Proefschrift--Natuurwetenschappen--Universitet Leiden. / Résumé en néerlandais. Notes bibliogr.

Inaug.-Diss.--Bern. / Vita: p. [159]. Bibliography: p. 151-158.

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This thesis deals with the use of dishonest manners of obtaining information, particularly in connection with the tabloid media. The aim is to evaluate the practices of the tabloid media in gathering information and contribute to the discussion about their ethical borders. It also analyzes investigation of Leveson Inquiry, which was established in 2011 by the British government in response to the phone-hacking scandal connected with tabloid newspaper News of the World. The judicial commission leded by Brian Leveson was tasked to examine the ethical aspects of media and to find out if the system of media self-regulation is still effective. The thesis also includes an analysis of the tabloid environment in the Czech republic. It is based on interviews with representatives of major tabloids in this country.

Orientador: Maria Clara Bonetti Paro / Banca: Maria das Graças Gomes Villa / Banca: Alzira Leite Vieira Allegro / Resumo: Iris Murdoch é uma figura dominante na literatura britânica do pós-guerra e também, uma filósofa notável que constantemente denunciou o interesse excessivo da filosofia moral moderna pelos temas da vontade, da deliberação e ação. Para ela, o estudo da ética deveria ter como prioridade o desenvolvimento da percepção estética, a atenção à realidade e, principalmente, a intensa apreensão de outros indivíduos. Murdoch considera a apreciação da beleza na arte e na natureza, não apenas como um exercício espiritual mas também, como uma maneira para alcançar a bondade, evitar o egocentrismo e ganhar o progresso moral. Seus romances são centrados na arte e no amor, pois Murdoch afirma que a boa arte e o amor intenso são intimações da verdade que levam o indivíduo ao aprimoramento moral. The Bell, seu romance publicado em 1958, descreve uma comunidade religiosa anglicana e os vários incidentes decorrentes da substituição do antigo sino da catedral. Esses eventos incitam reflexões em relação a várias questões morais, como por exemplo: a influência da religião e das instituições de poder na conduta moral; o modo de suplantar interesses próprios e o egoísmo em benefício do próximo, o papel das mulheres na sociedade e a maneira pela qual a sociedade é injusta e intolerante com aqueles cuja sexualidade difere da maioria. Assim, o objetivo desta pesquisa é analisar como certas questões da filosofia moral de Murdoch estão apresentadas nesse romance, The Bell, por meio da expressão literária, mostrando que a arte literária e visual estão amplamente relacionadas à sua teoria moral. / Abstract: Iris Murdoch is a dominant figure of postwar British literature and also a remarkable philosopher who constantly denounced the excessive interest of modern moral philosophy in the themes of will, deliberation and action. According to her, the study of ethics should prioritize the development of aesthetic perception, the attention towards reality and mainly, the intense apprehension of other individuals. Murdoch considers the appreciation of beauty in arts and nature not only as a spiritual exercise but also, as a way to reach goodness, to avoid egocentrism and to gain moral improvement. Her novels are centered on art and love because she considers that great art or intense love can give intimations of truth, and move one towards moral perfection. The Bell, her novel published in 1958, describes an Anglican religious community and the incidents that happened due to the replacement of the old bell of the cathedral. These events incite moral reflections such as: the influence of religion and of the institutions of power in moral conduct; the way to supplant egoism for the benefit of others, the role of women in society and the ways society is unfair and intolerant of those whose sexuality differs from the majority. Thus, the aim of this study is to analyse in which ways some issues of Iris Murdoch moral philosophy are presented in The Bell, by means of the literary expression showing that the literary and the visual arts are closely related to ethics in her moral theory. / Mestre

This thesis is an investigation of the journeys towards a sense of identity or selfhood, achieved through honest and accurate appreciation of the lives of others, made by several female characters in the fiction of A.S. Byatt and the late Iris Murdoch. I believe that because Byatt and Murdoch value literature as a serious business that teaches as well as entertains, their writing can play a significant role in illuminating the lives of women by means of its portrayal of the resolution of women’s struggles. Women’s lives, despite the rise of feminism, are still not equitable. While many women strive to attain a balance of independence and intimacy – what Thelma Shinn calls a “meronymic” relationship – and connection within community, many do not succeed in this endeavour. The numerous challenges they face are difficult and confronting, and the stories of their efforts resemble journeys through a labyrinth or maze. Byatt acknowledges Murdoch as her literary mother, frequently citing Murdoch’s belief in the ability of literature to improve human life. While Byatt and Murdoch are interested in what characters learn about their relations to others and the world, they make it clear that characters are constructs, not real people. Yet their fiction is an ongoing exploration of the nature of reality and the nature of selfhood, particularly that of women. According to feminist theories, women are more constrained than men, and are therefore the focus of this study, but their experience of constraint is a more complex matter than experience of mere undifferentiated oppression, and is better represented by the structure of the labyrinth than that of the simple, linear journey. I agree with Byatt’s and Murdoch’s view of the importance of fiction as a means of commenting on human relationships, particularly with the notion of the need for connection within community. The labyrinth, together with the Bildungsroman, provides a paradigm for the complex experiences of Byatt’s and Murdoch’s female characters. All the characters in this study struggle to flee from restraint, seek purpose and agency in the world through interaction with others, and escape a feminised Plato’s Cave by learning to see more accurately, and all but one emerge from the maze into an autonomous and independent existence in community with others.

Using the specific case of Rupert Murdoch's satellite operations, this thesis examines changes and trends in U.S. and Chinese satellite media policies under the diffusion of neoliberal globalization. Over the last two decades, the landscape of the global media market has been transformed by the force of transnational media conglomerates coupled with unprecedented technological innovation, including satellite telecommunications. Murdoch's satellite operations in the U.S. and China were synchronous with this process and therefore illustrate the trajectories of these two countries' media policies under different ideologies. This historical case study, which covers 1983 to the end of 2006 in the U.S. and 1993 to June 2008 in China, demonstrates that, in order to strengthen political power and capital power, both the U.S. and Chinese media industries are going forward to corporatism in two different ways.

This work examines the relationship between moral philosophy and literature. I start by exploring a dialectic that exists between “prevalent view” theorists (i.e., D. D. Raphael and Onora O'Neill), who argue that the moral interest of literature lies in explicit deliberative arguments modeled in literary texts, and Diamondian realist theorists (i.e., Alice Crary, Cora Diamond and Iris Murdoch), who argue that the “prevalent view” is too narrow. Rather, the ways in which literature affects us emotionally can make ineliminable contributions to fully rational moral thought. In Chapter Two, I explore potential challenges to this position, drawn from the works of Simon Blackburn. He argues that there are epistemological concerns (it relies upon a faulty view of language), and moral concerns (specifically relativism) with Diamondian realism. I respond to these challenges in Chapter Three and conclude that Crary, Diamond, and Murdoch have given us a better picture of literature's moral value.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1988. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [266]-277).