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Contemporary views on the aesthetics of nature fall into two opposing schools of thought; the cognitive school where philosophers such as Allen Carlson believe that science can explain everything about the aesthetics of nature, and the non-cognitive where, for example, Arnold Berleant maintains that science is a sufficient though not a necessary condition for the aesthetic appreciation of nature. Berleant and others of his kind contend that an engaged multi-sensuous relationship with nature will manifest the required experience. Empathy with nature, specifically primal empathy is the focus of this research, but empathy can only be experienced from a phenomenological perspective. I have walked over two hundred miles in over 70 Florida state parks, including an autumn trip to Vermont and back. During this journey I came to experience a personal connection (empathy) with nature that I now believe is grounded in holism and a methodology of the sublime leading to the beautiful. The main conclusions derived from this research are: self-realized individuals will experience the connection I speak of more quickly than those who are not, and the genius nature artist through a creative act grounded in primal empathy can reveal the Ideas or Forms of nature to those who would otherwise never experience them. This research also concludes that empathy with nature, specifically primal empathy, is a new element that can reduce the cleft and help unify the two opposing views. / by Robert L.J. Axberg. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2011. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2011. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

This thesis examines the psycho-spirtual transormations of the journey towards Wholeness. Two questions presented themselves asking "What are the actual themes that emerge from the stories of those on a journey" and "What are the transformational experiences encountered along a journey towards Wholeness?" A phenomenological hermeneutic research format was used to investigate and understand the particular themes that emerged from the co-researchers stories. This methodology allowed the researcher to approach the phenomenon being investigated with respect and sensitivity in honouring the actual lived experiences of the co-researchers. Under this framework, research interviews were conducted with nine co-researchers; seven men and two women, which produced a set of narratives depciting the lived experiences of those on a journey towards Wholeness. Through a hermeneutical analysis of the deep meanings embedded within each narrative a collection of sub-themes were arranged and from them nine major themes emerged. They included: 1) vulnerable beginnings, 2) a journey into the unkown, 3) journeying through relationships, 4) a turbulent encounter with ourselves, 5) the guru-disciple relationship, 6) exposing the root of suffering, 7) the end of seeking, 8) radical understanding, and 9) luminous impersonal existence. A summary of the findings was provided along with a look at the limitations of this study and the implications this study has in the counselling relationship. It is clear that the powerful experience of letting go to separate self existence, conventional notions of space and time, and the journey altogether leads to the understanding of Wholeness right here, right now. / vii, 177 leaves ; 28 cm.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Melbourne, Dept. of Philosophy, 2007. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (p. 406-412).

Thesis (M.Arch.) - Carleton University, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 93-97). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (M.Phil.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2004. / Bibliography: leaf 69.

Recent research in visual object recognition has shown that context can facilitate object recognition. This study assessed the effect of self-relevant familiarity of context in object recognition. Participants performed a task in which they had to recognize degraded objects shown under varying levels of contextual information. The level of degradation at which they could successfully recognize the target object was used as a measure of performance. There were five contextual conditions: (1) no context, (2) context, (3) context and size, (4) context and location, (5) context, size and location. Within each contextual condition, we compared the performance of "Expert" participants who viewed objects in the context of their own house and "Novice" participants who viewed those particular settings for the first time. Ratings were performed to assess each object's consistency, frequency, position consistency, typicality and shape distinctiveness. Object's size was the only contextual info rmation that did not affect performance. Contextual information significantly reduced the amount of bottom-up visual information needed for object identification for both experts and novices. An interaction (Contextual Information x Level of Familiarity) was observed. Expert participants' performance improved significantly more than novice participants' performance by the presence of contextual information. Location information affected the performance of expert participants, only when objects that occupied stable positions were considered. Both expert and novice participants performed better with objects that rated high in typicality and shape distinctiveness. Object's consistency, frequency and position consistency did not seem to affect expert participants' performance but did affect novice participants' performance. / A regression analysis model that included Level of Familiarity, Contextual Information Level, Shape and Typical performance. Our results are in accordance with the priming model of visual object recognition. We concluded that a self-relevant context has its own consistency rules and that it affects visual object recognition by narrowing down the number of expectations and the search space significantly more than a non-self-relevant context does. Keywords: visual object recognition, self-relevant familiarity, location, size, probability. / by Evangelie Daskagianni. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2011. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2011. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

In contemporary transpersonal theory, women‟s experiences of transformation have largely been overlooked. This study seeks to answer the question, what are women‟s lived experiences of the path of transformation through self-other relationships? In setting the stage for the study, the researcher identifies two transpersonal theorists, Wilber and Almaas, and describes their models of consciousness development. She then outlines the feminist critique of existing psychological literature and the need for exclusively female research. Following is an inclusion of themes that have been extracted from the existing literature, themes which represent the biases of the researcher in what she expected to encounter in the current research. Further is a description of existentialism and the role it plays in inviting women to embark on a journey of transformation. The methods employed by the researcher were qualitative phenomenological-hermeneutics. Seven females participated in a three-stage interview process, whereby information was gathered via interviews, then further transcribed and interpreted. This information was then synthesized and presented in a thematic analysis where women‟s experiences were categorized into four separate stages. Finally, the sub-themes of each stage were compared to the stages of development as illustrated by Wilber and Almaas. Ultimately it is concluded that women‟s experiences are highlighted by the relational nature of self-development, and the cyclical process of the journey itself. / ix, 218 leaves ; 29 cm

A phenomenological-hermeneutic method of study was employed to ascertain whether archetypal psychology could contribute to the biopsychosocial model's understanding of gambling pathology. After analysis, four-stage process was brought to light, consisting of 16 themes. These themes chronologically illustrated the journey of becoming and recovering from pathological gambling disorder from inception to the present day. Equally, these themes illustrated developmental aspects of the individuation process and displayed how the archetypes' manifestation and integration helped to restore ego functioning leading to an established and sustained recovery process. In all, these stages demonstrate and suggest that archetypal psychology can make a viable contribution to the biopsychosocial model's understanding of gambling pathology. Therefore, the study's findings may support further study between archetypal psychology and gambling pathology, as this perspective may have important insights toward helping pathological gamblers gain a foothold on their addictive process leading to a meaningful and purposive future. / ix, 232 leaves ; 29 cm.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Department of Philosophy, December 2000. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.