Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka hur Libressekommunicerar budskap visuellt i en kampanj. Kampanjen är#wombstories som är till för att uppmärksamma olikakvinnors berättelser och uppmuntra till att våga prata meröppet om kvinnokroppen.Genom två semiotiska bildanalyser undersöktes vilka visuellaelement Libresse har använt sig av i sin kampanjfilm. För attfå en övergripande förståelse av vad kampanjfilmen handlarom har en semiotisk analys över helheten av filmen gjorts.Efter det analyserades utvalda skärmdumpar för att på ettdjupare sätt få svar på frågeställningen.Resultatet av de två analyserna visade att de använder sig avolika ansiktsuttryck, färger och musik för att visualisera deolika berättelserna genom kampanjfilmen. Slutsatsen blev attLibresse använder sig av typiska visuella element. De skaparolika känslor hos tittaren som är lätta att känna igen ochkomma ihåg.

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The study aims to examine how teachers in physical education manage students who choose to not participate in class because of menstruation-related causes. The study will answer the following questions. How do teachers react when the students announce that they will not attend because of menstruation-related causes? How do teachers communicate with students who announce that they will not attend because of menstruation-related causes? How do teachers act when the students have announced that they will not attend because of menstruation-related causes? In order to answer the questions, nine teachers in physical education at different upper secondary schools in Stockholm, Sweden, were chosen to conduct qualitative interviews with. The respondents were three men and six women. The teachers in the study stated that students inform them about their menstruation differently; some are more forthright and others approach the teachers more cautiously and whisper it to them. Common reactions among the interviewed teachers were either to act neutral or evaluate the student's credibility. What the teacher responds the student varies from relating to herself, respond with facts or just answer "okay". How the teacher act in this situation differs among the respondents. A common action was to try to get students involved in regular education in any way. Others sent the student for a walk or to the gym, but it was also common to give the student a theoretical task. One teacher also highlighted that the student has to sit on the side and learn the content from the bench. All teachers reported that they had no difficulties to handle the situation, but an interesting response was that they lack education in the area and want to have more knowledge. The conclusion is that there are several ways to deal with a student who does not want to attend classes because of menstruation-related causes. As a teacher in physical education, more education about menstruation and exercise is desired and this requires more research! / Studiens syfte är att undersöka hur lärare i idrott och hälsa hanterar elever som väljer att inte delta på lektionen på grund av menstruationsrelaterade orsaker. Detta genom att svara på följande frågeställningar. Hur reagerar lärare då elever meddelar att de inte kommer delta på grund av menstruationsrelaterade orsaker? Hur kommunicerar lärare med elever som meddelar att de inte kommer delta på grund av menstruationsrelaterade orsaker? Hur agerar lärare efter att elever har meddelat att de inte kommer delta på grund av menstruationsrelaterade orsaker? För att svara på frågeställningarna valdes att genomföra kvalitativa intervjuer med nio lärare i idrott och hälsa från olika gymnasier i Stockholmsområdet. Respondenterna var tre män och sex kvinnor. Lärarna i studien uppgav att eleverna meddelar om sin menstruation på olika sätt; vissa är mer rättframma och andra smyger fram och viskar det. En vanlig reaktion bland de intervjuade lärarna var antingen att spela neutral eller att värdera elevens trovärdighet. Vad läraren svarar eleven varierar mellan att relatera till sig själv, svara med fakta eller helt enkelt bara "okej". Hur läraren agerar vid situationen skiljer sig mellan respondenterna. Ett vanligt agerande var att försöka få eleven delaktig i ordinarie undervisning på något sätt. Andra skickade eleven på promenad eller vidare till gymmet, men att ge eleven en teoretisk uppgift var också vanligt. En lärare lyfte också fram att eleven får sitta på sidan och lära sig innehållet från bänken. Samtliga lärare uppgav att de inte hade några svårigheter att hantera situationen men ett intressant svar var att de saknar utbildning inom området och vill ha mer kunskap. Slutsatsen är att det finns flera sätt att hantera en elev som inte vill delta i undervisningen på grund av menstruationsrelaterade orsaker. Som lärare i idrott och hälsa önskas dock mer utbildning om menstruation och träning och för detta krävs mer forskning.

