<p> The dissertation is about the significance for, and impact upon public administration of the correspondence theory of truth or veridicality, and its underlying epistemological assumptions. The underlying thesis is that, unduly influenced by the success of the natural sciences, and na&iuml;ve in accepting their claims to objectivity, many disciplines have sought to emulate them. There are two principle objections. Firstly, all other considerations aside, the supposedly objectivistic methodologies apparently applied to the explanation and prediction of the behavior of interactions of physical objects, may simply be inappropriate to certain other areas of inquiry; and more specifically objectivist methodologies are indeed inappropriate to understanding of human subjects, and their behavior, relations and interactions, and thus to public administration. The second objection is that it is of course logically impossible for any supposedly empirical discipline, as the natural sciences claim to be, to justify the belief in a supposedly objective realm of things-in-themselves existing outside, beyond, or independently of the changing, interrupted and different &lsquo;appearances&rsquo; or experiences, to which an empirical science is qua empirical, necessarily restricted. Correspondence of any empirical observations or appearances (and the consequent or presupposed theoretical explanations) to an objective realm, upon which the claim to objectivity is based, is unverifiable. </p><p> In light of the above it becomes evident that far from being objective, the natural sciences themselves, and the empirical observations upon which they are supposedly grounded, are subject to conceptual mediation and subjective interpretation; subjective and inter-subjective coherence replacing objective correspondence as the criterion of veridicality. Consequently it becomes clear that the presuppositions and prejudices of the observers enter, in the forms of concepts and preconceptions, into the very observations, and even more so into the theoretical constructions, or theories, of the natural, and indeed human and social sciences, and their claims to be authoritative and true. Subsequent discussion is then focused on both the coherence of individuals&rsquo; experiences and understanding, and their inter-subjective coherence &ndash; which both rises from and constitutes, a &ldquo;community&rdquo;. The role of language facilitates such coherence.</p>

<p> Those rejecting the official accounts of significant suspicious and impactful events are often labeled conspiracy theorists and the alternative explanations they propose are often referred to as conspiracy theories. These labels are often used to dismiss the beliefs of those individuals who question potentially hegemonic control of what people believe. The conspiracy theory concept functions as an impediment to legitimate discursive examination of conspiracy suspicions. The effect of the label appears to constrain even the most respected thinkers. This impediment is particularly problematic in academia, where thorough, objective analysis of information is critical to uncovering truth, and where members of the academy are typically considered among the most important of epistemic authorities. This dissertation tracked the development and use of such terms as pejoratives used to shut down critical thinking, analysis, and challenges to authority. This was accomplished using critical discourse analysis as a research methodology. Evidence suggesting government agents were instrumental in creating the pejorative meme conspiracy theorist was found in contemporary media. Tracing the evolution of the conspiracy theory meme and its use as a pejorative silencer may heighten awareness of its use in this manner and diminish its impact. </p>

<p> The evolving complexity of our engagement with the world and the many challenges we now face as a numerous and technologically advanced species require us to develop a vision of reality and a way of participating within it that honors its dynamic complexity, creative potentiality, and ecological sensitivity. Drawing on the thought and vision of three inspiring and transformative thinkers who each sought to bridge the growing gap between the richness and complexity of lived experience and the barrenness and disconnection of scientific materialist philosophy&mdash;Carl Gustav Jung, Alfred North Whitehead, and Rudolf Steiner&mdash;this dissertation seeks to elaborate a relational, participatory, and evolutionary vision of reality and human existence in which individuality, relationality, and creative expression are understood as interdependent dimensions of a paradoxically single and manifold spiritual reality and evolutionary process. It then examines some of the essential implications of this emerging vision, with particular emphasis on the importance of the aesthetic, moral, and spiritual dimensions of human creative participation, including the existential participation that is inherent in thought and experience. This vision thus also suggests a fundamental shift in epistemological perspective, so that thinking and knowing are understood as inherently relational and creative acts, which both reflect and transform the realities they engage, and which are characterized by the moral, aesthetic, and spiritual consequences that accompany all influential action.</p>

No description available.

