This thesis examines the claim that the existential philosophy of Martin Heidegger's Being and Time necessarily leads to an authoritarian politics. Using the arguments of Jurgen Habermas and Richard Wolin, I examine the contention that Heidegger's dichotomy between "authenticity" and "inauthenticity" is essentially a normative distinction between good and bad, serving to irrevocably split the social world into classes of leaders and followers. Against this, I argue that distinction between “authenticity” and "inauthenticity" is ethically neutral and therefore has no necessary political momentum in any direction. Heidegger's critics argue that Being and Time reflects an "ideologically tinged worldview" that deems everyday social understandings and interaction as worthless "inauthenticity" obstructing the realization of our true "authentic" essence. With no positive valuation of the common social practices that any democratic political framework deems essential, "authenticity" leads inextricably to a detached and arbitrary elitism amenable to an authoritarian politics. I argue, however, that "inauthenticity" embodies a range of positive as well as negative phenomena from which "authenticity" can never extricate itself. Instead of representing a dichotomization of the social body, the split between "authenticity" and "inauthenticity” is an ethically neutral distinction between the awareness and non-awareness of the self. Contrary to the critics' arguments, "authentic" self-awareness is not the repudiation of our everyday social world, but instead is contingent upon how we go about our everyday social projects. Thus, lacking the totalizing critique of our everyday social world and common understandings, Heidegger's existential analytic is better understood as a normatively neutral philosophical perspective that does not necessarily lead in any political or ethical direction. / Master of Arts

I denna undersökning utforskas betydelsen av intersubjektiv kontakt och delad förståelse som en väg att samskapa en förståelseorienterad vägledning i den terapeutiska processen och det dagliga familjelivet. Undersökningens syfte är att utforska båda parters upplevelse av delad förståelse och dess betydelse i systemisk familjeterapi. Frågeställningarna fokuseras på vad som kännetecknar tillstånd av närvaro respektive frånvaro av intersubjektiv kontakt och förståelse. Samt vilken betydelse och vilka konsekvenser denna närvaro/ frånvaro har för terapeut och familj. Undersökningen baseras på fyra kliniska fallbeskrivningar återgivna ur båda parters perspektiv. Genom oberoende intervjuer utforskas båda parters terapierfarenheter efter avslutad terapi. Resultat av studien visar att intersubjektiv närvaro och förståelse i terapin är en nödvändig och avgörande faktor för att utvidga och öka den intersubjektiva kompetensen i systemet. Resultaten visar även på hur denna närvaro i den gemensamma terapeutiska processen blir en sorts modellerande kraft som bär vidare i familjernas vardag. Detta ökar förmågan att ta den andres perspektiv och svara på varandras inre livsvärld. En förståelseorienterad vägledning utvecklas. Resultaten visar god överensstämmelse med teori och forskning inom området. Resultaten har även kliniska implikationer och visar på vikten av att i såväl utbildning som handledning av psykoterapeuter uppmärksamma förståelsens centrala betydelse i det professionella mötet och i klinisk praktik. / This study explores the impact of mutual and shared understanding as a way to create an understanding-oriented guidance in family-therapy and in daily family life. The intention is to investigate the reciprocal experience of shared understanding and it ́s significance in family therapi. The questions focus on what charactarizes the states of prescence or abscence of intersubjective contact and understanding as well as what impact these states will have on the therapist and the family. The survey is based on four clinical case-histories reproduced from the therapists and the families ́ perspectives. Independent interviews explore both parties ́ experiences of the therapy after it was completed.Results of the study show that intersubjective presence and understanding during therapy is an essential and vital factor to extend and increase the intersubjective competence in the system. The results also show how the mutual therapeutic process presence is a kind of modeling force that carries on in families' everyday lives. This process developes the ability to take the other ́s perspective and respond to each other ́s inner world. An understanding-oriented guidance evolves. The results show good accordance with theory and research in the actual science field. They also have clinical implications and emphasizes the importance in both training and supervision of psychotherapists to payattention to the central importance of understanding in the professional meeting and in clinical practice.

