Thèse numérisée par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

An investigation into whether Plato was committed to separate Forms in the Phaedo. Two accounts of separation are distinguished: Gail Fine's modal account where separation is a capacity to exist independendently from sensible particulars, and Daniel D. Devereux' non-modal account where separation is equivalent with non-immanence. I analyse multiple key passages of the Phaedo using these accounts of separation, to see whether any passage commits Plato to separation understood in either modal or non-modal terms. I argue and conclude that there is no evidence of Plato being committed to separation in the Phaedo, understanding separation in either modal or non-modal terms.

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal. / [À l'origine dans / Was originally part of : Thèses et mémoires - FAS - Département de littérature comparée]

<p> This thesis is concerned with a necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of non-zero linear continuous functionals on Fréchet or more general topological vector spaces. The main idea is based on the famous Hahn-Banach theorem. Since the connection between Hahn-Banach theorem and separation theorems is well known, here we study some separation theorems as well.</p> / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

We consider the flow of nonlinear Maxwell fluids in the unsteady quasistatic case, where the effect of inertia is neglected. We study the well-posedness of the resulting PDE initial-boundary value problem. This well-posedness depends on the unique solvability of an elliptic boundary value problem. We first present results for the 3D case, locally and globally in time, with sufficiently small initial data, and for a simple shear flow problem, locally in time with arbitrary initial data; after that we extend our results to some 3D flow problems, locally in time, with large initial data. Additionally, we present results for models of White-Metzner type in 3D flow, locally and globally in time, with sufficiently small initial data. We solve our problem using an iteration between elliptic and hyperbolic linear subproblems. The limit of the iteration provides the solution of our original problem. / Ph. D.

RF front-ends are nonlinear systems that have nonlinear frequency response and, hence, can impair receiver performance by harmful adjacent channel interference in non-intuitive ways. Next generation wireless networks will see unprecedented diversity across receiver and radio technologies accessing the same band of spectrum in spatio-temporal proximity. Ensuring adjacent channel co-existence is of prime importance for successful deployment and operations of next generation wireless networks. Vulnerabilities of receiver front-end can have a severe detrimental effect on network performance and spectrum co-existence. This dissertation addresses the technological challenges in understanding and accounting for receiver sensitivities in the design of next generation wireless networks. The dissertation has four major contributions. In the first contribution, we seek to understand how receiver nonlinearity impacts performance. We propose a computationally efficient framework to evaluate the adjacent channel interference in a given radio/spectrum environment. We develop novel tractable representation of receiver front-end nonlinearity to specify the adjacent channel signals that contribute to the interference at the desired channel and the total adjacent channel interference power at a given desired channel. In the second contribution, we seek to understand how the impact of receiver nonlinearity performance can be quantified. We quantify receiver performance in the presence of adjacent channel interference using information theoretic metrics. We evaluate the limits on achievable rate accounting for RF front-end nonlinearity and provide a framework to compare disparate receivers by forming generalized metrics. In the third contribution, we seek to understand how the impact of receiver nonlinearity can be managed at the network level. We develop novel and comprehensive wireless network management frameworks that account for the RF nonlinearity, impairments, and diversity of heterogeneous wireless devices. We further develop computationally efficient algorithms to optimize the proposed framework and examine network level performance. We demonstrate through extensive network simulations that the proposed receiver-centric frameworks provide substantially high spectrum efficiency gains over receiver-agnostic spectrum access in dense and diverse next generation wireless networks. In the fourth contribution, we seek to understand how scalable interference networks are with receiver nonlinearity. We propose practical achievable schemes for interference avoidance and assess the scalability of the next generation wireless networks with interference due to receiver nonlinearity. Further, we develop an algorithmic scheme to evaluate the upper bound on scalability of nonlinear interference networks. This provides valuable insights on scalability and schemes for nonlinear adjacent channel interference avoidance in next generation shared spectrum networks. / Ph. D. / There has been a dramatic increase in the demand for mobile data, since the introduction of smartphones. Over the air transmission of data utilizes a natural resource called radio frequency spectrum. The efficient utilization of the radio frequency spectrum and clever wireless network management is key for satisfying this demand. Besides improving the quality of wireless services, efficient spectrum utilization will also have profound economic benefits and spur growth. It has been shown that spectrum is most efficiently used when shared among various services rather than licensed to specific users and communication systems. This implies that next generation wireless networks will comprise of diverse types of wireless devices. Thus, network design and regulation should ensure their harmonious co-existence. However, the practicality of spectrum sharing technology and regulation is still in its infancy. In particular, the effect of radio receiver performance and vulnerabilities from signals in the spectral neighborhood on spectrum regulation and management is not well understood. A detailed study and analysis of this is of paramount importance spectrum sharing and regulation in next generation wireless networks. In this dissertation we develop the fundamentals, limitations, and management strategies on the impact of receiver performance on efficient spectrum access and co-existence. In addition, this key insights to maximize network efficiency in next generation wireless systems are presented. The outcome of this dissertation will aid in developing frameworks to increase social awareness about low-quality wireless devices and their implications on capacity. In summary, this dissertation provides a the necessary foundations to understand, design, and optimize the next generation wireless networks, which will have far reaching economic and social benefits.

