Title from PDF of title page. / Document formatted into pages; contains 90 pages. / Thesis (M.A.)--University of South Florida, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references. / Text (Electronic thesis) in PDF format. / ABSTRACT: This thesis examines the connections between Arne Naess's Deep Ecology and Martin Heidegger's Phenomenology. The latter provides a philosophical basis for the former. Martin Heidegger's critique of traditional metaphysics and his call for an "event" ontology that is deeper than the traditional substance ontology opens a philosophical space in which a different conception of what it is to be emerges. Heidegger's view of humans also provides a basis for the wider and deeper conception of self Arne Naess seeks: one that gets rid of the presupposition that human beings are isolated subjects embedded in a framework of objects distinct from them. Both Heidegger and Naess illustrate how the substance-ontological dogma affects human culture, encouraging humans to live as if they were divorced from their environmental surroundings. / ABSTRACT: When humans live according to an atomistic conception of themselves as independent from their context, alienation results, not only from each other, and not only of humans from the surrounding environment, but from themselves as well. This thesis focuses on Heidegger's employment of the conception of poiesis or self-bringing-forth as clarifying the "root" of such ecosystemic processes as growth, maturation, reproduction, and death. Thus, Heidegger's call to phenomenology -- "to the things themselves" -- is a call away from the objectifying dichotomies through which substance ontology articulates the world into isolated components. / ABSTRACT: It is the purpose of this thesis to demonstrate not only the connections between the later Heidegger and Naess, but also to argue in favor of their claims that traditional philosophical perspectives regarding humans, the environment, and ethics need to be re-appropriated in a new way in order to avoid further ecological degradation and provide for the health and well being of the future generations that will inevitably inherit the effects of our present actions. / System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader. / Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Ecocentrism is a philosophical position developed in the field of environmental philosophy that offers an alternative view of the complex relationships between humans and the nonhuman world. This dissertation develops an ecocentric philosophy of energy in order to account for a wider set of ethics and values dimensions involved in energy politics. It focuses especially on inter-species justice as a crucial missing element behind even those energy policies that seek to transition society from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. The goal is to develop an ecocentric philosophy of energy that accounts for the fundamental and deep ecological interdependences of human and nonhuman animals, plants, and other living and non-living beings. I start with an introduction and a summary of the chapters followed in chapter 2 by a clarification of the terms "paradigm" and "energy." In chapter 3 I offer an exploration of the origins of the "energy paradigm" or the predominant understanding of energy that emerged during modernity (18th century onwards). The modern energy paradigm progressively became a "traditional" forma mentis that is nonetheless based on flawed presuppositions about the human-energy-nature relationship. I criticize the homogeneous, colonizing and hegemonic nature of this paradigm, unveil its tacit anthropocentric and instrumental assumptions, and show how it still fuels contemporary lifestyles and policy. Chapter 4 presents a literature review that traces the most significant contributions from the humanities (broadly construed to include social sciences such as anthropology and sociology) to the study of energy. In this chapter, I also focus on the scarcer yet relevant literature on energy's metaphysical, ontological, and ethical dimensions. In chapter 5 I develop the theory of a radical, ecocentric philosophy of energy, building on the work of other ecocentric thinkers such as Holmes Rolston III, J. Baird Callicott, and Arne Naess. Chapter 6 suggests paths towards the realization, in praxis, of this ecocentric philosophy of energy. It provides the sketch of an "ecocentric energy ethic" to enhance an ecologically sustainable and inter-species just energy transition. This normative framework is intended as a flexible and nonetheless precise "moral compass" that supports an ecocentric turn in the human-energy-nature relationship. The energy ethic outlines key principles to evaluate the "morality" of energy policies, practices, and technologies. These principles can provide ethical guidance to energy practitioners (engaged consumers, energy users, educators, designers, and public policy makers) and thus contribute to the theoretical and practical achievement of an ecologically sound and inter-species just energy transition.

Since its inception in 1989, the private water sector of England and Wales has been enlisted as a centrepiece in debates concerning the merits of privatisation. Advocates point to increased environmental performance and increased investment. Critics note a significant retraction of the early free market aspirations and increasingly prescriptive regulation. However, market mechanisms and liberalisation are once again being emphasised in policy, reigniting the debate surrounding the commoditisation of water. This thesis engages directly and critically with Karen Bakker's 'Uncooperative Commodity' approach to the 'reregulation' of the industry, arguing its tenants must be adapted to accommodate these recent developments. While Bakker's earlier accounts of the reregulation of the water industry placed a great emphasis on the geography and biophysical properties of water, later work by both her and her contemporaries have developed more refined and socialised models of how water and society interact to produce temporary regularities in the material world. This thesis argues that an appropriate means of developing Bakker's original thesis would be a greater focus on socio-historical context when exploring the materiality of water, and hence the degree to which water may be transformed into a private commodity. Bob Jessop's Strategic Relational Approach (Jessop 2008) is deployed as a means of describing and relating: (1) the degree to which research can identify underlying mechanisms which govern the outcomes of attempts to commoditise water under capitalist modes of production, (2) the role of the state and politics in flanking or supporting the commoditisation of water and (3) the role of existing discursive-institutional structures in introducing path-dependencies and uneven power geometries which in turn effect the outcomes of collective action towards the commoditisation of water. The thesis documents historical developments in English and Welsh resource planning, regulation, and policy from 1945 to 2012 in order to explain the current structure of the industry, its response to water scarcity, and the origins of the current reform programme. It then focuses on the conflicts and tensions between actors in the industry generated by the current reform programme and their role in affecting the degree of success of the programme itself.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Salve Regina University, 2006.