A saúde do homem surge como questão de Saúde Pública frente às elevadas taxas de mortalidade masculina quando comparadas às taxas de mortalidade feminina. Há algumas décadas, os estudos sobre homens buscam relacionar essas estatísticas com a questão de gênero, demonstrando que o padrão de comportamento adotado pelos homens, baseado na masculinidade hegemônica, e socialmente imposto, está relacionado ao comportamento do homem em relação ao processo saúde-doença. Este estudo pretende conhecer a população masculina adulta usuária de um serviço de atenção primária à saúde o Centro de Saúde Escola Barra Funda Dr. Alexandre Vranjac (CSEBF-AV) e o modo como essa população se relaciona com o serviço: quem são esses homens, quais são as suas demandas e como eles estão inseridos na unidade. A partir do projeto de pesquisa intitulado Homens, violência e saúde: uma contribuição para a linha de pesquisa e intervenção em gênero, violência doméstica e saúde selecionou-se amostra de 237 homens usuários do CSEBF-AV. Os homens foram individualmente entrevistados a partir do instrumento questionário e seus prontuários lidos a partir da ficha de leitura de prontuários, buscando-se conhecer aspectos sócio-demográficos, de saúde e de uso do serviço desses homens segundo o tipo de matrícula/ porta de entrada no serviço: moradores e trabalhadores da área de abrangência da unidade, homens em situação de exclusão social e homens cuja entrada no serviço esteve vinculada a condições de saúde-doença relacionadas à vigilância epidemiológica (VE). Os dados coletados foram analisados nos programas STATA v. 9 e Epi Info v. 6.04b. Os homens, em sua maioria, pertenciam ao grupo etário de 35 a 54 anos, tinham 8 a 11 anos de estudo, pertenciam aos estratos sociais C e D, tinham relacionamento estável, moravam com a família em casa/ apartamento e estavam empregados. Em relação às questões de saúde, a maioria dos homens entrevistados mostrou boa percepção de sinais e sintomas, queixas gerais (43,5%) como principal demanda em saúde, uso importante de bebidas alcoólicas (62,4%), uso do preservativo masculino para prevenção de infecções sexualmente transmissíveis (54%) e opção (do casal) por laqueadura ou pílula anticoncepcional como método contraceptivo (41,4%). Em relação ao uso do serviço a maioria dos homens fazia uso de consultas programadas (70%) e buscava primeiramente um centro de saúde frente a um problema de saúde (57,8%). Observamos que moradores e trabalhadores da área apresentaram padrão de uso do serviço e de demandas semelhantes, enquanto que os homens seguidos pela VE apresentaram padrão específico de uso do serviço e demandas, devido à sua inserção diferenciada no serviço. Os homens em situação de exclusão destacaram-se por apresentar diversas características que os tornam mais vulneráveis às questões de saúde, desde fatores sócio-demográficos a formas de uso dos serviços. Acreditamos que as diferenças observadas entre os quatro grupos de homens poderiam estar relacionadas às questões de gênero, além de outros fatores. Ainda, a maior vulnerabilidade dos homens em situação de exclusão às questões de saúde aponta para a necessidade de uma organização do CSEBF-AV baseada nas relações de gênero, elaborando ações e estratégias que atentem para as necessidades comuns e específicas dos diferentes grupos de homens que fazem uso desse serviço. / The mens health has emerged as an important concern to Public Health. Its because of the male deaths rates are higher then the womens rates. In last decades, mens studies have been looking for relations between these statistics and gender, and they have demonstrated that the behavior pattern followed by men, based on hegemonic masculinity, and socially expected, its related to mens behavior and the way they have been taken care of their health. The present study intends to know the adult male patient population from a primary health care the Centro de Saúde Escola Barra Funda Dr. Alexandre Vranjac (CSEBF-AV) and how these population have been using the health center: who are those men, which are their health demands and how they are insert in this health center. From the research project Homens, violência e saúde: uma contribuição para a linha de pesquisa e intervenção em gênero, violência doméstica e saúde we have selected a source of 237 men patients who are users of this health center. They were individually interwied by researches and a survey was applied to