Ce mémoire a pour but de définir le rôle de l’expérience sensible à l’intérieur de la théorie de la connaissance des dialogues de maturité de Platon, à savoir le Phédon, le Phèdre, le Banquet et la République. Pour atteindre ce but, nous nous questionnons d’abord sur la notion de réminiscence, principalement par l’étude de l’extrait 72-77 du Phédon et des différentes interprétations qu’il est possible d’en donner. Ensuite, nous montrons que les quatre dialogues partagent une structure épistémologique commune, pour finalement nous concentrer sur les différentes fonctions attribuées à l’expérience sensible. L’objectif poursuivi par cette étude est de démontrer qu’en dépit de l’attitude critique de Platon à l’égard des sens et de l’imperfection du monde sensible, il n’en demeure pas moins que la perception joue un rôle épistémologique et pédagogique important : elle fait partie intégrante du processus qui mène à la formation de concepts chez tout un chacun, elle incite le philosophe en devenir à se retourner vers le monde intelligible, et elle permet au philosophe accompli de se remémorer, à chaque instant, les arguments en faveur de l’immortalité de l’âme et de la nécessité de la philosophie. / The purpose of this dissertation is to define the role of sense-experience within the theory of knowledge applied to Plato’s middle dialogues, namely the Phaedo, the Phaedrus, the Symposium and the Republic. To achieve this, we will initially examine the notion of recollection through the study of Phaedo 72-77 and its different interpretations. Then we will establish that the four dialogues share a common epistemology, to finally look at the different functions of sense-experience. The objective of this study is to demonstrate that despite Plato’s critical views regarding the senses and the imperfection of the sensible world, sense-perception nevertheless plays an important epistemological and pedagogical role : it is part of the process that leads to concept formation, it directs the philosopher-to-be towards the intelligible world and it allows the experienced philosopher to remember the arguments in favour of the immortality of the soul and the necessity of philosophy.

The thesis deals with a metaphor and its place in philosophy. It engages in a concept of metaphor as a transference with a help of Aristotle, Nietzsche, Ricoeur, and others, and explores consequences which follow from such a concept in the perspective of truth conditions. Firstly, it focuses on an exploration of a nature of the metaphor with a relation to an earlier philosophical tradition. Secondly, it examines categories of similarity, reference and imagination as fundamental constituents of metaphorical utterances. Furthermore, it also re-evaluates the distinction between literal and figurative meaning and living and dead metaphors to uncover the metaphor as a creative principle of language, which is characteristic by its actualizing and approaching power.

This dissertation concentrates on those factors which form the doctrine of G-dly reward and punishment. In other words, the philosophical approach amongst Jewish thinkers from the Middle Ages to the above subject, which taken together give expression to the doctrine of reward and ptmishment, or at least to the possibility of determining such a doctrine. The definition of correct behaviour is not of interest for pwposes of this dissertation, nor is human judgement of behaviour, even according to a G-dly doctrine; only the A-lmighty's judgement and implementation thereof The following points are of note. Research into the specific approach of one individual philosopher is not the aim of this dissertation, but rather a collective crystallised viewpoint according to various different Jewish philosophers, in order to reach a harmonious formation of the desir~ goal. Hence the details are also important since they assist towards the goal. The views of the philsophers are of interest and not their source, viz. from whom these views were received or by whom the philosophers were influenced, as is usually the case in research. Nevertheless, this aspect is elaborated upon in the introduction to this dissertation, in the style of the customary academic research approach. An analytical comparison is made between the opinions of various authors, taking into account the finer points of their words, as well as between the differing opinions expressed by a single author in his various writings, and conclusions are drawn, the results of which are highly significant. Besides the fact that it is not within our power to adjudicate between the views of the great Jewish thinkers, this is even more true here, due to the metaphysical nature of the subject, which makes logical, rational-realistic judgement very difficult. Nevertheless, some criteria have been established for making such a decision. In summary, this dissertation is an attempt to research many diverse opinions in the treasury of Jewish thought from the Middle Ages, and to extract those opinions from which a complete system of the doctrine of reward and punishment can be built. / Religious Studies and Arabic / D.Litt et Phil. (Judaica)