No description available.

A presente pesquisa propôs a análise de todos os vinte contos que compõem a obra Marcovaldo ou As estações na cidade (2015 [1963]), de Italo Calvino. O foco das análises voltou-se para o protagonista, Marcovaldo, um trabalhador pobre e em permanente estado de desconforto com as mudanças ocorridas no contexto social pós-guerra, especialmente na Itália, no período de seu milagre econômico, que foi impulsionado pelo fim de medidas protecionistas na economia (GINSBORG, 2003). Ao tentar romper com esse cenário, buscando a beleza genuína da natureza, Marcovaldo vê-se experienciando situações que sempre o levam ao descontentamento, intrinsecamente ligado a um novo tipo de relação humana e social, construída a partir não somente da consolidação das sociedades capitalistas modernas, como igualmente da imposição de um padrão único de comportamento à sociedade — a mutação antropológica, como proposto por Pier Paolo Pasolini (1978, 1997). A pesquisa debruçou-se sobre o olhar Ecocrítico (GARRARD, 2006), despertado pela obra em questão, que sugere, a partir da Literatura (e da incorporação de outras áreas como a Sociologia, a Biologia, a Antropologia), o estudo da natureza, suas relações com a mulher e o homem e o refinamento da percepção acerca de questões ecológicas frágeis, captadas com mais afinco a partir da década de 1960 (PIGA; MANSANO, 2015), apesar de as mudanças de perspectiva sobre a sensibilidade em relação à natureza estarem em constante modificação principalmente desde o Iluminismo (THOMAS, 2010 [1983]). A esta pesquisa foram igualmente incorporados pressupostos da Ecosofia (GUATTARI, 2006 [1989]), que sugere um ressignificar de procedimentos e discursos hegemônicos advindos do sistema sócio-político-econômico capitalista. Para tanto, fez-se necessário, conjuntamente, compreender problemáticas concernentes à conjuntura ambiental do século XX e seu impacto sobre as classes menos favorecidas economicamente (BOFF, 1995), assim como assimilar os desdobramentos referentes ao ecologismo dos pobres (via econômica baseada na justiça social), preconizado por Joan Martínez Alier (2014 [2007]), tendo em vista a classe social à qual Marcovaldo pertence. Alicerçada nos princípios descritos, a esta pesquisa coube, portanto, analisar as interações de Marcovaldo e sua família com a natureza e suas possibilidades, suas modificações e incorporação a um efervescente mercado consumidor, com vistas a refletir sobre a crise ecológica (das três ecologias, conforme Guattari) e assinalar hipóteses de superação para a mesma, por meio da apologia de um convívio menos predatório do ser humano relativamente aos outros seres que ao seu lado coabitam na Terra. / The present research proposed the analysis of all twenty short stories that compose the book Marcovaldo or the seasons in the city (2015 [1963]), by Italo Calvino. The analyses focused on the protagonist, Marcovaldo, an impoverished proletarian that finds himself in a continuous state of discomfort with the changes that occurred in the post-war social context, especially in Italy during the period of the economic miracle, which was driven by the end of protectionist measures in the economy (GINSBORG, 2003). In trying to break away from this scenario, seeking the genuine beauty of nature, Marcovaldo ends up experiencing situations that always lead him to a discontent that is inextricably linked to a new kind of human and social relationship, built not only on the consolidation of modern capitalist societies, but also on the imposition of a single standard of behavior on society – an anthropological mutation, as proposed by Pier Paolo Pasolini (1978, 1997). The research focused on the Ecocritical approach (GARRARD, 2006), awakened by the object, which suggests the study (incorporating references from areas such as Sociology, Biology and Anthropology to Literary Theory) of nature, its relationship with women and men, and the refining of perceptions about delicate ecological issues, captured more intensively since the 1960s (PIGA, MANSANO, 2015), although the changes in perspective on sensitivity to nature are constantly shifting, mainly since the Enlightenment (THOMAS, 2010 [1983]). This research also integrated the assumptions of Ecosophy (GUATTARI, 2006 [1989]), which suggests a re-signifying of hegemonic procedures and discourses derived from the capitalist socio-political-economic system. In order to do so, it was necessary, jointly, to understand issues related to the environmental context of the twentieth century and its impact on economically disadvantaged classes (BOFF, 1995), as well as to assimilate the consequences related to the environmentalism of the poor, advocated by Joan Martínez Alier (2014 [2007]), in view of the social class to which Marcovaldo belongs. Based on the principles described, this research therefore had to analyze the interactions of Marcovaldo and his family with nature and its possibilities, its modifications and assimilation into an effervescent consumer market, aiming to reflect on the ecological crisis (of the three ecologies, according to Guattari) and point out hypotheses of overcoming it, by means of the apology of a less predatory human conviviality in relation to the other beings that, with them, live on planet Earth.