The overall aim of this research project that is done in the field of Phenomenology and Ontogenetic Epistemology, is to investigate the possibility of employing the Illuminative elements for solving the Ontological Crisis in Western epistemology of the self. Descartes, the father of modern western thought, gave through his Meditations a priority to Cogito over Sum, and this historically became a turning point for the movement that crystallised in Kant's Copernican Revolution by which metaphysics was identified with epistemology indicating that epistemology can thereafter be considered without any need for ontology. One of the immediate consequences of detaching epistemology from ontology in this history has in the main been the dismissal of the 'being' of the self in modern theories. In parallel to the existential phenomenology's purport to supply this lack in modern epistemology of the self, this research attempts in its own way to achieve a solution by delving into the Persian Illuminative school and by seeking even to assign a new role to its philosophical system to gain a new vision of the self and consciousness. To remedy, first a reconstruction of the Illuminative Method is introduced. This embodies the claim that although legitimate in itself, epistemology that is based upon the theory of essence cannot be detached from ontology. This method ultimately appeals to a very subtle and special field, the Ontetic Field, under which everything is reduced to Being and is grounded by it. Applying of this method provides an entry to considering the problematic of the self in the ontetic field in which the being of the self is encountered as an epiphany of Being that is immersed in and, at the same time, present to Being. The keen relation of 'Being' and the 'being' of the self is exposed as a performative, existential experience called the unitary consciousness. This moment implies that there is no subject (mind, etc.) in modern subjectivistic sense; the subject is only a self as unitary consciousness. In this context, the Illuminative philosophy is also directed to answering some major problems that arise from modern subjectivism, including our consciousness of private states (esp. senses and body), reflective (ISubject-Objectlive) knowledge and our grasping of the reality of objects. On this basis, some immediate conclusions are set forth, including (i) a refutation of a triple trap which follows from the ontological crisis: skepticism, solipsism and idealism; (ii) the agreement of the Illuminative theory with common sense; and (iii) a suggestion as to how one could read the authors of modern theories of the self in an Illuminative context.

<p> This dissertation utilizes Merleau-Ponty&rsquo;s theory of the Flesh and Jung&rsquo;s theory of self-realization as a way to integrate the gained understanding into the current approach of psychotherapy as an altered attitude for the treatment of the psyche. The theories of Flesh and self-realization are used to approach a fundamental drive that leads to pathologies and wider consciousness (Merleau-Ponty, 2012; Jung, 1928/1977). This allows for the treatment of the psyche in consideration of this natural drive that enables the client&rsquo;s transformation toward wholeness through the individuation process (Jung, 1959/1969, 1928/1977, 1951/1978). The Flesh is described by Merleau-Ponty as an elemental general manner of &ldquo;being&rdquo; (Merleau-Ponty, 1968), while self-realization is described by Jung as wholeness. This philosophic hermeneutic research recognizes the importance of gaining greater understanding of the phenomenon of self-realization. Merleau-Ponty and Jung understood the significance that opposites and their relationship with one another play in this developmental process, that is, reversibility and tension of opposites (Merleau-Ponty, 2012; Jung, 1928/1977). Jung&rsquo;s depth psychological and Merleau-Ponty&rsquo;s phenomenological understanding of the symbol&rsquo;s capacity synthesize the opposites, thereby widening consciousness ultimately to self-realization are presented. </p><p>

