O uso de técnicas matemáticas está crescendo na maioria das disciplinas das ciências sociais, principalmente na Economia, e os defensores da matematização geralmente tentam legitimar este processo a partir da suposta neutralidade axiológica da matemática, argumentando, sob influência positivista, que a linguagem matemática deve ser a própria linguagem da ciência. Este trabalho se opõe a tal concepção, rejeitando a possibilidade de neutralidade da matemática e demonstrando que a matemática pode contribuir apenas de maneira muito limitada para a compreensão de processos históricos. Argumentamos que modelos matemáticos são incapazes de descrever a origem, o desenvolvimento ou declínio de relações sociais, sendo útil apenas como descrição de padrões quantitativos entre eventos quando as relações sociais estão estáveis. Daí resulta que, em teorias sociais matematicamente formuladas, tenha-se por objetivo desenvolver uma coleção de modelos, um para cada circunstância. As transformações sociais, mesmo as menores, ficam fora do foco das teorias assim desenvolvidas. Por último, argumentamos que o crescimento da utilização da matemática está diretamente associado à rejeição da ontologia que ocorre no positivismo, de modo que a explicação da matematização, ao menos em linhas gerais, é a mesma para a difusão das idéias positivistas / The use of mathematical techniques is increasing in most disciplines of social sciences, especially in Economics, and the mathematizations supporters usually try to legitimize this process from the supposedly axiological neutrality of Mathematics, arguing, under positivist influence, that the mathematical language should be the very language of science. This study opposes itself to this conception, rejecting the possibility of mathematical neutrality and demonstrating that Mathematics can help only in a very limited way to the comprehension of historical processes. We sustain that mathematical models are unable to describe the origin, development or decline of social relations, being useful, if so, only as description of quantitative patterns of events when social relations stay stable. It follows that social theories mathematically formulated have the objective of developing a collection of models, one for each circumstance. Social changes, even the smallest, are outside the focus of the theories so developed. Finally, we argue that the increased use of mathematics is directly associated with the positivist rejection of ontology, so the explanation for the mathematization, at least in outline, is the same for the dissemination of positivist ideas.

Respect is a value whose importance in contemporary criminal justice many would endorse in principle. It is well-established that every person, by virtue of his or her humanity, has a claim to respect that need not be negotiated and cannot be forfeited. As the principal means by which to recognise a person's intrinsic worth, respect is attitudinal but also requires a degree of expressive action. The core claim of the thesis is that at two defining points in the criminal process - policing and imprisonment - there is an overwhelming preoccupation with instrumental outcomes, with the result that respect is understood reductively and, at best, as a weak side-constraint on the pursuit of those outcomes. The thesis takes the form of a sustained critique of the respect deficit in policing and imprisonment. It is especially concerned with the ways in which both institutions are merely constrained and not characterised by respect. Respect shows great flexibility as a concept of critical enquiry, in particular, in its striking capacity to sharpen our critique of a diverse range of policies and practices. It swiftly emerges, for example, that both institutions appeal to the word 'respect' - relying on its inclusive ethos in official documentation when it is expedient to do so - but rarely and only superficially address the prior question of what it is to respect and be respected. Despite much criminological activity on the 'democratic design' of these institutions in recent decades, respect is more akin to a slogan than a foundational value of criminal justice practice. Yet respect is not only of analytic merit. It is also a matter of material significance. The dominant institutional approach to respect would prove difficult to correct, sustained as it is by intuitive understandings, convenient fictions and a preoccupation with outcomes. With a sense of modest realism, the thesis concludes by considering how best to embed respect in policing and imprisonment, anticipating the challenges - as well as the advances that could be made - in inscribing respectful relations between state and subject.

<p>A classic question in moral philosophy asks "Why be moral?" In other words, what reason or motive do people have to act in accordance with the requirements of morality? In the tradition of Thomas Hobbes and David Hume, this project defends the thesis that nearly all people have reason to be moral nearly all of the time, because moral conduct generally serves individuals' desires and needs. It's argued, first, that a reason for action must be capable of motivating an agent to act, and second, that reasons for action motivate through the desires of the agent. This view is defended against the objection that reasons for action are not contingent on any particular agent's desires. Turning to morality, the case is made that the desires of an individual can be consonant with the demands of morality in any of three possible ways: (1) moral action serves one's other-regarding desires to help others; (2) moral action serves one's moral desires, which are formed when one internalizes the moral norms of his or her community; and (3) moral action serves one's self-regarding desires to avoid punishments that one incurs by violating moral norms. In the final chapter, it is acknowledged that the moral norms which happen to prevail in a society sometimes conflict with the moral convictions of individuals. Under certain conditions, however, it can be rational for nearly all members of a society to collectively change existing moral norms. Furthermore, it is within the power of individuals to foment the conditions for collective transitions to alternative moral norms.</p> / Dissertation