The process control domain is intrinsically complex and dynamic. It has proved to be difficult to construct and maintain process control systems under the traditional software development methodologies. Object Orientation is the latest paradigm in software development. The reason for its widespread acceptance is that it allows the application of the principles of hierarchical structuring and component abstraction which is essential in building large systems. It also promotes component reusability which makes systems easier to maintain and modify. For the process control domain, these are important benefits. Furthermore, most process control systems have physical devices which can be modeled naturally as objects with the timing and performance issues of each object directly addressed. A Target System Reference Model which addresses various aspects of the process control domain is proposed within this dissertation. The objective is to provide a frame of reference within which a process control system can function. / Computing / M. Sc. (Computer Science)

La thèse se propose d’étudier le développement des traités de dialectique à la Renaissance, en suivant un parcours chronologique qui mène de Lorenzo Valla à Pierre de La Ramée. Ces auteurs ne sont pas seulement abordés pour leur contribution aux arts du langage, il s’agit également de mettre en évidence la conception de l'esprit humain qu’ils défendent afin de mieux saisir la philosophie de l'esprit que les anime. En cela, notre réflexion ne saurait se limiter à réinsérer ces quelques auteurs majeurs dans la multitude, bien réelle, des traités dialectiques de l’époque. Définie comme « science des sciences », la dialectique présente, à la Renaissance, de fortes affinités avec la rhétorique. Il s'agit donc de comprendre comment l'analyse du langage à la Renaissance, largement tributaire du latin des auteurs classiques, s’oriente vers une topique de l’esprit consacrée aux formes multiples de raisonnement. En développant la discussion sur la dialectique, la thèse prend ainsi le parti d’insister sur le rôle de la théorie de la connaissance / The research proposes to study the development of the dialectical treatises during the Renaissance. In order to achieve this objective a path was chosen, going from Lorenzo Valla to Pierre de La Ramée. These authors are approached not only as offering a reflexion on language, but rather to detect the conception of the intellect they highlight. Having said that, it will not be the case to simply reinsert these authors, central for the understanding of the topic, in the actual swarm of dialectical treatises during the time, but rather to grasp the reflexion concerning the operations of the intellect, that animate them. During the Renaissance, Dialectic and Rhetoric will be brought closer and their cooperation worked in many different ways, the text will thus discuss how the analysis of the language set forth during the time, strongly supported by the Latin of classic authors, will be shifted toward a topic of the intellect, dedicated to multiples forms of reasoning. This 'dialectical' movement was not an uniform one, nevertheless, the works here consulted can be placed within the framework of a growing participation of the theory of knowledge in the discussions about dialectic, understood as the science of sciences

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This dissertation is the result of research work linked to the Graduate Program in Modern and Contemporary Philosophy of the Federal University of Uberlandia, the work is embodied in the Research Line "Social and Political Philosophy." The theme of the research was to investigate the concept of wisdom in poetic magnum opus of Giambattista Vico (1668-1744). The problem formulation of the research allowed a brief investigation of the philosophical context in which the works of Vico caught the debate on the formation of civil society, but especially the man who is. The Neapolitan philosopher runs through the history of philosophy and aims to discover the true wisdom of the ancients from its method elucidated here. This research topic is covered in the second chapter, which discusses Vico's arguments about the wisdom of men in dark times and fabulous. The third chapter presents the method of philosophical-philological of Vico, that based upon the concept of poetic wisdom examines the wisdom of Homer, or the discovery of the true Homer. In short, the dissertation allows further discussion of the philosophical assumptions of the history of nations that can be known with the approach of fables, which were responsible for the preservation of the first human ideas born in the world of gentility. / Esta dissertação é o resultado do trabalho de pesquisa vinculado ao Programa de Pós-Graduação em Filosofia Moderna e Contemporânea da Universidade Federal de Uberlândia; o trabalho está inscrito na Linha de Pesquisa Filosofia Social e Política . O tema da pesquisa foi a investigação do conceito de sabedoria poética na obra magna de Giambattista Vico (1668-1744). A formulação do problema da pesquisa permitiu uma breve investigação sobre o contexto filosófico com o qual as obras de Vico travaram o debate relativo à formação da sociedade civil, mas, sobretudo do homem que a constitui. O filósofo napolitano percorre a história da filosofia e se propõe a descobrir a verdadeira sabedoria dos antigos a partir do seu método aqui elucidado. Este tópico da pesquisa é contemplado no segundo capítulo, onde se discute os argumentos de Vico a respeito da sabedoria humana nos tempos obscuros e fabulosos. O terceiro capítulo apresenta a aplicação do método de investigação filosófica-filológica de Vico, que embasado no conceito de sabedoria poética analisa a sabedoria de Homero, ou, a descoberta do verdadeiro Homero. Em suma, a dissertação permite o aprofundamento da discussão dos pressupostos filosóficos da História das Nações que podem ser conhecidos com a abordagem das fábulas, que foram responsáveis pela preservação das primeiras idéias humanas nascidas no mundo da gentilidade. / Mestre em Filosofia