[pt] A capacidade de conexão afetiva parece faltar às crianças com autismo o que prejudica as experiências intersubjetivas primária e secundária e, consequentemente, o desenvolvimento simbólico. As pesquisas desenvolvidas para a compreensão dos déficits na capacidade simbólica das crianças com transtorno do espectro autista (TEA) identificam dados quantitavos em relação aos comportamentos sociais, comunicativos pré-verbais e verbais e afetivos. No entanto, existe uma lacuna na tentativa de compreender como é a qualidade das interações sócio- afetivas iniciais destas crianças. Sabe-se que a conexão afetiva é pré-requisito básico para o desenvolvimento típico (DT) da capacidade de simbolizar. Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo investigar se e como ocorreu a conexão afetiva de 2 crianças TEA estando elas em interação com uma terapeuta. Foi incluído um grupo controle composto por 2 crianças DT. A descrição qualitativa de 5 cenas de filmagem mostrou que, apesar de haver diferenças qualitativas entre o grupo TEA e o grupo DT, é possível observar sinais sutis da conexão afetiva entre crianças autistas e a terapeuta. / [en] The ability to establish affective relatedness appears to be lacking in children with autism. As a result, the primary and secondary intersubjective engagements with others are impaired and affect the development of the child`s ability to symbolize. Research conducted on children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has identified quantitative data in connection with social behavior, pre verbal and verbal communication behavior, and emotional behavior. However, this research has not yet addressed the quality of the initial social and emotional relationships established by children with autism. It is widely known that the emotional connection is an important prerequisite for the symbolization ability in typical development (TD). The present research focuses on the investigation of two ASD children`s affective relatedness during their interaction with a therapist. A control group formed by 2 TD children was included in the investigation. The description of 5 taped scenes demonstrates that regardless of the qualitative differences among the ASD and TD groups, it is possible to observe a subtle trace of affective relatedness between the autistic children and the therapist.

English Studies / M.A. (English)

Thesis (MEd)--University of Stellenbosch, 2002. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The "Values in Education" initiative of the Department of Education seems to have become an important facet of the transformation of education agenda in South Africa. My argument in favour of a "Values in Education" initiative to be implemented in schools along the lines of democratic citizenship can be considered as an attempt to contribute to the democratisation of schooling post- 1994. This thesis develops a link between "Values in Education", intersubjectivity and democratic citizenship and argues that "Values in Education" can cultivate democratic citizenship in South African schools. KEYWORDS: Values in education, intersubjectivity, democracy and citizenship. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die Departement van Onderwys se 'Waardes in Onderwys" inisiatief blyk om 'n belangrike faset van die Suid-Afrikaanse agenda oor die transformasie van die onderwys te wees. My argument ten gunste van die implementering van 'n "Waardes in Onderwys" inisiatief in skole volgens die gedagtes van demokratiese burgerskap kan beskou word as 'n poging tot die bydrae van die demokratisering van skole na die 1994 onderwysbedeling. In hierdie tesis word die verwantskap tussen "Waardes in Onderwys", intersubjektiwiteit en demokratiese burgerskap ontwikkel en terselfdertyd word daar geargumenteer dat "Waardes in Onderwys" wel demokratiese burgerskap in skole kan bevorder. KERNBEGRIPPE: Waardes in onderwys, intersubjektiwiteit, demokrasie en burgerskap.

The purpose of the study is to investigate the toddlers’ communicative strategies to the teachers in their way to reach influence in the preschool. The purpose is to make further investigations how teachers’ common experiences and interpretations of toddlers’ communicative signals to reach influence. The questions are: How the toddlers communicate to the teachers, their wish to take part of influence in the preschool? How do the toddlers reveal their intersubjective ability, in the communication with the teachers? How can teachers’ experiences help us to interpret the toddlers’ communicative strategies to their influence? We’ve used a qualitative research, with a phenomenological base, to carry out our study. The 1st step was to observe 1-2 years old toddlers, in two different units in a preschool. The 2nd step was to implement focus group discussionswith the teachers in the two different units. This two-combined steps gave us a lot of empiric material. Our theoretical approach is based on the theory of phenomenology of perception (Maurice Merleau-Ponty) and the theory of intersubjectivity (Daniel Stern). With the concepts: life-world, the sense of a subjective self and the sense of a verbal self, we seek the essence of how the toddlers use the body language to think, perceive and experience themselves in their communication to the teachers to reach influence. Investigations show that when the toddlers capture the teachers’ confirmation to influence, the body language changes to a proud straight posture, with belly up, and shoulders backwards. Their eyes get bigger. Their body language also changes when they want to show their dissatisfaction, in these situations where the confirmation from the teachers did not work. They turn their body and face away, from the teachers. The research also shows that the toddlers’ noise gets more intense when they want to clarify their communication to the teachers. Even the body movement’s strengths by making the body longer, and they also repeat the movement again. The toddlers also imitate a body movement between the child and the teacher, in a shared common experience, that they had done together in the past. The research also shows that even if the toddlers don’t have a well-developed verbal language yet, they are qualified to share their intentions to the teachers, through their body language. When these communications work out well, the toddlers’ sense of the intersubjective self grows and develops. This way opens up for the way when the toddlers’ sense of verbal self, starts. When the teachers are present and empathetic, and the toddlers are confirmed, they continue to develop as self-sensing individuals, which strengthens their belief in their own skills. This allows the children to learn that they have rights to influence over their daily lives and themselves, even in the age of the toddler and further.

