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Until recently, the period of Late Antiquity had been largely regarded as a sterile age of irrationality and of decline in science. This pioneering work, supported by first-hand study of primary sources, argues that this opinion is profoundly mistaken. It focuses in particular on Proclus, the head of the Platonic School at Athens in the 5th c. AD, and the chief spokesman for the ideas of the dominant school of thought of that time, Neoplatonism. Part I, divided into two Sections, is an introductory guide to Proclus' philosophical and cosmological system, its general principles and its graded ordering of the states of existence. Part II concentrates on his physical theories on the Elements and the celestial bodies, in Sections A and B respectively, with chapters (or sub-sections) on topics including the structure, properties and motion of the Elements; light; space and matter; the composition and motion of the celestial bodies; and the order of planets. The picture that emerges from the study is that much of the Aristotelian physics, so prevalent in Classical Antiquity, was rejected. The concepts which were developed instead included the geometrization of matter, the four-Element composition of the universe, that of self-generated, free motion in space for the heavenly bodies, and that of immanent force or power. Furthermore, the desire to provide for a systematic unity in explanation, in science and philosophy, capable of comprehending the diversity of entities and phenomena, yielded the Neoplatonic notion that things are essentially modes or states of existence, which can be arranged in terms of a causal gradation and described accordingly. Proclus, above anyone else, applied it as a scientific method systematically. Consequently, that Proclus' physical thought is embedded in his Neoplatonic philosophy is not viewed as something regrettable, but as proof of his consistent adherence to the belief, that there must be unity in explanation, just as there is one in the universe, since only the existence of such unity renders the cosmos rational and makes certainty in science attainable.

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What is it for something to be good? Using the example of an Ebola-like microbe, I argue that a merely kind-based account of goodness is defective (Chapter 1). I offer instead an account that is both kind-based and platonic (Chapter 2). On such an account, goodness turns out to be non-natural (Chapter 3). However, non-naturalists can explain why the goodness of an individual supervenes on its natural properties, by appealing to the essence of the kind to which it belongs (Chapter 4).

This dissertation focuses on the nature and manifestation of tragedy within African experience in selected plays written by black South African playwrights. The plays under discussion are We Shall Sing for the Fatherland (1973) by Zakes Mda, The Hungry Earth (1978) by Maishe Maponya, and Sarafina (1985) by Mbongeni Ngema. The many conflicting statements regarding the "death" and existence of tragedy in contemporary drama lead one to ask the following two fundamental questions: Can there be tragedy in contemporary South African drama and what structural devices are there to account for the manifestation of this elusive phenomenon? This dissertation works towards defining the concept of an African vision of tragedy by examining the nature and form in which tragedy manifests itself in South African drama. Secondly, it considers the extent to which this phenomenon is similar or different from conventional elements and structural forms of Western tragic drama. This dissertation argues that there exists a distinct and viable vision of tragedy in black South African drama which can be called African. It contends that dramatic texts do not all have the same degree of profundity of tragic vision because their subject matter, techniques and depth of artistic exploration differ, and vary according to their cultural roots. The basis on which old forms of tragedy are used to interpret the version of contemporary tragedy is therefore called into question, and as a result, the analysis of structural forms and thematic preoccupations of contemporary tragedy needs a set of criteria different from that of Euro-American drama. The portrayal of a tragic hero as a common man whose tragic stature is measured in terms of his ability to feel, to be aware of forces closing down on him in The Hungry Earth, the manifestation of tragedy as generated not only by individual volition, but by an economic structure established by those in power in We Shall Sing for the Fatherland, and, finally, the mingling of tragicomic elements of entertainment and communication to accommodate both tragedy and comic elements without destroying the integrity of either in Sarafina, indicate a definite development and imitation of tragedy from emphasis on form to meaning. By asking a question like: "What constitutes tragedy in black South African drama, and how are such processes represented and modelled in the selected plays?" this dissertation enters into a dialogue of global and local perspectives of tragedy in order to contribute to our understanding of an African, and specifically South African, concept of tragedy firmly rooted in its socio-cultural context. / Thesis (M.A. (English))--Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, 2003.

