The discussion of worldviews is today dominated by two worldviews, Theism and Naturalism, each with its own advantages and problems. Theism has the advantage of accommodating the individual with existential answers whilst having problems with integrating more recent scientific understandings of the universe. Naturalism on the other hand does well by our developments of science, the problem being instead that this understanding meets difficulty in answering some of the essentials of our existence: questions of mentality and morality. These two views differ fundamentally in stances of ontology and epistemology, and seem not in any foreseeable future to be reconcilable. To deal with this issue, Panpsychism is presented here as the worldview that can accommodate for both existential issues and scientific understanding.

Esta tese explora tópicos de Filosofia da Mecânica Estatística e sua inserção no Ensino de Física. Levanta-se inicialmente a discussão filosófica entre o reducionismo e o emergentismo. Esta questão permeia os debates científicos em Mecânica Estatística e em outras áreas, mas costuma ficar fora dos currículos escolares e universitários. Defendemos que esta discussão tem grande valor educacional para a formação do futuro professor e dos futuros cidadãos, mostrando como a ciência de fato é construída, e revelando aspectos da ciência para os quais não há uma visão de consenso único. Além disso, a natureza de modelos e aproximações foi estudada, sendo explorados diversos modelos de Mecânica Estatística, visando seu uso em sala de aula. Ao final da tese, apresenta-se uma proposta de curso onde essas questões poderão ser discutidas em sala de aula, contribuindo para um enriquecimento dos estudos sobre a Natureza da Ciência. / This thesis explores topics in the Philosophy of Statistical Mechanics and their use in Physics Teaching. It begins with the philosophical discussion between reductionism and emergentism. This issue is present in the scientific debates in Statistical Mechanics and other fields, but is usually not treated in high school and university courses. We argue that this discussion has great educational value for the future teachers and citizens, showing how science is constructed and revealing aspects of science about which there isn\'t a consensus. The nature of models and approximations is also studied, and various models in Statistical Mechanics are explored, in connection to their use in the classroom. At the end, a proposal for a course syllabus is presented, in which the issues explored in this thesis can be discussed in the classroom, contributing to the enrichment of the studies on the Nature of Science.

My goal in this dissertation is to show that Searles theory of Intentionality is worth far more than it is generally given credit for. I defend Searles theory of Intentionality by addressing the main criticisms of his theory rather than by contrasting his view with other popular accounts of Intentionality. I argue that a major benefit of Searles theory is that it provides a solution to both Putnams underdetermination problem and the particularity problem that face internalism, arguing against Dretskes claim that the problem of particularity can be solved without an appeal to Intentionality, and against Bachs claim that Searles solution to the particularity problem is ultimately unsuccessful. I also defend Searles theory of Intentionality against Jacob and van Gulick, who claim that function and consciousness should precede Intentionality in an order of explanation, and I argue that Thompson and Dretskes arguments about mistaken cases of perception are based on a misunderstanding of Searles theory. In the conclusion of my thesis I address the motivation for my defense of Searles theory of Intentionality, which is that it provides the only possible groundwork for a theory of mind that is both naturalistic and non-reductionist.

My goal in this dissertation is to show that Searles theory of Intentionality is worth far more than it is generally given credit for. I defend Searles theory of Intentionality by addressing the main criticisms of his theory rather than by contrasting his view with other popular accounts of Intentionality. I argue that a major benefit of Searles theory is that it provides a solution to both Putnams underdetermination problem and the particularity problem that face internalism, arguing against Dretskes claim that the problem of particularity can be solved without an appeal to Intentionality, and against Bachs claim that Searles solution to the particularity problem is ultimately unsuccessful. I also defend Searles theory of Intentionality against Jacob and van Gulick, who claim that function and consciousness should precede Intentionality in an order of explanation, and I argue that Thompson and Dretskes arguments about mistaken cases of perception are based on a misunderstanding of Searles theory. In the conclusion of my thesis I address the motivation for my defense of Searles theory of Intentionality, which is that it provides the only possible groundwork for a theory of mind that is both naturalistic and non-reductionist.

