This thesis is about meaning, expression and language in Merleau-Ponty’s philosophy, and their role in the phenomenological project as a whole. For Merleau-Ponty, expression is the taking up of a meaning given either in perception or in already acquired forms of expression, thereby repeating, transforming or congealing meaning into gestures, utterances, artworks, ideas or theories. Contrary to the predominant view in the literature, the relation of expression to meaning, and in particular the problem of expressing new meanings, was of fundamental importance to Merleau-Ponty from the very beginning, in that it was intrinsically related to the overcoming of what he termed “objective thought”. Admittedly, there is an evolution of his philosophy in this respect: from the early stance where the recasting of certain basic categories is taken as pivotal for the development of a new form of thinking, with arguments drawn also from various empirical and social sciences, to what appears to be an effort at an all-pervading reformulation of philosophical language during his last years. But the remoulding of categories was never for Merleau-Ponty a matter simply of finding a few, better adapted concepts, but from the outset an endeavour to think philosophical arguments through to a point where they reveal their inherent inconsistencies. Recasting philosophical expression is thus a risky enterprise, and this is a point I explore further in Essay 1, that focuses especially upon creative expression in painting and to some extent in literature. In Essay 2 I discuss the notion of Gestalt and how it serves this general project, whereas Essay 3 deals with verbal language, on the basis of Merleau-Ponty’s reading of Saussure’s linguistics. Essay 4 examines bodily expression from the point of view of feminist phenomenology and in particular Judith Butler’s early reading of Merleau-Ponty, and finally Essay 5 discusses expression in the art of dance. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 4: Accepted. Paper 5: Accepted.</p>

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-14T12:52:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 9074576 bytes, checksum: ba459487c79b661539ec76f93c8f45c2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-03-21 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This dissertation examines the potential of application of Gestalt Psychology Principles in the planning of compositional structures in the work Segmentos, for symphony orchestra. The Gestalt analysis of musical works accomplished by several autors, such as Meyer (1956), Lerdahl and Jackendoff (1983), and Tenney and Polansky (1980), was used in this dissertation on a prescriptive fashion. The analogies between musical gestures and features of visual objects perception, according to Gestalt Theory, was thought by these autors. In this dissertation, these analogies were counted as musical suggestions to the planning of the work Segmentos, which consists of three movements. For the planning of the musical gestures in the first movement, titled Hábito, and the third movement, titled Pregnância, subjective or qualitative suggestions were employed, i.e., without using mathematical calculations. For the planning of the musical gestures in the second movement, titled Tenere, objective or quantitative suggestions were employed, besides subjective or qualitative suggestions. For this Second movement, a computer software was created in order to generate and segment melodies, according to works of Tenney and Polansky, who applied by calculations the Gestalt principles related with grouping and segregation of perceptual objects. These melodic segments were substantial for the management of musical parameters. It is our intention that this dissertation, which apply some Gestalt principles in the context of musical composition, shall serve as a basis for the conscious planning of musical works and shall be a reference for research in such a way that one can carry out the examination of other applications of Gestalt principles in the planning of musical works. / Este trabalho examina o potencial da aplicação dos princípios da Psicologia da Gestalt no planejamento de estruturas composicionais na obra Segmentos, para orquestra sinfônica. As análises gestálticas de obras musicais realizadas por diversos autores, como Meyer (1956), Lerdahl e Jackendoff (1983), e Tenney e Polansky (1980), foram utilizadas neste trabalho sob um viés prescritivo. As analogias entre os gestos musicais e as características da percepção de objetos visuais, segundo a Teoria da Gestalt, foram refletidas por esses autores. Neste trabalho, essas analogias foram consideradas como sugestões musicais para o planejamento da obra Segmentos, que consiste em três movimentos. Para o planejamento dos gestos musicais no primeiro movimento, intitulado Hábito, e no terceiro movimento, intitulado Pregnância, foram empregadas sugestões subjetivas ou qualitativas, isto é, sem a utilização de cálculos matemáticos. Para o planejamento dos gestos musicais no segundo movimento, intitulado Tenere, foram empregadas sugestões objetivas ou quantitativas, além das sugestões subjetivas ou qualitativas. Para esse segundo movimento, um aplicativo computacional foi criado para gerar e segmentar melodias, segundo os trabalhos de Tenney e Polansky, que aplicaram através de cálculos os princípios gestálticos de proximidade e similaridade, relacionados com o agrupamento e segregação de objetos perceptuais. Esses segmentos melódicos foram fundamentais para o gerenciamento dos parâmetros musicais. É nossa intenção que este trabalho, que aplica alguns princípios gestálticos na composição musical, possa servir de base para o planejamento consciente de obras musicais e, também, que possa ser um referencial de pesquisa para que se realize o exame de outras aplicações dos princípios gestálticos no planejamento de obras musicais.

