Michael Dummett has proposed a means of characterising a range of traditional philosophical disputes. This method is intended to highlight the similarities which exist between these disputes and by this means to facilitate their solution. Within the characterisation each dispute is regarded as a conflict between proponents of different theories of meaning. This proposed characterisation, its validity and usefulness, form the main topic of consideration within this thesis. An exposition of the realist/anti-realist characterisation is presented which attempts to summarise the important features of Dummett's writings on this' topic. Subsequently attention is given over to a critical appraisal of this approach. The appraisal falls into two phases. The first of these is parochial in the sense that the topics discussed are internal to the framework of the characterisation. In the second phase the characterisation is viewed from further back and the relationship between it and its Wittgensteinian origins are examined. The first phase of the appraisal initially centres around issues which have arisen within the literature. One feature which emerges at this stage is that certain concepts which are central to the characterisation are in need of more precise specification. Further concerns regarding the specification are uncovered as the assessment extends beyond the published literature. In the second phase Wittgenstein's work on privacy is reviewed in some detail. It is concluded from this phase that some of the main disputes intended to be covered by the characterisation are in fact forestalled by Wittgenstein's work. Also it is suggested that the intended adoption of Wittgenstein's approach to meaning, within the characterisation, runs counter to Wittgenstein's intent. Overall it is concluded that the proposed characterisation is in need of better specification but that even if this is achieved, the approach to meaning which is being advocated is one which may not be sustainable.

M.Ed. (Philosophy of Education) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

The disciplines of Philosophy and Religious Studies contain a great deal of literature pertaining to the nature of reality, religious belief and God. This literature may be broadly divided into two categories, namely the rational or reasonable and the non-rational or unreasonable. Both these categories, as well as the variables within these categories are often responded to as if they are self-evident entities that exist in and by themselves; for example: religious constructs, political institutions, nation states, cultural institutions and the contents of the electronic media. My purpose in this thesis is to argue that all these investigative frameworks and conceptual belief systems effectively follow a certain dynamic.

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This dissertation offers a philosophical analysis of nihilism and antiblack racism. I argue that nihilism, the phenomenon espoused by Friedrich Nietzsche, is an implicit feature of antiblack racism. As a result of the implicit nihilism involved in antiblack racism, black existential life occupies a black nihilistic situation. In response to the black nihilistic situation, one can respond either weakly, as I argue is the case with Cornel West and Derrick Bell, or strongly, as I argue is the case with Frantz Fanon. I conclude that strong black nihilism is a healthy response to nihilism and antiblack racism because it is a trans-valuation of traditional forms of antiblack racist valuing, which exemplifies a commitment to the language and action of constructing non-decadent human worlds premised upon the existential freedom and responsibility of all human beings. / Philosophy

The thesis investigates activism in the context of an empowering teaching of economics in two educational settings: TAFE and university. The chosen research methodology is critical action research and the thesis is framed as an emergent process, incorporating critical reflection on the researcher's own assumptions from the outset.The study showed that critical reflection requires a continual process of critical questioning to explore and undercover deeply held assumptions and beliefs. A key finding is the significance of relationship within an atmosphere of openness and trust in enhancing critical reflection. A significant finding was the emergent distinction between 'critical reflection' and 'critical reflexivity' and a significant implication from investigating the process of reflexivity is that an important role for activism may be that of the 'relexive inquirer', the person who assists the deeper reflection, with no agenda other than to explore, to understand and to reveal deeper meanings. Activism may well offer empowerment of a very different kind - the freedom to experience the world free of materialist desire, valuing the building of communities through connectedness with others and the environment / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Through my art process and material selection, I investigate how interior spaces long to accumulate memories and possessions. I am interested in encroaching floor to ceiling build-up of collected goods kept in the homes of individuals unable to discard or part with possessions. These individual’s daily movements through their space and their denial of the surrounding mass informs my work. My work is larger than human scale, made of multiple units, and dense; yet understated by the subtle use of color and repeated materials. When I make an installation it often begins with creating a wall or a floor that delineates itself from the actual architecture of a room. I procure discarded domestic fragments such as carpet, shingles, and blinds. I select one material for each project to emphasize excessive quantities. I seek out donated goods and trash piles, heaps on the edge of consumer waste. The sourcing of these materials is serendipitous. I elevate these mundane materials by taking them out of their original context. The cycle of regeneration moves from material to “art object” back to material again as the work is displayed and dispersed back into the cycle of waste. In this thesis I will discuss how through my process and materials, I investigate interior spaces where memory and possessions accumulate.

