Philosophy Workshops in a REP College: Questioning and the Community of Inquiry as a Pedagogical Common Thread. We describe in this paper the philosophy workshops implemented in a secondary school in Grenoble. We present some of the materials we use. We describe the effects of this project on the children and especially on the teachers. The teachers taking part in the project have entered into a process of questioning more generally their own teaching pratices: which activities in other academic subjects (...) could be based on the community of philosophical enquiry’s dynamic of questioning, exploring, researching? Which other models of community of enquiry might we imagine (litterary, grammatical, scientific, historical)? (shrink)

ABSTRACT:Singer has recently argued that questions related to corporate governance are beyond the reach of Rawls’s political conception of justice. This is because justice applies to the basic structure of society, understood as society’s legally coercive structures, and because corporate governance cannot be considered part of this structure in political liberalism. This commentary challenges the second part of the argument. First, it suggests that the criterion used to exclude corporate governance from the basic structure—whether employees can exit economic organizations—is not (...) conclusive for corporate governance, notably as institutionalized in corporate law. Second, even if the focus were on corporate governance, it would still be possible to argue that it legally coerces citizens, if not employees, in a relevant way. Thus, the argument is not successful in demonstrating that political liberalism goes beyond its legitimate boundaries when considering that aspects of corporate governance may be matters of justice. (shrink)

This article examines the neurobiological basis of the healing power attributed to shamanic practices in the Andes and Brazil in light of the pharmacology of neurotransmitters and the new technological explorations of brain functioning. The psychotropic plants used in shamanic psychiatric cures interfere selectively with the intrinsic neuromediators of the brain. Mainly they may alter: (1) the neuroendocrine functioning through the adrenergic system by controlling stressful conditions, (2) the dopaminergic system in incentive learning and emotions incorporation, (3) the serotoninergic system (...) in modulating behaviors, and mood, and (4) basic functions implied in anxiety or depression. PET scans and functional magnetic resonance imaging studies of hypnotic trance and altered states of consciousness may provide a useful model for the neurophysiological phenomena of shamanic drum-and-dance trance. The reorganization of cortical areas and the direct interconnections between the prefrontal cortex and the dopaminergic reward centers in the limbic system are of particular significance for human social judgment and symbolic processing. Those centers—including the hypothalamus and the amygdala (associated with psychosomatic equilibrium, memory, and emotion) are enhanced. This arousal may be amplified in order to induce a cathartic crisis—the shamanic trance. It is suggested that through this holistic approach the shaman empirically interferes in neurobiological dysfunctions. (shrink)

Par sa conceptualisation des normes, Michel Foucault renouvelle profondément la philosophie théorique et pratique de la culture, par rapport aux principaux postulats qui la commandent depuis le XVIIIe siècle. On a pu montrer qu’il ouvrait celle-ci sur une pensée de la production immanente des normes. Il s’agit ici de mettre cette hypothèse à l’épreuve d’une compréhension vitaliste de la positivité des normes, qui assigne celle-ci à une puissance créatrice de nouvelles possibilités d’existence, de nouvelles allures de vie. Comment articuler la (...) perspective d’un processus immanent de production à celle de la création et de la nouveauté ? On s’oriente alors vers un naturalisme vitaliste, capable de conférer aux « possibilités d’existence » leur teneur ontologique, leur effectivité pratique, et leur primat axiologique et épistémologique. C’est dans ce contexte que l’on tente d’évaluer chez Gilles Deleuze un certain nombre de déplacements terminologiques et conceptuels par rapport à Foucault : du possible au potentiel, de la stratégie au problématique, de la généalogie à la géologie, de l’histoire aux devenirs. (shrink)

The readings collected here—of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Rosa Luxemburg, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, Leon Trotsky, and Antonio Gramsci— reflect the experience of the labor, socialist, and communist movements that did so much to shape modern history. A dedication to working-class revolution gives coherence to the influential philosophical, economic, sociological, and historical works of these writers. Paul Le Blanc's introductory essay probes the structure and dynamics of Marxism as a political orientation, tracing connections among components that can be found in (...) the readings: the theory of capitalist development, the theory of the labor movement, the strategy of revolution, the conception of the transition to socialism. Others identified with the Marxist tradition—such as Plekhanov, Kautsky, Stalin, Mao—are also discussed, and attention is given to perspectives of such varied critics of Marxism as Sidney Hook, Bertram D. Wolfe, James Burnham, Daniel Bell, Robert Heilbroner, and C. Wright Mills. Historical reflections are blended with discussion of the durability of capitalism, the disappointment of hopes for workers' revolution, the "collapse of communism," issues of race and gender, the environment, and challenges of the twenty-first century. (shrink)