Este trabalho, de natureza interdisciplinar, tem suas raízes firmadas nas Ciências Cognitivas, mais especificamente nos estudos sobre a Percepção Visual e a teoria da Gestalt, identificando a Inteligência Visual, como um importante processo cognitivo na formação do individuo. A partir daí, os ramos desta investigação colocam em pauta uma análise de como lidamos com a ampla utilização de imagens, cada vez mais instantâneas e digitais, o que nos leva a repensar e reestruturar conhecimentos e ações em relação à educação visual. Partindo da afirmação, de que, atualmente estamos vivenciando uma época onde o uso de imagens - seja em qualquer área e com qualquer pretensão - está cada vez mais forte e com o aporte veloz das novas tecnologias, esta tese, concatena a teoria da Gestalt da percepção dos objetos, com o instrumento da fotografia. Esta última, justamente por ser nesta nova era da comunicação visual, um dos meios tecnológicos mais utilizados. Adotando a técnica de estudo de caso, este trabalho através do projeto "Meu Ponto de Vista", traz uma proposta metodológica para educação visual no quarto ciclo do ensino fundamental, e aponta os requisitos e indicadores encontrados no desenvolvimento da investigação. / This multidisciplinary research is based on Cognitive Sciences concepts related to Visual Perception area, and the Gestalt theory. The main point addressed by the thesis identifies visual intelligence as an important education process component. This thesis shows how we can use images to restructure our knowledge and actions using visual education . Nowadays, the use of images is part of our ordinary life. The Gestalt theory can help us to better explain how photography aids us to percept our environment, due the fact that this is the era of visual communication par excellence. We adopted case study to conduct our thesis validation. An environment named "Meu ponto de vista" ("My point of view") was created to support our methodological proposal. Experiments were running with fourth grade elementary school students.

Este trabalho, de natureza interdisciplinar, tem suas raízes firmadas nas Ciências Cognitivas, mais especificamente nos estudos sobre a Percepção Visual e a teoria da Gestalt, identificando a Inteligência Visual, como um importante processo cognitivo na formação do individuo. A partir daí, os ramos desta investigação colocam em pauta uma análise de como lidamos com a ampla utilização de imagens, cada vez mais instantâneas e digitais, o que nos leva a repensar e reestruturar conhecimentos e ações em relação à educação visual. Partindo da afirmação, de que, atualmente estamos vivenciando uma época onde o uso de imagens - seja em qualquer área e com qualquer pretensão - está cada vez mais forte e com o aporte veloz das novas tecnologias, esta tese, concatena a teoria da Gestalt da percepção dos objetos, com o instrumento da fotografia. Esta última, justamente por ser nesta nova era da comunicação visual, um dos meios tecnológicos mais utilizados. Adotando a técnica de estudo de caso, este trabalho através do projeto "Meu Ponto de Vista", traz uma proposta metodológica para educação visual no quarto ciclo do ensino fundamental, e aponta os requisitos e indicadores encontrados no desenvolvimento da investigação. / This multidisciplinary research is based on Cognitive Sciences concepts related to Visual Perception area, and the Gestalt theory. The main point addressed by the thesis identifies visual intelligence as an important education process component. This thesis shows how we can use images to restructure our knowledge and actions using visual education . Nowadays, the use of images is part of our ordinary life. The Gestalt theory can help us to better explain how photography aids us to percept our environment, due the fact that this is the era of visual communication par excellence. We adopted case study to conduct our thesis validation. An environment named "Meu ponto de vista" ("My point of view") was created to support our methodological proposal. Experiments were running with fourth grade elementary school students.