<p>Language cannot be learned without linguistic input. Hence, the environment plays an important role in childrens’ language development. In this paper it is examined how important the environment’s role is. Two views are described: Universal Grammar and Emergentism. They are in this paper considered to represent two basic stances; the innate stance and the “non-innate” stance. The overall aim is to present evidence in favour of either Emergentism or Universal Grammar. It is achieved by a theoretical discussion and the findings from an observation. In the observational study the aim is to see if and, if so, how adults provide clues for children to develop their syntax. This is achieved by looking at target-words and how the adults use context and prosody to supply children with them. The findings show that the adults extensively use context when talking to children. The theoretical discussion together with the findings, are here found to support Emergentism, the non-innate view.</p>

This project provides a detailed examination and critique of current philosophical, linguistic, and cognitive accounts of first language acquisition. In particular, I focus on the concept of "innate" and how it is embraced, marginally utilized, or abandoned altogether in efforts to describe the way that a child comes to be a competent user of a language. A central question that naturally falls out of this general inquiry is therefore what exactly is supposed to be "innate," according to various theories? Philosophically, the theory of innate ideas put forth to explain human learning has existed for centuries and hence, this thesis as it relates to language is discussed. The revival of nativism by linguists like Chomsky is thus a central theme of the first chapter. Universal Grammar and the various arguments for it are closely scrutinized, and I close this chapter with what I take to be the commitments of linguistic nativism, how its proponents conceive of "innate," and several possible objections to the arguments they put forth. Just as the theory of innate ideas has had its contesters throughout the history of philosophy, so too have linguists and cognitive scientists rejected Universal Grammar and other forms of linguistic nativism. Thus, the second chapter presents several of these alternative explanations of language acquisition. Namely, I divide the chapter into three sections, Usage-Based Linguistics, Emergentism, and Sociolinguistic Acquisition, as it is my suggestion that most of the anti-UG attacks are levied from one of these three fields. In discussing the details of each, two distinctions become of particular concern: first, a large part of the differing conceptions of "innate" seem to hinge on what is meant by "learning" and "acquiring," and therefore second, a fine line between UBL and Emergentism can be drawn, a relationship that is otherwise conflated in the literature. Because chapter two involves a brief account of the way in which connectionist simulations are often utilized to model or represent language acquisition, particularly from an Emergentist perspective, chapter three begins by examining this feature of Emergentism in more detail. Due to its explanatory power, ability to be effectively modeled, and the evidentiary support found in neuroscience, Emergentism would appear to be the most tenable position to maintain regarding language acquisition. This possibility seems further strengthened when we take into account the neuroscientific data often used to bolster anti-nativist claims. Nevertheless, reflecting on the overarching concern of the project, regarding what is really meant by "innate," it is shown that this attack on nativism might stand on shakier ground than was originally assumed. Finally, based on these considerations, a case is made for an intermediary position, a theory of "Minimally Innate Ideas."

abstract: Emergentism offers a promising compromise in the philosophy of mind between Cartesian substance dualism and reductivistic physicalism. The ontological emergentist holds that conscious mental phenomena supervene on physical phenomena, but that they have a nature over and above the physical. However, emergentist views have been subjected to a variety of powerful objections: they are alleged to be self-contradictory, incompatible with mental causation, justified by unreliable intuitions, and in conflict with our contemporary scientific understanding of the world. I defend the emergentist position against these objections. I clarify the concepts of supervenience and of ontological novelty in a way that ensures the emergentist position is coherent, while remaining distinct from physicalism and traditional dualism. Making note of the equivocal way in which the concept of sufficiency is used in Jaegwon Kim's arguments against emergent mental causation, I argue that downward causation does not entail widespread overdetermination. I argue that considerations of ideal a priori deducibility from some physical base, or "Cosmic Hermeneutics", will not themselves provide answers to where the cuts in the structure of nature lie. Instead, I propose reconsidering the question of Cosmic Hermeneutics in terms of which cognitive resources would be required for the ideal reasoner to perform the deduction. Lastly, I respond to the objection that emergence in the philosophy of mind is in conflict with our contemporary scientific understanding of the world. I suggest that a kind of weak ontological emergence is a viable form of explanation in many fields, and discuss current applications of emergence in biology, sociology, and the study of complex systems. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Philosophy 2013

