Friedrich Riesz' Beitr��ge zur Herausbildung des modernen mathematischen Konzepts abstrakter R��ume

Der ungarische Mathematiker Friedrich Riesz studierte und forschte in den mathematischen Milieus von Budapest, G��ttingen und Paris. Die vorliegende Arbeit m��chte zeigen, da�� die Beitr��ge von Riesz zur Herausbildung eines abstrakten Raumbegriffs durch eine Verkn��pfung von Entwicklungen aus allen drei mathematischen Kulturen erm��glicht wurden, in denen er sich bewegt hat. Die Arbeit konzentriert sich dabei auf den von Riesz 1906 ver��ffentlichten Text ���Die Genesis des Raumbegriffs". Sowohl f��r seine Fragestellungen als auch f��r seinen methodischen Zugang fand Riesz vor allem in Frankreich und G��ttingen Anregungen: Henri Poincar��s Beitr��ge zur Raumdiskussion, Maurice Fr��chets Ans��tze einer abstrakten Punktmengenlehre, David Hilberts Charakterisierung der Stetigkeit des geometrischen Raumes. Diese Impulse aufgreifend suchte Riesz ein Konzept zu schaffen, das die Forderungen von Poincar��, Hilbert und Fr��chet gleicherma��en erf��llte. So schlug Riesz einen allgemeinen Begriff des mathematischen Kontinuums vor, dem sich Fr��chets Konzept der L-Klasse, Hilberts Mannigfaltigkeitsbegriff und Poincar��s erfahrungsgem����e Vorstellung der Stetigkeit des ���wirklichen' Raumes unterordnen lie��en. F��r die Durchf��hrung seines Projekts wandte Riesz mengentheoretische und axiomatische Methoden an, die er der Analysis in Frankreich und der Geometrie bei Hilbert entnommen hatte. Riesz' aufnahmebereite Haltung spielte dabei eine zentrale Rolle. Diese Haltung kann wiederum als ein Element der ungarischen mathematischen Kultur gedeutet werden, welche sich damals ihrerseits stark an den Entwicklungen in Frankreich und Deutschland orientierte. Dar��ber hinaus enth��lt Riesz��� Arbeit Ans��tze einer konstruktiven Mengenlehre, die auf Ren�� Baire zur��ckzuf��hren sind. Aus diesen unerwarteten Ergebnissen ergibt sich die Aufgabe, den Bezug von Riesz��� und Baires Ideen zur sp��teren intuitionistischen Mengenlehre von L.E.J. Brouwer und Hermann Weyl weiter zu erforschen.

Approaches to history; selections in the philosophy of history from the Greeks to Hegel.

The Greeks -- The Bible -- St. Augustine -- Bodin -- Vico -- Herder -- Hegel.

Lectures on the philosophy of history,

Mode of access: Internet.

Studies in the philosophy of history and the new science of sociology.

"Developed from the lectures delivered to the senior class in the university of Mississippi, during the second term of 1884."

Non-reductive Physicalism, Irreducibility of the Mental and the Problem of Mental Causation : A study of Donald Davidson's and Georg Henrik von Wright's positions in the philosophy of mind

In this study I consider what kind of perspective on the mind body problem is taken and can be taken by a philosophical position called non-reductive physicalism. Many positions fall under this label. The form of non-reductive physicalism which I discuss is in essential respects the position taken by Donald Davidson (1917-2003) and Georg Henrik von Wright (1916-2003). I defend their positions and discuss the unrecognized similarities between their views. Non-reductive physicalism combines two theses: (a) Everything that exists is physical; (b) Mental phenomena cannot be reduced to the states of the brain. This means that according to non-reductive physicalism the mental aspect of humans (be it a soul, mind, or spirit) is an irreducible part of the human condition. Also Davidson and von Wright claim that, in some important sense, the mental aspect of a human being does not reduce to the physical aspect, that there is a gap between these aspects that cannot be closed. I claim that their arguments for this conclusion are convincing. I also argue that whereas von Wright and Davidson give interesting arguments for the irreducibility of the mental, their physicalism is unwarranted. These philosophers do not give good reasons for believing that reality is thoroughly physical. Notwithstanding the materialistic consensus in the contemporary philosophy of mind the ontology of mind is still an uncharted territory where real breakthroughs are not to be expected until a radically new ontological position is developed. The third main claim of this work is that the problem of mental causation cannot be solved from the Davidsonian - von Wrightian perspective. The problem of mental causation is the problem of how mental phenomena like beliefs can cause physical movements of the body. As I see it, the essential point of non-reductive physicalism - the irreducibility of the mental - and the problem of mental causation are closely related. If mental phenomena do not reduce to causally effective states of the brain, then what justifies the belief that mental phenomena have causal powers? If mental causes do not reduce to physical causes, then how to tell when - or whether - the mental causes in terms of which human actions are explained are actually effective? I argue that this - how to decide when mental causes really are effective - is the real problem of mental causation. The motivation to explore and defend a non-reductive position stems from the belief that reductive physicalism leads to serious ethical problems. My claim is that Davidson's and von Wright's ultimate reason to defend a non-reductive view comes back to their belief that a reductive understanding of human nature would be a narrow and possibly harmful perspective. The final conclusion of my thesis is that von Wright's and Davidson's positions provide a starting point from which the current scientistic philosophy of mind can be critically further explored in the future.

