Dewi Z. Phillips maintains that philosophy must have a contemplative character. Applied to religion, it takes the form of a hermeneutics of contemplation that emphasizes the role concepts play in human life. While some philosophers try to bring philosophy to bear on to religion, others try to bring religion to bear on to philosophy; seeing their task as being for or against religion. According to Phillips, both these views are confused. Instead, the philosophy of religion must strive to understand religion on its own terms: showing that a sensibility should be possible that does justice to both belief and atheism. In order to appreciate Phillips' philosophy of religion, it is essential to recognize the three authors that have contributed to his thinking: Ludwig Wittgenstein, Soren Kierkegaard, and Simone Weil. From Wittgenstein, Phillips learns the philosophical method, Kierkegaard teaches Phillips what it means to be a religious author, and Simone Weil imparts Phillips with an authentic sense of religious belief and understanding. Throughout his career Phillips has been poorly understood because he refuses to be pinned down to the categories and frameworks within which philosophers of religion and theologians traditionally define themselves. For Phillips, a contemplative conception of the philosophy of religion endeavours to show just how far philosophy can bring one in a religious dimension: trying to enable a person to be conceptually clear about the matters at hand and to realize when a personal judgment must be made.

This thesis examines applying formal methods to software testing. Software testing is a critical phase of the software life-cycle which can be very effective if performed rigorously. Formal specifications offer the bases for rigorous testing practices. Not surprisingly, the most immediate use of formal specifications in software testing is as sources of black-box test suites. However, formal specifications have more uses in software testing than merely being sources for test data. We examine these uses, and show how to get more assistance and benefit from formal methods in software testing. At the core of this work is a exible framework in which to conduct specification-based testing. The framework is founded on formal definitions of tests and test suites, which directly addresses important issues in managing software testing. This provides a uniform platform for other applications of formal methods to testing such as analysis and reification of tests, and also for applications beyond testing such as maintenance and specification validation. The framework has to be exible so that any testing strategies can be used. We examine the need to adapt certain strategies to work with the framework and formal specification. Our experiments showed some deficiencies that arise when using derivation strategies on abstract specifications. These deficiencies led us to develop two new specification-based testing strategies based on extensions to existing strate- gies. We demonstrate the framework, strategies, and other applications of formal methods to software testing using three case studies. In each of these, the framework was easy to use. It provided an elegant and powerful means for defining and structuring tests, and a suitable staging ground for other applications of formal methods to software testing. This thesis demonstrates how formal specification techniques can systematise the application of testing strategies, and also how the concepts of software testing can be combined with formal specifications to extend the role of the formal specification in software development.

Thèses (Ph.D.)--Université de Sherbrooke (Canada), 1998. / Titre de l'écran-titre (visionné le 20 juin 2006). Publié aussi en version papier.

Thèses (M.Sc.)--Université de Sherbrooke (Canada), 1999. / Titre de l'écran-titre (visionné le 20 juin 2006). Publié aussi en version papier.

Thèses (M.Sc.)--Université de Sherbrooke (Canada), 1998. / Titre de l'écran-titre (visionné le 20 juin 2006). Publié aussi en version papier.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2009. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xiv, 301 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 193-213).

Thesis (Eng. Sc. D.)--Columbia University, 1968. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 177-179).

Universiẗat, Diss., 2000--Freiburg (Breisgau).

No description available.

Revised Feb. 1979