Committees multiply in firms, whether stakeholder boards or committees, multi-stakeholder initiatives, ethics committees, or oversight boards. These arrangements aim to organise and legitimise the social and political activities of corporations. This article raises the question of the appropriate form of such governance structures. The examples above illustrate three possible ways of legitimising corporate quasi-public social and political activities: deliberation within the company, deliberation outside, and an approach we label _corporate constitutionalism_. While the first two models have been tested in practice (...) and assessed in theory, the third one is comparatively more recent, both in practice and in theory. This article focuses on the latter model and asks whether corporate constitutionalism offers a suitable addition, or alternative, to deliberation (with or within firms) for legitimising corporate quasi-public social and political activities. It examines the respective merits of the three models and argues that a corporate constitutional court may mitigate some of the limits of deliberative practices alone. It argues the court is needed in weak regulatory environments, whether they are failing or inherently limited. (shrink)

This article asks whether firms should contribute to the costs of procreation and parenthood. We explore two sets of arguments. First, we ask what the principle of fair play – central in parental justice debates – implies. We argue that if one defends a pro-sharing view, firms are required to shoulder part of the costs of procreation and parenthood. Second, we turn to the principle of fair equality of opportunity. We argue that compensating firms for costs they incur because their (...) employees decide to procreate or parent may undermine some of the incentives leading to (statistical) discrimination in the workplace. (shrink)

La réflexion de Canguilhem est précieuse car elle nous rend attentif au fait qu’il n’existe pas de science de la santé mais seulement un savoir des patho­logies. La santé relève d’abord d’une évaluation existentielle qui vient de l’épreuve de la maladie. Si tel est le cas, elle ne saurait s’identifier avec un sens univoque de la normalité mais doit toujours être rapportée à la perception d’un individu, y compris quand elle est l’objet d’une rationalité économique ou politique exogène. Deux sens (...) de la santé entrent dès lors en conflit qui traversent les différentes analyses de l’Essai sur quelques problèmes concernant le normal et le pathologique, la santé comme abus et la santé comme régulation. Il semble bien que l’enjeu d’une philosophie de la vie soit de parvenir à les articuler. (shrink)

ABSTRACT:This paper re-examines the import of Rawls’s theory of justice for private sector institutions in the face of the decline of the welfare state. The argument is based on a Rawlsian conception of justice as the establishment of a basic structure of society that guarantees a fair distribution of primary goods. We propose that the decline of the welfare state witnessed in Western countries over the past forty years prompts a reassessment of the boundaries of the basic structure in order (...) to include additional corporate institutions. A discussion centered on the primary good of self-respect, but extensible to power and prerogatives as well as income and wealth, examines how the legislator should intervene in private sector institutions to counterbalance any unfairness that results from the decline of the welfare state. (shrink)

Comment se concilient gouvernance autochtone et pluralisme identitaire dans le cas particulier du Nunavut ? Ces deux termes ont été forgés dans le cadre théorique du constitutionnalisme libéral, qui rend la conciliation soit impossible, soit contradictoire ; une exigence éthique conduit à repenser les termes de la question. L’histoire particulière du Nunavut, ainsi que les stratégies contentieuses identitaires, m’ont permis de le qualifier de modèle de gouvernance autochtone moderne. S’appuyant sur une forme de pluralisme juridique, rapidement le pluralisme dialogique est (...) devenu la condition à cette gouvernance hybride au Nunavut, dont la finalité évidente est la garantie d’un pluralisme identitaire renouvelé. (shrink)

Part One. Archi-violence: presupposition of the state -- Historical materialism and schizoanalysis of the form-state -- Capture: for a concept of primitive accumulation of state power -- Part Two. Exo-violence: hypothesis of the war machine -- Nomadology: hypothesis of the war machine -- The formula and the hypothesis: state appropriation and genealogy of war power -- Part Three. Endo-violence: the capitalist axiomatic -- The axiomatic of capital: states and accumulation on a global scale -- Becoming minorities: becoming revolutionary -- Conclusion. (...) Micropolitics did not take place. (shrink)

