The 'prevalence of the calm passions over the violent' is Hume's general formula for both virtue and happiness. I argue in this dissertation that Hume's detailed account of the causes and effects of the relative calmness and strength of motivating passions in Treatise 2.3 is a main goal of Hume's project in the Treatise, Books I and II, and the reason why he published them together in 1739 as a "compleat chain of reasoning by themselves." However, despite widespread recognition of the general importance of this doctrine to Hume's 'science of man', no adequate attempt has been made to investigate those sections of Treatise 2.3 which bear directly on a deeper understanding of the causes of this 'prevalence of the calm passions'. Such attention is particularly warranted because, as I argue, these sections of the Treatise constitute Hume's attempt at an 'anatomy' of deliberation which accounts for the principles of human nature by which we successfully regulate our conduct and remain constant in pursuit of our long-term greater good. However, these sections also give rise to interpretative challenges that threaten the coherence of this central doctrine. Accordingly, my aim in this dissertation is to analyze Hume's anatomy of deliberation and of the prevalence of calm passions in Treatise 2.3 and to work through the interpretative difficulties it poses. I present a novel resolution of these interpretative problems which calls attention to the importance both of Hume's Treatise, Book I account of causal belief and of his neglected account of the influence of the passions on the imagination and understanding for his theory of motivation. I demonstrate that it is only when we attend to these key features of Hume's account of human nature that we can appreciate the coherent Humean theory of prudential motivation that emerges from Treatise 2.3.

Neste texto apresento um modo de perceber o ambiente da arte sob o ponto de vista da filosofia da fotografia. Inicialmente, elaboro a noção de uma natureza fotográfica da arte utilizando como base os pensamentos de Malraux, Dubois e Flusser. Em seguida, ao relacionar os três autores, desenvolvo a ideia de uma sistema de funcionamento para a arte baseado na própria fotografia. Para finalizar, utilizo meu trabalho visual como ponto de partida para cultivar a filosofia da fotografia e essa natureza da arte específica / In this text I present a way of perceiving the art environment from the point of view of the philosophy of photography. Initially, I elaborate a notion of an photographic art nature based on the thoughts of Malraux, Dubois and Flusser. Then, I relate these three authors to develop the idea of an art system based on photography itself. Finally, I use my visual work as a starting point to cultivate the philosophy of photography and the nature of this particular art.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-25T20:20:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Rodolfo Medeiros Schian.pdf: 399665 bytes, checksum: e34cbf4be1003019f71e734f3ae49f11 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-06-22 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / We live in turbulent times of social and ecological crises, and many researchers believe that these are associated, and often are the responsibility of the capitalist system. This linkage of social and environmental problems was seen only in 1960, with the emergence of environmental sociology, concluding that the degradation of natural resources was linked to industrial development. However, for many researchers sociologists, this issue, experienced by the company, could not be thoroughly examined in the absence of a theory to explain the relationship between society and nature as the classics of sociology (Marx, Weber and Durkheim), worked on environmental issues so tangential in his theories. Thus, this research was conducted to understand the concept of nature of Karl Marx, if in fact the environmental issue has been addressed tangentially in his work, as this classical thinker reflected the society-nature relationship in socialist theory, and what the extent of their concepts to understand the ecological problem. Through analysis of his major works and some Marxists, we found a thought developed on the relationship between society and nature, a conception of the revolutionary nature of its time, and above all, a theory developed by means of historical materialism, which serves as a basis for analyzing contemporary ecological problems. Marx had already completed what sociologists have concluded only in 1960 that the degradation of natural resources is associated with the capitalist industrial development. Thus, we conclude that socialism and ecology are involved / Vivemos uma época turbulenta, de crises sociais e ecológicas, e muitos pesquisadores acreditam que estas estão associadas e, por muitas vezes, são de responsabilidade do sistema capitalista. Essa ligação dos problemas socioambientais somente foi percebida em 1960, com o surgimento da sociologia ambiental, concluindo que a degradação dos recursos naturais estava associada ao desenvolvimento industrial. Entretanto, para muitos pesquisadores sociólogos, essa problemática, vivida pela sociedade, não poderia ser profundamente analisada por não existir uma teoria que explicasse a relação sociedade-natureza, pois os clássicos da sociologia, (Marx, Weber e Durkheim), trabalharam a questão ambiental de modo tangencial nas suas teorias. Partindo dessa afirmação, foi realizada uma pesquisa para compreender a concepção de natureza de Karl Marx, se de fato a questão ambiental foi tratada tangencialmente em sua obra, como esse pensador clássico refletia a relação sociedade-natureza dentro da teoria socialista, e qual seria o alcance dos seus conceitos para compreender a problemática ecológica. Por meio da análise de suas principais obras e de alguns marxistas, verificamos um pensamento desenvolvido sobre a relação sociedade-natureza, uma concepção de natureza revolucionária para o seu tempo, e acima de tudo, uma teoria desenvolvida por meio do materialismo histórico, que serve como base para analisar a problemática ecológica contemporânea. Marx já havia concluído o que os sociólogos concluíram somente em 1960, que a degradação dos recursos naturais está associada ao desenvolvimento industrial capitalista. Dessa forma, concluímos que socialismo e ecologia são correspondentes