The topic of this thesis is a relation between two constitutive aspects of out existence: death and intersubjectivity. The way how to research these issues is an interpretation of main concepts and notions contained in these texts. On the basis of the comparison of these concepts, notions and whole philosophical stands offers this thesis a perspective of comprehension to the topic of death and intersubjectivity.

The aim of this diploma thesis is a philosophical interpretation of the problem of intersubjectivity in the work of Jean-Paul Sartre (1905 - 1980) and Emmanuel Levinas (1906 - 1995). In the first part, it deals with the conception of the Other in the Jean-Paul Sartre's Being and Nothingness and analyzes (after a brief introduction to Sartre's philosophy) concrete aspects of Sartre's theory of intersubjectivity. This part ends with a critique of Sartre's theory, which enable us to interpret the Levinas's theory as an alternative conception of intersubjektivity. The analysis in the second part is based on the Levinas's book Totality and infinity. The final part sums up the main differences of both conceptions. Key words: intersubjectivity, the Other, existence, freedom, ethics, Sartre, Levinas

Dans notre étude, nous retraçons le chemin d’une reconstruction de la raison pratique à partir du concept de responsabilité. La théorie de la communication est en mesure de nous fournir les moyens théoriques pour saisir l’étroite relation entre responsabilité et normativité pratique, tant au niveau de la reconstruction de la raison pratique, qu’à celui de son application. Néanmoins, il ne s’agit pas d’une reconstruction du mouvement d’ensemble de la pensée de Habermas. Bien au contraire, nous procédons, tel est notre choix méthodologique, par une mise en relief de l’ouverture dialogique de la théorie de la communication à ses interlocuteurs. La théorie de la communication veut restaurer toute la richesse pratique du concept de responsabilité dans ses droits en s’appuyant sur une critique de la subjectivité moderne. Néanmoins, une critique de la théorie de la communication peut montrer que le moment de la constitution de l’intersubjectivité va de pair avec celui du sujet de la communication. / In our study, we are tracing the way of the reconstruction of the practical reason starting from the concept of responsibility. The theory of communication can provide us with the theoretical tools in order to understand the close relation between responsibility and the normative core of practice at the level of the reconstruction of the practical reason as also of its application. Nevertheless, our study does not have for his object the reconstruction of Habermas’ thought as a whole. On the contrary, our methodological choice is to proceed based on the emphasis on the opening of the dialogue of the theory of communication towards its interlocutors. The theory of communication attempts to restore the whole practical richness of the concept of responsibility underpinning a critique of the modern subjectivity. Nevertheless, a critique of the theory of communication can show that the moment of the constitution of the intersubjectivity is consistent with that of the subject of communication.

Ve své diplomové se zaměřím na pojetí myšlení u Hannah Arendtové. Zejména se pokusím ukázat, že v díle Arendtové jsou přítomny dvě odlišné koncepce myšlení. První koncepce se opírá o komunikaci a svět. Podle této koncepce myšlení vychází ze společného světa a má sloužit k vybudování politických vztahů mezi lidmi. Druhá koncepce myšlení na rozdíl od první tvrdí, že myšlení je podle své definice mimosvětskou činností a nemůže sloužit k politickým účelům s výjimkou mimořádných případů. Porovnání těchto různých koncepcí myšlení bude uskutečněno na základě analýzy další mentální schopnosti člověka - soudů. Budu hájit tezi, myšlení ztratí možnost a schopnost pronikat do společného světa, protože schopnost soudů přebírá řadu funkcí, které dříve vykonávalo myšlení.