The scholastic philosopher is interested in definition for a different reason than the lexicographer and linguist. The philosopher is trying to learn things. Fe defines, after investigating reality, in an attempt to describe reality clearly and to sum up some aspect of his understanding of reality. Hence, we find our scholastic philosophers adopting as a main feature of their method this insistence on defining, on precise and detailed explanation of their definitions, and on proving that their definitions da correctly express (...) what a nature or activity is. A dictionary of the language of scholastic philosophy fitted to the needs of beginners and of undergraduate students of the subject is not available in English. (shrink)

Anderson and Csima :245–264, 2014) defined a jump operator, the bounded jump, with respect to bounded Turing reducibility. They showed that the bounded jump is closely related to the Ershov hierarchy and that it satisfies an analogue of Shoenfield jump inversion. We show that there are high bounded low sets and low bounded high sets. Thus, the information coded in the bounded jump is quite different from that of the standard jump. We also consider whether the analogue of the Jump (...) Theorem holds for the bounded jump: do we have A≤bTB\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$A \le _{bT}B$$\end{document} if and only if Ab≤1Bb\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$A^b \le _1 B^b$$\end{document}? We show the forward direction holds but not the reverse. (shrink)

The network is moving towards a global informational equilibrium that is irrevocable – if inter‐individual communication persists as the only driving force behind the network's evolution. On the basis of an example, this chapter compares the respective changes in the values of the main characteristic variables at the level of the network as a whole, and that of each cluster considered separately. Any local informational equilibrium achieved by a cluster is therefore fundamentally unstable, as it is constantly threatened by such (...) a phenomenon. It follows that the cumulative formation of local clusters of actors corresponding to a progressive regionalization of the effective space of the network is then erased as at least one category shared by all actors allows each of them to escape from the cluster in which they would otherwise remain enclosed. Maintaining separations between regions dividing the network space before the homogenization process ends means that it does not only have advantages. (shrink)

Voir son cerveau en première personne s’activer à l’occasion de la réalisation d’une tâche semble établir plus qu’une corrélation en décrivant ce qui serait un lien de causalité entre le corps et son cerveau. Le corps est une surface et un résultat dont la conscience ne perçoit le processus vivant qu’en retard sur la vitalité et la mobilité du cerveau. Nous sommes en retard sur notre cerveau mais notre conscience du présent ne peut avoir accès à la temporalité de sa (...) condition. La transparence du cerveau in vivo implique des dispositifs neuro-expérientiels. (shrink)

The specter of epistemic closure haunts current epistemology: some regard the refutation of closure as obvious, while others take its denial to be an epistemicoutrage. To some extent, the strong difference of opinion has its source in certain misapprehensions. This paper tries to formulate and clarify the key issues dividing the two sides and contends that, in certain respects, the difference between the friend and the foe of closure may be more a matter of semantics than substance. The paper goes (...) on to argue that once the substantial issues have been properly formulated, there is a limit to how far deductive reasoning can take the parties to the dispute. (shrink)

After more than a decade teaching ancient Greek history and philosophy at University College, Oxford, British philosopher and political theorist Bernard Bosanquet resigned from his post to spend more time writing. He was particularly interested in contemporary social theory, and was involved with the Charity Organisation Society and the London Ethical Society. Much of his work focused on the place of logic in philosophy, especially its role in metaphysical thought - the area where he is considered to have made (...) his most important intellectual contributions. In 1888 he published this two-volume study of logic, addressing a variety of questions relating to logic, and drawing from the work of Hegel in his examination. In Volume 2, Bosanquet focuses on inference, arguing that it has a similar essence to judgment but is fundamentally different in that it is used to 'mediate' reality. (shrink)

Une métaphore puissante, signifiante à l’excès - un système solaire - commande la course de Nietzsche comme de Platon, ordonne la pensée de la naissance et du déclin, programme le lever de Zarathoustra. D’une telle héliologie, Platon, Hegel, Nietzsche sont les moments majeurs. Et parce qu’un soleil décrit révolutions et orbites, dans un mouvement renversant, parce qu’un soleil toujours chasse l’autre et prend sa relève, parce que la clarté de midi équivaut à la nuit pure, c’est la double question, philosophique, (...) du renversement de Platon et du rapport à Hegel que l’on voudrait poser en déclinant ces versions du soleil. Le travail où cette recherche s’effectue, se propose comme une « description » de Nietzsche. Description nécessairement orientée selon un axe double : d’une part, dresser — au sein d’une théorie du système signifiant explicitement articulée dès la Naissance de la Tragédie — un exact inventaire des règles et limites imposées au texte par la langue naturelle, et par la métaphysique (platonicienne) qui la soutient ; mais, d’autre part, il aura suffi d’éveiller ainsi la puissance rhétorique et métaphorique de la langue, pour que le texte de Nietzsche se trouve affecté d’une lecture instable, libérant et déployant les figures qui l’occupent et l’écrivent. Figures dont l’analyse emprunte inévitablement à Freud ses concepts et ses opérations. (shrink)

This book sets out to present Kant as a theological thinker. His critical philosophy was not only destructive of 'natural' theology, with its attempt to prove devine existence by logical argument, it also left no room for 'revelation' in the traditional sense.

Ethics is being asked to respond to the globalization of the economy, and among the various responses one can see the emergence of inter-religious approaches including lay groups. This article examines certain of these concrete attempts to integrate ethics, spirituality and economics, and problematizes some of the theoretical underpinnings of these activities, specifically the question of beliefs.In January, 1998, two inter-religious and interdisciplinary organizations — Avicenne and the World Conference on Religion and Peace — participated for the first time in (...) the European Commission's conference on the future of Europe's economic and social order. It was recognized at this meeting that inter-religious dialogue constituted a paradigmatic example for the construction of a European society that must integrate different cultures. But paradigmatic does not mean it actually exists, for the inter-religious dynamic is still hesitating between globalization and integrationism. Nevertheless, religious plurality is apparent in the economy. The IMF recently hosted representatives of different religions, surpassing the framework of Christianity. In France, the University of Paris IX has planned a series of lectures on “Morality, Spirituality and Business Life”. Before looking at the theoretical questions connected with the emergence of a planetary, inter-religious ethics, let us come back to the question of the Christian religions and the social and economic order. I will restrict myself to mentioning some problematic points in order to defend the necessity of an inter-religious, interdisciplinary approach.Among the positions adopted by the churches at the January, 1998 conference, three points bear some examination: the dignity of labour and the community as specifically Christian values, and Europe constructed on the base of Christian values. (shrink)