This thesis concerns the metaphysics of scale. It investigates the implications of a physical determinable being dimensionful. In particular, it considers the case study of mass, as it features within Newtonian Gravity. Nevertheless, most of the terminology, methodology and arguments developed should be relatively straightforwardly applicable to other determinables and theories. Weak Absolutism about mass holds that mass ratios obtain in virtue of absolute masses. Weak Comparativism denies this. In the first five chapters I argue in favour of Weak Absolutism over Weak Comparativism. The sixth chapter argues against reducing mass to other non-mass facts. The overall conclusion is Strong Absolutism about mass within Newtonian Gravity: mass ratios obtain in virtue of absolute masses, which themselves are fundamental (i.e. they do not require anything further in order to obtain). Comparativism promises to recover all the virtues of absolutism, in particular its empirical adequacy, but at a lower 'metaphysical cost'. Special attention is given to Dasgupta's recent comparativist proposal. Dasgupta interprets the requirement of empirical adequacy in terms of the undetectability of the absolute mass scale. I argue that undetectability is an unsuitable way of understanding empirical adequacy and that we would do better to understand it in terms of a theory's ability to correctly generate the set of empirically possible worlds (or at least the actual world). I refute Dasgupta's comparativism both on my terms and on his own terms. I subsequently develop and strongly criticise alternative versions of comparativism. Chapter five sheds doubt on the supposed 'metaphysical parsimony' of comparativism. This debate should be of particular interest to readers who engage with the substantivalism-relationalism debate. These debates are much more entwined than previously acknowledged, which provides a significant source of mutual inspiration, although I do also draw out some important disanalogies.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-10T11:07:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 REGINA MARIA GONCALVES NEIVA.pdf: 1178298 bytes, checksum: 62ed028d6c7b2c249b925318065be0db (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-03-13 / This paper conducts a critical approach to ethos present in female discourse, tracing a historical profile to culminate in the works and speeches of two Goiás writers: Maria Aparecida Rodrigues and Maria Helena Chein, who in his dialogues with other works, make up our object of study. Used as an analytical method, preferably, the deductive, since, saying something about the object of study, we set of hypotheses that can be tested in comparative studies, performing an investigative research, comparing texts and readings in order to demonstrate affinity, various orders, between universal literature and produced in Goiás. This research uses, and other theorists of Ruth Amossy studies, regarding the statement that every act of taking the word implies in building a picture of themselves. In the first chapter, Ethos and female literary discourse, observed in the works under study, dialogues, traces of speech and character building of the texts studied, focusing on the presence of women in literature, and the ethos of the manifestation in the discourse of female voice. In the second chapter, Hiking and mishaps of the female voice literature, we revisit the voices who undertook trajectories in Literature, encouraging other writers and critics to participate in this particular discourse. Goiás two authors and their writings in this chapter, there was an almost exclusive attention to the works of the two writers Goiás in question, making a comparison between them, observing the nuances of their texts, from theoretical basis to demonstrate how it is put into his work ethos and female speech in dialogue with other works and other realities. In Chapter IV, Two writers Goiás two arts scene, is put in question, the writing of the two Goiás writers studied observing inherent properties of the game played with some concepts as truth and lie, metamorphoses and others, in which the words give life the language that moves between moving images and scenes of past and future, permeating a cinematic reflection of this. / Este trabalho realiza uma abordagem crítica sobre ethos presentes no discurso feminino, traçando um perfil histórico para culminar nas obras e discursos de duas escritoras goianas: Maria Aparecida Rodrigues e Maria Helena Chein, que em seus diálogos com outras obras, compõem o nosso objeto de estudo. Utilizamos como método de análise, preferencialmente, o dedutivo, uma vez que, ao afirmar algo sobre o objeto de estudo, partimos de hipóteses que podem ser testadas nos estudos comparativos, realizando uma pesquisa investigativa, confrontando textos e leituras afim de demonstrar afinidades, de ordens diversas, entre a literatura universal e a produzida em Goiás. Esta pesquisa se serve, além de outros teóricos, dos estudos de Ruth Amossy, no que tange à afirmação de que todo ato de tomar a palavra implica na construção de uma imagem de si. No primeiro capítulo, Ethos e discurso literário feminino, observamos nas obras em estudo, diálogos, traços da fala e construção das personagens dos textos estudados, tendo como foco a presença da mulher na literatura, e na manifestação do ethos no discurso de voz feminina. No capítulo segundo, Percurso e percalços da literatura de voz feminina, revisitamos as vozes que empreenderam trajetórias na Literatura, motivando outras escritoras e críticos a participarem desse discurso peculiar. Duas autoras goianas e suas escrituras, neste capítulo, houve uma atenção quase exclusiva para as obras das duas escritoras goianas em questão, fazendo uma comparação entre elas, observando as nuances de seus textos, a partir de bases teóricas para se demonstrar como está posto em suas obras o ethos e o discurso feminino em diálogo com outras obras e outras realidades. No capítulo IV, Duas escritoras goianas, duas artes em cena, põe-se em questão, a escrita das duas escritoras goianas estudadas, observando propriedades inerentes ao jogo praticado com alguns conceitos como verdade e mentira, metamorfoses e outros, nos quais as palavras dão vida a uma linguagem que transita entre imagens em movimento e cenas do passado e do futuro, permeando uma reflexão cinematográfica do presente.