Este trabalho, de natureza interdisciplinar, tem suas raízes firmadas nas Ciências Cognitivas, mais especificamente nos estudos sobre a Percepção Visual e a teoria da Gestalt, identificando a Inteligência Visual, como um importante processo cognitivo na formação do individuo. A partir daí, os ramos desta investigação colocam em pauta uma análise de como lidamos com a ampla utilização de imagens, cada vez mais instantâneas e digitais, o que nos leva a repensar e reestruturar conhecimentos e ações em relação à educação visual. Partindo da afirmação, de que, atualmente estamos vivenciando uma época onde o uso de imagens - seja em qualquer área e com qualquer pretensão - está cada vez mais forte e com o aporte veloz das novas tecnologias, esta tese, concatena a teoria da Gestalt da percepção dos objetos, com o instrumento da fotografia. Esta última, justamente por ser nesta nova era da comunicação visual, um dos meios tecnológicos mais utilizados. Adotando a técnica de estudo de caso, este trabalho através do projeto "Meu Ponto de Vista", traz uma proposta metodológica para educação visual no quarto ciclo do ensino fundamental, e aponta os requisitos e indicadores encontrados no desenvolvimento da investigação. / This multidisciplinary research is based on Cognitive Sciences concepts related to Visual Perception area, and the Gestalt theory. The main point addressed by the thesis identifies visual intelligence as an important education process component. This thesis shows how we can use images to restructure our knowledge and actions using visual education . Nowadays, the use of images is part of our ordinary life. The Gestalt theory can help us to better explain how photography aids us to percept our environment, due the fact that this is the era of visual communication par excellence. We adopted case study to conduct our thesis validation. An environment named "Meu ponto de vista" ("My point of view") was created to support our methodological proposal. Experiments were running with fourth grade elementary school students.

There is a growing need for corporate employees to be able to manage their stress levels and use stress to their own, and to the organisation’s, advantage. Various literature references show that the damage to the workplace and to the worker costs millions of rands annually. Organisations are loosing money because of employees who are not able to manage their stress levels. Employees often experience stress because of an excessive workload, a high expected work pace, difficult work schedules, role conflict, uncertainty regarding career security, poor interpersonal relationships and unpleasant working conditions and many more. This stress manifests in conflict, depression, absenteeism, headaches, hypertension, alcoholism, drug abuse and more which as a result, impacts the organisation’s profitability due to decrease in productivity. In this thesis, research was done regarding the use of play therapy mediums in a stress management programme with corporate employees. The following research question was formulated: Will the use of play therapy mediums in a stress management programme for corporate employees, have a positive effect on their stress levels? The purpose of this stress management programme was to create greater awareness amongst corporate employees regarding the effects of stress on their lives and to indicate to them how they can go about managing stress to their advantage. The aim of the research was to use play therapy mediums in a stress management programme to enable corporate employees to become aware of, and to manage their stress levels. Play therapy mediums were therefore used to aid the de-stressing of the corporate employees and to facilitate greater awareness regarding the effects of stress on their lives. The researcher applied the Gestalt Theory as theoretical framework for this study. This theory supports the notion of awareness as a tool that can be used by a person to be in control of his/her life. The Gestalt Theory as a theoretical framework emphasises the fact that healthy behaviour occurs once people reach a point where they can regulate the emotional state that they are in. The literature research has shown that when this comes about, people experience a feeling of unity and integration in their lives. It is also concerned with the total existence of a human being. The people are addressed as whole and integrated beings, who strive to gain balance in an ever-changing environment. The Gestalt Theory is holistic and can form the theoretical framework for work with any type of individual and has been used effectively with individuals, groups and in teaching. Research was done within the corporate environment. The researcher developed a stress management programme which was presented to corporate employees. The aim was to establish whether the programme would have an effect on their stress levels and whether play therapy mediums can be used successfully with corporate employees during a training programme to reduce their stress levels and to improve their awareness of the causes of stress in their lives and their reactions to stressors in their environment. This stress management programme served as an intervention because it could enhance the functioning of the corporate employees with regard to their stress levels and also their general functioning within the organisation and in their personal lives. Pre- and post-test results were compared to evaluate the effect of the programme. Play therapy is traditionally used with children but relevant literature and the researcher’s own experience from the research has shown remarkable results in the use of play therapy mediums with adults. The literature as well as the empirical study showed that play itself has a number of therapeutic elements that produce behaviour change. Furthermore play also offers opportunities to re-live past stressful events and the emotions associated with them in a safe and therapeutic environment. The research findings indicated that stress levels improved after the stress management programme was presented to the corporate employees. From the research findings the researcher developed a model as a guideline for a stress management programme using play therapy mediums in the corporate environment. / Thesis (DPhil (Social Work))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Social Work / unrestricted

Bence Nanay holds, that attention which is focused on one object, and distributed acrossits properties, gives rise to disinterestedness in phenomenal experience, and it therefore is involved in the occurence of the most paradigmatic kind of aesthetic experience.It is for this reason, that Nanay defines this sort of attention as "aesthetic attention". In this thesis, I point out, that Nanay's doctrine does justice to facts and phenomena,and that it succeeds in specifiying one of the necessary conditions, of what he takes as the "paradigmatic kind" of aesthetic experience. Nevertheless, as I go on to argue, Nanay fails to account for dissinterestedness' being insufficient for aesthetic experience, and avoids to ask the question we have been longing to ask, namely whether there is such a thing, as attention which is both necessary and sufficient for aesthetic experience. I, thereafter, provide an answer to this question, according to which aesthetic attention is, essencially, attention which is focused on non-derivative value, in an aesthetic context. In the remaining of the text, I make use of Gestalt theory, and thus explore the relationship between the kind of attention Nanay conceived of as "aesthetic attention", and the kind I define as such.

