The aim of this essay is to discuss the meaning of the human and its possible overcoming in Friedrich Nietzsche’s doctrine of the eternal recurrence of the same, with Martin Heidegger’s readings of Nietzsche as point of departure. According to Heidegger, Nietzsche’s doctrine of the eternal recurrence of the same represents the end of occidental metaphysical thinking. The thought concludes a thinking of being as the presence of beings, where the original question of being was never developed out of its own ground. But at the heart of this interpretation, often considered “violent”, lies the question of whether man is able to think being out of his finitude. This is the question I will unfold, through a reading of Nietzsche’s thought of the eternal recurrence of the same, as it is presented in his Thus spoke Zarathustra, as an attempt to think beings in their being beyond a “humanization” of them, expressed in transcendental aims, purposes and categories. This attempt, I argue, is essentially bound up with a comportment toward the human self as the finite and the corporal. In this sense the human being in its finitude and corporeality is thefocus and the basis for the search for “the overman”. But this focus on man, as he who can overcome himself, is at the same time a focus that canbe said to lead man away from himself, in not asking the deeper question about what it means to be this human being. I will furthermore consider the tragic as the theme where this question of the overcoming of the human comes to the fore; the dionysic-tragic reveals both a view of man as the being that is mastered by the abyss that underlies this world, and therefore mastered by his finitude - and as the being who can master this same abyss, in thinking it as one with the human self. The purpose is not to take a position for or against Heidegger’s reading, but to develop a discussion between Heidegger and Nietzsche about the human self as always being both the closed and the open, and about the ways in which human thinking can approach this.

Nietzschean epistemology involved many subversive elements and, thus, posed a challenge to the Christian epistemology and to other traditional frames of references which appeared after the Enlightenment. With his philosophy Nietzsche problematised many of the traditional givens like the master signifier (God), the other organising principles, and the traditional binary oppositions on which the Western metaphysics was based. He shattered the previous parameters of existence irraparably when he disconnected the individual from his/her illusions by laying bare a decentered universe devoid of any form of meaning, and the result was nihilism in the beginning. Interestingly enough, Nietzschean epistemology also offered ways to overcome this nihilistic stage in an individual&rsquo / s struggle for a meaningful existence. This thesis is based on the analysis of two plays by Tom Murphy, &ldquo / Bailegangaire&rdquo / and &ldquo / The Sanctuary Lamp&rdquo / , against the background of Nietzschean philosophy and attempts to discover the parallelisms between Murphy&rsquo / s characters and Nietzschean elements in their search for the essence of existence and their desire for a meaningful life. In the plays, self-realisation of an individual, that is, overcoming nihilism, is mainly achieved by means of art and one&rsquo / s individual strength, which is characterised by the ability to endure abyss, affirm life as it is, forget and forgive one&rsquo / s enemies, follow instincts, employ one&rsquo / s will to power, acquire the power and the position of God in one&rsquo / s personal zone, and combine destruction and creation. The playwright conveys an individual&rsquo / s loss of purpose and the inevitable chaos in the aftermath of the death of God and, also, the methods to surmount this nihilistic condition. The study comes to the conclusion that all the above Nietzschean elements build a solid background for Murphy&rsquo / s drama, where the dramatist draws a picture of systematicity of existence of an individual who struggles to attain meaning.

Free will is a paramount concept that is central to our everyday lives, society and moral judgements. In this thesis, I search for the conditions under which free will can exist. This is done in relation to two topics: determinism and agency. Finally, I also explore the relation between free will and several social and philosophical concepts, and discuss briefly what would be the case if there were no free will.

This study investigated the understanding of normativity and free will from a developmental perspective. Being a new field of investigation, there is not much research conducted which points to different aspects of normativity. Current study, therefore, aimed to assess Turkish children&rsquo / s normative development on a sample of 2 and 3 years old in the context of games. It was expected, first, that children would show more protest when there is a norm violation. Moreover, older children would show more normative protest than younger ones. The results confirmed these hypotheses. In a second study, it was investigated whether the actor&rsquo / s being free to act as s/he wills versus constrained so that cannot act otherwise had an effect on children&rsquo / s protest in response to norm violations. It was hypothesized that a decrease in normative reactions and an increase in help responses would be observed. No age effect for help responses was expected. The results of this study did not reveal any decrease in normative reactions, but there was an increase in help responses regardless of the age.

The environment of medical industry in Taiwan is unprecedented rigorous. Except the finance pressure of medical expense billing and the increasing demand of the quality of medical service, recently due to the change of government health insurance policy, each medical organization strives for the rare resource and limited customer, not only start changing the type of the medical service, but also emphasis on improving the function of hospital management and controlling the cost. Formerly, purchasing simply means buying goods; but now, for the rigorous medical management environment and the rapid pace of innovation, purchasing clerk is required constant skill upgrading, such as leasing, loaning, BOT and outsourcing by contract, to obtain the use of goods and to satisfy the aim of demand. Additionally, the way to obtain the operation or ownership of goods is different from the former way. Contributed to the change, it presents its importance in business management. So, this research wants to investigate the relationship of human capital, knowledge sharing will, purchasing ability and purchasing performance. We applied exploratory and confirmatory analysis to investigate the relationship involved. The samples were purchasing clerks of hospital, including medical centers, regional hospitals and area hospitals. Out of 400 questionnaires were sent, the valid questionnaires returned were 114. Factor analysis , variable analysis, regression analysis were used to process the data acquired. The major findings of the research are summarized as follows: (1) the human capital of purchasing clerk is positive effect to purchasing ability and purchasing performance. (2) knowledge sharing will is positive effect to purchasing ability and purchasing performance (3)purchasing ability is positive effect to purchasing performance (4) purchasing ability has the mediate effect among human capital and knowledge sharing will with purchasing performance.

