description of the motivation that takes us to our condition. For this, he suggested that the fear of death and its denial are universal fundamental facts for every human activity and that the heroism product of this fear is the main human problem. As a starting point he uses the problem of heroism in contemporaneous society and shows the denial of finitude in modern culture. So, in its quest for transcendence, humanity creates symbols which further distances, from its perception of reality as species / Ernest Becker dedicou-se à compreensão da condição humana afirmando ser o medo da morte a instalação do terror nas bases psicológicas do homem. A partir dessa constatação, produziu um trabalho constituído por uma síntese de pensamentos com base na filosofia Kierkegaardiana, na psicanálise Freudiana e de seus colaboradores, destacando Otto Rank e a uma visão darwinista evolutiva caracterizando sua interdisciplinaridade. Acreditava ser necessária a percepção do ser e da sociedade para a base geradora de conhecimento verdadeiro na descrição da motivação que nos leva à nossa condição. Para tanto, sugeriu ser o medo da morte e a sua negação fatos fundamentais universais para toda atividade da vida humana, e o heroísmo produzido a partir desse medo, é o principal problema humano. Usa como ponto de partida a problemática do heroísmo na sociedade contemporânea e mostra a negação da finitude na cultura moderna. Assim, na busca pela transcendência, a humanidade cria símbolos que a distancia, cada vez mais, da percepção da sua realidade enquanto espécie. O mal aparece devido ao surgimento da violência e da aniquilação humanas, que nascem dessa dinâmica de negação da mortalidade