Nous savons tous à quoi ressemble un pirate. Ce que nous savons moins, c’est la raison de ces succès, les causes de notre engouement – voire de notre fascination pour ce Fame Monster. La formule permet de caractériser l’ambiguïté d’un personnage dont chaque fortune connaît un revers, révélant notre soif de transgression et notre tentation pour l’envers de la morale. L’approche littéraire comparatiste, augmentée d’emprunts à l’image, à la sociologie, à la philosophie politique et à l’histoire des mentalités, permet non pas de simplement décrire un phénomène, mais d’essayer d’en extraire les sens, les besoins, les attentes, en prenant pour hypothèse que la fiction pirate constitue un jalon spécifique dans l’histoire des mentalités occidentales, et autorise l’exploration d’un état de nos désirs : d’aventure, de danger, de transgression, d’insurrection ; mais aussi de conformisme, dans un mythe continuellement répété. Histoire dans l’histoire, fiction en négatif, le pirate marginal se donne à lire comme une part retranchée de la société qui l’évacue, et partant comme l’idéal révélateur du sang et de l’or de nos virtualités, de nos « occasions manquées ».C’est ainsi que l’étude du pirate traditionnel conduit non seulement à une analyse du personnage mais encore aux enjeux fictionnels qu’il engage. Piraterie et piratage, ses deux corollaires directs, mettent en œuvre des problématiques particulières de création et de réception, et amorcent une reconversion sémantique du personnage : le pirate connaît une nouvelle fortune numérique, tandis que, devenu comportement par le truchement du piratage, il conduit à repenser le champ de la fiction. Alors : tous pirates ? Ou plutôt : tous (déjà) piratés ? / We all know what a pirate looks like. We may wonder, however, why pirates fill us with such enthusiasm. Where does our fascination for this "Fame Monster" come from? The expression, Fame Monster, underlines the ambiguity of a character whose fortunes will always know a fall-down, unveiling our thirst for transgression – our temptation for the other side of morals. Our comparative literary approach (one that borrows from visual studies, sociology, political philosophy, and cultural history) not only allows for a description of this social trend, but intends to get to its specific meaning, and indeed reveal the needs and the desires it hides. Our hypothesis is that the pirate represents a specific marker in the cultural history of the western world, leading us to explore our own desire for adventure, danger, transgression, rebellion (although it should be noted that the pirate also exposes our willingness to embrace norms and conformism through a stereotypical figure that is constantly repeated, a never-ending myth). Secret history in the main one, negatively connoted fiction, the marginal pirate seems to be read as an outlawed part of our society, as the indicator of either our golden or our bloody potentialities – the indicator of our might-have-been. Thus our study moves further than the mere analysis of a figure, to investigate the true stakes of its fictions and representations. For instance, sea-piracy and web-piracy (and the semantic transformation implicit in the move from one to the other), point to specific issues with regards to creation and reception. As he achieves new e-success on the Web, and becomes more than a character – a behavior, through hacking – the pirate may also provide us with a model to reconsider the very possibilities of fiction. Perhaps, then, is it time to ponder: are we all pirates? Or have we all already been hacked?