Thesis (M.A.)--Texas State University-San Marcos, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 72-75). Also available on microfilm.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Duquesne University, 2009. / Title from document title page. Abstract included in electronic submission form. Includes bibliographical references (p. 275-284) and index.

This dissertation is the first historical-cultural exploration of the ways tribal customs made their way into mainstream America. Throughout his career, Cherokee entertainer and political pundit Will Rogers (1879-1935) drew on Cherokee traditions to ameliorate Americans' anxieties over the increase of mass media, the rise of urbanism, and the threatened loss of individuality that came with these changes. This study complicates overly-simplistic assumptions that popular culture uniformly misrepresented and victimized Native peoples during the Progressive Era and Interwar Years. By analyzing the early twentieth century through the work of one of its most influential American Indian participants, this project broadens notions of both American popular political cultures and American Indian identities. Although Rogers and other publicly known Natives like him did not always fit into the public's perception of "the Indian," they did fit into their tribe's artistic and cultural traditions. In this way, Rogers's overlooked work--his live performances on vaudeville and radio, his syndicated journalistic commentary, and his astounding film career--challenges scholarly understandings of the representation and misrepresentation of Native Americans. This study does not merely illuminate the intimate connections between Will Rogers and the Cherokee Nation. It further elucidates the ways American and specific American Indian tribal histories interact with one another. Scholars so often focus on the colonization and usurpation of Indian nations that we overlook the many times indigenous individuals and nations impact the United States in both positive and negative ways. This dissertation, in short, shows that scholars must reconsider essentialized notions of Indianness, turning instead to specific tribal histories and the ways these traditions intermingle with others to affect the whole. / text

The Bhagavad Gītā, a classical Sanskrit text, describes a spiritual practice called karma yoga. Central to this practice is niṣkāma karman or action without desire. A number of philosophical issues present themselves in connection with this teaching. First, while the Gītā enjoins action, action seems prima facie problematic in the Gītā in light of metaphysical claims that seem to deny human freedom. Second, Western scholars who hold that desire is necessary for action find the Gītā's desirelessness requirement problematic. Finally, while the sense of karma yoga seems clear enough, the teaching is connected with two notions that are obscure: transcendence of the guṇa-s and surrender of action to Krishna. This dissertation explores and seeks solutions to these problems. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the Gītā's philosophy and selected classical Indian commentaries. Chapter 2 tackles the assumption by some scholars that the Gītā shares tenets of the determinist metaphysics of classical Sāṃkhya. This assumption is shown false and the argument made that the Gītā, as a yogic text, implies voluntarism. Chapter 2 offers an analysis of the Gītā's concept of guṇa (literally 'strand'), and argues that the puruṣa, or self, which is called a 'consenter' exercises agency in consenting. Chapter 3 addresses the worry that niṣkāma karman, or desireless action, is a contradictory notion because desire is necessary for action. Based on examination of the Gītā's theory of action, it is shown that the Gītā does not hold desire necessary for action and that in fact the text articulates four distinct types of niṣkaāma karman. Chapter 4 explores the concepts of transcendence of the guṇa-s and surrender of action to Krishna and develops a definition of karma yoga involving these concepts. The chapter concludes with an argument that karma yoga requires creativity. The dissertation closes with the suggestion that through karma yoga a practitioner might come to enjoy an extraordinary sort of freedom that surpasses the ability to exercise will. / text

This thesis explores engagement in organizational politics among managers. There is increasing recognition that organizational politics are ubiquitous in organizational life and critically important in managerial roles. Drawing on micro perspectives in extant literature on organizational politics, this research attempts to better understand managerial engagement in politics by focusing not only on managers’ ability to engage in politics, but also on their willingness to do so. As such, the research examines what managerial political will and political skill entail, as well as how political will and skill develop. In doing so, special consideration is paid to gender, an aspect largely ignored in extant research on organizational politics. Adopting a qualitative exploratory approach, the empirical study consisted of semi-structured interviews with 38 managers (20 women and 18 men) in two global companies. The thesis makes four key theoretical contributions. First, it conceptualizes and identifies three dimensions political will, a previously neglected factor pertaining to managerial political engagement. Second, the study reconciles and refines the dimensionality of political skill, as related to existing models in field. Third, the thesis introduces a novel developmental perspective on political will and skill, proposing an initial model of political maturation. This model outlines three stages of political maturation by mapping out developmental patterns in managers’ political will and skill. The model also identifies triggers of political maturation. Finally, the thesis unpacks the role of gender in managers’ political will, skill and their maturation, demonstrating the importance of making gender visible and voiced when investigating managers’ engagement in organizational politics. In articulating these contributions, the study thoroughly accounts for the impact of organizational context on the political will, skill and maturation journey of male and female managers.