Astrology is a science which has had an uncertain status throughout its history, from its beginnings in Greco-Roman Antiquity to the medieval Islamic world and Christian Europe which led to frequent debates about its validity and what kind of a place it should have, if any, in various cultures. Written in the second century A.D., Ptolemy’s Tetrabiblos is not the earliest surviving text on astrology. However, the complex defense given in the Tetrabiblos will be treated as an important starting point because it changed the way astrology would be justified in Christian and Muslim works and the influence Ptolemy’s presentation had on later works represents a continuation of the method introduced in the Tetrabiblos. Abū Ma‘shar’s Kitāb al-Madkhal al-kabīr ilā ‘ilm akām al-nujūm, written in the ninth century, was the most thorough surviving defense from the Islamic world. Roger Bacon’s Opus maius, although not focused solely on advocating astrology, nevertheless, does contain a significant defense which has definite links to the works of both Abū Ma‘shar and Ptolemy. As such, he demonstrates another stage in the development of astrology. These three works together reveal the threads of a trend of a rationalized astrology separated from its mythical origins which began with Ptolemy and survived through both medieval Islam and medieval Europe. In the two examples of defending astrology I have used, Abū Ma‘shar and Roger Bacon, Ptolemy’s influence can be seen to have persisted from the second century through to the thirteenth, and the nature of the differences in their defenses illustrates the continuation and evolution of the tradition of defending astrology.

Astrology is a science which has had an uncertain status throughout its history, from its beginnings in Greco-Roman Antiquity to the medieval Islamic world and Christian Europe which led to frequent debates about its validity and what kind of a place it should have, if any, in various cultures. Written in the second century A.D., Ptolemy’s Tetrabiblos is not the earliest surviving text on astrology. However, the complex defense given in the Tetrabiblos will be treated as an important starting point because it changed the way astrology would be justified in Christian and Muslim works and the influence Ptolemy’s presentation had on later works represents a continuation of the method introduced in the Tetrabiblos. Abū Ma‘shar’s Kitāb al-Madkhal al-kabīr ilā ‘ilm akām al-nujūm, written in the ninth century, was the most thorough surviving defense from the Islamic world. Roger Bacon’s Opus maius, although not focused solely on advocating astrology, nevertheless, does contain a significant defense which has definite links to the works of both Abū Ma‘shar and Ptolemy. As such, he demonstrates another stage in the development of astrology. These three works together reveal the threads of a trend of a rationalized astrology separated from its mythical origins which began with Ptolemy and survived through both medieval Islam and medieval Europe. In the two examples of defending astrology I have used, Abū Ma‘shar and Roger Bacon, Ptolemy’s influence can be seen to have persisted from the second century through to the thirteenth, and the nature of the differences in their defenses illustrates the continuation and evolution of the tradition of defending astrology.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:55:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 WellingtonSLJ_DISSERT.pdf: 3368256 bytes, checksum: e1e3e514061bb4417f8c184646d513ee (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-03-07 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / The vast hidric wealth of Brazil gets its watersheds more susceptible to impacts that compromise the water quality, affecting the ecosystem stability of aquatic environments. The decrease in the quality of water resources also results in a decrease of its multiple uses, especially in tourist areas of the coast, where the continuous flow of people to these sites increases even further the probability of inappropriate behavior of both tourists and local residents. Studies regarding the microbiological communities are still scarce, especially on the free-living protozoa that play unique roles in the food chain of aquatic ecosystems. Due to the large role played by this group of microorganisms in aquatic environments, the present study aimed at identifying the genus and species of free-living protozoa present in two sections of the Pium River, east coast of Rio Grande do Norte, making an association between the its occurrence and trophic conditions of the environment in which they are, also checking the bioindicator capacity of these organisms in water quality. It also aimed to conduct a survey with students to identify the main difficulties regarding the knowledge of free-living protozoa and hydric transmission diseases in two public schools near the river studied in the Pium district, county of Parnamirim. The survey was analyzed by means of questionnaires at both schools. Students identified several activities developed Pium river, highlighting its multifunctionality and importance to the region. A total of 76 taxa of free-living protozoa was recorded, of these, 33 were ciliates, 19 flagellates and 24 sarcodia. The spatial and temporal patterns of these organisms to both points studied revealed the bioindicator potentiality of some effective species identified. However, knowledge about the free-living protozoa proved quite lagged, presenting misconceptions that show them as pathogenic organisms exclusively, totally disregarding their ecological role. In order to remedy the flaws existing in students in relation to the functional role of protozoa, workshops were planned on these microorganisms while also addressing issues related to hydric transmission diseases through lectures, recreational activities and interactive presentations. These practical activities of Science Education had the goal of bringing students the context of local water resources, aiming to promote a greater clarification regarding of the functional role of free-living protozoa in aquatic environments / A vasta riqueza h?drica do Brasil deixa suas bacias hidrogr?ficas mais suscet?veis a impactos que comprometam a qualidade da ?gua, afetando a estabilidade ecossist?mica dos ambientes aqu?ticos. A diminui??o da qualidade dos recursos h?dricos resulta tamb?m na diminui??o dos seus usos m?ltiplos, principalmente em regi?es tur?sticas do litoral, onde o fluxo cont?nuo de pessoas a esses locais aumenta ainda mais a probabilidade de comportamentos inadequados tanto dos turistas quanto dos residentes locais. Os estudos a respeito das comunidades microbiol?gicas ainda s?o escassos, principalmente as de protozo?rios de vida livre, que desempenham fun??es singulares dentro da cadeia alimentar dos ecossistemas aqu?ticos. Devido ao grande papel desempenhado por este grupo de microrganismos nos ambientes aqu?ticos, o presente estudo teve por objetivo identificar os protozo?rios de vida livre, em g?nero e esp?cie, presentes em dois trechos do Rio Pium, litoral leste do Rio Grande do Norte, fazendo uma rela??o entre a ocorr?ncia e as condi??es tr?ficas do ambiente em que se encontram. Tamb?m se objetivou realizar uma sondagem junto aos alunos para identificar as principais dificuldades quanto ao conhecimento dos protozo?rios de vida livre e doen?as de veicula??o h?drica em duas escolas p?blicas pr?ximas ao rio estudado, no distrito de Pium, munic?pio de Parnamirim. A sondagem foi analisada por meio de question?rios aplicados em ambas as escolas. Foi registrado um total de 76 t?xons de protozo?rios de vida livre, destes, sendo 33 ciliados, 19 flagelados e 24 sarcod?neos. Os padr?es espaciais e temporais desses organismos nos dois pontos estudados revelaram a potencialidade bioindicadora eficaz de algumas esp?cies identificadas. Os alunos identificaram diversas atividades desenvolvidas no Rio Pium, destacando sua multifuncionalidade e import?ncia para a regi?o. Por?m, o conhecimento sobre os protozo?rios de vida livre mostrou-se bastante defasado, apresentando concep??es alternativas que os evidenciam como organismos exclusivamente patog?nicos, desconsiderando totalmente seu papel ecol?gico primordial. Com o prop?sito de minimizar os poss?veis equ?vocos existentes nos alunos em rela??o ao papel funcional dos protozo?rios, foram planejadas oficinas did?ticas sobre estes microrganismos, abordando tamb?m temas relacionados a doen?as de veicula??o h?drica por meio de palestras, atividades l?dicas e apresenta??es interativas. Estas atividades pr?ticas de Educa??o em Ci?ncias tiveram o intuito de aproximar os alunos do contexto dos recursos h?dricos locais, almejando-se promover um maior esclarecimento sobre o papel funcional dos protozo?rios de vida livre nos ambientes aqu?ticos