M.A. (Philosopy) / This dissertation is a preliminary investigation of William Dray's work on explanation in history, viewed in its philosophical context. The reasons for undertaking it were: Firstly, to introduce Dray's work as a systematic whole to South African historians and philosophers of history. No previous attempt to systematize Dray's theory of explanation being traceable, the major accent falls on description rather than criticism or an attempt to offer an alternative theory. Secondly, the author is convinced that the crisis currently affecting history can best be resolved through a greater awareness by historians of the contribution philosophy can make to historical practice. By showing that Dray's 1t.0rk is of value to the practising historian and that it is the product of applying Ordinary Language Philosophy to philosophy of history, the author hopes to increase this awareness. The latter rrotif played a major role in structuring the dissertation In chapter one, the author outlines the purpose of and reasons for the study, indicating that it deals with a highly relevant topic, directly involved with many major issues in the philosophy of history. This introduces a discussion of the author's views on the nature of history. The chapter concludes with definitions of unusual and important terms used. Chapter two places Dray's work in its philosophical context (Analytical Philosophy). It comprises a brief description of Mcore's Corrirron Sense Philosophy, Logical Atomism and, in greater detail, Logical Positivism up to circa 1950. Because Dray's work is clearly part of the Ordinary Language tradition, it receives more attention and those characteristics which are most obvious in Dray's work are highlighted. The author concludes that Ordinary Language Philosophy is a specific approach and way of thinking, rather than a body of doctrine. In chapter three, examples of Dray's work are discussed to show that they are typical products of Ordinary Language Philosophy. The suggestion that Dray is an Idealist philosopher of history is examined and the conclusion reached that, while his work indicates certain Idealist assulrDtions, it is clearly a product of Ordinary Language Philosophy. Chapter four comprises a discussion of Dray's concept of explanation. Aspects of his theory which are discussed include: the minimum condition for an explanation, the various sorts and types of explanation Dray identifies and the subjectivism of his concept of explanation. - Chapter five is a discussion of Dray's "rational model" of explanation. The model is discussed in detail and certain criticisms and conirion misconceptions are examined. The author concludes that the rational model is a valuable theoretical contribution to the practice of history, but may be difficult to implement. In chapter six, the relevance of the rational model for South African historiography is examined. By an analysis of extracts from three historical works, the model is shown to be very relevant for South African historians, and and often used by them. However, there is decidedly rocm for improvement. The dissertation closes on a renewed plea for the recognition of the value of philosophy for the practice of history.

This thesis systematizes the role of the categories of social space and social time in the diverse phases of Karl MArx's philosophy of history, emphasizing his decisive rupture with the Enlightenment evolutionist conception of World-History in and after his 1856 'Grundrisse'. Marx's conception of social forms, rather than stages, as historical totalizations enables him to clarify essential spatio-temporal issues for his theory of history, such as multilinearity as well as combined and uneven development, thus contributing to the explanation of concrete socio-historical problems. This argument is framed by a critical engagement with Paul Ricoeur's philosophy of history, as elaborated in his 'Memory, history, forgetting'. Hence after the first chapter problematizes current Marxist and post-Marxist scholarship on the categories of socio-historical space and time, the second chapter investigates the Marxian ontological foundations of history, which in turn direct us towards the historical ontology of capitalism. The final three chapters draw on the critical realist philosophies of Roy Bhaskar, Andrew Collier and Andrew Sayer, in order to reveal Marx's understanding of the epistemological phases of history. The third chapter looks at Marx's theory of hsitory, which constructs historical explanations by mediating between concepts at an abstract level and empirical evidence at a more concrete level. The role of abstraction is fundamental to this phase, as it differentiates between 'modes of production' and 'social formations'. The fourth chapter examines Marx's archive and his use of source material, analyzing his critical method, his treatment of biases in his archive, and how his explanations stand up against recent investigations using other sources. The fifth and final chapter discusses the problems of spatio-temporalizing the literary form of historiographical presentation ('Darstellung'). Here the elaboration of Mikhail Bakhtin's concept of the 'chronotope' through Ricoeur's concept of emplotment and Hayden White's theory of tropes enriches the analysis of Marx's strategies of presentation. This is evident at the level of both a mode of production and actual social formation, namely their respective roles in relation to historical knowledge and politics. The analysis of the different phases of Marx's philosophy of history in this thesis thus possesses a normative dimension: it has the potential to spatio-temporalize the philosophy of history in general and social scientific methodology in particular - although this is not systematically developed in Marx's historiographical narratives.

