Figures of the Monstrous in Nietzsche's "The Birth of Tragedy"

UIDB/00183/2020 UIDP/00183/2020In this essay, we intend to interpret "The Birth of Tragedy" from a deconstructive perspective. We can say that the language of tragedy is deconstructive, for one of its characteristics is that of the decomposition of the unitary meaning of terms. In "The Birth of Tragedy", we find two fundamentally different ways of conceiving tragedy: one, static — in which a definition of the essence of the tragic is established; the other, dynamic — which reflects an understanding of tragedy as a historical process in which the meaning of the tragic is progressively fragmented and multiplied. In this second conception of tragedy, a deconstructive and tragic language is at work. Terms such as the monstrous ("das Ungeheure") and monstrous ("ungeheuer") play the role of a sort of axis around which the two conceptions of tragedy revolve. On the one hand, "das Ungeheure" is that in relation to which the experience of tragedy constitutes itself; on the other, "ungeheuer" is each one of the events leading to the multiple and diametrically opposed turns in the historical evolution process of tragedy, which Nietzsche regards as being themselves tragic. It is the equivocality of the meaning of "ungeheuer" that makes the term particularly apt to play the role of the instrument of decomposition and multiplication of the meaning of the tragic in the context of the second conception of tragedy. If we consider that "The Birth of Tragedy" includes a community project based on a certain experience of tragedy as a relation to "das Ungeheure", it is possible to maintain that this project takes the form of a politics of the monstrous which, grounded in a view of the history of tragedy as a succession of monstrous events destabilizing the meaning of the tragic, amounts to a certain politics of difference.publishersversionpublishe

The ordinal numbers in hesiod's myth of the races

UIDB/00183/2020 UIDP/00183/2020To understand the meaning and function of the ordinal numbers in the myth of the races it is essential to have a full grasp of how the myth is composed and its structure is supposed to be perceived by a listener or reader. There is a general silence among Hesiod scholars about the meaning and function of the ordinal numbers in the myth. A tacit agreement may be inferred from such a silence: the ordinal numbers are implicitly taken to merely express the chronological order of the races. In this article, I examine each and every one of the ordinal numbers that appear in Hesiod's myth. I demonstrate that the ordinal numbers preserve their hierarchical dimension even in the cases in which this appears to be less convincing.publishersversionpublishe

A Platonic model and its inversion in Homer and Classical Philology

UIDB/00183/2020 UIDP/00183/2020This article intends to demonstrate that Plato is present in the young Nietzsche’s thinking, particularly in the definition of philology that is proposed in Homer and Classical Philology. Indeed, Plato’s Sophist makes it possible to comprehend a core aspect of Nietzsche’s thinking on philology, that which is the starting point for all his thinking as it gets developed in the inaugural lecture: the contradiction between the two fundamental trends of philology (aesthetic classicism and historical criticism) and the paralyzing consequences for the practising of it if this contradiction is taken seriously. Furthermore, the Sophist makes it possible to point out an aspect relating to how Nietzsche, in his lecture, tries to overcome the paralyzing effect of the contradiction found in philology, namely through an inversion of Socratic-Platonic logic, according to which a contradiction cannot arise in a concept and has to be purged so as to clear the pathway towards obtaining true knowledge. Instead of adhering to this purging approach, he accepts the contradiction that, at the time, characterized philology. The result of his position is a completely different way of understanding the nature of concepts and truth.publishersversionpublishe

Socrates' Apology of Discourse in the "Phaedo"

UID/FIL/00183/2013In this article we examine the Phaedo section on misology. Socrates tries to identify the nature and origin of μισολογία, as well as its ruinous consequences for the philosophical life. Μισολογία has a disastrous effect on philosophical life, because it consists in hatred of argument and therefore bears the power to undermine the confidence in λόγοι which is the very basis of life devoted to philosophy. Since philosophy is based upon confidence in λόγοι and could consequently be termed a kind of φιλολογία, hatred of argument or μισολογία can be equated with hatred of philosophy. Socrates endeavours to protect philosophy against the dangers of μισολογία. He does this by showing that confidence in λόγοι is the only way to conduct a meaningful life: the philosophical life. He performs an apology for λόγοι, which is an apology for philosophy and a fortiori for his own life: the life of a true φιλόλογος.publishersversionpublishe

The Human and the Divine in the First Stasimon of Sophocles’ Antigone

UIDB/00183/2020 UIDP/00183/2020The first stasimon of the Antigone has the second antistrophe as its key moment. If read in connection with the whole of the play, the second antistrophe points in advance to a conflict between two inadequate forms of relationship between the human and the divine as the reason for the catastrophe that befalls Thebes. It represents a microcosm of the whole play, which deals with a conflict between Antigone's and Creon's inadequate forms of relating to the divine. It does not refer to just one of the protagonists but to both simultaneously. By referring to what an adequate relationship between the human and the divine is and what it is not, it establishes a decisive criterion from which not only the play's outcome but also the meaning of every human society can be assessed.publishersversionpublishe