This dissertation focuses on the nature and manifestation of tragedy within African experience in selected plays written by black South African playwrights. The plays under discussion are We Shall Sing for the Fatherland (1973) by Zakes Mda, The Hungry Earth (1978) by Maishe Maponya, and Sarafina (1985) by Mbongeni Ngema. The many conflicting statements regarding the "death" and existence of tragedy in contemporary drama lead one to ask the following two fundamental questions: Can there be tragedy in contemporary South African drama and what structural devices are there to account for the manifestation of this elusive phenomenon? This dissertation works towards defining the concept of an African vision of tragedy by examining the nature and form in which tragedy manifests itself in South African drama. Secondly, it considers the extent to which this phenomenon is similar or different from conventional elements and structural forms of Western tragic drama. This dissertation argues that there exists a distinct and viable vision of tragedy in black South African drama which can be called African. It contends that dramatic texts do not all have the same degree of profundity of tragic vision because their subject matter, techniques and depth of artistic exploration differ, and vary according to their cultural roots. The basis on which old forms of tragedy are used to interpret the version of contemporary tragedy is therefore called into question, and as a result, the analysis of structural forms and thematic preoccupations of contemporary tragedy needs a set of criteria different from that of Euro-American drama. The portrayal of a tragic hero as a common man whose tragic stature is measured in terms of his ability to feel, to be aware of forces closing down on him in The Hungry Earth, the manifestation of tragedy as generated not only by individual volition, but by an economic structure established by those in power in We Shall Sing for the Fatherland, and, finally, the mingling of tragicomic elements of entertainment and communication to accommodate both tragedy and comic elements without destroying the integrity of either in Sarafina, indicate a definite development and imitation of tragedy from emphasis on form to meaning. By asking a question like: "What constitutes tragedy in black South African drama, and how are such processes represented and modelled in the selected plays?" this dissertation enters into a dialogue of global and local perspectives of tragedy in order to contribute to our understanding of an African, and specifically South African, concept of tragedy firmly rooted in its socio-cultural context. / Thesis (M.A. (English))--Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, 2003.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The overall aim of this study is to establish the implications, effectiveness and limitations of making Aristotelian virtue theory a meta-theory of business. The study intends to test what the business world would be like with the virtue framework as its meta-theory, i.e. if virtue theory provided the fundamental principles that underlie the formation and operation of business enterprises, thus making virtue the philosophy of business. Since virtue is concerned with moral character rather than moral principles – it is community-based rather than individualistic – the application of the virtue framework to business implies that we will have to deal with the reality that individualistic capitalism is corrosive to virtue. The virtue framework is only compatible with collective forms of capitalism, not individualistic forms. Thus, in order to nurture virtues, it is necessary to build an economic system, a type of capitalism that is compatible with the virtue framework. Such a project is morally plausible because it is congruent with human nature, which is rational and social. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die algehele doel van hierdie studie is om die implikasies, effektiwiteit en beperkings van die toepassing van die Aristoteliaanse teorie van deug as metateorie vir besigheid vas te stel. Die studie beoog om te toets hoe die besigheidswêreld sou lyk met deugdeteorie as metateorie, dit wil sê as deugdeteorie die fundamentele beginsels wat die formasie en bedryf van besigheidsondernemings onderlê voorsien en dus deug die filosofie van bedryf maak. Deugde is bemoei met morele karakter eerder as morele beginsels omdat dit gemeenskapsgegrond eerder as individualisties is. Die toepassing van ʼn deugde-raamwerk op die sakewêreld impliseer dus dat ons moet afreken met die realiteit dat individualistiese kapitalisme korrosief is vir deugde. Die deugde-raamwerk is slegs verenigbaar met kollektiewe vorme van kapitalisme, eerder as individualistiese vorme. Om die deugde te koester is dit dus nodig om ’n ekonomiese sisteem te bou in die vorm van ’n kapitalistiese stelsel wat verenigbaar is met die raamwerk. Só ʼn projek is moreel aanneemlik omdat dit ooreenstem met die menslike natuur, wat rasioneel en sosiaal is.