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T14:53:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Rodolfo Medeiros Schian.pdf: 399665 bytes, checksum: e34cbf4be1003019f71e734f3ae49f11 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-06-22 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / We live in turbulent times of social and ecological crises, and many researchers believe that these are associated, and often are the responsibility of the capitalist system. This linkage of social and environmental problems was seen only in 1960, with the emergence of environmental sociology, concluding that the degradation of natural resources was linked to industrial development. However, for many researchers sociologists, this issue, experienced by the company, could not be thoroughly examined in the absence of a theory to explain the relationship between society and nature as the classics of sociology (Marx, Weber and Durkheim), worked on environmental issues so tangential in his theories. Thus, this research was conducted to understand the concept of nature of Karl Marx, if in fact the environmental issue has been addressed tangentially in his work, as this classical thinker reflected the society-nature relationship in socialist theory, and what the extent of their concepts to understand the ecological problem. Through analysis of his major works and some Marxists, we found a thought developed on the relationship between society and nature, a conception of the revolutionary nature of its time, and above all, a theory developed by means of historical materialism, which serves as a basis for analyzing contemporary ecological problems. Marx had already completed what sociologists have concluded only in 1960 that the degradation of natural resources is associated with the capitalist industrial development. Thus, we conclude that socialism and ecology are involved / Vivemos uma época turbulenta, de crises sociais e ecológicas, e muitos pesquisadores acreditam que estas estão associadas e, por muitas vezes, são de responsabilidade do sistema capitalista. Essa ligação dos problemas socioambientais somente foi percebida em 1960, com o surgimento da sociologia ambiental, concluindo que a degradação dos recursos naturais estava associada ao desenvolvimento industrial. Entretanto, para muitos pesquisadores sociólogos, essa problemática, vivida pela sociedade, não poderia ser profundamente analisada por não existir uma teoria que explicasse a relação sociedade-natureza, pois os clássicos da sociologia, (Marx, Weber e Durkheim), trabalharam a questão ambiental de modo tangencial nas suas teorias. Partindo dessa afirmação, foi realizada uma pesquisa para compreender a concepção de natureza de Karl Marx, se de fato a questão ambiental foi tratada tangencialmente em sua obra, como esse pensador clássico refletia a relação sociedade-natureza dentro da teoria socialista, e qual seria o alcance dos seus conceitos para compreender a problemática ecológica. Por meio da análise de suas principais obras e de alguns marxistas, verificamos um pensamento desenvolvido sobre a relação sociedade-natureza, uma concepção de natureza revolucionária para o seu tempo, e acima de tudo, uma teoria desenvolvida por meio do materialismo histórico, que serve como base para analisar a problemática ecológica contemporânea. Marx já havia concluído o que os sociólogos concluíram somente em 1960, que a degradação dos recursos naturais está associada ao desenvolvimento industrial capitalista. Dessa forma, concluímos que socialismo e ecologia são correspondentes

Thesis. 1975. M.Arch.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture. / Bibliography: leaves 86-88. / M.Arch.

