As many cultural historians of the sciences have recently indicated, eighteenth-century illustrations of natural historical works represent an important source that can be used to explore the ways in which nature and the study of nature were regarded in the period. Naturalistic illustrations, however, are not the only genre of images that may help the historian in this investigation. Another interesting source is represented by images of nature and natural objects connected with fictional literature. Yet, little attention has been devoted (...) so far to this genre of images. In this paper I analyse some of the engravings which illustrate Retif de la Bretonne's imaginary voyage La Decouverte australe par un homme volant. My aim is to show that these illustrations convey a well-defined image of the natural universe, and that their analysis may contribute to our understanding of the various significances and roles attached to Nature in the period-particularly bringing to the fore its moral and political uses. Further, by analysing the ways in which they connect and integrate a variety of artistic and discursive traditions related to fiction, travel, and natural history, I hope to suggest some of the ways in which this genre of images may be used to shed light on the eighteenth-century interplay between spheres of knowledge later assigned to such distinct disciplines as 'science', 'literature', or 'art'. (shrink)

Sa célébrité à l'étranger, considérable, masque mal l'obstination française à l'ignorer, à la dénigrer ou à la récuser sans la lire vraiment. Il est vrai que des controverses, des polémiques, des malentendus ont brouillé sa réception. Surprenant, rétif à toute assignation disciplinaire, difficile donc à classer, à l'interstice entre philosophie et sociologie, Baudrillard déroute autant qu'il séduit. Sa liberté de pensée ébranle nos savoirs et nos croyances. L'objet de ce livre est donc moins de constituer une somme d'hommages posthumes (...) que de questionner une oeuvre qui, au-delà des célébrations ponctuelles, connaît un accueil à la fois fasciné et circonspect. Entretiens, études, lettres, essais l'affrontent et s'y confrontent, tantôt avec gratitude et reconnaissance, tantôt avec réticence ou résistance, parfois avec hostilité. Les textes rassemblés émanent d'universitaires, d'intellectuels, d'écrivains qui interrogent sans complaisance une oeuvre essentielle qui n'a eu de cesse d'interpeller le présent. La diversité des auteurs sollicités (Sophie Calle, Michel Deguy, Philippe Dagen, Bernard Edelman, Nathalie Heinich, Michel Maffesoli, Philippe Petit, Anna Sauvagnargues, Bernard Stiegler, Jean-Baptiste Thoret...) était essentielle. Les analyses et les propos tenus par les uns et les autres dialoguent librement avec cette pensée exigeante, féconde, souvent déroutante. Toujours en mouvement, Baudrillard voulait "promouvoir un commerce clandestin des idées, de toutes les idées irrecevables, des idées imprenables". Ce livre répond à cette exigence radicale. (shrink)

L’éthique est opérante dans la politique même si son rôle reste parfois difficile à percevoir. L’article relève la volonté des rédacteurs des constitutions de contraindre les détenteurs d’offices politiques à se montrer à la hauteur des exigences éthiques, par la mise en place des dispositifs institutionnels les plus divers poursuivant cette fin (comme les élections et les mandats de durée limitée). L’article met en évidence aussi le rôle d’une vision normative, « aristotélicienne » de la politique, dans laquelle éthique et (...) politique convergent entièrement. Cette vision normative constitue une stimulation bienvenue pour toute société et pour tout gouvernement. Mais elle constitue aussi un facteur d’opacité dans la conduite des affaires de la collectivité, dans la mesure où elle rend inavouable tout ce qui ne se situe pas à son niveau. Les exigences éthiques, en rendant les hommes rétifs à cette opacité, constituent un facteur de crise pour la politique. (shrink)

Quel statut conférer chez Michel Foucault à l’invocation du corps, si ce dernier apparaît à la fois comme foyer d’expérience et comme objet d’analyse, comme l’effet et comme le support d’une construction historique, discursive ou sociale, comme rétif à toute définition d’essence et comme point d’appui de la résistance? Sous cette circularité apparente, dont les analyses de Foucault tirent une part de leur fécondité, s’articulent en réalité divers registres d’appréhension du corps : ceux-ci visent à mettre en question tant (...) l’approche phénoménologique du corps propre que la naturalité du corps individuel, au profit d’une affirmation « des corps » dans leur irréductible pluralité, en excès sur toute tentative de caractériser le corps en vérité. (shrink)

The key stakeholders of the Finnish engineering education collaborated during 2006–09 to reform the system of education, to face the challenges of the changing business environment and to create a national strategy for the Finnish engineering education. The work process was carried out using participatory work methods. Impacts of sustainable development (SD) on engineering education were analysed in one of the subprojects. In addition to participatory workshops, the core part of the work on SD consisted of a research with more (...) than 60 interviews and an extensive literature survey. This paper discusses the results of the research and the work process of the Collaboration Group in the subproject of SD. It is suggested that enhancing systematic dialogue among key stakeholders using participatory work methods is crucial in increasing motivation and commitment in incorporating SD in engineering education. Development of the context of learning is essential for improving skills of engineering graduates in some of the key abilities related to SD: systemic- and life-cycle thinking, ethical understanding, collaborative learning and critical reflection skills. This requires changing of the educational paradigm from teacher-centred to learner-centred applying problem- and project-oriented active learning methods. (shrink)