their medical records, intending to know their social aspects, their health and the way they have been using the health center, according to their service?s register category: people who resides around the health center, people who works around the health center, people from lower social-economic levels and people that was registered at the service because of some health condition involving epidemiologic surveillance. The data were analyzed by STATA v. 9 and Epi Info v. 6.04b programs. Mostly men were aged between 35-54, they had had 8 to 11 years study, they were from middle class, they were living stable relationships, they were residing in house/ apartment whit their family and they were mostly workers. About health issues, mostly men showed to be able to perceive signs of health problem, general demands appeared being their main health demand (43,5%), they were evidence for alcoholic abuse (62,4%), safe sex practices (54%), birth control depending on women (41,4%). About the use of the health center mostly men were used to come up to their doctors appointment (70%), they looked first for health center when they were feeling ill (57,8%). Men who resided around the health center and men who worked around the health center had similar use oh the health center, men that were registered at the service because of some health condition involving epidemiologic surveillance had specifics ways in using the health center. Men from lower socio-economic levels showed they were more vulnerable to diseases risk factors. We believe that the differences found among the groups of men could be related to gender, besides other factors. The CSEBF-AV organization based on gender will provide health actions improvement to all different mens groups.

Há poucos estudos sobre saúde mental masculina, em especial quando a temática é a violência. Os trabalhos sobre homens e violência sofrida destacam eventos fatais, oferecendo pouca visibilidade à violência não fatal. No presente estudo, analisou-se a associação entre esses dois eventos, cuja relação é pouco explorada. Metodologicamente, realizou-se um estudo transversal, com 477 usuários masculinos de serviços de atenção primária, de 18 a 60 anos. A seleção amostral foi do tipo consecutivo, por ordem de chegada em dois serviços de atenção primária na cidade de São Paulo. Foram coletadas características sócio-demográficas, de saúde e relatos de experiência de violência sofrida ao longo da vida (adulta, na adolescência e/ou na infância) e de violência testemunhada na infância. Também foram coletadas informações sobre uso do serviço de saúde mental e/ou queixas/diagnósticos psicológicos em consulta da clínica médica, por meio de leitura de prontuários médicos, para categorização da variável dependente sofrimento mental. As variáveis foram descritas por frequências e proporções, apresentando 29,4% (140) de homens com sofrimento mental. Dentre esses homens, 45,7% sofreram violência física e/ou sexual mais de uma vez na vida. Em relação à violência sofrida na infância e/ou adolescência, metade dos homens com sofrimento mental havia tido algum episódio de violência psicológica, física e/ou sexual antes dos 18 anos. E 61,4% dos homens haviam perpetrado algum tipo de violência além de sofrê-la durante a vida. Por meio de análise multivariada desenvolveram-se três modelos de Poisson com variância robusta do tipo confirmatório, ajustados pelas variáveis sócio-demográficas, testemunho de violência na infância e uso de substância psicoativa. No modelo I, sofrimento mental foi significativamente associado apenas com sofrer violência física e/ou sexual recorrente. (RP:1,75; IC95%:1,13-2,72), já que a violência em episódio único perdeu a significância após a inclusão da variável de uso de substância psicoativa. No modelo II, o mesmo desfecho esteve associado a sofrer violência antes dos 18 anos, sendo que sofrer violência na infância e/ou adolescência aumenta o risco de sofrimento mental na vida adulta em 1,93 vezes (IC95% 1,25-3,00), e sofrer qualquer tipo de violência apenas na vida adulta não se mostrou associado a sofrimento mental. No modelo III, a exposição a sofrer e perpetrar violência foi associado a sofrimento mental, enquanto apenas sofrer ou apenas perpetrar não mostraram significância estatística. Em todos os modelos, o uso de substância psicoativa representou uma importante variável de ajuste. Conclui-se que há importante relação entre sofrimento mental