This study argues that a comparison of human nature, divine grace, and theological virtue in the theologies of John Wesley and Thomas Aquinas provides resources for constructing iconic dignity as a vital theological perspective. Iconic dignity names a radiant-yet-reflected human worth rooted in the image of God, whose grace empowers response, transformation, and virtuous participation in God’s loving essence. The dissertation responds to the absence of a focused analysis of nature, grace, and virtue in Wesley-Aquinas studies—a nascent field with only three major publications (on historical-moral theology, Christian perfection, and pneumatology). The project’s contributions to theological reflection and practice have become especially clear in our current context of social-existential fragmentation and bigotry. Iconic dignity begins with an intuitional methodology and proceeds with textual analysis, critically comparative construction, and practical contributions. These methods characterize iconic dignity as participatory, incarnational, relational, dynamic, encompassing, transformational, and loving. These characteristics embrace our inter/personal nature, our development in grace, and our work with God toward virtuous flourishing. The dissertation’s explanatory power and generative potential capacitates constructive doctrinal reflection and practical embodiments of iconic dignity. After detailing “iconicity” and “dignity,” the theological comparison of Wesley and Aquinas traces general contours of their shared theological anthropology. As embodiments of God’s image, humans possess intellect, will, and volitional liberty, which together establish our moral capacity. This holistic anthropology is then analyzed with respect to human acts, their relation to habitus (Aquinas) and tempers (Wesley), and sin (actual and original). Following a constructive exploration of iconic dignity and ecological stewardship, the study shifts to grace. Close stereoscopic reading reveals the congruity of grace’s nature, divisions, and dynamics for Wesley and Aquinas. Throughout, the constructive comparison illustrates the strength of iconic dignity’s theological perspective. Wesley and Aquinas are shown to be similar enough to converse but different enough to contribute: to one another, out of their shared theological departures and destinations; and to our practical-theological conversations, including a repudiation of total depravity, an embrace of universal grace, joint ecological stewardship, radical hospitality, and ongoing Methodist-Catholic ecumenical dialogues. Still, many opportunities remain for developing iconic dignity in practice. First, more research is needed on the means of grace and the nature and exercise of theological virtue for Wesley and Aquinas. Second, future research should focus on additional topics like ecclesiology, moral virtue, sociality, and an expansion beyond Wesley and Aquinas. Finally, the need remains for further study into practices of iconic dignity, including the development of stereoscopic reading for local congregations and communities.

Neste texto apresento um modo de perceber o ambiente da arte sob o ponto de vista da filosofia da fotografia. Inicialmente, elaboro a noção de uma natureza fotográfica da arte utilizando como base os pensamentos de Malraux, Dubois e Flusser. Em seguida, ao relacionar os três autores, desenvolvo a ideia de uma sistema de funcionamento para a arte baseado na própria fotografia. Para finalizar, utilizo meu trabalho visual como ponto de partida para cultivar a filosofia da fotografia e essa natureza da arte específica / In this text I present a way of perceiving the art environment from the point of view of the philosophy of photography. Initially, I elaborate a notion of an photographic art nature based on the thoughts of Malraux, Dubois and Flusser. Then, I relate these three authors to develop the idea of an art system based on photography itself. Finally, I use my visual work as a starting point to cultivate the philosophy of photography and the nature of this particular art.

This dissertation explores how the descriptive backgrounds of the Victorian novel helped to shape the emerging concept of environment in the nineteenth century. Thomas Carlyle introduced “environment” into English in 1827, spurring writers, scientists, and social thinkers to forge a diverse conceptual lexicon for describing the relationship between organisms and their material surroundings. Comte developed the idea of a singular organic “medium” that supports and nourishes all living beings, while Darwin imagined the plural “conditions of existence” as a chaotic field of competitive struggle. Whereas Zola’s “milieu” exerted destructive pressure on the individual, Spencer claimed that “environment” was in fact constitutive of life itself. This project argues that novelists turned to vivid description as a means of materializing these competing environmental discourses, and exploring their social and affective implications. From the noxious fogs of Bleak House, to Mary Mitford’s concern for the sufferings of uprooted vegetables, novelists gave detailed attention to the exchanges between individual bodies and the physical world. Each of my four chapters examines how a Victorian writer used a distinct type of description to explore an environmental concept: Mitford’s botanical detail and natural theology’s idea of correspondence between body and world; Eliot’s weather and Comte’s organic medium; Hardy’s architecture and Spencer’s theory of environment; and Stevenson’s islands and the discourse of circumstance. Whereas recent critical re-evaluations of description often prize its detachability from narrative, this dissertation thus argues that description was central to the Victorian novel’s ability to represent interactions between individuals and their surroundings. Through close analysis of the descriptive surrounds of nineteenth-century realist fiction (weather, atmosphere, landscape, architecture), this project shows how the novel’s described backgrounds shape and participate in plot in surprising ways, functioning not merely as static pictorial backgrounds to narrative, but rather as dynamic participants in it. The Victorian novel, this dissertation ultimately shows, places interactions between characters and their environments at the center, rather than the periphery, of its drama.