Religious Conflict in Sophocles’ Antigone

In this study we argue that Sophocles’ Antigone deals with a conflict between two different ways in which the human relates to the divine. One of the main factors causing this conflict is that the positions taken by the play’s main characters are characterized by their boldness and insolence. The conflict between Antigone and Creon takes place because two misconceptions of the divine seek to annihilate each other. The limitations in both Antigone’s and Creon’s misconceptions are caused by a god. Due to the vagueness as to the exact divine cause of their misconceptions, the learning process of the two main characters in Sophocles’ play proves to be tragic, since it does not lead them to understand which god has made them fall into disgrace or which particular course of action they should have followed in the past or should follow henceforth.Neste estudo, sustentamos que a Antígona de Sófocles versa sobre um conflito entre duas diferentes formas de o humano se relacionar com o divino. Um dos principais factores deste conflito tem que ver com o facto de as posições tomadas pelos protagonistas da peça se caracterizarem pela sua insolência. O conflito entre Creonte e Antígona dá-se porque duas concepções inadequadas do divino se procuram anular reciprocamente. As limitações quer da concepção de Antígona quer da de Creonte são causadas por um deus. Em virtude da indeterminação sobre qual é exactamente a causa divina dessas limitações, a aprendizagem dos dois protagonistas da Antígona possui um carácter trágico, pois não os leva a compreender que deus os fez cair em desgraça nem como deveriam ter agido anteriormente ou deverão agir daí em diante

RepComp - replicated software components for improved performance

Trabalho apresentado no âmbito do Mestrado em Engenharia Informática, como requisito parcial para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia InformáticaThe current trend of evolution in CPU architectures favours increasing the number of processing cores in lieu of improving the clock speed of an individual core. While improving clock rates automatically benefits any software executing on that processor, the same is not valid for adding new cores. To take advantage of an increased number of cores, software must include explicit support for parallel execution. This work explores a solution based on diverse replication which allows applications to transparently explore parallel processing power: macro-components. Applications typically make use of components with well-defined interfaces that have a number of possible underlying implementations with different characteristic. A macro-component is a component which encloses several of these implementations while offering the same interface as a regular implementation. Inside the macro-component,the implementations are used as replicas, and used to process any incoming operations. Using the best replica for each incoming operation, the macro-component is able to improve global performance. This dissertation provides an initial research on the use of these macro-components,detailing the technical challenges faced and proposing a design for the macro-component support system. Additionally, an implementation and subsequent validation of the proposed system are presented. These examples show that macro-components can achieve improved performance versus simple component implementations

Uma questão fundamental na analítica existencial de Heidegger

UIDB/00183/2020 UIDP/00183/2020publishersversionpublishe

Seleção de áreas de prospeção mineira com recurso aos SIG na região de Lagoa Negra (NW de Portugal)

As mineralizações filonianas hidrotermais são abundantes no Norte de Portugal, a sua prospeção e exploração remonta, pelo menos desde o tempo de ocupação Romana o que tem suscitado o interesse das empresas mineiras na aquisição de áreas para pesquisa e exploração. A área de estudo enquadra-se numa licença de prospeção da Empresa mineira " Klondike Gold Portugal " recentemente adquirida pela " Medgold Resources ". A concessão de prospeção designa-se por Balazar e está situada na região do NW do Anticlinal de Valongo. O estudo centrou-se na zona da Lagoa Negra, onde é conhecida a mineralização de Sb-Au. Toda a informação sobre a cartografia geológica existente, campanha de sedimentos de corrente e campanha de mineralometria foi introduzida num Sistema de Informação Geográfica (SIG), onde com ambas componentes, " Data e Knowledge Driven " , foi criado um mapa preditivo que identifica futuros locais onde realizar os trabalhos de prospeção de pormenor.The hydrothermal mineralization veins are abundant in northern Portugal, their exploration and exploitation dates back at least to the time of the Roman occupation, which raises the interest of mining companies in the acquisition of exploration areas. The study area is within an exploration area of "Klondike Gold Portugal" mining company, acquired recently by " Medgold Resources ". The concession license is known as Balazar and located at NW of Valongo Belt. The study was centered on " Lagoa Negra " zone where is known the Sb-Au mineralization. All the information about the existing geological mapping, stream sediments and mineralometry campaigns were introduced into a Geographic Information System (GIS) which with both components "Data and Knowledge Driven", created a predictive map that identifies the locations to perform detailed exploration