e sofrer violência, e a ocorrência desses episódios nos primeiros anos de vida podem provocar agravos à saúde mental na vida adulta, chegando a ter associação com 61,4% desses agravos. Tal relação, já salientada nos estudos com mulheres, é relevante também para a saúde dos homens, chamando a atenção para a igual necessidade da identificação nos serviços de saúde de situações de violência experimentadas pela população masculina, bem como maior atenção aos agravos em saúde mental nessa população / There are few studies about mens mental health, particularly when the theme is violence. The studies on men and suffered violence highlight fatal events, providing poor visibility to non-fatal violence. In this study, it was analyzed the association between these two events, which relation is little explored. It was performed methodologically a cross sectional study, with 477 men using primary care services, aged from 18 to 60 years. The screening was consecutive, in order of arrival in two primary care services in the city of São Paulo. Social-demographic, health characteristics and reports of experience of violence suffered over lifetime (adult life, adolescence and/or childhood) and of violence witnessed during childhood were collected. It was also collected information on the usage of mental health service and/or psychological complaints/diagnoses during consultation at medical clinics by reading medical records, for categorization of the dependent variable mental suffering. The variables were described per frequency and proportions, showing 29.4% (140) of men with mental suffering. Among these men, 45.7% have suffered physical and/or sexual violence more than once in life. Regarding the violence suffered during childhood and/or adolescence, half of the men showing mental suffering had suffered some episode of psychological, physical and/or sexual violence before the 18 years of age. And 61.4% of them had perpetrated some type of violence besides suffering it during lifetime. Using multivariate analysis, three confirmatory Poisson models with robust variance of were developed, adjusted by variables of social-demographic, witness of violence during childhood and usage of psychoactive substance. In the Model I, mental suffering was significantly associated only to suffering recurrent physical and/or sexual violence. (PR:1.75;95%CI:1.13-2.72), since violence in only episode lost significance after inclusion of the variable of psychoactive substance usage. In the Model II, the same outcome had been associated to suffering violence before the 18 years of age, considering that suffering violence during childhood and/or adolescence increases the risk of mental suffering in adult life by 1.93 times, (95%CI:1.25-3.00), and suffering any type of violence only in the adult life was not observed to be associated to mental suffering. In the Model III, suffering and perpetrating violence was associated to mental suffering, while suffering only or perpetrating only did not show statistical significance. In all the models, psychoactive substance usage represented an important adjustment variable. This study came to the conclusion that there is an important relation between mental suffering and suffering violence, and the occurrence of these episodes during the early years of life can cause adverse effects to mental health in adult life, being associated to up to 61,4% of these aggravations. Such relation, already highlighted in studies with women, is also relevant for mens health, drawing attention to the similar need of identification in the health services for situations of violence experimented by the male population, as well as greater attention to the aggravations on mental health in such population

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / O estudo analisa os discursos de homens e da revista Mens Health acerca do corpo, saúde e sexualidade. Para a construção dos discursos dos homens, realizamos entrevistas semi-estruturadas com 19 homens leitores e nove não leitores. E dois eventos de grupos focais que reuniram 11 homens no total. Foi entrevistado também o editor da revista. Os principais conceitos norteadores deste trabalho foram os de gênero, sexualidade, poder e masculinidades hegemônicas e subalternas. Evidenciou-se que a revista está fortemente atrelada à sociedade de consumo ao estimular a inserção dos homens em um mercado de produtos e serviços até então estranhos