Among the figures of the Scientific Revolution, Galileo was the most influential in moving science away from Aristotle’s concept of scientific explanation to what became Modern science. My primary goal in this thesis is to explicate Galileo’s concept of scientific explanation, as well as the metaphysical and methodological underpinnings relied upon by Galileo, and to investigate where these depart from Aristotle as well as the Aristotelians of Galileo’s time. Galileo’s most revolutionary scientific achievement was to advance a new, more practical aim for scientific inquiry: he changed the focus of scientific investigations to the measuring, modeling, and predicting of phenomena. In order to increase the reliability of his hypotheses Galileo rejected those aspects of Aristotle’s account of scientific explanation that could not be rigorously empirically justified. The result was that empirical science no longer searched for the essential attributes of bodies or for Aristotle’s causes such as the “final” cause. The identified contributions and innovations promulgated by Galileo are significant because they dictated changes that became formative to contemporary models of scientific explanation. I argue that analyses such as the one given in this dissertation can provide a framework for better understanding twentieth-century criticisms that argue that Aristotle’s concept of scientific explanation contained elements that are indispensable to genuine scientific explanations but that are missing from standard contemporary accounts such as Hempel’s covering law models. Finally, I conclude that my analysis of Galileo’s contributions to scientific explanation suggests that contemporary claims that covering law models should be more receptive to Aristotle’s ideas of causation and essence are misguided. / text

Because Ernest Hemingway's four major novels are often referred to as tragedies, these novels are checked against Aristotle's criteria for tragedy. "The Sun Also Rises" is not an Aristotelian tragedy because the wounding of Jake Barnes precedes the events in the novel; it is, instead, an extended tragic epilogue. "A Farewell to Arms" is a modern anti-romantic tragedy of irony, a story of disillusionment which does not provide cathartic relief. The most nearly tragic in structure, "The Old Man and the Sea" does not provide a catharsis because Hemingway fails to arouse the necessary emotions. The most tragic of the four in effect, "For Whom the Bell Tolls" lacks the proper structure for tragedy, but is a tragic epical novel. Although all four of these books have elements of the Aristotelian tragedy, all are other types of tragedy.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T20:30:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Olivia Brandao Melo Campelo.pdf: 254350 bytes, checksum: 5c20227d7411e7fb814e6aa1f3e0f96a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-05-13 / Introduction: Phrônesis, word that comes from the Greek, meaning the exercise of a capacity to apply truths about what is good for a certain type of person, people in general, in certain situations, for themselves in particular occasions. This term can be brought by prudence in which is a virtue that when applied to the concrete case has a human character by being contingent and variable depending on individuals and circumstances. Phrônesis was used by Aristotle during the construction of his theory of justice. In the Aristotelian prudence, all theoretical significance is removed in order to avoid more than one type of moral being, capable of orienting the action in the path which is considered fair. Aristoteles insisted on the vocation practice of this term and concerned himself in the direction which the human actions considered fair and virtuous should be guided with prudence General Objective: Analyze the Aristotelian prudence as a determinant factor of obtaining justice. Specific Objectives: Identify the direction of the Aristotelian justice; analyze the Aristotelian prudence present in the Ethics to Nicomacus; and verify in what way the prudence is a determinant in justice practice. Methodology: bibliographic and qualitative research. Expected Results: The demonstration that the prudence is not only an important criterion of justice, since is considered a sort of moral sense, presumes that all decisions that have as the end justice should observe the practical intelligence, under penalty of commit the effectiveness of the real justice / capacidade de aplicar verdades sobre o que é bom para tal tipo de pessoa ou pessoas fazerem em geral e, em certos tipos de situação, a si mesmas em ocasiões particulares. Este termo pode ser traduzido por prudência, que é uma virtude que, aplicada ao caso concreto, tem um caráter humano por ser contingente e variável segundo indivíduos e circunstâncias. Phrônesis foi usada por Aristóteles durante a construção da sua teoria de justiça. Na prudência aristotélica, toda significação teórica é retirada para que nela haja apenas uma espécie de senso moral, capaz de orientar a ação no caminho daquilo que é considerado justo. Aristóteles insistiu na vocação prática deste termo e na preocupação no sentido de que as ações humanas consideradas justas e virtuosas deveriam ser pautadas na prudência. Objetivo Geral: Analisar a prudência aristotélica como fator determinante de obtenção da Justiça. Objetivos Específicos: Identificar os sentidos da justiça aristotélica; analisar a prudência aristotélica trazida na obra Ética à Nicômaco e verificar de que forma a prudência é determinante na prática da justiça. Metodologia: pesquisa bibliográfica e qualitativa. Resultado Esperado: a demonstração de que a prudência, além de ser um importante critério de aferição de justiça, uma vez que é considerada uma espécie de senso moral, pressupõe que toda decisão que tenha como fim a justiça deve observar a inteligência prática, sob pena de comprometer a efetividade da justiça real