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The behavioral sciences in conjunction with history provide a unique opportunity for a more creative, yet precise, approach to the role of man as an historical and social agent. On the one hand history provides an approach to man’s role based on the appeal to both facts and creative interpretation. On the other, the behavioral sciences can provide historians with a more precise concept of the mechanism of social, cultural, and personal role development and action. The creative conjunction of the behavioral sciences and history is called Neo-synthecism in order to more easily identify this approach. There are two purposes to this essay: to show both the general utility of a behavioral approach to history, and the specific role of the self-fulfilling prophecy. The self-fulfilling prophecy, derived from the work of sociologist, Robert K. Merton, demonstrates how men tend actively to fulfill and objectify the expectations they hold for themselves. Thus men attempt both consciously and unconsciously to fulfill their own prophecies. The data upon which this approach is based is primarily of an interpretive nature. It briefly explores how individual scholars have impl,icitly assumed the idea of the self-fulfilling prophecy in the course of their writing. Most historians unconsciously utilize the concept without identifying or recognizing it as a specific behavioral function of men, and their activities, in general. Further, the essay investigates the idea of national character and social myth as factors which the self-fulfilling prophecy both contributes to and is dependent upon. Neo-synthecism, while not a total explanation of the ’'why" of history does help to account for some of its "mysteries." It can, for instance, through the behavioral approach, help to explain the role of the irrational as a causative historical factor. It also helps to explain the mechanisms which prompt men to revolutionary action. Thus it can penetrate the background of historical events more fully. At the same time it provides the historian with a new instrument for understanding the future as well as the past. That is, in explaining one of the mechanisms whereby men control and modify events to suit their own beliefs, it enables historians to understand why particular expectations can or cannot be fulfilled. In one sense then the historian looks back from the "future" into the past and predicts the predominance of one historical event over another. Neo-synthecism, however, is a theory based upon suspended judgment. It holds its interpretation in abeyance of the future’s verdict and is instructed by events.

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1965 R981 / Master of Science

<p> Theology is often assumed to be outmoded as a mode of thought, unworthy of the respect due an academic discipline, especially in matters of public import. Recent penetrating interdisciplinary work by theologians in the orbit of Radical Orthodoxy, however, calls into question such a pat assessment of the value of theology to shape academic and public discourse. Sifting through the centuries for insight, these scholars wrestle to faithfully apply the history of ideas at crucial intersections&mdash;of the past, the present and the future; of the transcendent and the mundane; of faith and reason; of belief and doubt. No longer satisfied to be sequestered by the strictures of secularism, a theology that is both informed by and committed to furthering liturgical and doctrinal development in all its historical complexity now deigns&mdash;in the hope of shedding fresh light on recalcitrant debates to intervene in realms ranging from academia to public policy.</p>

<p> Shirai Seiichi&rsquo;s education in the context of the interwar events influenced his path and molded him into a defender of idealism. Starting from the early evolution of his ideas, Shirai&rsquo;s significant concepts are outlined to show how they stood apart from and challenged the Japanese modernist debates over the architectural responses to war and industrialization. Examples of Shirai&rsquo;s early work along with surrounding historical events show how Shirai&rsquo;s perceptions of the use of space and its manifestation in architecture, based on Kantian ideas of a priori creation, contradicted orthodox modernist architectural theory and practice. Shirai&rsquo;s evolving theories and their impact on his design are introduced through his early training and related projects. However, it is his unrealized plan for the Genbakud? that is analyzed as primary evidence for the idea that Shirai was the only mid-twentieth century Japanese architect who could effectively express the sad destiny of the nuclear age. Last, specific examples of Shirai&rsquo;s mid to late career work to demonstrate how his conceptual framework evolved. Interviews, commentary, and theoretical analyses of his works show his unique trajectory and role in contrast to his modernist colleagues, and provide insight into Shirai&rsquo;s investigation into the universality and potential of the human spirit (fuhen no anima). Finally, recent discussion about constructing the Genbakud? based on Shirai&rsquo;s blueprints raise the idea that Shirai&rsquo;s early ideals are now ready to be presented in the post-modernist age.</p>

The intention of this study is to examine attitudes towards the military orders, in particular the international orders of the Temple, the Hospital and the Teutonic order, between papal recognition of the order of the Temple in 1128, and the final destruction of the kingdom of Jerusalem in 1291, both in the light of recent studies of attitudes towards crusading, and seeking to illuminate the circumstances behind the trial and destruction of the order of the Temple in the early fourteenth century. The study examines the opinions held of the military orders in different sections of society, the rulers of Catholic Christendom, the clergy and the laity. It also discusses the fictional image woven around the orders by chroniclers and the writers of epics and romances; the former adapting traditional topoi, the latter drawing on reality. Finally, there is an examination of the measures taken by the orders to form and improve their image in the eyes of Christendom. Much of the criticism of the military orders was directed at them as regular orders, but they received less criticism than other groups within the Church. In the second half of the thirteenth century the orders' relative unpopularity decreased, as the friars' privileges began to attract criticism, and as European interest in the Holy Land waned. They retained a good reputation as knights of Christ, even after the loss of Acre. Although all of the military orders attracted praise and criticism, the main attention of chroniclers and storytellers was on the order of the Temple, which was seen to epitomize the concept of the military order. It claimed to be, and was widely recognized as, above all others responsible for the defence of the Holy Land; hence it was more vulnerable to criticism than the other military orders.

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