School of Historical and Philosophical Studies - Theses
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ItemNo Preview AvailableTextile production in prehistoric Anatolia : a study of three early bronze age sites(University of Melbourne, 2005)
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ItemNo Preview AvailableResearch on the function of Gallo-Roman theatres(University of Melbourne, 2003)
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ItemDefining epiphany in the Homeric hymns(University of Melbourne, 2002)
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ItemMos maiorum in Tacitus(University of Melbourne, 2002)
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ItemClarifying the distinctions between ethical theories : with special attention to consequentialism and deontologism( 2005)My overall project is to clarify the distinctions among ethical theories. In doing this I am improving our ability to assess which moral considerations are legitimate. I firstly give an account of the traditional distinctions among ethical theories. I explain how specific ethical theories have been grouped together, which makes evident the significance given to the distinction between Consequentialist and Deontologist theories. I then argue that the Consequentialist/Deontologist distinction is problematised by considerations in action theory. The specific consideration in action theory (which I argue is true) is that there is no principled way to determine where an act ends and a consequence begins. Thus, since the distinction between acts and consequences can be vague, so too is the distinction between the ethical theories of Consequentialism and Deontologism, which relies on this distinction. In the following chapter 1 elucidate the usefulness of the concepts 'Consequentialism' and 'Deontologism' by analysing the relationship between the concepts they are constructed upon: goodness and rightness. I argue that to hold a state-of-affairs good to exist entails that one also holds that one ought to (it is right to) bring this state-of-affairs about. Hence, goodness entails rightness. However, this claim is heavily qualified. Moreover, I affirm that it is perfectly intelligible and coherent that an act can be considered right independently of the value of a state-of-affairs. Finally, I catalogue a number of intelligible and coherent characteristics of ethical theories, and demonstrate how the existence of such moral considerations will greatly complicate moral theorising. My intention here is to appreciate the complexity of our moral experience, rather than impose a false order. Giving too much significance to the Consequentialism/Deontologism distinction is an imposition of false order. Hence, I argue that the Consequentialism/Deontologism distinction is not the fundamental distinction between ethical theories, rather it is one distinction among many.
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ItemThe placebo mystique : biomedical implications( 2005)The 'placebo effect' is a medical enigma. It lies at the heart of modem medical research but remains an amorphous concept; used either as a weapon to dismiss the subjective successes of alternative therapies or to bolster medical claims to scientific 'truth'. In a paradoxical fashion, mainstream medicine overtly rejects the significance of the placebo effect, whilst simultaneously using its existence as justification for the use of placebos in clinical trials. This study aims to explore the complex relationship between biomedicine and the 'placebo effect'. Specifically, I aim to understand how dispute about the meaning of the 'placebo effect' developed and how it currently impacts upon clinical and research work. The study is structured in two parts; the first part contains a discussion of the historical background to confusion about placebos; the second part contains a report on a survey conducted to assess current understanding(s) of the placebo effect amongst Australian medical practitioners. The survey demonstrates that confusion persists amongst clinicians and researchers as to the nature of placebos and the placebo effect. There is disagreement about when placebos should be used, when placebo effects are involved and what conclusions should be drawn from the studies that are performed. The survey made it clear that many doctors are uncertain about the indication for placebo use in clinical trials; many doctors were under the mistaken impression that placebos are essential to control for the placebo effect. I argue that this misconception may well have its origins in Henry Beecher's incorrect assertion that the placebo effect makes placebos an essential component of randomised controlled trials. I discuss the implications of this, mostly particularly in influencing researchers to use placebo controls in situations where they are not methodologically essential.
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ItemFlux, fire and the unity of opposites in Heraclitus( 2004)The name of the early Greek philosopher Heraclitus is commonly associated with three key theses, all of which are attributed to him at some point in the writings of Aristotle and each of which remains of central importance in the over all interpretation of his thought. These are: (i) the view that all things are in constant flux, (ii) the view that opposite qualities are identical, and (iii) the view that the whole "cosmos" is composed of fire. It is the aim of this thesis to consider whether, and in what sense, Heraclitus might be considered to have subscribed to each of these views. The question is initially approached indirectly by considering a central background issue in the study of Heraclitus, the issue of whether his immediate predecessors in Ionia were "material monists" in the sense described by Aristotle. The strongest of recent arguments on either side of the debate will be examined and assessed, and it will be concluded that we have good reason, on the balance"of probabilities, to doubt whether any of these men were material monists in the sense so described. In the second part of the thesis the significance of this conclusion for our understanding of Heraclitus will be explored. It will be argued that Heraclitus can best be understood as (i) inheriting from his predecessors a concern for the intelligibility, regularity and order of the cosmos, and (ii) as reacting against a view of the world as fundamentally composed of separate and distinct substances or things. Having first defended the historical plausibility of attributing these two basic ideas to Heraclitus, their potential when taken together for resolving a series of traditional problems in the interpretation of his thought will be explored. These problems will include the question of whether Heraclitus subscribed to a view that might be called "universal flux", the question of how to account for the priority of fire in his thought, and the question of how to understand his constant juxtaposition of various pairs of opposites and assertion that they are, in some sense, one.