It is commonly accepted by those who consider macroevolution as a process decoupled from microevolution that its apparent jerkiness (and, hence, incompatibility with principles of population genetics) results from the structural complexity of epigenetic systems, since all complex cybernetic systems are expected to behave discontinuously. To analyse the validity of this assumption, the process of self-improvement has been analysed in a complex cybernetic system by means of computer simulations. It turns out that the investigated system tends to develop by accumulation (...) of as small structural changes as possible, while larger changes are likely to result in the collapse of the system rather than in its persistence or improvement. This implies that cybernetic considerations alone cannot justify the claim that the very nature of epigenetic systems induces evolution by discrete steps rather than by gradual accumulation of small changes. (shrink)

Changing the worldview and cultural paradigm of the modern world with the inherent transformation of value orientations and the search for the life-meaning foundations of being leads to increased interest in the problems of spirituality. After all, spirituality is the most important pillar of human existence and the highest principle that determines the essence of man and his over-welcoming purpose. In the historical memory of the people, in its cultural traditions, spirituality has been sanctified for millennia by a religion that (...) sought to restrain primitive instincts and affirmation at all levels of being a moral person. Religion, as a spiritual phenomenon, is directly connected with man, with his attachment to the high meanings and the semantic fullness of being in general. The search for meaning promotes a person beyond the limits of the actual being given to him and ensures the integrity of the individual, affirmation of the person as an origin and bringing it to the culture and values. (shrink)

Originally published in 1923, this title is a critical examination of Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis. A contemporary of Freud, the author sets out to evaluate his theories in a scientific manner, searching for evidence. The result is a rather scathing review of where this is lacking.

The theory and practice of advertising self-regulation have been evolving for decades in pursuit of basic standards for advertising quality. In Spain, this discipline was put into practice in 1995, the year the Association for the Self-Regulation of Commercial Communication was created. This article aims to examine in depth the functioning of the Spanish advertising self-regulation system, with special emphasis on the Advertising Jury, and explore to what extent some of the normative requirements of rigour, independence and participation can be (...) considered to have been met. The paper is based on a case study in which interviews with Autocontrol members, Jury members and consumer associations have particular bearing. The results shed light on the achievements of Autocontrol’s self-regulation work and the challenges it still faces. (shrink)

On fundamentals of Vedanta and science; a study.

For the first time in print, well-known spiritual teacher A.H. Almaas presents the highest level and most profound teachings of the Diamond Approach on the true nature of reality and the path to enlightenment. For more than thirty years, A.H. Almaas has been developing and teaching the Diamond Approach, a spiritual path of self-realization and maturity based on an original synthesis of modern discoveries in the field of psychology and a new paradigm about spiritual nature. If we can say the (...) Diamond Approach has a goal it is to realize the truth at progressively deeper levels until one reaches the ultimate Truth, the Absolute, and to become integrated into that truth so that we are a living presence and embodiment of that truth. The teachings of this path have been unfolding over time, and Runaway Realization presents--for the first time in print--the highest level of teachings in the Diamond Approach in the most profound work by Almaas so far. In this book, Almaas offers a detailed look at the true nature of reality and the nature of enlightenment. He also talks about practice--what it is and what it isn't, and how practice relates to the process of realization. He looks at what it is to be a human being and what our role is in the totality of the universe. The material includes a discussion of the nature of space and time, as well as a view of more and more subtle levels of realization. (shrink)

The paper is devoted to the subject status of the discipline “Philosophy of Sociology”. Philosophy of sociology is an interdisciplinary direction focusing on the main preconditions of sociological knowledge development as well as cognitive value of sociological facts, theories and conceptions. Its subject can be divided into “philosophical foundations of sociology” and “philosophical problems of sociology”. “Sociologism” as the concept of substitution of social philosophy by sociology as a science which is better empirically oriented and is able to give more (...) exact and proved picture of social reality also poses danger to social philosophy. “Sociologism” presents a positivist attack on social philosophy. Indeed, sociology is no less speculative science than social philosophy is, which is well illustrated by a lot of divergences among its theoretical constructions and empirical data. The main functions of philosophy of sociology in the world of contemporary social-humanitarian knowledge are critical function, integrative function and axiological function. (shrink)

A laboratory-testable, solid-state Maxwell demon is proposed that utilizes the electric field energy of an open-gap p-n junction. Numerical results from a commercial semiconductor device simulator (Silvaco International–Atlas) verify primary results from a 1-D analytic model. Present day fabrication techniques appear adequate for laboratory tests of principle.

Silence has gained a prominent role in the field of psychotherapy because of its potential to facilitate a plethora of therapeutically beneficial processes within patients’ inner dynamics. This study examined the phenomenon from a conversation analytical perspective in order to investigate how silence emerges as an interactional accomplishment and how it attains interactional meaning by the speakers’ adjacent turns. We restricted our attention to one particular sequential context in which a patient’s turn comes to a point of possible completion and (...) receives a continuer by the therapist upon which a substantial silence follows. The data collection consisted of 74 instances of such post-continuer silences. The analysis revealed that silence can retroactively become part of a topic closure sequence, can become shaped as an intra-topic silence, and can be explicitly characterized as an activity in itself that is relevant for the therapy in process. Only in this last case, the absence of talk is actually treated as disruptive to the ongoing talk. Although silence is often seen as a therapeutic instrument that can be implemented intentionally and purposefully, our analysis demonstrated how it is co-constructed by speakers and indexically obtains meaning by adjacent turns of talk. In the ensuing turns, silence indeed shows to facilitate access to the patient’s subjective experience at unconscious levels. (shrink)

This is the best general book on philosophy for university students: not just an introduction, but a guide which will serve them throughout their studies. It comprises specially commissioned explanatory surveys of the main areas of philosophy, written by thirteen leading philosophers.