Offers an analysis of three strongly contrasting primitive civilizations, showing how behavior is influenced by custom and tradition.

Pendant quatre ans, un cours de philosophie des sciences a été proposé aux étudiants et aux personnels de l'université Pierre et Marie Curie. Il répondait à une attente réelle de la part de ce monde de scientifiques. Chacun cherchait des mises au point sur une science qui semble ne pas " penser " pour reprendre le mot d'Heidegger. Il ne s'agissait pas de proposer une nouvelle vulgarisation scientifique qui a par trop tendance à créer une sorte de mythologie ne cédant (...) en rien à la cosmogonie d'Hésiode. Parler du Big Bang, du chaos par exemple provoque des images qui ne correspondent en rien ni à la réalité ni à son expression par un modèle scientifique. On a vu l'engouement qu'a provoqué l'université de tous les savoir où des scientifiques ont parlé de leur science telle qu'elle se crée. Nous souhaitons ici mettre en perspective les différents domaines de la science avec un minimum d'outillage philosophique. Notre but sera atteint si les étudiants et toute personne qui souhaite réfléchir à ces problèmes qui interpellent tous les citoyens trouvent matière à réflexion personnelle. Les perspectives historiques seront présentes car la science se construit dans un contexte sociologique. La maturation des idées se fait au travers d'individus qui sont dans un contexte précis : par exemple, la lutte pour la vie qui sous-tend le darwinisme ne saurait être dissociée de la révolution industrielle de l'Angleterre du XIXe siècle. Ce livre est le résultat de cette expérience qui se prolonge actuellement sur les amphis de la cinquième chaîne de télévision. (shrink)

By explicitly addressing moral knowledge from a particularists perspective, this book can engage with an established and vibrant area of moral philosophy whilst making a distinctive and productive contribution to a relatively neglected dimension of it.

Hume's account of belief is understood to be inspired by allegedly incompatible motivations, one descriptive and expressing Hume's naturalism, the other normative and expressing Hume's epistemological aims. This understanding assumes a particular way in which these elements are distinct: an assumption that I dispute. I suggest that the explanatory-naturalistic aspects of Hume's account of belief are not incompatible with the normative-epistemological aspects. Rather, at least for some central cases of belief formation that Hume discusses at length, S's coming to believe (...) thatpcan be explained in a way that vindicates S's belief thatp. (shrink)

Mitochondrial replacement therapy is a process whereby a child is created by combining the nuclear DNA of two people wishing to have a child with mitochondrial DNA donated by a third person. It poses a new question as to the extent of a person’s right to know the identity of those from whom their DNA is inherited. In commentary upon Turkmendag’s paper, I evaluate the consistency of UK regulation of this issue with the European Convention of Human Rights. Under UK (...) law, a person created using donated mtDNA is only entitled to information about the procedure which does not identify the donor. I argue that this approach is consistent with the previous European Court of Human Rights and UK judicial decisions on the rights of individuals to information about their identity and ancestry and with the deeper foundational principle which Kai Möller argues the Convention protects existential self-understanding. I conclude that, as mtDNA has not been proven to affect an individual’s life choices and outward characteristics to the extent that gamete donation does, it is acceptable to prioritize the interests that anonymous donation protects over the desire of the recipient to know the identity of their donor. (shrink)

« Une Petite sœur toujours actuelle » ; « La place qu’elle fait aux femmes dit de notre culture quelque chose qu’il est temps d’entendre » : les intitulés que Michelle Perrot et Christine Planté donnent respectivement à la préface et à la postface qui encadrent cette réédition de La petite sœur de Balzac disent la pertinence d’un ouvrage devenu en vingt-cinq ans une référence incontournable de la réflexion sur la question du genre et les questions de genre en littérature. (...) Paru en 1989 aux éd... (shrink)

"Characterized by breadth of coverage, a refreshingly balanced approach to controversial issues, & a highly readable style."-Theological Studies.

In the debates on the roles of cultures in the ethics of human rights, one of them concerns Confucianism and Ubuntu, two prominent cultures in East Asia and Southern Africa, respectively. Some scholars assert that both cultures have values that are sharply different from the West, and conclude that the West should learn from these cultures. The aim of this paper is to philosophically investigate the roles of cultures in the ethics of human rights. I first introduce the works of (...) Bell, Metz and others on community values such as relationships and harmony in Confucianism and Ubuntu. I then argue that even if their interpretations were correct, their works still would not justify the conclusion they want. I show that it is better to use consequential evaluation rather than cultural evaluation to justify human rights. An example of human rights to health and privacy is discussed. This paper thus offers some preliminary but important philosophical investigations and addresses practical issues of consequential evaluation related to human rights. Keywords : Confucianism, Ubuntu, Cultural Evaluation, Consequential Evaluation, Human Rights, Health, Privacy. (shrink)