Relook into the historical progress and philosophy of Indian space exploration

A study of the history and philosophy of the contribution of India towards the exploration of space since antiquity provides interesting insights. The contributions are described during the three periods namely: (1) the ten millenniums from 10,000 BC with a twilight period up to 900 AD; (2) the ten centuries from 900 AD to 1900 AD; and (3) the ten decades from 1900 AD to 2000 AD; called mythological, medieval, and modern respectively. Some important events during the above periods provide a reference view of the progress. The Vedas during the mythological period and the Siddhantas during the medieval periods, which are based on astronomical observations, indicate that the Indian contribution preceded other cultures. But most Western historians ignore this fact time and again in spite of many proofs provided to the contrary. This chapter also shows that Indians had the proper scientific attitude of developing any physical theory through the triplet of mind, model, and measurements. It is this same triplet that forms the basis of the present day well known Kalman filter technique. Up to about 1500 BC the Indian contribution was leading but during foreign invasion and occupation it lagged and has been improving only after independence.

Nietzsche's physiological philosophy of history

M��moire num��ris�� par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Universit�� de Montr��al

The Development of Science Education Research in Brazil and Contributions from the History and Philosophy of Science

Over the last 50 years a new research area, science education research, has arisen and undergone singular development worldwide. In the specific case of Brazil, research in science education first appeared systematically 40 years ago, as a consequence of an overall renovation in the field of science education. This evolution was also related to the political events taking place in the country. We will use the theoretical work of Rene Kaes on the development of groups and institutions as a basis for our discussion of the most important aspects that have helped the area of science education research develop into an institution and kept it operating as such. The growth of this area of research can be divided into three phases: The first was related to its beginning and early configurations; the second consisted of a process of consolidation of this institution; and the third consists of more recent developments, characterised by a multiplicity of research lines and corresponding challenges to be faced. In particular, we will analyse the special contributions to this study gleaned from the field known as the history and philosophy of science.

The Rechtslehre doctrine and Kant's philosophy of history

The text is divided in two phases. In the first phase, consisting of three parts, the main concepts of Kant's Doctrine of Right are considered in a comprehensive approach related to: the issue of the relations between natural right and positive right, problem closely connected to that of the relations between natural state and civil state, private right and public right; to the doctrine of property and its connection with political right. on treating the right in its several types, we intend to appoint the practical reasoning as a background of the Doctrine. In the second phase, concerning its last section, the consideration on the presence of the practical reasoning into the right is placed before some specificities of Kant's phylosophy of history, with the intent of establishing the possible relation between Rechtslehre and that philosophy.

Pedagogical practices carried out during an in-service teachers education project: approaching history and philosophy of science to physics teaching

We report here part of a research project developed by the Science Education Research Group, titled: "Teachers��� Pedagogical Practices and formative processes in Science and Mathematics Education" which main goal is the development of coordinated research that can generate a set of subsidies for a reflection on the processes of teacher training in Sciences and Mathematics Education. One of the objectives was to develop continuing education activities with Physics teachers, using the History and Philosophy of Science as conductors of the discussions and focus of teaching experiences carried out by them in the classroom. From data collected through a survey among local Science, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics teachers in Bauru, a S��o Paulo State city, we developed a continuing education proposal titled ���The History and Philosophy of Science in the Physics teachers��� pedagogical practice���, lasting 40 hours of lessons. We followed the performance of five teachers who participated in activities during the 2008 first semester and were teaching Physics at High School level. They designed proposals for short courses, taking into consideration aspects of History and Philosophy of Science and students��� alternative conceptions. Short courses were applied in real classrooms situations and accompanied by reflection meetings. This is a qualitative research, and treatment of data collected was based on content analysis, according to Bardin [1].