Cette thèse propose un éclairage sur la réalité de la Fonction analytique, sa physiologie, et les pathologies comportementales qui résultent de son dysfonctionnement. Nous y visitons les travaux de Freud, Jung et Lacan. Par une approche de comparatisme de leurs « écritures respectives », nous découvrons les fondements de la Fonction analytique. Tous trois tiennent leur savoir d’une approche transdisciplinaire (mythologie, alchimie, Taoïsme, linguistique, mathématiques, etc.) Freud précise le rôle indispensable de la pulsion en décrivant ses quatre caractéristiques. Avec son travail sur le «Bloc-notes magique », il énonce les modalités de la gravure psychique. La physiologie analytique comprend deux stades distincts : le premier ou « tronc commun » correspond à la gravure de la trace mnésique (Freud). Ce stade se déroule selon le mode binaire : ça pour Freud, persona pour Jung, imaginaire pour Lacan. Le second, se développe à partir du tronc commun, selon la modalité ternaire : la structure arborescente. C’est le stade du moi de Freud, du moi de Jung, du réel de Lacan. Cette phase, comme celle du brassage inter-chromosomique de la méiose biologique, produit une infinité de combinaisons. Modes binaire et ternaire représentent les phases principales de la Fonction analytique. Mais le mode binaire ne doit pas faire barrage au mode ternaire, en enfermant la psyché dans l’imaginaire (Lacan). La psyché doit se dépasser et faire oeuvre d’artiste. Nous montrons que le déséquilibre de l’archétype anima/animus (Jung) est cause de ces pathologies. Nous y voyons également que « la pensée judéo-chrétienne » joue un rôle de censeur, et fait obstacle à la modélisation ternaire. / The following thesis proposes to shed some light on the reality of Analytical Function, its physiology and the behavioural pathologies that derive from its dysfunction. We revisit the works of Freud, Jung and Lacan. Through a comparativistic approach of their “respective writings”, we discover the very fundamentals of Analytical Function. And all three had gathered their knowledge using a transdisciplinary approach (mythology, alchemy, Taoism, linguistics, mathematics etc…) Freud points out the main role of the drive by describing its four characteristics. In his “Magic Note Pad” he states the modalities of the psychic imprint. Analytical physiology comprises two distinct stages: the first one - “the common trunk”- refers to the imprint or engraving of the mnemonic marking. This stage unfolds according to a binary mode: the “It” for Freud, the “persona” for Jung and the “Imaginary” for Lacan. The second stage stems out of the common trunk on a ternary mode: the arborescent structure. This is the stage of the “I” for Freud, the “Self” for Jung and “the Real” for Lacan. This stage-just like the inter-chromosomal brew of the biological meiosis- produces an infinity of combinations. Binary and ternary modes represent the main phases of Analytical Function. Nevertheless the binary mode must not block out the ternary mode by locking the psyche into Lacan’s “Imaginary”. The psyche must go beyond itself and become its own artist. We show that the disequilibrium of Jung’s anima/animus archetype provokes these pathologies. We also notice that the “Judeo-Christian” way of thinking plays a censorship role and becomes an obstacle for the implementation of the ternary mode.

