In the last fifty years or so there has been a tremendous renewal of interest in Aristotle's biological writings. As I understand it, this interest was motivated by at least two different sorts of researchers who had different assumptions and motivations. On the one hand there are the biologists, and chief among them, D'Arcy Thompson. On the other hand there are those who, in their study of Aristotle's philosophic work, have been forced to recognize that a significant portion of the corpus---more than one quarter of the total by most accounts---is devoted to these biological subjects and wish to make sense of how these musings are to be understood in light of the canonical works, e.g. the Metaphysics, Physics, De Anima, Nichomachean Ethics . Many point to David Balme as one of the principle sources of this interest in putting the biological works within a philosophical framework. The point is to understand better why Aristotle repeatedly turns to biological examples to clarify questions encountered in the study of physics or metaphysics; for 'plants and animals are substances (ousiai) most of all' (Meta. Z.8). One must understand Aristotle's philosophical biology at the same time as trying to understand his biological philosophy The sign of this renewed interest is the recent appearance of numerous books and articles devoted to the study of Aristotle's biological writings. The study I am undertaking of Aristotle's Parts of Animals (PA) aims to contribute to this growing body of scholarship. Perhaps the easiest, yet the most significant, way to distinguish the contribution I think I can make is this. Most scholars believe that the PA is not really a book, that it does not form a whole that is coherent; hence, among the numbers of books and articles, there is not a treatment of the argument of the PA as a whole, as its arguments unfold. To understand the general sentiment regarding the status of the PA we do not have to look far; David Balme and others hold that PA I is a 'string of papers' and that PA II--IV is largely independent from the argument of PA I. (see also Pellegrin 1986, pp 146 ff.). In contrast to this position, I suggest that the argument of the PA can be seen as a whole, that the topics first touched upon in PA I are picked up, expanded, modified, and examined in greater detail in the course of the argument of the PA as a whole / acase@tulane.edu

<p>In this essay I have tried to present the ideas and thoughts of the Swedish author Rolf Edberg (1912-1997), journalist, ambassador and county governor. By many regarded as an environment philosopher and the introducer of deep ecology into Sweden. The essay emphasizes Edberg as a modern renaissance man of important knowledge with a rhetorical force to present and generalize the problems the planet Earth is meeting. The paper compares him with Henry Thoreau but also finds a close but perhaps unintended relationship with the German philosopher Ernst Haeckel although Edberg himself claimed to be a Darwinist at heart.</p><p>The essay stresses on four characteristic features in his authorship namely 1) a holistic view of nature and man, rejecting dualism for monism; 2) a cosmic relationship within the whole universe and also between organic and inorganic matter; 3) the planet Earth is in a crisis due to an uneven and unjust distribution of the resources of the Earth, the nuclear weapon threat and the overpopulation; 4) the evolution and not the religion has the answer to our existential questions.</p>

<p>Abstract</p><p>The ideas of adulthood, adolescence and childhood in Swedish law have a tendency to not be expressed or discussed. This thesis has focused on the preparatory work of the sexual offence-law to see whether it defines adulthood. This has been achieved by analyzing the documents related to this preparatory work. The thesis focused on two central questions: 1) Was the idea of adulthood an integral part of the discussions in the preparatory work 2) If so, then how was it defined and are there any contradictions in the definition. In addition, this work also evaluated the impact of this law and investigated whether the absolute protection intended by the government and the committee of sexual crime seek actually exists.</p><p>The study shows that the concept of adulthood was not defined specifically in the preparatory work. However, through the attempts of defining childhood, an inference of adulthood can be made indirectly. The different documents could not create a tenable definition which resulted in this process confusing rather than clarifying the definitions. These ambiguous definitions affect not only the victim of a sexual crime, but also the perpetrator and the judges’ interpretation of the law. The absolute protection also does not exist and instead of making the law stronger and firmer, the revision of the law made it weaker and reduced the judicial security.</p>

<p>The aim with this paper is to study Karl Popper’s view on realism and relativism. Further aim is to see whether those ideas have been consistent over the years. The paper argues that Popper since his first interest in philosophy has taken a realistic and antirelativistic attitude. Only his arguments for this position have been developed to meet his critics.</p><p>Common sense speaks for realism but can neither be proven nor refuted. However, arguments for realism are among others all the chemical and biological theories that presuppose realism.</p><p>Popper also expand his view on the real world to include, besides the material world, also a world of experiences which he calls “world 2” and a “world 3” comprising intellectual products.</p><p>He also rejects relativism and for him knowledge is a system of statements or theories put forward for discussion. In a conflict between two opposing hypotheses, one of them could be right or both could be wrong but both could not be right.</p><p>The conclusions in this study are based on Popper’s most important works from 1934 to 1990.</p>

<p>Democracy has been a part of the Swedish society for a long period of time and it is also a part of the Swedish elementary school curriculum, in which you can find a number of statements that expresses that the Swedish elementary school should socialize the children into becoming role model citizens. This also conjures with the available research that describes schools in general as socializing. This led me to a question that hasn’t been answered: How much of the curriculums reasons for socialization the pupils are based on democratic values and how much of it can be dated back to events prior to the curriculum?</p><p>The methodological approach is an analysis of ideologies as described by Sven-Eric Liedman and Ingemar Nilsson in Ideologi och ideologianalys. The text is focusing on the fact that a text has two layers; one is the manifest which is roughly the same as explicit or present in the text. The other layer is the latent, which is a part of the texts meaning that is indeed present but it doesn’t show until you analyse the text in the company of a valid context, in my case the context is going to a text about political socialization and a brief review of curriculums different contexts. The essay, then, is consisting of 6 different cases consisting of a brief context and an analysis of a curriculum. The chosen curriculums are from 1919, 1955, 1962, 1969, 1980 and 1994.</p><p>The study showed that a part of the curriculums reasons for socializing the pupils are based on democratic values which can be found in every curriculum that I’ve studied. The study also showed that the curriculums that I’ve studied are also partly consisting of opinions that can be dated back to events that occurred years prior to the curriculum.</p>