[pt] A dissertação consiste em uma reflexão sobre a noção de existência. É feita, de início, uma breve exposição a respeito do argumento ontológico de Santo Anselmo e o tipo de concepção de existência que ele demanda. A seguir, é empreendida uma breve investigação a respeito da visão de três pilares de nossa tradição filosófica a respeito da noção de existência: Hume, Kant e Frege. Suas concepções são estudadas, até certo ponto, em separado, a fim de que possam ser trazidos à luz seus principais aspectos e os contornos peculiares que conferem à noção de que pretendem dar conta. Posteriormente, são postas lado a lado em um cotejo de algumas de suas mais relevantes semelhanças e discrepâncias. A esse estudo, segue-se uma investigação crítica. Em primeiro lugar, é exposta a parte negativa desta: algumas observações a respeito de problemas envolvidos em cada um dos tipos de concepção da existência exemplificados nas partes precedentes, mescladas a reflexões a respeito da relação da existência com noções como quantificação e indivíduo, às quais dão ensejo. Em segundo lugar, sua parte positiva: com base nas observações já feitas, algumas sugestões de como dar conta de certos aspectos relevantes da noção de existência. A dissertação inclui ainda um apêndice em que se leva a cabo uma breve incursão no pensamento aristotélico. Mais precisamente, será investigada a relação entre a existência e a quantificação no contexto da teoria do quadrado das oposições, tal como formulada no célebre tratado De Interpretatione. / [en] The dissertation consists of a reflection on the notion of existence. At first, a brief exposition about St. Anselms ontological argument and the kind of conception of existence that it demands is made. After that, a brief investigation regarding the vision of the notion of existence of three main pillars of our philosophical tradition - Hume, Kant and Frege - is undertaken. To a certain extent, their conceptions are studied separately, so that the main aspects and peculiar outline that they convey to the notion of which they intend to give an account can be brought to light. Subsequently, these conceptions are put side by side in a comparison of some of their most relevant similarities and discrepancies. This study is followed by a critical investigation. First, its negative part is exposed: some observations regarding problems involved in each one of the kinds of conception of existence exemplified in the precedent parts, mixed with reflections on the relation between existence and notions such as that of individual and quantification to which they give rise. Secondly, its positive part: based on the observations already made, some suggestions on how to give an account of some relevant aspects of the notion of existence. The dissertation also contains an appendix in which a brief incursion in the aristotelian thought is undertaken. More specifically, it consists of an investigation regarding the relation between existence and quantification in the context of the theory of the square of oppositions as formulated in the famous treatise De Interpretatione.

