No / In this paper I examine how Darwinian thought has been applied to understanding the evolutionary origins of depression. The application of evolutionary theory has produced a significant number of adaptive hypotheses for the origins of depression. Some of the main models are discussed. The ‘separation-distress’ emotional system described Watt and Panksepp (Neuropsychoanalysis 11:7–51, 2009), provides a convincing evolutionary-conserved neurochemical and emotional system which may form the basis of a depressive response in humans. By reflecting on these models, I discuss whether depression in humans can be considered to be an adaptation in evolutionary terms, or whether it is a maladaptive response to adverse life events.

This thesis is an attempt to reflect on the theme of phenomena and sensuous world in the context of environmentalism. It deals with the condemnation of phenomena in the modern era science and especially in the contemporary neo-Darwinian biology, and with various attempts at rehabilitation of sensory perception as a relevant way of relating to the world in biology (Adolf Portmann, Hans Driesch) and philosophy (phenomenology, particularly Maurice Merleau-Ponty). The main subject of the thesis is the eco- phenomenology of David Abram and a comparison of his approach with the one held by contemporary biology. Based on this comparison it is argued in what manner may the thoughts of David Abram, and the effort to rehabilitate phenomena in general, be of benefit to the environmental discourse, particularly in terms of forming an original epistemology and ontology and concerning the ethical motivations. KEYWORDS: Abram, phenomenon, environmentalism, neo-Darwinism, phenomenology, eco-phenomenology

The claim that a principle known as Irreducible Complexity (IC) is empirically discoverable is investigated successively from the perspective of engineering, then molecular biology and finally theology, with the aim of evaluating the utility of IC for an interdisciplinary dialogue between all three. In the process, IC is subjected to the principle objections presented against it in the literature, leading to the conclusion that IC is sufficiently resistant to scientific criticism to be accepted as a true property of certain living systems. The ubiquity of machine descriptors in the professional literature of molecular biology is scrutinised in the context of the role of metaphor in science, as well as in the context of entailment models. A Biblical Theological approach to the Bible is harnessed to establish a framework for estimating the extent to which the story of Christ warrants expectation of first order design formalisms in nature, and whether that story within itself provides any homomorphic exemplification of IC. Additionally, key theological criticisms of IC are evaluated as well as criticisms of the Neo Darwinian revisioning of the Biblical account. The overall conclusion is that a true interdisciplinary dialogue where IC is the nexus holds theoretical as well as experimental promise. / Thesis (M.A. (Dogmatics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

The claim that a principle known as Irreducible Complexity (IC) is empirically discoverable is investigated successively from the perspective of engineering, then molecular biology and finally theology, with the aim of evaluating the utility of IC for an interdisciplinary dialogue between all three. In the process, IC is subjected to the principle objections presented against it in the literature, leading to the conclusion that IC is sufficiently resistant to scientific criticism to be accepted as a true property of certain living systems. The ubiquity of machine descriptors in the professional literature of molecular biology is scrutinised in the context of the role of metaphor in science, as well as in the context of entailment models. A Biblical Theological approach to the Bible is harnessed to establish a framework for estimating the extent to which the story of Christ warrants expectation of first order design formalisms in nature, and whether that story within itself provides any homomorphic exemplification of IC. Additionally, key theological criticisms of IC are evaluated as well as criticisms of the Neo Darwinian revisioning of the Biblical account. The overall conclusion is that a true interdisciplinary dialogue where IC is the nexus holds theoretical as well as experimental promise. / Thesis (M.A. (Dogmatics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

The claim that a principle known as Irreducible Complexity (IC) is empirically discoverable is investigated successively from the perspective of engineering, then molecular biology and finally theology, with the aim of evaluating the utility of IC for an interdisciplinary dialogue between all three. In the process, IC is subjected to the principle objections presented against it in the literature, leading to the conclusion that IC is sufficiently resistant to scientific criticism to be accepted as a true property of certain living systems. The ubiquity of machine descriptors in the professional literature of molecular biology is scrutinised in the context of the role of metaphor in science, as well as in the context of entailment models. A Biblical Theological approach to the Bible is harnessed to establish a framework for estimating the extent to which the story of Christ warrants expectation of first order design formalisms in nature, and whether that story within itself provides any homomorphic exemplification of IC. Additionally, key theological criticisms of IC are evaluated as well as criticisms of the Neo Darwinian revisioning of the Biblical account. The overall conclusion is that a true interdisciplinary dialogue where IC is the nexus holds theoretical as well as experimental promise. / Thesis (M.A. (Dogmatics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Comprise pendant longtemps comme une entité sui generis dont les origines ne pouvaient être expliquées que par rapport à elle-même («omnis cultura excultura»), la notion de culture n’est plus le maître-mot du «culturalisme». Le naturalisme n’a pourtant pas non plus fini de faire d’elle une catégorie complètement naturalisée. Dans cette thèse, je propose une approche analytique et synthétique du concept éthologique de culture. Je pars de ses racines historiques, notamment autour de la notion de cultures ou traditions animales, en examinant le paysage épistémologique des mots-clés des auteurs publiant dans ce domaine, ainsi qu’en évaluant les engagements théoriques et philosophiques associés à certaines définitions de la culture. L’adaptationnisme méthodologique est également mis en œuvre pour révéler dans ce travail l’ampleur des conflits stratégiques, au sens de la théorie des jeux, présents dans certaines formes de transmission culturelle. L’ensemble nous mène à faire le bilan de ce que l’on a appelé la révolution éthologique dans la notion de culture, en soulignant les dimensions écologiques qui sont maintenant mises en avant, mais aussi les limites d’un concept qui précède de plusieurs siècles la compréhension scientifique des phénomènes concernés. / Long time understood as a sui generis entity whose origins could only be explained in relation to itself ("omnis cultura ex cultura"), the notion of culture is no longer the watchword that "culturalism" made of it. Naturalism, however, has not ended up turning culture into a completely naturalized category either. In this dissertation, regarding the ethological concept of culture, I am advancing an approach that is both analytic and synthetic. The historical roots of the notion of animal cultures (or animal traditions) are my starting point. Then follows a scrutiny of the epistemological landscape of author keywords in the field of animal cultures. An assessment of certain theoretical commitments and different philosophical positions associated to several definitions of culture is also offered. In addition, methodological adaptationism is put to work to reveal the scope of certain strategic conflicts that arise in a game-theoretic fashion in certain forms of cultural transmission. The whole enterprise allows us to take stock of what has come to be called the ethological revolution regarding the notion of culture. This is accomplished by underlining the ecological dimensions but also the limitations of a concept that, after all, predates by several centuries the scientific understanding of the phenomena it is purported to cover.