À travers cette recherche, nous avons tenté d’élucider la complexité de la vie de l’émir Abd el-Kader. Pour ce faire, nous avons choisi d’étudier un certain nombre de productions littéraires, iconographique et historiques en lien avec cette figure centrale de l’histoire de la colonisation et de l’indépendance de l’Algérie. L’intérêt principal de ce travail intitulé : Constructions littéraires et idéologiques autour de la figure de l’émir Abd el-Kader : Une individualité complexe à l’épreuve de la modernité, au-delà de l’aspect biographique, réside dans l’argumentation élaborée depuis le comparatisme et l’imagologie. La méthodologie choisie découle de la nécessité de croiser les regards et les points de vue, afin de faire ressortir la vie de l’émir comme le symptôme d’un malaise et du refus d’une parole pleine, afin de rendre compte de la difficulté de l’écriture de l’histoire. Ainsi certains aspects de la vie de l’émir, tels que son séjour forcé en France de 1847 à 1852, tout comme son adhésion à la franc-maçonnerie sont des faits purement occultés dans l’Algérie officielle. C’est ici que la complexité de l’individualité de l’émir résiste au moule idéologique dans lequel on veut l’enfermer, et cela des deux côtés de la Méditerranée / This research undertaking represents an attempt to shed light on the life of Emir Abd al-Qādir in all its complexity. In order to do so, we chose to study various literary, pictorial and historical productions linked to this key figure in the history of colonisation and of the independence of Algeria. The main interest of this work, entitled Literary and Ideological Constructions around the Figure of Emir Abd al-Qādir, lies in lines of argumentation drawn from comparativism and imagology. The chosen methodology derives from the need to confront outlooks and points of view, so as to study the Emir’s life as a symptom of malaise and refusal to engage in comprehensive discourse, and thereby bear witness to the difficulty of writing history. Thus, some aspects of the Emir’s life, such as his enforced stay in France between 1847 and 1852, as well as his membership of the Freemasons, are wholly suppressed in official Algeria. It is at this point that Abd el Kader resists the ideological mould in which he has been imprisoned, and this on both sides of the Mediterranean

Henry Corbin a écrit qu’« un Maître Eckhart et un Jacob Boehme eussent parfaitement compris Ibn ʿArabî, et réciproquement. » Mais comment assurer ce dialogue et cette compréhension réciproque pressentie par Henry Corbin? Cette recherche porte essentiellement sur les conditions de possibilités de ce dialogue, puisque la comparaison entre Ibn al-ʿArabī et Böhme n’est encore qu’à ses balbutiements. En choisissant le prisme de l’imagination, le but est double : pouvoir traiter de manière non réductrice les phénomènes spirituels en parcourant et analysant la logique spécifique de l’imagination ; et, sous l’égide de la hiérohistoire, explorer le rôle de l’imagination dans la métaphysique et l’éthique d’Ibn al-ʿArabī et de Böhme. Il s’agit donc d’essayer de lire Ibn al-ʿArabī et Böhme comme ils lisaient eux-mêmes le Livre révélé de leur tradition respective. Au final, il appert que le théophanisme caractéristique tant de la métaphysique d’Ibn al-ʿArabī que de celle de Böhme est une riche terre d’accueil de l’imagination et de l’imaginal. Et que, si la comparaison strictu sensu entre Ibn al-ʿArabī et Böhme est impossible, l’esprit comparatif et transdisciplinaire de cette recherche, ainsi que la méthode phénoménologico-herméneutique, offrent de nouvelles avenues de réappropriation pour l’ensemble des phénomènes spirituels. / Henry Corbin wrote that a “Meister Eckhart and Jacob Boehme would fully understand Ibn ʿArabî, and vice versa.” But how can we ensure this dialogue and mutual understanding anticipated by Henry Corbin? This research is essentially on the conditions of possibilities of this dialogue, especially because the comparison between Ibn al-ʿArabī and Böhme is still in its infancy. By choosing the prism of the imagination, the goal is twofold: approach spiritual phenomena in a non-reductive way by browsing and analyzing the specific logic of imagination; and, under the auspices of the concept of hierohistory, explore the role of imagination in the metaphysics and ethics of Ibn al-ʿArabī and Böhme. It is therefore an effort to read Ibn al-ʿArabī and Böhme as they read themselves the revealed book of their respective tradition. Finally, it appears that the theophanism characteristic of the metaphysics of both Ibn al-ʿArabī and Böhme is a rich haven for imagination and imaginal. If the comparison between Ibn al-ʿArabī and Böhme is stricto sensu impossible, the comparative and transdisciplinary spirit of this research, as well as its the phenomenological-hermeneutic method, opens up new avenues of re-appropriation for all spirituals phenomena.

