This thesis calls into question a currently orthodox view of Ludwig Wittgenstein's post-Tractarian philosophy. This view is that the social and political implications of Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations are conservative and relativist. That is, Wittgenstein's concepts such as 'forms of life', 'language-games' and 'rule-following' defend and promote: a rule-determined and context-determined rationality; or an incomparable community-determined human understanding; or a neutralist, nonrevisionary, private or uncritical social and political philosophy. / In order to challenge and correct this conventional understanding the thesis sets up as 'objects of comparison' a variety of very different examples of the use of Wittgenstein in social and political philosophy. These uses are neither relativist nor conservative and they situate understanding and critical reflection in the practices of comparison and dialogue. The examples of this 'comparative-dialogical' Wittgensteinian approach are found in the works of three contemporary philosophers: Thomas L. Kuhn, Quentin Skinner and Charles Taylor. / This study employs the technique of a survey rather than undertaking a uniquely textual analysis because it is less convincing to suggest that Wittgenstein's concepts might be used in these unfamiliar ways than to show that they have been put to these unfamiliar uses. Therefore I turn not to a Wittgensteinian ideal but to examples of the 'comparative-dialogical' uses of Wittgenstein. In so doing I am following Wittgenstein's insight in section 208 of the Philosophical Investigations: "I shall teach him to use the words by means of examples and by practice. And when I do this, I do not communicate less to him than I know myself." Thus it will be in a survey of various uses and applications of Wittgenstein's concepts and techniques that I will show that I and others understand them.

Influenced by national Communists with whom he came in contact in Bolshevik Russia, Sevket Sureyya Aydemir developed in early republican Turkey a theory which he called theory of national emancipation movements. According to this theory, the emancipation of a colonial nation did not consist only of obtaining political sovereignty. A vanguard of revolutionary elite had to monopolize power, and lead the nation to the creation of a classless society. It was understood that the coming of this new society was the prerequisite for the success of socialist revolution in industrialized countries. Yet, although many in the Kemalist regime felt sympathetic to this theory, the regime did ultimately not endorse it. This is a significant turning point in modern Turkish history, for this response, among other indicators, shows that the new Turkish regime was willing to be a part of the European system despite the latter's record as colonizer and imperialist.

This Study shows that the Shehu's social writings are the reflection of his concept and method of implementation of tajdid. The basic goal of the tajdid was to recreate what he considered the ideal Sunni Islamic society. In order to achieve his objective he unfolded a plan of action which aimed at winning the support of the common people and the 'ulama'. For the people, he mounted a mass mobilization to boost religious learning, acquaint them with local beliefs adjudged as bad innovations, and exhort them about the impending End of Time. For the 'ulama', his plan was a reorientation of their attitudes toward moderation in theological and doctrinal matters, and accommodation of legal and religious views other than those of the Maliki School of Law. Further, he expected them to persuade the rulers of Gobir to change their un-Islamic ways and support the new movement. But when the 'ulama' chose not only to adopt a confrontational attitude but to prevail upon the rulers to take hostile measures against his followers, the Shehu took up arms against them and finally established a Caliphate.

No description available.

This dissertation argues that a pervasive ethical vision underlies the work of Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900): a concern for the possibility of human flourishing, in the modern world. Notwithstanding Nietzsche's celebrated claim to be "beyond good and evil", and against the standard interpretation of his "perspectivism", it is argued that Nietzsche makes qualitative, normative distinctions between higher, admirable modes of human existence and lower, contemptible ones, and that he wishes through his writings to foster the former and discourage the latter. Furthermore, it is argued that Nietzsche believes human excellence to be the property of a small minority of "higher" human beings, and that he identifies the project of encouraging human excellence with a political imperative of cultivating this gifted elite. The dissertation also argues that Nietzsche's picture of the fully flourishing human life suffers from a number of inconsistencies that may be traced back to his vacillation between two incompatible moral discourses: an Aristotelian discourse emphasising the importance of certain "external goods" (e.g. friendship, recognition, community) in a fully flourishing life, and a rival, Stoic-influenced discourse stressing the virtuous individual's total self-sufficiency. An examination is made of Nietzsche's stance towards the following key concepts and questions: truth, morality, virtue, instinct and "bodily" knowledge, nature, creativity, rationality, discipline and self-mastery, freedom, solitude and sociability, friendship, community, pity, breeding and heredity, women and gender relations, and domination.