a esse gênero. E que suas concepções sobre saúde estão relacionadas a de bem-estar e de individualização que se articulam com os discursos hegemônicos que vêm dando sentido às concepções de saúde e doença atualmente. A publicação investe fortemente na ideia de um corpo musculoso que proporcionará ganhos sociais, sexuais e profissionais aos sujeitos, nem sempre atrelado às questões de saúde. Ela ratifica a heterossexualidade do leitor projetado, expondo o corpo feminino e o sexo heterossexual e silenciando sobre outras formas de sexualidade. Por isso consideramos que a revista se vincula a uma concepção tradicional da masculinidade. Seus discursos, no entanto, não são monolíticos ou isentos de contradição, e também manifestam nuances relativas a um modelo mais contemporâneo de masculinidade, como quando apresenta a ideia de uma nova pedagogia da sexualidade e a valorização dos cuidados estéticos e de saúde com o corpo, aspectos considerados pouco próximos da masculinidade tradicional. Com relação aos discursos dos homens, evidenciou-se que a classe social e a geração são as variáveis mais importantes nas suas concepções sobre corpo, saúde e sexualidade masculina. Que, entre os não leitores, de modo geral, há evidências mais fortes de flexibilização com relação aos padrões mais tradicionais entre os homens mais jovens e/ou de classes mais altas. Enquanto os homens com idade acima dos 30 anos e das classes populares estão mais atrelados às concepções tradicionais. Entre os leitores, observou-se uma grande reflexividade com relação aos discursos da revista demonstrando que eles vêm se apropriando de forma importante dos discursos da revista e ressignificando suas concepções e práticas sobre os três temas da pesquisa a partir desses discursos. E, assim como os discursos da revista, os discursos dos homens, leitores ou não, também apresentaram aspectos contraditórios, ora demonstrando mais afiliação a um novo modelo de masculinidade, ora ao modelo mais tradicional. / The study analyzes the speeches of men and Men's Health magazine about the body, health and sexuality. For the construction of discourses of men, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 19 men and nine readers not readers. And two events focus groups that gathered 11 men in total. Was also interviewed the magazine's editor. The main drivers of this work were the concepts of gender, sexuality, power and hegemonic and subordinate masculinities. It was evident that the magazine is strongly tied to the consumer society to encourage the inclusion of men in a market for goods and services hitherto strangers to this genre. And that his views on health are related to wellness and individualization that articulate with the hegemonic discourses that are giving meaning to the concepts of health and illness today. The publication invests heavily in the idea of a muscular body that will provide professionals subject to social gains, sexual, and not always linked to health issues. She confirms heterosexuality designed the reader, exposing the female body and heterosexual sex and silencing of other forms of sexuality. Therefore we consider that the magazine is linked to a traditional conception of masculinity. His speeches, however, are not monolithic or free from contradiction, and also express nuances on a more contemporary model of masculinity, as when he presents the idea of ​​a new pedagogy of sexuality and appreciation of aesthetic and health care with the body aspects considered next bit of traditional masculinity. With regard to the resources of men, it became clear that social class and generation are the most important variables in their conceptions about body, health and male sexuality. That, among non-readers in general, there is stronger evidence of flexibility with respect to more traditional patterns between younger and / or more upper class men. While men above the age of 30 years and the lower classes are more tied to traditional concepts. Among readers, there was a big reflexivity with regard to the resources of the magazine showing that they are appropriating important form of speeches and magazine redefines its conceptions and practices of the three research themes from these speeches. And just like the speeches of the journal, the speeches of men, or not readers also showed contradictory aspects, sometimes showing more affiliation to a new model of masculinity, sometimes the more traditional model.