Den här magisteruppsatsen skrivs inom forskningsfältet Svenska med didaktisk inriktning. Syftet är att undersöka hur tio elever ur en klass 9 uppfattar den svenskundervisning de deltagit i under sin högstadietid. Forskningsfrågorna fokuserar hur de förhåller sig till ämnet, vad de förväntar sig och vad de anser att de lärt sig. Även kontexten problematiseras. Studien har en etnografisk, kvalitativ ansats och undersökningen görs i det egna klassrummet, vilket innebär att forskaren/läraren är samma person. De teoretiska redskap som används för att analysera elevernas uppfattningar är i första hand etablerade ämneskonceptioner så som svenska som färdighetsämne, som litteraturhistoriskt bildningsämne, som erfarenhetspedagogiskt ämne och som demokratiämne. Undersökningen visar att elevernas bild av ämnet är splittrad, deras syn på ämnet går bara delvis att foga in under de etablerade svenskämneskonceptionerna. Eleverna uttrycker även ämnessyner som skulle kunna benämnas som någon typ av språkämne, framtidsämne eller kompetensämne. Eleverna visar på många sätt att de ser på svenskämnet som formaliserat. De ger uttryck för ett traditionellt färdigetsämne med inslag av erfarenhetspedagogiskt ämne som man ska ha nytta av någon gång i framtiden. Eleverna anser att man på svensk-lektionerna lär sig att läsa och skriva på "rätt" sätt. En grupp elever engagerar sig i uppgifter och diskussioner medan andra uppvisar ett visst motstånd som visar sig i pratighet och ointresse. Flertalet accepterar dock det svenskämne som presenteras trots att deras arbetssituation präglas av skolans kulturformer och påtvingad närhet till andra elever.Kontextens påverkan på klassrumssituation och lärande är stor.

Experiência artístico-estética como experiência educativa: a necessidade de superar antagonismos é uma pesquisa fundamentada no instrumentalismo deweiano. A tese defende a importância da dimensão arquitetônica para a educação aprofundando com Dewey a necessidade da superação de antagonismos, dentre eles o existente entre arte e vida. Como movimento filosófico, o instrumentalismo não concebe a razão como algo completo por si mesmo, independente da matéria, indiferente às influências dos hábitos, dos instintos e das emoções como fatores ativos da vida, ou seja, independente da experiência. O conceito de experiência é central na filosofia deweiana e sua influência na concepção contemporânea de currículo pode ser constatada no reconhecimento da importância da inter-relação entre sujeito e ambiente no processo educativo; mas a arquitetura como um elemento do ambiente educativo, segundo Antonio Viñao Frago, dificilmente é estudada em sua dimensão antropológica. Frago aponta razões para essa dificuldade que possivelmente dizem respeito à necessidade de superação de antagonismos, assim como as razões para o distanciamento da discussão arquitetônica da sociedade. No entanto, é possível constatar em intervenções arquitetônicas no âmbito da educação, dentre elas o restauro e requalificação da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, que esses antagonismos podem ser superados como o existente entre cultura e eficiência social. / Esthetic-artistic experience as educational experience: the necessity of an antagonism surmount defends an architectural dimension to education and proposes with Dewey the necessity of getting over antagonisms. Its instrumentalism doesnt accept the independence of reason and subject, without influence from habits, instincts, emotions as active life factors, that independent from experience. The concept of experience is central in Deweys philosophy and its influence in contemporary curriculum conception can be recognize when supports the importance of the connection between individual and environment in educational process; but the architectural element of educational environment has hardly been studied in its anthropological dimension according to Antonio Viñao Frago. Frago indicates some reasons to that problem, it distances involves the necessity to get over antagonism mainly the antagonism between architectural discussion and society. However, it is possible to see among architectural interventions in formal education, as the restoration and requalification of Medicine College of São Paulo University for example, how the antagonism social efficiency and culture can be surmounted.