Esta tese explora tópicos de Filosofia da Mecânica Estatística e sua inserção no Ensino de Física. Levanta-se inicialmente a discussão filosófica entre o reducionismo e o emergentismo. Esta questão permeia os debates científicos em Mecânica Estatística e em outras áreas, mas costuma ficar fora dos currículos escolares e universitários. Defendemos que esta discussão tem grande valor educacional para a formação do futuro professor e dos futuros cidadãos, mostrando como a ciência de fato é construída, e revelando aspectos da ciência para os quais não há uma visão de consenso único. Além disso, a natureza de modelos e aproximações foi estudada, sendo explorados diversos modelos de Mecânica Estatística, visando seu uso em sala de aula. Ao final da tese, apresenta-se uma proposta de curso onde essas questões poderão ser discutidas em sala de aula, contribuindo para um enriquecimento dos estudos sobre a Natureza da Ciência. / This thesis explores topics in the Philosophy of Statistical Mechanics and their use in Physics Teaching. It begins with the philosophical discussion between reductionism and emergentism. This issue is present in the scientific debates in Statistical Mechanics and other fields, but is usually not treated in high school and university courses. We argue that this discussion has great educational value for the future teachers and citizens, showing how science is constructed and revealing aspects of science about which there isn\'t a consensus. The nature of models and approximations is also studied, and various models in Statistical Mechanics are explored, in connection to their use in the classroom. At the end, a proposal for a course syllabus is presented, in which the issues explored in this thesis can be discussed in the classroom, contributing to the enrichment of the studies on the Nature of Science.

Language cannot be learned without linguistic input. Hence, the environment plays an important role in childrens’ language development. In this paper it is examined how important the environment’s role is. Two views are described: Universal Grammar and Emergentism. They are in this paper considered to represent two basic stances; the innate stance and the “non-innate” stance. The overall aim is to present evidence in favour of either Emergentism or Universal Grammar. It is achieved by a theoretical discussion and the findings from an observation. In the observational study the aim is to see if and, if so, how adults provide clues for children to develop their syntax. This is achieved by looking at target-words and how the adults use context and prosody to supply children with them. The findings show that the adults extensively use context when talking to children. The theoretical discussion together with the findings, are here found to support Emergentism, the non-innate view.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-22T17:26:10Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ZIMMER CHAGAS.pdf: 539724 bytes, checksum: 65a542236921405361c8bea7e90202d1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-10-28 / One of the main questions towards the second language acquisition theories by the late learners is about how the process of language is done. Some researchers say that in one hand, the L1 learning is implicit, as in automatic, and on the other hand, L2 learning is characterized for being explicit and the learner develops their own strategies in order to solve problems. This thesis does a systematic review of some original studies results which relates implicit and explicit knowledge during the process of a second language acquisition. The objectives of this study are to analyze classic theories as well as the literature of this area of thought and the implicit-explicit work. The methodology used for those studies are also analyzed. The review of classic theories and learning models also figures in this work in the last part of it, but this time within the implicit-explicit view by using the HipCort Model and the connectionist model / Uma das principais questões no que concerne às teorias de aquisição de uma segunda língua pelo adulto diz respeito à maneira pela qual se dá seu o processamento. Existem teóricos que propõem que enquanto o aprendizado de L1 é implícito, automático, a aprendizagem de L2 por adultos se caracteriza por ser explícita e pelo desenvolvimento de estratégias para a resolução de problemas. O presente trabalho aborda a relação entre os conhecimentos implícito e explícito durante a aprendizagem de uma segunda língua, em particular a língua inglesa. Para isso, os seguintes passos são seguidos: 1) são apresentados alguns temas clássicos nos estudos da aprendizagem da L2, como o papel do input, a interlíngua, o input e a fossilização; 2) a literatura e os principais estudos envolvendo a interação entre conhecimento, aprendizagem e instrução implícitos e explícitos são revisados; 3) questões metodológicas e modelos de bilingüismo são problematizados; e 4) os temas clássicos são revisitados à luz dos temas implícito e explícito. Por fim, algumas considerações finais são feitas