Den här studien undersöker tillgänglighet till mensskydd, utifrån ett universal design-perspektiv, vid ett urval gym- nasieskolor i Sundsvall februari och mars månad 2019 samt hur eleverna upplever tillgängligheten. En kvalitativ inter- vjustudie, bestående av intervjuer med skolsköterskor och elever vid skolorna, genomfördes utifrån en noga formule- rad intervjumanual, där resultatet sedan sammanställdes. Resultatet beskrevs, tolkades och analyserades sedan innan slutsatser kunde dras. Resultatet visar på att tillgänglighet till mensskydd, vid ett urval av gymnasieskolor i Sundsvall under februari och mars månad 2019, utifrån ett universal design-perspektiv, är bristfällig.

Diabetes mellitus und seine Folgeerkrankungen haben aufgrund der hohen Prävalenz in der Bevölkerung eine starke medizinsche Relevanz. Dabei stellen die durch eine diabetische Neuropathie ausgelösten Schmerzen ein Herausforderung in der Schmerztherapie dar. Die Behandlung dieser Schmerzen mit TENS ist eine oft angewendete Therapieoption, welche jedoch in ihrer Wirksamkeit nicht ausreichend evidenzbasiert gesichert ist, da es methodenbedingt bei klinischen Studien zur Wirksamkeit der TENS-Therapie oft Zweifel an einer ausreichenden Verblindung gibt. Die vorliegende Studie untersuchte deshalb Mikro-TENS als Therapiealternative zur TENS-Behandlung im Rahmen einer einfach verblindeten, placebokontrollierten, klinischen Studie mit 41 Patienten. Die Placebokontrolle ist bei der Anwendung von Mikroreizstrom möglich, weil dieser unterhalb der Wahrnehmungsschwelle für sensible Nervenfasern liegt. Damit können die Patienten nicht zwischen MENS-Therapie und Placebo-Therapie unterscheiden. Die Diabetespatienten wurden über 4 Wochen in insgesamt 12 Sitzungen à 30 Minuten mit Mikro-TENS am distalen Fuß beidseits behandelt. Als Messgrößen dienten der PDI, der NPS, der ADS und die durchschnittliche Schmerzintensität auf einer numerischen Ratingskala von 0 bis 10. Diese Variablen wurden jeweils zu Beginn der Studie, direkt am letzten Behandlungstag und einen Monat nach der letzten Behandlung erhoben. Der PDI Score zeigte nach vierwöchiger Therapie eine durchschnittliche absolute Reduktion von 4,27 \\pm 4,17 in der Verum- und 3,79 \\pm 7,71 in der Placebogruppe. Eine mindestens 30 %ige Verbesserung des NPS- und PDI-Scores wurde als Ansprechen auf die Therapie gewertet. Insgesamt konnte bei circa 30 % der 40 Studienteilnehmer eine Therapieresponse festgestellt werden. Laut NPS sprachen nach vier Wochen Reizstromtherapie 6 von 22 Patienten in der Verumgruppe und 10 von 19 Patienten in der Placebogruppe auf die Therapie an. Die Unterschiede zwischen den Studiengruppen waren statistisch nicht signifikant. Letztlich konnte die Wirksamkeit von Mikroreizstromtherapie bei diabetischer Polyneuropathie nicht bestätigt werden. Mit einer größeren Fallzahl und damit größerer statistischer Power könnte möglicherweise ein geringer Unterschied im Therapieerfolg zwischen Placebo- und Verumbehandlung statistisch signifikant werden. Dieser Therapieeffekt wäre aber möglicherweise schmerztherapeutisch als nicht relevant einzuschätzen, da es sich mit 80 %iger Wahrscheinlichkeit (Power der vorliegenden Studie) um eine Reduktion von weniger als 15 Punkten im PDI handelt. Daher kann die Mikroreizstromtherapie zur symptomatischen Therapie bei schmerzhafter diabetischer Neuropathie (dPNP) nicht empfohlen werden. Auf die Wirksamkeit von TENS mit höheren Stromstärken zur Behandlung der dPNP kann anhand der vorliegenden Studie kein Rückschluß gezogen werden. Es profitieren dennoch circa 30 % der insgesamt 40 Studienteilnehmer von der Intervention. Da in der Schmerztherapie Ansprechraten auf eine Placebotherapie von 7 bis 49 % möglich sind, stellt TENS eine Möglichkeit dar, diesen Effekt zusätzlich mit relativ geringem Aufwand auszuschöpfen. Vorteile in der Therapie mit Reizstrom sind außerdem geringe Kosten, nahezu keine unerwünschten Nebenwirkungen und fast kein Vorliegen von Kontraindikationen. Damit ist diese zusätzliche Therapieoptionen der dPNP neben einer optimale Einstellung des Blutzuckers und einer medikamentösen Schmerztherapie nicht außer Acht zu lassen und die Wirksamkeit komplexer Therapieprogramme mit Langzeitreizstromtherapie sollte in weiteren kontrollierten klinischen Studien eruiert werden.