In this thesis I set out WB Yeats' s conception of Irish national identity as a non-essentialist, inclusive, and imaginative construct. I do so against the backdrop of Edward Said's construction of Yeats, within the field of postcolonial theory, as a poet of decolonization who stops short of imagining Ireland's full political liberation from colonial rule. I propound that, on the contrary, Yeats does imagine full liberation in proposing his Doctrine of the Mask as a method for the creation of what, I argue, is an emphatically 'postcolonial' national identity. What this identity entails is elucidated by an examination of key issues of 'nation-ness' explored by various theorists, particularly Benedict Anderson; the historical contextualization of Yeats in the Ireland of his times; and a close reading of particularly Yeats's two major 'occult' works: Per Amica Si/entia Lunae and A Vision. Overall, I make several important contributions to 'postcolonial' Yeats scholarship - a far from exhausted field of study. Firstly, I demonstrate that the incorporation of the modernist Yeats's 'occult' dimension - a dimension disparaged and dismissed by Said - into Said's construction of Yeats as a 'postcolonial' figure serves to bolster rather than undermine this construction. Secondly, I demonstrate that, while Said claims Frantz Fanon goes further than Yeats in imagining full liberation in the colonial context, there are in fact striking parallels between Fanon's narrative of liberation in particularly The Wretched a/the Earth and Yeats's 'occult' works, particularly A Vision. The comparison with Fanon, I show, underlines that Yeats does indeed imagine full liberation, especially at the level of Irish national identity. Thirdly, I demonstrate the link, heretofore unnoted by Yeats critics, between Matthew Amold' s defining of the Irish as racially inferior and Yeats's liberationist discourse in Per Amica Silentia Lunae and A Vision. I show that Yeats subversively mobilises Arnold's terms to debunk Amold and buttress a distinctly Yeatsian conception of Irish national identity. Lastly, I highlight the 'Yeatsian' complexion of the contemporary South African context, arguing that the consideration ofYeats's conception of Irish national identity may assist South Africans in forging a nonessentialist, inclusive national identity and national unity. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2008.

No description available.

In this study of Mariano Jose de Larra's Articulos, it will be shown why Larra was not able to achieve his goal of improving the general lack of culture in Spain, which was, according to him, the biggest obstacle to progress. Larra, a liberal writer, wanted to help Spain become a liberal country, if necessary by revolution, which was to be brought about by his writings. He chose to write newspaper articles, a then still very new medium. Although celebrated for his biting satire, Larra's advice was not heeded. / The reasons for this are to be found in the special circumstances of the liberalization of Spain as well as personal circumstances of Larra, which will be addressed in the paper.

The purpose of this thesis is to engage in an objective study of the influence of the United States on Martis thought during his lengthy stay in that country, enumerating the different social problems that led him to change his preconceived notions of the country before his arrival, and how this influence strengthened his attitude after leaving prison. / An attempt will also be made to explain why his determination to struggle for the liberation of Cuba acquired continental dimensions, when he became the spokesman for what he called "the greater fatherland", after having anxiously observed the danger hovering over Latin America due to the growth of United States imperialism that threatened neighbouring countries. The thesis will utilize Jose Martis chronicles and articles which will be used for illustrative purposes. These will not imply any prejudice or bias. / In order to understand Jose Martis attitude towards the United States, it will be necessary to study Martis concept of "Our America". For this purpose, the essential ideas in Martis messages will be analysed, establishing a parallel between Martis action and his thought.

This thesis studies the intellectual development of the painter and writer Wyndham Lewis (1882-1957). His career is seen as an unique expression of the creative and critical intelligence within modern society. The liberal, secular, and individualistic aspects of Lewis's thought are stressed. / The thesis concentrates on four aspects of Lewis's life and work. First, Lewis's relationship with T. E. Hulme, usually described as one of direct influence, is shown to be adversarial and complicated by basic differences of their worldview. Second, the nature of Lewis's fascism is discussed using a new reading of Hitler (1931). Third, Lewis's view of the position and the role of the artist in society is explained by studying three of his models of culture and society, each drawn from a different period of his career. Finally, the relationship of Lewis and Marshall McLuhan is examined to determine the nature and extent of the ideas passed on.