nÃo hà / O problema inicial que motivou a escrita deste trabalho surgiu da leitura de EmÃlio, de Rousseau. Nessa obra, foi possÃvel perceber a aÃÃo de diversos matizes teÃricos, como o racionalismo e o empirismo, atuando no desenvolvimento do plano educacional feito por Rousseau para o seu aluno imaginÃrio (o EmÃlio). A pergunta que conduziu essa curiosidade, desde entÃo, foi saber se existia uma teoria do conhecimento prÃpria ao pensamento de Rousseau e, se positiva a resposta, como ela estava ligada Ãs suas teorias da educaÃÃo. No conjunto de suas obras, descobriu-se a filiaÃÃo de Rousseau a autores como Descartes, Leibniz, Locke e Malebranche, como tambÃm a Condillac, Diderot, DâHolbach e HelvÃtius. à medida que se avanÃava na leitura da grande obra filosÃfica de Rousseau, percebeu-se uma teoria do conhecimento original, que aceita que pensamentos opostos convivam num mesmo espaÃo. A pedagogia de EmÃlio surgiu de uma miscelÃnea dessas teorias e de inÃmeras depuraÃÃes filosÃficas promovidas por Rousseau no interior do seu pensamento. O objetivo deste trabalho, portanto, à compreender a origem e o desenvolvimento da teoria do conhecimento de Rousseau, para, em seguida, entender como ele formulou suas teorias sobre educaÃÃo, principalmente no EmÃlio. O objeto desta pesquisa, alÃm da extensa bibliografia do pensador suÃÃo, concentrou-se na leitura e na anÃlise das principais obras dos filÃsofos acima mencionados. A metodologia empregada foi a da pesquisa documental comparativa, descritiva e crÃtica dos autores citados. O trabalho se divide em trÃs momentos: a primeira parte tem como intenÃÃo investigar os fundamentos da epistemologia rousseauniana atravÃs de suas influÃncias filosÃficas; a segunda parte prioriza as questÃes concernentes Ãs suas teorias da educaÃÃo; e a terceira e Ãltima parte procura investigar a ligaÃÃo entre teoria do conhecimento e educaÃÃo no interior do pensamento de Rousseau. / The initial problem which motivated the writing of this thesis arose from reading of Emile by Rousseau. In this work, it was possible to detect the influence of different theoretical approaches, such as rationalism and empiricism, inspiring the development of the educational plan designed by Rousseau for his imaginary student (Emile). The very core question of the present thesis regards to whether there was a theory of knowledge pertaining to Rousseauâs philosophical thinking and, if so, how it was related to his theories of education. In the set of his oeuvre, Rousseauâs affiliation to authors like Descartes, Leibniz, Locke and Malebranche, as well as Condillac, Diderot, DâHolbach and HelvÃtius was discovered. As the reading of the great philosophical work of Rousseau progressed, an original knowledge theory was discovered, of the kind which accepts the coexistence of opposite thoughts. Pedagogy, in the context of (the work) Emile, arose out of the miscellany of such theories and also for the intense philosophical maturing process on the core of Rousseauâs thinking. This study intended, therefore, to understand the origin and development of Rousseauâs theory of knowledge, and also to figure out how the philosopher formulated his theories on Education, especially in Emile. The object of this research, materialized through the extensive bibliography of the Swiss philosopher, was intensively read and analyzed. The methodology used was that of comparative, descriptive and critical documentary research of the mentioned authors. This research is divided into three sections: the first one intends to investigate the philosophical influence from different authors on the foundations of Rousseauâs epistemology; the second section addresses Rousseauâs theories of Education; the third and final part investigates the link between theory of knowledge and Education within Rousseauâs philosophical thought.

