Browsing by Subject "definition"
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item The conceptual and operational definition of quality of life: a systematic review of the literature(Texas A&M University, 2005-11-01) Church, Marvel ClarkQuality of life (QOL) has been chosen as an outcome measure by various agencies of the United States federal government and has been employed to an increasing extent by healthcare researchers when evaluating various courses of treatment or health promotion interventions. In light of the increasing ubiquitousness of QOL, one can conclude there exists a commonly employed and accepted conceptual understanding of its meaning. A systematic review of the literature focusing on quality of life published between January 1990 and January 2004 was conducted in an effort to discover this definition. Based on inclusion and exclusion criteria outlined in the study, a population of 503 articles was identified for potential inclusion. From this population a random sample of 50 articles was selected for further review, with an emphasis placed on the conceptual and operational definitions of quality of life employed in the various studies. Twenty of the articles contained some conceptual discussion of quality of life and 38 contained some operational discussion. Although many articles contained some discussion of the term, little agreement with regard to its meaning and measurement was found. The only acknowledged fact in the majority of the articles concerns the subjective, multi-faceted nature of quality of life and its inherent measurement difficulties. As a result of this work, and because of this lack of cohesion in the understanding of the conceptual issues involved, the following conceptual definition has been proposed. Quality of life is a measure of an individual??s ability to function physically, emotionally and socially within his/her environment at a level consistent with his/her own expectations.Item The Method of Division and Aristotle's Criticism of Platonic Philosophy(2010-07-14) Howton, Robert F.This thesis investigates Aristotle's criticism and consequent reformulation of the Platonic method for formulating definitions called the Method of Division. For both Plato and Aristotle, the object of division is a natural kind, which consists in a class whose members stand in a homologous relationship to a single form. I argue that Aristotle's criticisms of the Method of Division fall under two categories: logical objections and ontological objections. The logical objections focus on division as a method for demonstrating definitions, a method that Aristotle wants to distinguish from his syllogistic logic, the centerpiece of his theory of scientific demonstration. The ontological objections focus on the question of whether the sort of account generated by division is sufficient to constitute a definition of its object. Aristotle's revised Method of Division is supposed to avoid the problems he raises by constructing definitions that satisfy the principles motivating his ontological objections through a logical process devised to make the resulting account a "necessary" consequence of the initial assumptions of the division. I argue that Aristotle?s ontological objections to the Method of Division reflect a deeper disparity between the Platonic and the Aristotelian notion of a form and natural kind. Underpinning Aristotle's notion of a natural kind is an ontology of discrete substances. Because the unity of substance is paramount in this ontology, Aristotle argues that a definition, which is supposed to give an account of the essence of a substance, must account for the unity of its object by itself possessing a non-accidental unity. Yet, on a Platonic ontology, a definition by division invokes a plurality of independent Forms whose conjunction does not constitute a unity. On the basis of this consideration, Aristotle argues that an ontology of abstract Forms cannot account for the unity of an individual substance. To this extent, I conclude, Aristotle's methodological objections to the Platonic Method of Division are a component of his broader criticisms of Platonic metaphysics.