Jeff Benedict has seen both good and bad in his career as a journalist. Some of the best are the extraordinary people he has met who have made deliberate choices to live happier lives despite the extreme hardship that each of them have faced. Although life will knock us down from time to time, this book is an important reminder that we all can make a choice to get back up, brush ourselves off, and keep pressing forward. Replace anger with (...) forgiveness through studying the real-life examples of seven inspiring mentors. Avoid discouragement by purposefully recognizing God's hand in your life. Diminish the heartache from tragedy through the concentrated act of serving others. Gain insights from parents who were deliberate in safeguarding their children against harmful influences. Stand strong through life's adversity through the examples of powerful prayer. (shrink)

This article concerns the nature and limits of individuals’ rights to privacy over information that they have made public. For some, even suggesting that an individual can have a right to privacy over such information may seem paradoxical. First, one has no right to privacy over information that was never private to begin with. Second, insofar as one makes once-private information public – whether intentionally or unintentionally – one waives one’s right to privacy to that information. In this article, however, (...) we suggest the moral situation is more complicated than this. Rather, we argue that there is a class of public information – namely, once-private information that individuals have made public unintentionally – which remains within the scope of an individuals’ right to privacy, even when it has passed into the public domain. Significantly, this class includes any information rights-holders were unaware could be inferred from information they have made public and which they would not otherwise have wanted to be in the public domain. As we show, as well as clarifying several everyday dilemmas with regards to individuals’ privacy rights, this finding has elucidates a number of problems in the ethics of Big Data. (shrink)

Health systems that provide for universal patient access through a scheme of prepayments—whether through taxes, social insurance, or a combination of the two—need to make decisions on the scope of coverage that they secure. Such decisions are inherently controversial, implying, as they do, that some patients will receive less than comprehensive health care, or less than complete protection from the financial consequences of ill-heath, even when there is a clinically effective therapy to which they might have access.Controversial decisions of this (...) sort call for a public justification for covering or not covering a given treatment. Priority-setting agencies play a key role in providing such a justification. A recent... (shrink)

The rise of ill-being is spreading to schools and worrying politicians. It questions our educational models beyond learning about well-being and happiness at school, particularly pedagogical approaches and teacher training; which « happy » teacher to « make a student happy »? Based on research on the components of student well-being and resilience first and case studies of pedagogical approaches « re-enchanting school », this article underlines the emotional capital and “enabling leadership” teaching style, and an essential well-being approach focused (...) on potentials and vitality; approach that we analyze from a positive and eudaimonic well-being perspective, through the “bienvivance” paradigm. (shrink)

La question du caractère opératoire du « territoire » se pose avec acuité en situation transfrontalière. Plusieurs formules institutionnelles et théoriques ont été explorées dans le cas du territoire franco-belge Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai, à l’urbanisation dense et polycentrique, pratiquée historiquement comme région de transit. D’abord, l’Eurométropole, premier Groupement européen de coopération transfrontalière, qui n’a finalement pas abouti à une vision intégrée. Ensuite, une réflexion sur la bio-région unifiée autour d’une vallée, d’une plaine ou d’un bassin permettant de transcender des limites administratives arbitraires. (...) Enfin, le modèle de la « ville horizontale », qui s’est concrétisé par le projet de Parc bleu autour des structures hydrographiques et une urbanisation continue qui s’étend de la Belgique à la Ruhr et la Randstad. L’enjeu est de vivre dans des systèmes territoriaux qui rassemblent, avec multiplicités et interdépendances. (shrink)

Reverse mathematics is a program in mathematical logic that seeks to give precise answers to the question of which axioms are necessary in order to prove theorems of "ordinary mathematics": roughly speaking, those concerning structures that are either themselves countable, or which can be represented by countable "codes". This includes many fundamental theorems of real, complex, and functional analysis, countable algebra, countable infinitary combinatorics, descriptive set theory, and mathematical logic. This entry aims to give the reader a broad introduction to (...) the history, methodology, and results of the reverse mathematics program, with a particular focus on its connections to foundational programs such as finitism, constructivism, and predicativism. (shrink)

Si Edith Stein est aujourd'hui connue pour son parcours exceptionnel d'intellectuelle allemande, née juive, devenue chrétienne et carmélite, morte à Auschwitz, ce livre entend combler un manque : celui d'une introduction générale à sa philosophie, et relever un double défi : rendre abordable une pensée réputée difficile, tout en montrant sa vigueur et son actualité, à travers l'approche renouvelée qu'elle propose de la notion d'âme.00Dans un XXe siècle où l'âme a été considérée comme une notion désuète, inappropriée même pour penser (...) l'humain, où la philosophie, les sciences humaines, et la théologie ont cru pouvoir s'en passer, Edith Stein montre au contraire que renoncer à l'âme, c'est s'empêcher de considérer certains aspects fondamentaux de la vie humaine.00À travers une démarche qui allie phénoménologie, métaphysique et mystique, et par ses talents descriptifs, elle nous rend attentifs à l'expérience vécue de l'âme, mais aussi au tragique d'une vie qui en est dénuée. Elle réveille ainsi en nous le désir de ce ± supplément d'âme?, qui donne à notre existence sa profondeur, sa vitalité, sa couleur et sa saveur... telle l'âme du violon qui, bien qu'à peine visible, assure l'unité de l'instrument et en déploie les résonances à tout le corps. (shrink)