Selon la théorie cellulaire, issue des travaux de M. J. Schleiden, T. Schwann et R. Virchow au 19e siècle, le plus petit niveau d’organisation comprenant toutes les caractéristiques nécessaires et essentielles au vivant serait la cellule. Cette affirmation est aujourd’hui remise en question par les scientifiques et philosophes, d’une part à la suite de l’analyse d’entités biologiques ambiguës aux frontières (inférieures et supérieures) de la « cellule vivante », et d’autre part de l’avènement des récents enjeux en lien avec la création et la recherche de nouvelles entités vivantes. Un pluralisme épistémologique du concept de « vivant » a ainsi émergé, duquel aucune définition claire et unanime n’est encore acceptée. L’objectif général de cette thèse est de trouver des pistes de solution au problème du pluralisme épistémologique du concept de « vivant » ainsi qu’aux enjeux pratiques reliés à ce concept en biologie. Pour ce faire, je propose l’idée que les enjeux pratiques peuvent contribuer à résoudre le pluralisme conceptuel du « vivant », en particulier que la biologie synthétique est à même de nous offrir une définition du vivant permettant de dépasser l’actuel pluralisme de ce concept. Plus spécifiquement, en ce qui a trait à la question du pluralisme, j’expose dans cette thèse un pluralisme « biologique » et « philosophique ». Du côté « biologique », je démontre la flexibilité d’application ainsi que le pluralisme du concept de « vivant » grâce à l’exposition de cas ambigus d’entités biologiques issues de divers niveaux hiérarchiques de complexité du vivant. Ce faisant, je défends une position symbiotique et holistique d’organisation du vivant (permettant d’inclure et d’articuler ces divers niveaux hiérarchiques). Du côté « philosophique », je démontre le pluralisme du concept de « vivant » à la suite d’une analyse que je qualifierai de disciplinaire, ontologique, linguistique et épistémologique. Ce faisant, je défends une position gradualiste et opérationnelle du concept de « vivant ». En ce qui concerne les enjeux pratiques, j’explore principalement la discipline de la biologie synthétique, qui s’est donné l’objectif de construire de nouvelles entités biologiques vivantes et ainsi le fort potentiel de contribuer au développement de nouvelles connaissances sur le vivant. Ce faisant, je prends ainsi la position que la biologie synthétique peut apporter des pistes de solution pragmatiques (par la construction d’entités vivantes fonctionnelles) au pluralisme épistémologique du concept de « vivant ». Finalement, après une analyse de théories de la connaissance associées à ces enjeux, de définitions stipulatives, ainsi que de concepts du vivant issus de la biologie synthétique, je développe mon propre modèle du « vivant» (que je qualifie de biosynthétique), qui se veut « pragmatique » (en accord avec la pratique des biologistes synthétiques), « progressiste » (s’adaptant à de futures découvertes dans le domaine), « holistique » (s’appliquant à l’ensemble des niveaux d’organisation du vivant) ainsi que « minimaliste et universelle» (correspondant aux caractéristiques essentielles de base retrouvées au sein de toutes les entités vivantes). Cette thèse présentera ainsi « pourquoi » et « comment » la biologie synthétique peut répondre à la question de la définition du vivant. / According to the cell theory, resulting from the works of M. J. Schleiden, T. Schwann and R. Virchow in the 19th century, the smallest level of organization including all the necessary and essential characteristics to the living would be the cell. This assertion is now challenged by scientists and philosophers, on the one hand following the analysis of ambiguous biological entities at the boundaries (lower and upper) of the "living cell", and on the other hand the advent of recent issues related to the creation and search for new living entities. An epistemological pluralism of the "living" concept has thus emerged, from which no clear and unanimous definition is yet accepted. The general objective of this thesis is to find possible solutions to the problem of epistemological pluralism of the "living" concept and to the practical issues related to this concept in biology. To do this, I propose the idea that practical issues can contribute to solving the conceptual pluralism of the concept "living", in particular that synthetic biology is able to offer us a definition of the living allowing to overcome the current pluralism of this concept. More specifically, regarding the question of pluralism, I expose in this thesis a "biological" and "philosophical" pluralism. On the "biological" side, I demonstrate the flexibility of application as well as the pluralism of the concept "living" following the description of ambiguous cases of biological entities coming from various hierarchical levels of complexity of life. In doing so, I defend a symbiotic and holistic view of organization of the living (allowing to include and articulate these various hierarchical levels). On the "philosophical" side, I demonstrate the pluralism of the "living" concept following an analysis that I will describe as disciplinary, ontological, linguistic and epistemological. In doing so, I defend a gradualist and operational position of the concept "living". Regarding practical issues, I am mainly exploring the discipline of synthetic biology, which has set itself the goal of building new living biological entities and thus the potential to contribute to the development of new knowledge about life. In doing so, I take the position that synthetic biology can provide pragmatic solutions (through the construction of functional living entities) to the pluralism of the concept "living". Finally, after an analysis of the relevant theories of knowledge associated with these issues, of stipulative definitions, as well as of living concepts stemming from synthetic biology, I develop my own model of the "living" (that I call biosynthetic), which is "pragmatic" (in agreement with the practice of synthetic biologists), "progressive" (adapting to future discoveries in the field), "holistic" (applying to all levels of organization of the living) as well as "minimalist and universal" (corresponding essential characteristics found within all living entities). This thesis will present “why” and “how” synthetic biology can provide an answer to the question “what is life ?”.