This dissertation argues that the journeys of naturalists, explorers, intellectuals, and engineers through the Amazon in the second half of the nineteenth and first decade of the twentieth century gave rise to perspectives that challenge foundational assumptions about technology in modern metropolitan centers. Chief among these assumptions are the ideas that technology contributes to specialization, the disenchantment of reality, the entrapment of the subject in the logistics of urban labor, and the removal of natural obstacles. The examination of the roles of nature and technology in texts and images of the period shows that travel and exploration were represented as experiences of enchantment and encounters with impassable terrains. The dissertation focuses on three interconnected cases to support its thesis: Euclides da Cunha’s reading of the naturalists in his essays on the Amazon; experiences and practices of exploration on the Madeira and Mamoré Rivers; and the construction of a railroad along these rivers to render the hauling of vessels over land and long voyages unnecessary. Developing a cultural-historical framework that counters narratives of technological domination and failure, the dissertation concludes that the tensions between exploration and engineering in these cases reveal the eschatological facets of the history of technology. The eschatological facets show both how technologies contribute to the construction of the farthest frontiers and how technologies themselves arrive at their final stages.

This work is about getting to know tufting as a technique and to design tufted products for home furnishing. It all began in Finland, where during springtime 2004, I got in contact with the technique of tufting for the first time. A very pleasant meeting that resulted in two carpets and a longing to continue and learn more. It was then that an idea for my final project started to take form. My wish was to design tufted “floor jewelleries” and cushions. I made a base for my project during a design project in autumn 2004. During a stay in New York I got inspired partly from colours and shapes from the Bauhaus movement, partly from the architecture of the city. The geometric forms associated to Bauhaus spoke to me. In New York I got fascinated of the lines and surfaces next to each other on the front of the buildings. The small details were important to the entire impression. The amazing perspectives were also very inspiring. It was a great feeling glancing up buildings that had no end and above all looking down on the top of the buildings and on the streets from the top of Empire state building. The collected material from the design project was then put together with impressions of Swedish nature. So I got the inspiration material that had feeling that was hard, soft, warm, cold, powerful, and fragile. Those emotions have been important to ad to the tufted carpets. Wool was chosen to give the felling of warmth and linen to ad shine. The smooth materials made a nice complement to the strict geometric forms. The group of tufted products contain one big pillow for the floor, seven decorative cushions and four carpets. The pillow for the floor becomes a plain and soft piece of furniture, strict in black and white. The decorative cushion is more colourful and finds its place on a sofa or armchair. The carpets are small and easy to place as “jewelleries” next to or in front of a piece of furniture, on their own, several together, but never with furniture on top. The tufted products fit in both small and big rooms. The little scale makes it easy to change and intensify the expression in a home environment. Through my choice of material I want to give the products a long lifetime. This partly has been a part of the esthetical expression. I have also considered nearby production and ecological alternatives in my choices of materials. A timeless form and colour scale makes the products stand outside trends. That gives the products sustainability and they can be a part of the home for a very long time. The carpets are industrially tufted at Hitex and the cushions are made by me, tufted by hand at Konstnärernas Kollektivverkstad in Gothenburg. An important part of the work was to tuft myself and get a feeling for all the possibilities in that specific technique. / <p>Program: Textildesignutbildningen</p><p>Uppsatsnivå: C</p>