William Henry Fry (1813-1864) and George Frederick Bristow (1825-1898) were the first important composers of grand opera in the United States. They were both avid promoters of American music and American composers during a most unstable time in American history--the mid-nineteenth century just prior to the American Civil War.The present study includes in Chapter I a survey of American culture in the mid-nineteenth century, and in Chapters II and III, brief biographical sketches of W. H. Fry and G. F. Bristow. The main aim of the study has been to explore American culture during the period of approximately 1845 to 1855, and then to show that W. H. Fry's opera Leonora and G. F. Bristow's opera Rip Van Winkle are products of that culture. A general musical analysis of the two operas under consideration is given as evidence of their relationship to the Italian operatic style of the mid nineteenth century. An attempt has been made to find specific examples in both Leonora and Rip Van Winkle that canbe shown to be reflections of the musical culture of Europe with which Fry and Bristow were familiar. The main characteristics of Italian opera, such as: melodramatic plots, popular-type melodies, expressive solo voice, orchestral coloratura sections (particularly for the prima donna), and colorful folk-like songs in this work.Fry was one of the leaders of his time in asserting the thesis that Americans, if they were ever going to develop a native art, must escape their subservience to foreign influence. The irony of the situation is that Fry himself was not able to break away from the European influence in his opera Leonora, except in his use of the English language.George Frederick Bristow, whose life spanned almost the entire nineteenth and the beginnings of American culture.Bristow's opera Rip Van Winkle is written in a style one would expect from a nineteenth-century musician. He tended to write music that was basically diatonic with a spice of chromaticism. Many of the arias, and most of the choruses, are presented in a simple, straightforward style which tends to give the opera a folk-like quality, while some other arias are in an ABA structure, and fit the style of Italian operatic arias of the time. A few of Bristow's melodies are in the French style of the period--that is, they are dance-like in character--and therefore are significant reminders that he was also familiar with nineteenth century French opera.What interest there was in opera in the United States in the mid-nineteenth century was focused primarily on Italian opera, and William Henry Fry and George Frederick Bristow wrote operas in that style.

Thesis (M.A.)--State University of New York at Buffalo, 2006. / Authorized facsimile, made from the microfilm master copy of the original dissertation published by UMI. The bibliographic information for this thesis is contained in UMI's Dissertation Abstracts database. Includes bibliographical references (p. 123-125).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Tulsa, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 186-197).

Inaug-diss. - Göttingen. / Lebenslauf. "Literaturverzelehnis": p. [vii]-viii.

Thesis (M.A.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of History. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 143-146).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Canterbury, 2009. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (p. 581-602). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Canterbury, 2006. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves [411]-428).

