As a practical moralist and political theorist concerned with reforming a factious and religious public, Hume recommends a particular outlook that is fit for civilized society. In this dissertation, I present Hume as a contributor to the post-scholastic contest of philosophical systems, as an innovative thinker who revised the modern Epicurean outlook of Hobbes and Mandeville and challenged both the austere Christian Stoicism of Francis Hutcheson and the Platonic rationalism of Samuel Clarke. I argue that the political mentality that Hume presented as suitable for sustaining the prevailing social order constitutes one more step in the development of the modern Epicurean mentality. This mentality, moreover, is not strictly political, but incorporates metaphysical, epistemological, and moral judgments that, in light of the contest of systems, are rightly regarded as a restatement of modern Epicurean positions. Hume, in accord with the principles of the new political science, sought to protect the gains of civilization from the vestiges of barbarism, which, for Hume, were manifested in the superstitious tribalism of religionists and political partisans. Hume replaces Christian, Whig, and Tory myths—i.e. grand narratives situating human beings as moral and political subjects—with the Epicurean myth of the progress of human society. The end of political society, from this perspective, is neither piety nor moral improvement, but prosperity, ease, and comfort, which, together, serve as the measure of progress and the reason for popular consent to the exercise of public political authority. This mentality, I argue, sheds light on the normative dimensions of Hume’s liberal political science.

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This thesis investigates the history of labour management at David Jones, the major Australian retailer and manufacturer, between the years 1838 and 1958. This thesis examines the development of consent-based approach to labour management at David Jones, in particular the development of paternalism and welfarism. In doing so this thesis explores both general questions regarding the factors that influence why certain firms adopt a consent-based approach to labour management, as well as informing debates around the existence of nineteenth century paternalism and the origins of twentieth century welfarism. The historical material contained at the David Jones Archives and elsewhere reveals little evidence of paternalism as a deliberate management strategy. This brings into question the usefulness of paternalism as a concept in the historical study of Australian labour management. The inability to trace paternalism also undermines explanations of twentieth century welfarism premised on the pre-existence of nineteenth century paternalism. The historical materials, however, do note that twentieth century welfarism was a deliberate labour management strategy adopted by David Jones management. Welfarism, combined with systematic management and training, was initially adopted following the First World War to deal with the threat of industrial turmoil. However, in the 1930s, welfarism increasingly became a pro-active strategy designed to create skilled selling and raise the profile of the firm within the community. Further, welfarism at David Jones in the inter-war period was more than merely a new form of paternalism, somehow transformed by being in a larger, more bureaucratic setting or a result of employers confronted an increasingly feminised workforce. Welfarism at David Jones was a deliberate strategy, informed by overseas experiments, management consultants and the new science of psychology. Welfarism at David Jones continued into the post World War Two period. However, new forms of retailing, in particular self-service, undermined attempts to create skilled selling. Elements of welfarism remain at David Jones and continue to support the firm???s corporate image as a provider of high-quality customer service.

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This thesis situates a discussion of Thoreau's later natural history essays in the context of the author's other writings. Beginning with an examination of the writings of Thoreau's friend and mentor Ralph Waldo Emerson, this paper examines Thoreau's relation to and departure from Emerson's understanding of time, place, and pattern in nature. Through a close reading of Thoreau's journal entries and natural history essays, this thesis follows Thoreau's development as a naturalist and examines the relationship between his natural history writings and the American transcendentalist movement. / Graduation date: 2002

Recent conflicts in America concerning the environment (the harvesting of old growth timber in the Pacific Northwest, or the proposed opening of public lands in southern Utah to mining interests, for instance) have precipitated a personal examination of "historical others" (Jensen 64), individuals that possess very different sensibilities from a larger capitalist culture. Two such writers, Henry Thoreau and Gary Snyder, use the wilderness to enact alternative patterns of living that are designed to change cultures that have lost touch with the land, and have spiraled into a future where nature is a mere afterthought. In response to the growth of his society, Thoreau built a cabin at Walden pond as an experiment to determine if life could be lived simply and morally. His activities were an effort to "wake up" his "neighbors" who were just beginning to explore capitalism. "Moral reform," Thoreau believed, "is the effort to throw off sleep" (WAL 61). Thoreau's criticism of capitalism, agricultural reform, and slavery were generated to help his culture understand what it is to live morally, and "awake." Gary Snyder is the voice of Thoreau in the late 20th century, and his work addresses a world fully enveloped in capitalism. The exploitation of wild creatures and places by world governments and multi-national corporations is the problem of the modern age for Snyder, and place-based living is a way of dissenting from a consumption-oriented culture. Reform begins with the individual living close to the land, but also involves people living in communities and creating patterns of living that are ecologically stable. This paper is, in an immediate sense, a comparison of two "American" non-conformists, but it is also a response to cultural and environmental crises that both writers faced. Chapter I of this study introduces Thoreau and Snyder and establishes the parameters of this paper. Chapter II discusses Thoreau's views on capitalism, agricultural reform, and environmental degradation. Chapter III highlights Snyder's interest in place-based living and bioregionalism. Chapter VI brings Thoreau and Snyder together in a discussion of political and social reform. The final chapter of this study reflects how Thoreau and Snyder mesh as ecological philosophers. / Graduation date: 1997

Thesis (DPhil(Psychology))-University of Pretoria, 1997. / Abstract in English and Afrikaans. Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.