My dissertation examines the Franciscan engagement with medicinal alchemy between 1250 and 1360. I investigate the works of three generations of Franciscan alchemical and apocalyptic authors: Roger Bacon (ca. 1214/20--ca. 1292), Vitalis of Furno (1260--1327), and John of Rupescissa (ca. 1300--ca. 1366). Working across the disciplines of religious studies and the history of science, I demonstrate that the material process of alchemy inflected Christian conceptions of apocalypse, resurrection, and prophecy. / Radical apocalypticism and religious alchemy share a defining characteristic. Both are concerned with manifesting spiritual truth on the physical plane. In the case of the Apocalypse, evil is neither an idea nor a concept, rather it is personified by Antichrist and his followers. The New Jerusalem was not merely a vehicle for spiritual reflection; it was a promise to the elect. Therefore, those who will be resurrected in body and inhabit the New Jerusalem will manifest heaven writ on earth. Alchemy represented an even more present possibility of literally distilling a heavenly reality. The alchemist's theoretical ability to create a post-resurrection body or to use the substance of heaven to cure every ailment, drive away demons, and bestow courage on enemies of Antichrist not only effaced the separation of heaven and earth, it offered unmediated access to divine power.

In this essay I have tried to present the ideas and thoughts of the Swedish author Rolf Edberg (1912-1997), journalist, ambassador and county governor. By many regarded as an environment philosopher and the introducer of deep ecology into Sweden. The essay emphasizes Edberg as a modern renaissance man of important knowledge with a rhetorical force to present and generalize the problems the planet Earth is meeting. The paper compares him with Henry Thoreau but also finds a close but perhaps unintended relationship with the German philosopher Ernst Haeckel although Edberg himself claimed to be a Darwinist at heart. The essay stresses on four characteristic features in his authorship namely 1) a holistic view of nature and man, rejecting dualism for monism; 2) a cosmic relationship within the whole universe and also between organic and inorganic matter; 3) the planet Earth is in a crisis due to an uneven and unjust distribution of the resources of the Earth, the nuclear weapon threat and the overpopulation; 4) the evolution and not the religion has the answer to our existential questions.

Abstract The ideas of adulthood, adolescence and childhood in Swedish law have a tendency to not be expressed or discussed. This thesis has focused on the preparatory work of the sexual offence-law to see whether it defines adulthood. This has been achieved by analyzing the documents related to this preparatory work. The thesis focused on two central questions: 1) Was the idea of adulthood an integral part of the discussions in the preparatory work 2) If so, then how was it defined and are there any contradictions in the definition. In addition, this work also evaluated the impact of this law and investigated whether the absolute protection intended by the government and the committee of sexual crime seek actually exists. The study shows that the concept of adulthood was not defined specifically in the preparatory work. However, through the attempts of defining childhood, an inference of adulthood can be made indirectly. The different documents could not create a tenable definition which resulted in this process confusing rather than clarifying the definitions. These ambiguous definitions affect not only the victim of a sexual crime, but also the perpetrator and the judges’ interpretation of the law. The absolute protection also does not exist and instead of making the law stronger and firmer, the revision of the law made it weaker and reduced the judicial security.

The aim with this paper is to study Karl Popper’s view on realism and relativism. Further aim is to see whether those ideas have been consistent over the years. The paper argues that Popper since his first interest in philosophy has taken a realistic and antirelativistic attitude. Only his arguments for this position have been developed to meet his critics. Common sense speaks for realism but can neither be proven nor refuted. However, arguments for realism are among others all the chemical and biological theories that presuppose realism. Popper also expand his view on the real world to include, besides the material world, also a world of experiences which he calls “world 2” and a “world 3” comprising intellectual products. He also rejects relativism and for him knowledge is a system of statements or theories put forward for discussion. In a conflict between two opposing hypotheses, one of them could be right or both could be wrong but both could not be right. The conclusions in this study are based on Popper’s most important works from 1934 to 1990.

Democracy has been a part of the Swedish society for a long period of time and it is also a part of the Swedish elementary school curriculum, in which you can find a number of statements that expresses that the Swedish elementary school should socialize the children into becoming role model citizens. This also conjures with the available research that describes schools in general as socializing. This led me to a question that hasn’t been answered: How much of the curriculums reasons for socialization the pupils are based on democratic values and how much of it can be dated back to events prior to the curriculum? The methodological approach is an analysis of ideologies as described by Sven-Eric Liedman and Ingemar Nilsson in Ideologi och ideologianalys. The text is focusing on the fact that a text has two layers; one is the manifest which is roughly the same as explicit or present in the text. The other layer is the latent, which is a part of the texts meaning that is indeed present but it doesn’t show until you analyse the text in the company of a valid context, in my case the context is going to a text about political socialization and a brief review of curriculums different contexts. The essay, then, is consisting of 6 different cases consisting of a brief context and an analysis of a curriculum. The chosen curriculums are from 1919, 1955, 1962, 1969, 1980 and 1994. The study showed that a part of the curriculums reasons for socializing the pupils are based on democratic values which can be found in every curriculum that I’ve studied. The study also showed that the curriculums that I’ve studied are also partly consisting of opinions that can be dated back to events that occurred years prior to the curriculum.