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ItemResistance in Nietzsche's shadow Modes of Self-transfiguration( 2005)The present study investigates the nature of two differing modes of self-transfiguration: volitional practices of self-overcoming and limit experiences, particularly in light of Friedrich Nietzsche's thought. The first mode of self-transfiguration concerns volitional practices of self-cultivation, which in Nietzsche's work may be cast within an ethos of perfectionism and self-excellence. These practices will be the primary focus of this study, and are interpreted in terms of an endeavour to actualize one's potential. As forms of individual resistance contra the normalizing forces of one's age, such practices serve to enhance one's autonomy, individuality, and to cultivate one's character and potential. I will be offering an exposition and critique of the nature of practices of self-cultivation, discussing the implication and role of agency, aesthetics, ideals, and corporeality. Self-transfiguration is partly a function of one's existing nature and constitution which provide particular limits and possibilities to self-enhancement. In this respect, self-discovery is an essential precursor to self-transfiguration insofar as one must examine one's own potential, as well as the kinds of motives inherent in aspirations towards self-overcoming. At the same time though, there are certainly limits to the powers of volition and self-knowledge, and to the control one can exercise over one's practices. The second mode of self-transfiguration under review is limit experiences, or what Nietzsche would call "Dionysian aesthetic experience." In stark contrast to volitional practices, these kinds of experiences involve self-dispossession and a suspension of one's powers of agency and self-consciousness. Yet there are important existential and affective benefits deriving from passages of "self-forgetting" which cannot be provided for by volitional practices. I will offer a thorough contrast between these two modes of self-transfiguration. Though I believe that volitional practices are of greater importance insofar as a great majority of the struggle in self-transformation involves critical examination of oneself, and of social norms and practices, these modes of self-transfiguration can and should supplement each other.
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ItemA case study in the logic of financial economics : showing that the Arrow-Debreu framework can rationalise the historically observed equity risk premium( 2005)In their seminal paper "The Equity Premium: A Puzzle" (1985), Mehra and Prescott attempted to test whether neo-classical economics could rationalise the observed equity risk premium and risk free rate. They ensured consistency with neo-classical economics by taking the Arrow-Debreu assumptions. For example, all participants have complete structural knowledge, and each participant has a Debreu compliant utility function, known to all participants, that does not change. They also made a number of additional, unrealistic assumptions not required by neo-classical economics. This allowed them to construct a relatively simple and elegant model of the economy, in which the equity risk premium is the logical product of only four key parameters. Remarkably, the model calculates the equity risk premium to be 0% to 2%, a long way from the observed risk premium suggesting 6% to 8%,. causing Mehra and Prescott to argue that a neo-classical model could not rationalise the historical data. I built an Arrow-Debreu (neo-classical) economic model, that avoided Mehra and Prescott 's following assumptions: the income growth process does not change from year to year; the parameters of the consumption growth process are objectively inferable from historical consumption growth data; consumption will equal income every year; the capital price/income ratio will not change from year to year; stock equity as a proportion of total capital does not change from year to year; and dividends are always equal to actual income less 90% of expected income and this does not change from year to year. These assumptions are unrealistic and are not required by neo-classical economics. Avoiding these assumptions makes the model more realistic, yet, in contrast to other proposed equity risk premium models, maintains its neo-classical basis. It requires more difficult mathematics (I was forced to resort to numerical analysis), and the model is more complex, . requiring 13 parameters. For example, without the assumption that the capital price/income ratio and the stock equity to total capital ratio is constant, I needed to consider the volatility of these ratios. I had to accept that expected future consumption growth may reasonably be higher or lower than the past 80 years' historical average. My model should not be thought of as having 13 parameters that can hold any value: each of the parameters is a real world quantity (even if difficult to measure). I made a conscientious effort to ensure parameters did not take unrealistic values. My model implies an enormous range for the true equity risk premium. Neoclassical economics (without additional unrealistic restrictions) doesn't give the clear answers that one would like. It is consistent with such a huge range of historically observed equity risk premiums that it is virtually unfalsifiable. But at the same time, this means that the model now can rationalise the historical data - Mehra and Prescott's claim is untrue. The inconsistency should not have been blamed on neo-classical assumptions, when it results from their additional, unnecessary and unrealistic assumptions. Financial economics should be quicker to question the impact of its simplifying assumptions, rather than being blinded by elegance.
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ItemScientific practice and biodiversity : amateur and professional knowledge communities( 2004)This thesis is an ethnography of different scientific practices that sustain a diversity of biodiversities. My fieldwork for this has allowed me to spend time with two groups of scientists, one I call 'professional' and the other 'amateur'. I paid closed attention to how they do things, and how they explain these. With the professionals, I followed them as they mapped a large region of Victoria for what are called Ecological Vegetation Classes (EVCs). I also had informal discussions with the leader of the Ecological Vegetation Class project located in a government department, and studied the published documents and scientific papers in which the EVCs are justified and reported. With the amateurs, I was able observe them at work in their indigenous plant nursery and bushlands of the eastern suburbs of Melbourne where the success of their efforts are shown in the form of `native vegetation'. I also attended some of their private meetings and studied their record keeping systems. Both of these biodiversity conservation projects can be placed within national and international efforts. I have chosen to treat them equally as 'local knowledges', each with particular forms of knowing and of sustaining different biodiversities. This is an ontological difference, and a political one. The groups are involved in ontological politics. Recognising their differences and samenesses is an opportunity for understanding the complexities of biodiversity conservation, especially its multiplicities.
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