Modernity as a philosophical and intellectual movement has cultivated a perspective of humanity as separated from nature. In modernity, nature is valuable only insofar as it has instrumental value (i.e. that it may be utilized for the benefit of humanity). This study postulates that such an approach to the nature-human relationship may have led to considerable environmental damage and misuse, and that the perspective of humanity as separate from nature should be re-evaluated. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin‟s philosophy is investigated as a possible means to overcome this dichotomy. De Chardin describes varying ontologies that are embedded in the evolutionary process and against which all human relevance and action must be sketched. This differs from an evolutionistic approach, because whilst engaging with scientific discourse (which tends to be reductionist in approach), De Chardin also incorporates spiritual and religious ideas and perspectives. Furthermore, De Chardin‟s ideas differ from vague pantheism, irrationally or mystically formulated, because he engages with the terminology used in modern science and re-evaluates this terminology‟s application and conclusions in relation to his newly developed cosmology (or cosmogenesis). Several questions are central in this study: Firstly, could De Chardin‟s approach be incorporated into the natural scientific discourse? Secondly, does De Chardin‟s cosmology provide new avenues for investigation into a closer and more sustainable relationship between humanity and the natural world? In this study it is postulated that De Chardin does make a contribution to a more sustainable relationship between nature and humanity through his perspective of a holistic ontology that differs from simple mysticism and his postulation of the noosphere, which leads to a new evaluation of humanity‟s technology use. / MPhil, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

Modernity as a philosophical and intellectual movement has cultivated a perspective of humanity as separated from nature. In modernity, nature is valuable only insofar as it has instrumental value (i.e. that it may be utilized for the benefit of humanity). This study postulates that such an approach to the nature-human relationship may have led to considerable environmental damage and misuse, and that the perspective of humanity as separate from nature should be re-evaluated. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin‟s philosophy is investigated as a possible means to overcome this dichotomy. De Chardin describes varying ontologies that are embedded in the evolutionary process and against which all human relevance and action must be sketched. This differs from an evolutionistic approach, because whilst engaging with scientific discourse (which tends to be reductionist in approach), De Chardin also incorporates spiritual and religious ideas and perspectives. Furthermore, De Chardin‟s ideas differ from vague pantheism, irrationally or mystically formulated, because he engages with the terminology used in modern science and re-evaluates this terminology‟s application and conclusions in relation to his newly developed cosmology (or cosmogenesis). Several questions are central in this study: Firstly, could De Chardin‟s approach be incorporated into the natural scientific discourse? Secondly, does De Chardin‟s cosmology provide new avenues for investigation into a closer and more sustainable relationship between humanity and the natural world? In this study it is postulated that De Chardin does make a contribution to a more sustainable relationship between nature and humanity through his perspective of a holistic ontology that differs from simple mysticism and his postulation of the noosphere, which leads to a new evaluation of humanity‟s technology use. / MPhil, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013