In this work I reconstruct the physical and mental descriptions of perception in Aristotle. I propose to consider the thesis that αἴσθησις is a μεσότης (DA II 11) as a description of the physiological aspect of perception, meaning that perceiving is a physical act by which the sensory apparatus homeostatically counterbalances, and thence measures, the incoming affection produced by external perceptible objects. The proposal is based on a revision of the semantics of the word mesotês in Plato, Aristotle and later Greek mathematicians (mostly Nicomachus of Gerasa). I show how this interpretation fits the text, and how it solves problems that afflict the rival interpretations. I further develop a ‘non-dephysiologizing’ spiritualist reading of the additional description of perception as reception of forms without the matter (DA II 12). I show that Aristotle uses the expression ‘forms without matter’ to describe actually abstracted items in one’s mind rather than the way in which the form are received. In opposition to forms-in-matter, such items are causally powerless and metaphysically sterile: an F-without-matter somewhat determines the subject it is in (one’s mind content F) without qualifying or identifying it as an F-subject. Thus, we have a second ‘mental’ description of perception. Further parts of the thesis are devoted to settle interpretive questions raised by controversial statements about perception found in De Anima II 5 and III 2, and to discuss the question of how the mental and physiological descriptions of perception Aristotle offers are related. My conclusion is that Aristotle’s views combines a form of quasi-dualist vitalism about powers (the faculty of perception, and more generally the soul, are not just irreducible to matter, but also primitive and non-supervenient) which is nonetheless compatible with hylomorphism, and a form of epiphenomenalism (and thence the ‘bottom-up’ determination typical of modern supervenience) with regard to perceptual events (i.e., the activity of perceiving).

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Magister Curationis / This study focused on nurses who work the night shift, and on some of the aspects of their lives. The objectives of the study were to identify and describe these experiences with specific reference to the physical, social and work-related effects. / South Africa

Orientadores: Silvia Aparecida Mikami Gonçalves Pina, Lucila Chebel Labaki / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Civil, Arquitetura e Urbanismo / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-27T15:34:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Souza_EllenPriscilaNunesde_D.pdf: 21378800 bytes, checksum: 984e3b20727f666784ab7f7cfd65d0b1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015 / Resumo: A qualidade do ambiente construído envolve características espaciais que afetam a percepção e o comportamento de seus usuários. Fatores como ventilação, temperatura, iluminação, forma e volume devem ser trabalhados de maneira a propiciar ambientes adequados que promovam uma qualidade de vida desejável. Devido à percepção ambiental ser derivada do processamento do estímulo sensorial, é premissa desta tese de doutorado que o ritmo biológico e o estado psicológico dos usuários são diretamente influenciados pelas variáveis espaciais. Assim, a hipótese da pesquisa é que os ambientes hospitalares, controlados exclusivamente por sistemas artificiais de iluminação e controle de temperatura e associados ao intenso ritmo de trabalho, alteram o ritmo biológico dos médicos residentes ampliando a ocorrência de doenças psicológicas e potencializando as chances de erro de diagnóstico. O objetivo é identificar como o ambiente hospitalar em condições artificiais, especialmente de iluminação e temperatura, afetam a qualidade de vida e a percepção dos médicos residentes por meio da análise de variáveis fisiológicas e psicológicas. Para tanto, foram feitas avaliações sobre as variáveis do ambiente: i. quantitativa aferindo a temperatura, iluminação, umidade relativa, velocidade do ar e aspectos físicos; e ii. qualitativa com questionários de percepção visual, térmica, acústica e de uso do espaço. Os aspectos psicofisiológicos dos médicos residentes foram avaliados segundo: i. variável emocional com instrumentais validados no Brasil para delimitação da ansiedade, depressão, estresse e transtorno psiquiátrico no ambiente de trabalho, além do sono e sua qualidade e ii. variável hormonal mediante coleta salivar e uso do Teste ELISA para dosagem de cortisol e melatonina. A pesquisa é caracterizada como exploratória e transversal prospectiva devido às variáveis de desfecho observadas e segue o delineamento da pesquisa experimental. O estudo foi realizado em condições reais de uso no Setor da Imaginologia do Hospital de Clínicas da UNICAMP/Campinas. Dentre os resultados obtidos foram constatadas, dentre outros, respostas psicofisiológicas diferenciadas de acordo com as condições ambientais e o nível de residência médica; também se verificou que estas mesmas condições não alcançaram valores capazes de interferir integralmente na saúde psicofisiológica dos médicos residentes independente do nível. Esta pesquisa além de contribuir com a extensão do estado-da-arte, acrescentou informações à coleção de dados sobre a influência do ambiente sob condições artificiais de seus sistemas ambientais na percepção e saúde psicofisiológica de uma parcela da população hospitalar, auxiliando no desenvolvimento de melhorias na qualidade do ambiente daquela tipologia arquitetônica / Abstract: The quality of the built environment involves spatial characteristics that affect the perception and the behaviour of its users. Factors such as ventilation, temperature, lighting, shape and volume must be worked out in order to provide appropriate environments that promote a good quality of life. Because environmental perception is derived from the processing of sensory stimulus, the premise of this doctorate thesis is that the biological rhythm and the psychological state of users are directly influenced by spatial variables. Thus, the hypothesis of the research is that the hospital environment, controlled exclusively by artificial lighting and climate control, and associated to the intense pace of work, alter the biological rhythm of resident physicians increasing the occurrence of psychological diseases and increasing the chances of them making diagnostic errors. The goal is to identify how the hospital environment under artificial conditions, especially lighting and temperature, affect the quality of life and the perception of medical residents through the analysis of physiological and psychological variables. Therefore, the evaluated environmental variables were; i. quantitative gauging of the temperature, lighting, relative humidity, air velocity and physical aspects; ii. qualitative questionnaires regarding visual perception, thermal, acoustic and use of space. Psycho-physiological aspects of resident physicians were evaluated according to; i. emotional variables with validated instruments in Brazil for the demarcation of anxiety, depression, stress and psychiatric disorder in the workplace, in addition to sleep and its quality; ii. hormonal variables by saliva collection and the use of ELISA test for cortisol and melatonin dosage. The research is characterized as exploratory and prospective due to the observed outcome variables and follows the design of experimental research. The study was conducted in real conditions in the Radiology Department of the Hospital at UNICAMP/Campinas. Among the results found with resident doctors were different psycho-physiological responses according to the environmental conditions; also that these same conditions did not reach values able to fully interfere in the psycho-physiological health of physicians whatever the year of residency. This research contributes to the advance of the state of the art, adding information to the data already collected on the influence of artificial environmental conditions on the perception and psycho-physiological health of a proportion of the hospital population, contributing to the development of the quality of the environment through architectural design / Doutorado / Arquitetura, Tecnologia e Cidade / Doutora em Arquitetura, Tecnologia e Cidade