This thesis documents the development of a narrative epistemology and an associated pedagogic practice around the conflicts that occur in experiential learning settings. The thesis traces a progressive shift away from individualistic accounts of conflicts and dilemmas in learning being primarily embedded in psychological spaces, to a recognition of the importance of the social space - the cultural discourses that shape our everyday activity and interactions. This recognises that conflict is not simply a consequence of difference arising from personality, or other psychological factors, but a consequence of prevailing cultural narratives that instruct/construct us into the identities that we are. This pedagogic practice involves a change from internalising conversations to externalising conversations, thus keeping the discursive space open to the different stories, which are usually silenced by prevailing taken-for-granted explanations. For me, it is this refusal of what we are (i.e. our culturally bestowed identities), and a critique of the forces that shape us, that opens spaces within the social fabric to enable different stories to be heard and appreciated and creates opportunites for new, radical learning to occur. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The reality of religious diversity has long presented a problem for Christian theology. Historically, theologians construe this problem as soteriological and eschatological in nature: what is the relationship between religious others and Christian doctrine of salvation? More recently, theologians address religious diversity as a soteriological and epistemological problem: what is the status of the beliefs of religious others and what does this mean for salvation? This dissertation works to push the theological conversation on religious diversity even more squarely into epistemological territory. Specifically, what are the ways in which religious beliefs are shaped by the encounter with religious others? / Drawing on the experiences documented by research on a women's interreligious dialogue group, I posit that the experience of engaging with religious others through interreligious dialogue leads to strengthened religious belief. This contradicts the claims of epistemologists of religious disagreement, which see interreligious dialogue as an occasion for discovering epistemic disagreement---disagreements that should lead to weakened or defeated religious belief Given these contradicting notions of the significance of religious diversity for religious belief, I propose to construct a religious epistemological model that is adequate to the experiences of those who actually engage in interreligious dialogue. / Contemporary, alternative epistemologies and Aristotelian virtue theories provide resources for constructing such a model, which I call the virtuous doxastic practice epistemological model. This model posits that beliefs are formed by being the outcome of exercise of intellectual virtue, which are learned in the context of community, involve checks for reliability, and are productive toward the end of communal, epistemic flourishing. On this theory, religious beliefs attain the highest level of justification by being presented to the scrutiny of religious others and maintained in the context of interreligious dialogue. That is, when a person shares her religious beliefs, convictions, and attitudes with those who believe differently than her, she comes to hold to these beliefs, convictions, and attitudes in renewed way. For this reason, the dissertation concludes with a proposal for the Roman Catholic Church to view interreligious dialogue as a constitutive component of Christian faith formation, rather than an activity that is potentially problematic or even ancillary to other Christian practices.

This dissertation examines the possible interchangeable connection between the medieval ontological relationship of essence/existence and the modern epistemological relationship of subject/object. Rather than investigating the many medieval and modern philosophers, this dissertation focuses on two philosophers as study cases: One is the Islamic philosopher Mulla Sadra, and the other is the German philosopher George. W. F. Hegel. While the medieval relationship of essence/existence finds its highest development in Sadra, the modern relationship of subject/object finds its highest summit in Hegel. Sadra's break with the metaphysical essentialism of both Greek philosophy and Arabic philosophy results in the moment of Absolute Existentialism. This moment is not explicitly mentioned by Hegel-- neither in the historical development of the Philosophical Idea in the Lectures on The History of Philosophy, nor in the conceptual development of the Logical Idea in the Science of Logic. If the moment of the Absolute Existentialism is contained within Hegel's Absolute Idealism at all, it is so implicitly, as a moment within the Hegelian Idea's self-dialectical process of determining. In this dissertation, I unveil Sadra's moment of the Absolute Existentialism within Hegel's moment of the Absolute Idealism. I argue that, although Sadra's Absolute Existentialism and Hegel's Absolute Idealism are different, both challenge the traditional views of metaphysical essentialism. I provide the logical connection between Sadra's and Hegel's critiques of metaphysical essentialism. I show that, within Hegel's Absolute Idealism, Sadra's Absolute Existentialism emerges in opposition to quality as affirmative reality in the metaphysical essentialism of the Aristotelian tradition. / McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts; / Philosophy / PhD; / Dissertation;

I propose a new theory of vagueness centered around the epistemology and normativity of vagueness. The theory is a version of epistemicism—the view that vagueness is a fundamentally epistemic phenomenon—that improves upon existing epistemicist accounts by accommodating both the alleged tolerance and open texture of vague predicates, while foregoing excessive metaphysical commitments. I offer a novel solution to the infamous Sorites paradox, one that outrivals alternative contextualist theories in their ability to explain the phenomenology of vagueness as well as its deontic consequences.