O uso de técnicas matemáticas está crescendo na maioria das disciplinas das ciências sociais, principalmente na Economia, e os defensores da matematização geralmente tentam legitimar este processo a partir da suposta neutralidade axiológica da matemática, argumentando, sob influência positivista, que a linguagem matemática deve ser a própria linguagem da ciência. Este trabalho se opõe a tal concepção, rejeitando a possibilidade de neutralidade da matemática e demonstrando que a matemática pode contribuir apenas de maneira muito limitada para a compreensão de processos históricos. Argumentamos que modelos matemáticos são incapazes de descrever a origem, o desenvolvimento ou declínio de relações sociais, sendo útil apenas como descrição de padrões quantitativos entre eventos quando as relações sociais estão estáveis. Daí resulta que, em teorias sociais matematicamente formuladas, tenha-se por objetivo desenvolver uma coleção de modelos, um para cada circunstância. As transformações sociais, mesmo as menores, ficam fora do foco das teorias assim desenvolvidas. Por último, argumentamos que o crescimento da utilização da matemática está diretamente associado à rejeição da ontologia que ocorre no positivismo, de modo que a explicação da matematização, ao menos em linhas gerais, é a mesma para a difusão das idéias positivistas / The use of mathematical techniques is increasing in most disciplines of social sciences, especially in Economics, and the mathematizations supporters usually try to legitimize this process from the supposedly axiological neutrality of Mathematics, arguing, under positivist influence, that the mathematical language should be the very language of science. This study opposes itself to this conception, rejecting the possibility of mathematical neutrality and demonstrating that Mathematics can help only in a very limited way to the comprehension of historical processes. We sustain that mathematical models are unable to describe the origin, development or decline of social relations, being useful, if so, only as description of quantitative patterns of events when social relations stay stable. It follows that social theories mathematically formulated have the objective of developing a collection of models, one for each circumstance. Social changes, even the smallest, are outside the focus of the theories so developed. Finally, we argue that the increased use of mathematics is directly associated with the positivist rejection of ontology, so the explanation for the mathematization, at least in outline, is the same for the dissemination of positivist ideas.

Doctorat en philosophie et lettres / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

This thesis aims to contribute to the existing gap in the research of religion in international relations by applying the theory of elite instrumentalism to the proxy conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran. The analysis was able to demonstrate that the elites of both states have instrumentalized religion by utilizing concepts of Islamic rulership to legitimize their rule and justify their political actions. Iran has utilized the Shia Twelver concept of “Guardianship of the Jurist”, advocated by Ayatollah Khomeini during the Iranian revolution, to give Islamic jurists the same function as holy figures in Shia Islam. Saudi elites have legitimized their rule with the Wahhabi interpretation of Sunni Islam and the concept of “Head of the community”, which deems it sinful for subjects to oppose their Muslim ruler. By analysing fatwas, speeches, narratives and ideas being pushed by the elites of the countries, this study confirms that state elites have used religion to mobilize groups in the civil wars occurring in Yemen and Syria. Elites of both states have attempted to discredit each other to be able to expand their influence in the region and to assert their dominance by presenting themselves as rulers with the God-given right to rule.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / John Dewey’s account of human individuality blends various ideas that cut across many of his works. In “Time and Individuality,” Dewey discusses the essence of the individual as “temporal seriality.” In Human Nature and Conduct, he talks about the self as a collection of habits that change throughout one’s life. In A Common Faith, Dewey calls the whole self an ideal. Furthermore, Dewey addresses the issue of one’s individuality being threatened if one falls victim to mechanistic and mindless routines; that is, when routine shrouds one’s daily activities, moral and intellectual growth is stunted. Ensnarement in routine is the mechanization of daily activities that unfold in an uninspired and lethargic manner. Although Dewey discusses how individuality can be threatened, his thoughts on the subject nonetheless turn on the idea that if life is to be meaningful, one must learn to express one’s individuality. For Dewey, the authentic expression of individuality is art. But, how does one express one’s individuality? Are there any tools within Dewey’s philosophy that can be used to ensure the perpetuation of one’s individuality. The impetus for this thesis is to provide an analysis of key texts that are not only relevant to Dewey’s account of human individuality, but that are also relevant to Dewey’s instrumentalism. Through close textual analysis, I will seek to highlight elements in Dewey’s philosophy that can be used to ensure the continuation of one’s individuality. The following question will thus serve as a guide throughout this inquiry: “If human individuality can be threatened and even lost, what are some practical ideas in Dewey’s philosophy that can be used to ensure the perpetuation of one’s individuality?”

John Dewey was America's foremost authority on many of the critical issues in the twentieth century. Dewey dedicated his professional career as an expert on the major branches of philosophy. A neglected aspect of Dewey's philosophy is his writings on historiography, the philosophy of history, and his influence on American historians. Dewey affected several generations of historians from the Progressive historians to the practical realists of today. This study evaluates Dewey's pragmatism as a legitimate strain in American historiography. James Harvey Robinson and Charles Beard claimed Dewey as an influence. Later historians such as Richard Hofstadter and Joyce Appleby insist his methods make for more responsible-minded historians. There is enough material from American historians to assert that Dewey and Deweyan pragmatism influenced and still impacts historians into the twenty-first century.