Community violence (CV) is a social phenomenon that touches societies around the globe and exhibits alarming prevalence, especially among South African youth. Considering that CV exposure often causes severe internalising and externalising effects, it is not surprising that it can be one of the most destructive experiences for children. Since childhood informs further development, it is significant that factors influencing the general well-being of children be understood and discussed. This includes the exploration and study of a child’s perception, as perceptions have substantial influence over behaviour and well-being. However, few studies have been employed to understand how the youth perceive CV, despite the extensive literature available on this phenomenon. The current study was thus imperative in understanding how adolescents make sense of and perceive CV, which may contribute invaluable knowledge to the intervention efforts and strategies of social workers working with communities. The goal of this study was to explore and describe young adults’ perceptions of CV experienced in a South African context during adolescence. The major objectives of this study were to explore and describe how the participants were exposed to and perceived CV during adolescence, as well as how they believe they were affected by this exposure. The study followed a qualitative research approach and the participants, who comprise of the study population of young adults between the ages of 20 and 25 residing in the City of Tshwane, were attained through means of non-probability sampling, specifically the purposive and snowball sampling methods. An instrumental case study design was applied to the cases of ten (10) participants, who voluntarily participated in semi-structured qualitative interviews that were analysed according to the process phases of Thematic Analysis and were interpreted from the theoretical underpinning of Gestalt theory. The results show that adolescents’ exposure to CV took many different forms and infiltrated their everyday lives. In addition, adolescents’ perceptions of CV were greatly informed and influenced by various factors, both within themselves and within their environments. Furthermore, perceptions of CV were found to largely determine and affect their appraisal thereof, their relative interest therein, as well as their behavioural responses thereto. It can thus be concluded that the study on perceptions of CV is significant towards understanding adolescents’ internal and external functioning and for determining some of the threats encapsulated in CV exposure on adolescent development. Another conclusion drawn was that adolescents’ perceptions of CV may have certain limitations, which could negatively influence reasoning and decision-making and may place various restrictions on their lives. Through socialisation, beliefs and behaviour regarding CV can become normalised, which may lead to the desensitisation thereof. Moreover, perceptions of CV are highly complex and can shape adolescents’ worldviews and self-perception, which might go on to threaten their moral ground and cause disempowerment. The results provide some support for social workers working in violent communities by highlighting various protective factors that may curb the normalisation of CV, as well as its negative effects. Further research should be conducted to determine the degree to which CV has been normalised in South African communities, and the researcher recommends the use of a longitudinal and mixed-method research approach. / Mini Dissertation (MSW (Play-based Intervention))--University of Pretoria, 2020. / 2022/12/31 / Social Work and Criminology / MSW (Play-based Intervention) / Unrestricted

Some people experience music as colourful patterns or feel it as a physical touch, they have synesthesia. A neurological condition in which a stimulus of one sense automatically and involuntarily triggers a sensation in another sense. This shows that perception is not normative. The aim of this work is to try to develop an understanding of this phenomenon by using textile dyeing and patchwork as a tool for my investigation of it. Another aim is to raise awareness and try to see if it is possible for a non synesthete to experience something similar to the complex intersensory connections as those with synesthesia have. The sum of all perceptions of a human, after it has been processed by their own mind, can result in something that is not just the sum of each individual perception, but something that can at the end be quite different from what  might be expected. This motivated the title, and furthermore leads naturally into the Gestalt theory of perception, which is used as the major theoretical framework for this paper.

In practice, the learner with low self worth struggles to achieve certain goals and does not experience success in the classroom. Teachers involved in the lives of these learners do not always have the skills to motivate and handle them in the classroom. The general aim and focus of the research study therefore is to identify the needs of educators in a primary school setting in order to accommodate the learner with low self worth in the classroom. The theoretical framework of this study is based on the Gestalt theory, focussing on the phenomenological method of awareness. The researcher made use of a qualitative research approach and the empirical data was collected by means of focus groups. The collected data was analysed by Creswell’s spiral of data analysis. In conclusion, the researcher identified that educators have a need regarding their training, parental involvement, personal and professional support, and a need for a guideline to accommodate the learner with low self worth in the class. In closing, the researcher made some suggestions regarding future training of educators, practice and possible ideas for future research based on the needs of educators identified through this study. / MA (Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014