Henry Corbin a écrit qu’« un Maître Eckhart et un Jacob Boehme eussent parfaitement compris Ibn ʿArabî, et réciproquement. » Mais comment assurer ce dialogue et cette compréhension réciproque pressentie par Henry Corbin? Cette recherche porte essentiellement sur les conditions de possibilités de ce dialogue, puisque la comparaison entre Ibn al-ʿArabī et Böhme n’est encore qu’à ses balbutiements. En choisissant le prisme de l’imagination, le but est double : pouvoir traiter de manière non réductrice les phénomènes spirituels en parcourant et analysant la logique spécifique de l’imagination ; et, sous l’égide de la hiérohistoire, explorer le rôle de l’imagination dans la métaphysique et l’éthique d’Ibn al-ʿArabī et de Böhme. Il s’agit donc d’essayer de lire Ibn al-ʿArabī et Böhme comme ils lisaient eux-mêmes le Livre révélé de leur tradition respective. Au final, il appert que le théophanisme caractéristique tant de la métaphysique d’Ibn al-ʿArabī que de celle de Böhme est une riche terre d’accueil de l’imagination et de l’imaginal. Et que, si la comparaison strictu sensu entre Ibn al-ʿArabī et Böhme est impossible, l’esprit comparatif et transdisciplinaire de cette recherche, ainsi que la méthode phénoménologico-herméneutique, offrent de nouvelles avenues de réappropriation pour l’ensemble des phénomènes spirituels. / Henry Corbin wrote that a “Meister Eckhart and Jacob Boehme would fully understand Ibn ʿArabî, and vice versa.” But how can we ensure this dialogue and mutual understanding anticipated by Henry Corbin? This research is essentially on the conditions of possibilities of this dialogue, especially because the comparison between Ibn al-ʿArabī and Böhme is still in its infancy. By choosing the prism of the imagination, the goal is twofold: approach spiritual phenomena in a non-reductive way by browsing and analyzing the specific logic of imagination; and, under the auspices of the concept of hierohistory, explore the role of imagination in the metaphysics and ethics of Ibn al-ʿArabī and Böhme. It is therefore an effort to read Ibn al-ʿArabī and Böhme as they read themselves the revealed book of their respective tradition. Finally, it appears that the theophanism characteristic of the metaphysics of both Ibn al-ʿArabī and Böhme is a rich haven for imagination and imaginal. If the comparison between Ibn al-ʿArabī and Böhme is stricto sensu impossible, the comparative and transdisciplinary spirit of this research, as well as its the phenomenological-hermeneutic method, opens up new avenues of re-appropriation for all spirituals phenomena.

On propose une sociogenèse de la nébuleuse idéologique « animaliste », une histoire sociale de l’idée de représentation politique des bêtes au Royaume-Uni et en France depuis la seconde moitié du 18ème siècle jusqu’à la période contemporaine. Le point de départ de l’étude réside en un constat, à savoir l’existence de rapports et de représentations différenciés à l’animal de chaque côté de la Manche. Ces rapports et représentations s’objectivent dans le niveau de développement des mobilisations collectives pour la libération et le droit des animaux, puissant au Royaume-Uni, faible en France. Il s’agit ici de rendre compte des logiques sociales de production, diffusion, réception et réappropriation, d’une configuration nationale à l’autre, des acceptions successives de l’idée de porte-parolat des bêtes. L’examen des trajectoires, propriétés et positions des agents et des groupes qui se sont saisis de cette idéologie, articulé à l’analyse interne de leurs prises de position, met au jour les enjeux des luttes engagées autour de la prise de parole au nom de l’animal, la prescription des interactions appropriées entre les hommes et les bêtes permettant aux producteurs de l’idée d’affirmer, par analogies, une définition légitime du monde social . En s’attachant à suivre les processus pluriels à l’aune desquels est structurée la nébuleuse, on peut ainsi expliquer les modalités de naturalisation ou non de l’idée de porte-parolat des bêtes en France et au Royaume-Uni et rendre compte des mécanismes de l’universalisation des idéologies au sein des configurations nationales. / We propose a sociogenesis of the “animalist” ideology, a social history of the idea of political representation of animals in the United Kingdom and France since the second half of the 18th century to the contemporary period. The starting point of the study is a finding, namely the existence of differentiated reports and representations of animals on each side of the Channel. These reports and representations are objectified in the level of development of collective movements for liberation and animal rights, strong in the UK, low in France. This is to account for the social logic of production, distribution, reception and reappropriation, from a national setting to another, of the successive meanings of the idea of beasts spokesperson's. The examination of trajectories, properties and positions of agents and groups that have taken up this ideology, articulated to the internal analysis of their positions, uncovers the issues of struggles waged around the speaking on behalf of the animal, the prescription of appropriate interactions between man and beast allowing producers of the idea to assert, by analogy, a legitimate definition of the social world. Endeavoring to follow the plural processes by which the ideological nebula is structured, one can thus explain the naturalization procedures or not the idea of beasts spokesperson's in France and the UK and report mechanisms of universalisation of ideologies in national configurations.