This thesis deals with the philosophical works of Austrian thinker, Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925). Focusing mainly on his epistemological thinking, its main objective is to interpret Steiner's Theory of Knowledge. This work is structured in four chapters. After giving the reader insight into Steiner's life, it goes on to deal with the development of his thinking and work, with particular attention paid to the substance of his first and truly philosophical (not yet theosofical- anthroposofical) phase of working life. Following from this is a passage on his relationship with J. W. Goethe, whose intellectual (and especially scientific) legacy served as Steiner's main source of inspiration, while also laying out the basic form of Goethe's scientific methodology and its epistemological background, namely its empirical and simultaneously objective idealism, which deeply spoke to Steiner and motivated him to write his first philosophical work: Grundlinien einer Erkenntnistheorie der Goetheschen Weltanschauung (1886). The third chapter approaches this particular work, in which Steiner presents and describes the theory of knowledge, as aligned with that of Goethe. Analysed and interpreted are the three main successive sections of his work, in which he expresses his notion of experience, thinking and knowledge....

In the first chapter of my doctoral thesis, entitled The Political Implications of Nietzsche's Perspectivism, I argue that due to conflicting passages present throughout his oeuvre, Nietzsche is best understood as a twofold metaphysical sceptic. That is, a sceptic about the existence of the external world, and consequently, as a sceptic about such a world's correspondence to our perspectives. Nietzsche presents a threefold conceptualization of 'nihilism' and a twofold one of the 'will to power.' Neutral nihilism is humanity's inescapable condition of having no non-humanly created meanings and values. This state can be interpreted positively as an opportunity to create one's own meanings and values, or negatively as a terrifying incentive to return to dogmatism. The will to power is life before and as it becomes life, the unqualified will to power, and all the realities in it, the qualifiable will to power. The combination of these ontological concepts brings me to my second chapter and to the determination of Nietzsche's general epistemology: perspectivism. Perspectivism is an admittedly created, ontologically derived interpretation of knowledge, which both entails and goes beyond relativism. Nietzsche's perspectivism is constructed to support any norm that allows for univocal evaluations, not just Nietzsche's. Moreover, it can be derived from any ontology that conceptualizes life as a unit of growth and decay and human beings as creators of all their perspectives. These two elastic concepts allow me to propose, in my third chapter, that, although his texts disavow an all-inclusive democracy in favour of a new spiritual aristocracy, on the one hand, the proper political implications of perspectivism allow for democracy, while on the other hand, Nietzsche can be read as disapproving of an all inclusive or representative democracy, yet as approving of the direct democracy that arises naturally among elite peers.