Ce mémoire veut en premier lieu présenter des pistes pour un discours moderne et intelligent sur le sujet. II a pour but de mettre en évidence la portée de sens de ce concept et placer le discours religieux en perspective ainsi que les discours scientifiques et philosophiques. Un mémoire sur le thème de Dieu ne pourrait être complet sans traiter des arguments de preuve de son existence. Après avoir soulevé les arguments pour, il faut également soulever les arguments contre. Ainsi, ce mémoire présente le but premier de l'athéisme qui est selon moi, le retour de la responsabilité des actes à l'homme se tenant debout seul. Par conséquent, je soulève les critiques du concept de Dieu avec le regard de philosophes de l'antiquité, des marxistes, des Nietzschéens et des existentialistes. Dans un dernier temps, je présente une réflexion sur l'agnosticisme ainsi qu'une définition de ce concept qui me semble être pertinent dans la démarche de ce mémoire. En conclusion, il est important de regarder les traces d'agnosticisme chez les Grecs pour enfin aborder ce concept sous le regard de Kant. Dans notre monde moderne, il peut paraître étrange de consacrer un mémoire de maîtrise en philosophie à ce concept qui semble prendre de plus en plus de recul. Mais les buts de ce mémoire sont de tenir un discours intelligent sur le sujet. De montrer qu'avec la théorie agnostique, l'affirmation ou la négation du divin se butent à la limite de la raison humaine. Dans tous les cas, l'homme doit prendre ses responsabilités et entreprendre les actions qui s'ensuivent. D'où le titre du mémoire : Dieu une philosophie de la raison et de l'action.

L’œuvre philosophique de Kierkegaard s’apparente à une dialectique du paradoxe. De fait, dans son cheminement existentiel, l’individu parcourt trois sphères d’existence – l’esthétique, l’éthique et le religieux –, chacune d’elle étant une modalité de l’activité humaine qui comporte un paradoxe particulier. Il s’agit d’un itinéraire de l’intériorité qui vise, dans l’existence, le télos qu’est le devenir soi-même. Ainsi l’esthéticien est-il déchiré entre les idées et la réalité dans la réalité immédiate, tandis que l’éthicien, par la médiation du langage, préfère s’affirmer comme individu dans l’immanence concrète, ignorant toutefois qu’il intériorise des règles sociales qui lui sont impersonnelles. Quant au religieux, non seulement découvre-t-il que la vérité vers laquelle il tend ne se trouve pas en son sein, mais il fait face au plus élevé des paradoxes, fondé sur la transcendance – à savoir le paradoxe absolu, où l’éternité se temporalise sous la forme de l’Homme-Dieu. Du reste, le présent mémoire se penche spécifiquement sur le concept du paradoxe, mis de l’avant par Kierkegaard afin de brosser un portrait du devenir individuel de chaque existant. / The philosophical work of Kierkegaard deals with a dialectic of the paradox. Actually, in his existential progress, the individual goes through three spheres of existence – the aesthetic, the ethical and the religious –, each of which is a modality of the human activity that contains a particular paradox. His thought follows the progress of interiority, which aims, in existence, at the end of becoming a single individual. In this way, the aesthete is torn between the pure idea and reality, whereas the ethicist, through the mediation of language, prefers to assert himself as an individual within concrete immanence, ignoring however that he interiorizes social rules which are impersonal him. As for the religious believer, not only does he discover that the truth at which he aims is not within himself, but he faces the highest of the paradoxes, based on transcendance – that is the absolute paradox, whereby eternity temporalizes itself in the shape of the Man-God. In general, the present master’s thesis analyzes the concept of the paradox put forward by Kierkegaard to present the progress of every existing being towards becoming a single individual.