Analisa-se na presente dissertação a teoria das descrições de Bertrand Russell, bem como a crítica que é feita por Peter Strawson a essa teoria. A fim de contextualizar a teoria das descrições, analisa-se primeiramente a teoria do atomismo platônico de George Moore, teoria que configura o primeiro momento da revolta contra o idealismo de cunho hegeliano que dominava a filosofia inglesa no final do século XIX. A seguir, expõe-se em linhas gerais a filosofia de Bertrand Russell dos primeiros anos do século XX, a qual poderia ser chamada de “logicismo”, na medida em que tinha como preocupação teórica central demonstrar a redutibilidade de toda a matemática pura a algumas poucas noções lógicas fundamentais e indefiníveis. Após isso, analisa-se então a inovação filosófica consubstanciada pela teoria das descrições de Russell, mostrando como ela lida com importantes problemas lógicos e filosóficos. Sem dúvida, a teoria das descrições de Russell foi uma das teorias filosóficas mais significativas do século XX. Posteriormente, apresenta-se a crítica de Peter Strawson à teoria das descrições, bem como a réplica de Russell. Conclui-se a dissertação com uma breve avaliação a respeito de três pontos fundamentais de divergência entre Russell e Strawson: o papel da linguagem ordinária na análise filosófica, o valor de verdade de proposições expressas por sentenças do tipo “O atual Rei da França é calvo”, e a questão dos nomes próprios. / In the present dissertation, Bertrand Russell’s theory of descriptions is analyzed, as well as Peter Strawson’s criticism of this theory. In order to better contextualize the theory of descriptions, George Moore’s theory of Platonic Atomism is firstly analyzed. This theory represents the first step of the revolt against the Hegelian influenced idealism that dominated English philosophy at the end of the 19th century. After that, Bertrand Russell’s early philosophy is outlined in its main features, that is, his philosophy from the first years of the 20th century, which may be called “logicism”, since it had, as its main theoretical purpose, the demonstration that all pure mathematics could be reduced to a few fundamental and indefinable logical notions. Subsequently, the philosophical innovation represented by Russell’s theory of descriptions is analyzed, and the manner in which it deals with important logical and philosophical problems is exhibited. One can say that Russell’s theory of descriptions is one of the most significant philosophical theories of the 20th century. After that, Peter Strawson’s criticism of the theory of descriptions is presented, as well as Russell’s rebuttal of it. The dissertation ends with a brief assessment of three fundamental points of contention between Russell and Strawson: the role of ordinary language in philosophical analysis, the truth value of propositions expressed by sentences such as “The present King of France is bald”, and the question regarding proper names.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T20:13:06Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DissMSLBC.pdf: 585802 bytes, checksum: 299f21e0740108054789501031ceb460 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-05-23 / Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais / From the description of Skinner's theory since its beginning, we can understand the course which falls into ethical questions. Skinner asserts that the science of behavior can also be the science of values, that is, it can explain, it can describe, what we mean by values and what is being ethical, act in a way called ethical. Furthermore, the author argues that, from the radical behaviorism and its selection by consequences theory in the three levels, it is possible to elect a primary value, which can be the guide for somebody who engages in the project of cultural practices in a deliberated fashion. In this way, Skinner assumes a prescriptive attitude, as well as tries to reduce it to a descriptive scope. There it is a kind of tension in the Skinner's texts, because, besides describing the good of the culture, the author elects this value as the primary value. He tries to justify this election appeling to descriptive arguments, but, finally, he cannot find any "good reason". We assume that it is possible to originate ethical precepts from radical behaviorism, nevertheless radical behaviorism is not suficient to justify the choice of one or another precept. We cannot choose, only from its premises, the good of the culture, or the good of others, or the personal goods as the main value, since there are not enough arguments within the theory itself. If we want to explain why we choose this or that precept, on the point of view of the behavior analysis, we must look at the who-makes-the-choice history of contingencies. / A partir da descrição da teoria skinneriana desde seus primórdios, podemos entender o percurso que desemboca em questões éticas. Skinner afirma que a ciência do comportamento também pode ser uma ciência dos valores, isto é, pode explicar, pode descrever, o que significam os valores e o que é ser ético, agir de um modo considerado ético. Além disso, o autor argumenta que, a partir do Behaviorismo Radical e de sua teoria da seleção por conseqüência nos três níveis, é possível eleger um valor primordial que possa ser o guia para alguém que se ponha a elaborar práticas culturais de forma deliberada. Nesse sentido, Skinner assume uma postura prescritiva, ao mesmo tempo em que tenta reduzi-la ao âmbito descritivo. Aí reside uma certa tensão no texto skinneriano, pois, ao mesmo tempo em que descreve o bem da cultura, o autor elege esse bem como o valor primordial. Tenta justificar essa eleição utilizando argumentos descritivos, mas, ao fim, não encontra nenhuma "boa razão". Assumimos que é possível derivar preceitos éticos a partir do Behaviorismo Radical, entretanto, o Behaviorismo Radical não é suficiente para justificar a escolha de um ou outro preceito. Não podemos, a partir apenas de seus pressupostos, escolher o bem da cultura, ou o bem dos outros, ou os bens pessoais como o principal valor, pois não há argumentos suficientes dentro da própria teoria. Se quisermos explicar por que escolhemos este ou aquele preceito, sob o ponto de vista da própria análise do comportamento, devemos olhar para a história de contingências de quem faz a escolha.

Analisa-se na presente dissertação a teoria das descrições de Bertrand Russell, bem como a crítica que é feita por Peter Strawson a essa teoria. A fim de contextualizar a teoria das descrições, analisa-se primeiramente a teoria do atomismo platônico de George Moore, teoria que configura o primeiro momento da revolta contra o idealismo de cunho hegeliano que dominava a filosofia inglesa no final do século XIX. A seguir, expõe-se em linhas gerais a filosofia de Bertrand Russell dos primeiros anos do século XX, a qual poderia ser chamada de “logicismo”, na medida em que tinha como preocupação teórica central demonstrar a redutibilidade de toda a matemática pura a algumas poucas noções lógicas fundamentais e indefiníveis. Após isso, analisa-se então a inovação filosófica consubstanciada pela teoria das descrições de Russell, mostrando como ela lida com importantes problemas lógicos e filosóficos. Sem dúvida, a teoria das descrições de Russell foi uma das teorias filosóficas mais significativas do século XX. Posteriormente, apresenta-se a crítica de Peter Strawson à teoria das descrições, bem como a réplica de Russell. Conclui-se a dissertação com uma breve avaliação a respeito de três pontos fundamentais de divergência entre Russell e Strawson: o papel da linguagem ordinária na análise filosófica, o valor de verdade de proposições expressas por sentenças do tipo “O atual Rei da França é calvo”, e a questão dos nomes próprios. / In the present dissertation, Bertrand Russell’s theory of descriptions is analyzed, as well as Peter Strawson’s criticism of this theory. In order to better contextualize the theory of descriptions, George Moore’s theory of Platonic Atomism is firstly analyzed. This theory represents the first step of the revolt against the Hegelian influenced idealism that dominated English philosophy at the end of the 19th century. After that, Bertrand Russell’s early philosophy is outlined in its main features, that is, his philosophy from the first years of the 20th century, which may be called “logicism”, since it had, as its main theoretical purpose, the demonstration that all pure mathematics could be reduced to a few fundamental and indefinable logical notions. Subsequently, the philosophical innovation represented by Russell’s theory of descriptions is analyzed, and the manner in which it deals with important logical and philosophical problems is exhibited. One can say that Russell’s theory of descriptions is one of the most significant philosophical theories of the 20th century. After that, Peter Strawson’s criticism of the theory of descriptions is presented, as well as Russell’s rebuttal of it. The dissertation ends with a brief assessment of three fundamental points of contention between Russell and Strawson: the role of ordinary language in philosophical analysis, the truth value of propositions expressed by sentences such as “The present King of France is bald”, and the question regarding proper names.