The power of the sacred and the community. A tracking from Durkheim to Bataille in the College of Sociology”. This paper studies the notion of sacredin Durkheim’s developments within the French sociological school and of those from Georges Bataille in the College of Sociology. Considering the peculiarity of these developments, which had influence in the early twentieth century, we show the broadening of the interpretation of the sacred to other phenomena different from religious issues, pointing the potential of this concept in the formulation of a critique of secular modernity. So, the sacred is the nodal point from which both Durkheim and Bataille, each one from his own perspective, problematizesthe social effervescence, where, also, community becomes a central problem, raising questions and issues in the realm of contemporary political thought. / En el presente trabajo se realiza un rastreo de la noción de lo sagrado en los desarrollos de Émile Durkheim dentro de la Escuela sociológica francesa y de Georges Bataille en el marco del Colegio de sociología. Atendiendo a la peculiaridad que imprimieron estos desarrollos de principios del siglo XX, se presenta, en el siguiente trabajo, la ampliación de la interpretación de lo sagrado hacia problemas y fenómenos no religiosos, mostrando la potencialidad de esta noción a la hora de plantear una crítica a la modernidad secularizada. Así, lo sagrado es el punto nodal a partir del cual tanto Durkheim como Bataille, y cada uno desde su perspectiva, problematiza acerca de la efervescencia de lo social, donde cobra centralidad el problema de la comunidad permitiendo plantear sugerentes cuestiones en el ámbito del pensamiento político contemporáneo.

Orientador: Itala Maria Loffredo D'Ottaviano / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-12T08:48:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Suguitani_LeandroOliva_M.pdf: 498724 bytes, checksum: 92a1cd68fc996cc91200b7596bd9188e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008 / Resumo: Em 1975, Alfred Tarski, um dos maiores lógicos contemporâneos, visitou o Instituto de Matemática, Estatística e Ciência da Computação (IMECC) da Unicamp. Nessa oportunidade, foi organizado um evento, o Simpósio de Lógica Matemática, para recebê-lo. Tarski apresentou então sua axiomatização para o cálculo de relações, conhecida como álgebra de relações (RA). A RA, como teoria formal desenvolvida por Tarski, foi apresentada em duas conferências, que foram pioneiramente gravadas em fita de vídeo e atualmente fazem parte do acervo dos Arquivos Históricos do Centro de Lógica, Epistemologia e História da Ciência (CLE) da Unicamp. Neste trabalho, apresentamos uma transcrição das conferências de Tarski e examinamos o seu conteúdo, inserindo-o no contexto histórico do desenvolvimento da teoria do cálculo de relações, cujo início remonta à alguns trabalhos de De Morgan, Peirce e Schröder. Tendo em vista que a origem dessa teoria já foi devidamente abordada, concentrar-nos-emos mais no conteúdo das conferências de Tarski proferidas no Brasil, sobre RA, dando especial atenção aos problemas deixados em aberto nessa ocasião, e no recente desenvolvimento de sua teoria. / Abstract: In 1975, Alfred Tarski visited the Instituto de Matemática, Estatástica e Ciência da Computação (IMECC) at Unicamp, Brazil. In that ocasion, an event was organized to welcome him, the Simpósio de Lógica Matemática. Tarski's talking was about his axiomatization on the calculus of relations, which in that time was already known as Relation Algebra (RA). In Brazil, the formal theory of RA developed by Tarski was introduced to his audience in two lectures, which were taped and nowadays belongs to the historical files of Arquivos Hist'oricos do Centro de Lógica, Epistemologia e História da Ciência (CLE) at Unicamp. Our work aims to bring Tarski's conferences for public access through our transcription of them, and besides that, it is also our aim to analize Tarski's lectures and put it into the historical context of the development of RA, which origin goes back to some works of De Morgan, Peirce and Schröder. Our focus is on the content of the conferences, specially on the open problems left by Tarski and on the recent development of his theory. / Mestrado / Mestre em Filosofia

The purpose of this study was to describe the experiences of Joe Duquette High School students through listening to their stories. My approach to listening developed out of the context of the school's Aboriginal philosophy. The thesis analyzes and describes what constitutes a meaningful education within the cultural framework of Good and Right Relations from the perspective of Joe Duquette High School students.<p> The Joe Duquette High School environment is a holistic one where the Sacred Circle philosophy and the good and right relations framework serves as a guide to the pedagogy of the school.<p> The methodology used in this thesis was shaped by the cultural philosophy of Joe Duquette High School and guided by student emphasis and meaning. A number of methodologies were drawn upon in order to approach the multiple contexts of the Joe Duquette High School cultural complex.<p> The central themes identified by students through their narratives serve as an organizational framework for the findings. My interpretation of what the students said is presented through my own personal narrative. I used my own story to develop more fully those ideas/concepts/ideals expressed by the students.<p>The main contribution of this study is highlighting the Joe Duquette High School experience through the students' perspectives and the method used to tell their story came out of the cultural context of the school.