Enjeux éthiques de la fin de vie dans la médecine moderne et traditionnelle : cas du Gabon. Si la médecine moderne héritée de la Colonisation, est parvenue à s'établir au Gabon, elle n'a néanmoins pas éclipsé totalement la médecine traditionnelle héritée des Ancêtres. Deux héritages cohabitent ainsi chaque jour à la faveur des personnes en quête de soin de plus en plus croissante. Quelle est leur efficace ? La médecine moderne et la médecine traditionnelle ont-elles les moyens suffisants de venir à bout de toutes les maladies, de toutes les souffrances qui rongent notre humanité ? Comment réagissent-elles quand elles ne peuvent plus pouvoir ? Comment construisent-elles la relation de soin ? Est-ce que le statut de celui qu'on appelle « mourant » ou malade en fin de vie signe la fin de l'humanité ou le commencement de celle-ci ? Y a-t-il une fatalité à la condition de mourant, ou, la fin de vie traduit-elle l'idée d'une fin inéluctable de toute vie ? Ce sont les questions que cette thèse traite de bout en bout à partir d'un seul angle d'attaque : l'éthique. Autrefois considérée comme étude des vertus, doctrine de la vertu ou encore comme une « métaphysique des mœurs » qui se réservait le droit de postuler les principes devant régir la vie de la communauté humaine au-delà des valeurs culturelles et des positions idéologiques, l'éthique sur la base de laquelle prend ancrage ce travail est une réflexion philosophique sur la condition humaine. Cette éthique répond à la question socratique « qu'est-ce que l'homme ? », et répond qu'il est tout être vivant devant le visage duquel nul ne peut se dérober, et qui, de surcroît, interdit le meurtre. Cette éthique à visage humain est celle de la fin de vie par quoi chacun est confronté au regard de l'Autre homme, qui se retrouve accablé par l'existence dans la situation de la maladie mortelle, de la souffrance qui atteint son être et de la douleur qui maltraite sa chair. Cette éthique est celle de la relation de deux êtres : l'un qui est en demande de soin et l'exprime au travers de l'Appel, et l'autre qui est en capacité d'offrir ce soin par son savoir et son savoir-faire, et qui Répond à cet Appel en disant : me voici ! Cette éthique à visage humain renvoie chacun à lui-même, à sa propre condition de mortel à partir de l'épreuve de l'Autre en tant que mourant. Dès lors, chacun est confronté à l'idée que la médiation instaurée par le visage du mourant n'est pas donnée, mais est à construire. Par quoi l'éthique de la fin de vie dégage l'horizon d'une philosophie de la réflexion où c'est Autrui qui me donne à être. / The stakes of ethics at the end of life in modern and traditional medicine : A case study of Gabon.Though the colonization inherited modern medicine has successfully been established in Gabon, it has, nonetheless, not completely eclipsed the traditional medicine derived from the ancestors .Therefore, two legacies coexist day by day in order to cater to an ever increasing number of people seeking health care. How effective are they? Does either type of medicine have substantial means to come to term with all the illnesses and sufferings that plague mankind? What happens when they could no longer provide treatment? How do they develop health care relation? Does the case of the so-called "dying person" or rather, terminally ill patient mark the end of humanity or does it represent the beginning of this one? Is the dying person doomed or does death means an inescapable end of any kind of life? These are the questions that this dissertation thoroughly addresses upon the basis of one point : Ethics. It was formerly known as the study of virtue, the doctrine of virtue, or best yet "metaphysics of morals". Ethics was entitled to postulate principles aimed to rule human community life beyond human values and ideological stances. Ethics from this thesis' perspective is based upon a philosophical theory concerned about human condition. It is an answer to a the following Socratic question :" What is Mankind?" The answer being that he's every human being in the face of whom no one can escape and who, moreover, forbids murder. It's ethics with a human face; when at the end of life each person will have to come face to face with the other when they are fatally ill, and experiencing sufferings and pain to the core of their being. This ethics epitomizes the relationship between two beings : One who is seeking treatment and expresses it through a call, while the other is able to provide that treatment through his awareness and expertise. He responds to that call by saying : Here I am. Ethics with a human face takes every one back to their true selves; to their own mortal condition thanks to the ordeal of the other as a dying person. As a result, everyone will have to grapple with the idea of mediation instilled in them by the face of the dying person is not given but built. Ethics of the end of life gives way to a wide array of philosophical thought where it is the other that gives me life.