Thesis--Philipps-Universität Marburg/Lahn. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 231-236).

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Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Texas, Dec., 2007. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.

This thesis analyzes the direction of time problem in the framework of philosophy of science. The radiation arrow, Newtonian arrow, thermodynamical arrow and quantum mechanical arrow have been studied in detail. The importance of the structure of space-time concerning direction of time is emphasized.

This thesis is a comparison of the philosophical systems of Zen Buddhism, which is an Eastern Philosophy, with Ludwig Wittgenstein&rsquo / s philosophical studies, who is an extraordinary name of the Western Philosophy in the 20th century. The history and sources of Zen Buddhism were given with its adoption in the use of language and arts. Besides, this study exemplifies the philosophy of Zen Buddhism with the examples from the life story of Wittgenstein. The thesis is written with a full awareness of the sensitivity of comparing different systems which always embody counterexamples and speculations. This is the reason why speculative ideas and resources were deliberately ignored. The aim is to contribute the cultural life of Turkey by taking such a subject to the academic milieu. Moreover, Turkey is the passage of the East and the West both geographically and culturally. There are resemblances between Zen and Wittgenstein by means of method and the useof language. Furthermore, it was given the names of the books that Wittgenstein read and the philosophers who influenced Wittgenstein. The parallels between Zen and Wittgenstein are justified.

The plurality of worlds has had a long history in England, which has not gone unnoticed by scholars. Historians have tended to view this English pluralist tradition as similar to those found on the continent, and in doing so have failed to fully understand the religious significance that the plurality of worlds had on English thought and society. This religious significance is discovered through a thorough investigation of plurality as presented by English natural philosophers and theologians, and in so doing reveals much about England in the seventeenth century. As natural philosophers incorporated plurality within the larger framework of natural theology, it became a weapon of science and reason to be used against the unreasonable atheists of late seventeenth-century England.

The aim of this study is to make an inquiry on the nature and the development of dualities in Bergson&rsquo / s philosophy. Since the nature of each duality differs from the others and the dualistic pattern inherent in Bergsonian philosophy is subject to change, we base our study on a chronological structure in order to comprehend better how this pattern changes. We claim that such an inquiry will yield relevant outcomes with regard to ontological and epistemological evolution of Bergson&rsquo / s thought. To state more precisely, we are of the idea that the modification in the dualistic pattern in Bergson&rsquo / s ontology is reflected in a parallel manner in his epistemology. The fundamental question that shows us the way to follow in our study is whether the elements of the dualities (whether they be ontological or epistemological) are reconciled by Bergson or they are left as absolutely distinct elements. At the end of the inquiry regarding that question, which we believe can be taken as an inspiring point in developing new approaches especially to epistemological problems, our conviction is that Bergson points out to a meeting point.

En 1638, paraît en Angleterre un ouvrage de John Wilkins (1614 - 1672), traitant de la pluralité des Mondes et plus précisément de la découverte d’un nouveau Monde : la Lune. Grâce à une argumentation dialectique, l’auteur tente de montrer la similarité entre la Terre et notre satellite. Il s’appuie pour cela sur le modèle copernicien et sur les observations astronomiques de Galilée. De cette similarité, en résulte, selon lui, l’idée que la Lune est peut-être habitée comme la Terre, par des êtres qu’il nomme Sélénites. Il ajoute qu’il serait possible de s’y rendre, et de commercer avec les habitants. L’objectif de cette thèse est d’étudier la place des sciences du vivant dans les théories sur la pluralité des Mondes, principalement dans l’œuvre de John Wilkins, et les différentes implications littéraires, théologiques et philosophiques qui en découlent. / In 1638, a book is published in England by John Wilkins (1614-1672), dealing with the plurality of Worlds, and more specifically the discovery of a New World: the Moon. With a dialectical reasoning, the author tries to show the similarities between the Earth and the Moon. For this he uses the Copernican model and astronomical observations of Galileo. From these similarities, Wilkins suggests the idea that the moon could be harboring living beings like Earth and then conjecture on the nature of its inhabitants, the Selenites. He writes that it may be possible one day to reach the Moon and trade with its inhabitants. The purpose of our work is to study the living in the discourse on the plurality of worlds, and observe its place in the work of Wilkins.