This paper assesses employees’ moral agency within corporate capitalism from a politically liberal standpoint. While political liberalism has spelt out its key institutional implications at state level, it has neglected moral agency at work, assuming that a rights-based state that secures freedom of contract, free choice of occupation and a free labour market within a fair context would protect it sufficiently. Yet two features of corporate capitalism constrain employees’ moral agency: the relation of authority that forms part of the work (...) contract and organisations’ fragmented decision-making processes. Both seem at odds with the liberal ideal of allowing people to live by their own conception of the good. Consequently, this paper examines whether political liberalism should recommend greater safeguards for protecting workers’ moral agency. It proposes a criterion for assessing corporate capitalism: the ‘moral space’ defined as the socially shaped opportunities for action that can be enacted or endorsed from a comprehensive perspective. It argues that liberals should favour arrangements that widen workers’ moral space and suggests institutional designs that may achieve this while remaining within liberal boundaries. (shrink)

In the current study, we examine the changes in disclosure practices on compliance and the fight against corruption at Siemens AG, a large German multinational corporation, over the period 2000–2011 during which a major corruption scandal was revealed. More specifically, we conduct a content analysis of the company’s annual reports and sustainability reports during that period to investigate the changes of Siemens’ corruption and compliance disclosure using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Through the lens of legitimacy theory, stakeholder analysis, and (...) organizational façades, we find evidence that Siemens changed its compliance and corruption disclosure practices to repair its legitimacy in the wake of the 2006 corruption scandal. We analyze these strategies more closely by using the rational, progressive, and reputation façades framework. Our primary findings suggest that the annual reports show peaks of disclosure amounts on corruption and compliance disclosures earlier than sustainability reports, which can be partly explained by analyzing the disclosures made about—and to—the different stakeholder groups. We find that the annual report focuses more on internal stakeholders such as employees, while the sustainability report focuses more on external stakeholders such as suppliers. We also find that the company uses the façades differently depending on which report is being analyzed. (shrink)

In view of the aging and dejuvenation of the working population and the expected shortages in employees’ skills in the future, it is of utmost importance to focus on older workers’ employability in order to prolong their working life until, or even beyond, their official retirement age. The primary aim of the current study was to examine the relationship between older workers’ employability (self-)perceptions and their intention to continue working until their official retirement age. In addition, we studied the role (...) of potential antecedents of their perceived employability at three different levels: training and education in current expertise area as well as in an adjacent expertise area (individual level factor), learning value of the job (job level factor), and organizational career management practices (organizational level factor). Data were collected by means of e-questionnaires that were distributed among two groups of Dutch older (45-plus) white collar workers. The samples consisted of 223 employees of an insurance company, and 325 university workers, respectively. Our research model was tested separately in each sample using Structural Equation Modeling. We controlled for effects of respondents’ (self-)perceived health and (self-)perceived financial situation. Similar results were found for both samples. First, the relationship of perceived employability with the intention to continue working until one’s retirement age was positive, whereas the relationship between a perceived good financial situation with the intention to continue working until one’s retirement age was negative. Secondly, as regards the potential antecedents, results showed that the learning value of the job was positively related to perceived employability. In addition, an employee’s perception of good health is a relevant correlate of perceived employability. So, whereas perceived employability contributes to the intention to continue working until one’s retirement age, a good financial situation is a push factor to retire early. In order to promote the labor participation of older workers, this study indicates that organizations should focus on the learning possibilities that are inherent to one’s job rather than on providing additional training or career management. Further research is needed to test the generalizability of our results to other samples. (shrink)

Le mot « héroïne » en grec apparaît assez tardivement dans la littérature comme dans les inscriptions (début du ve s. av. J.-C). Il s’agit de réévaluer l’apport des épopées homériques à la question de la définition d’un héros au féminin. Jusqu’ici, la problématique historique s’était orientée autour de la question de l’attestation chez Homère de cultes héroïques, phénomène particulièrement florissants au viiie s. av. J.-C., souvent associé à la diffusion des poèmes épiques. Une autre approche consistait à chercher dans (...) l’Iliade et l’Odyssée des traces de cultes rendus à des héros morts ou des preuves de l’existence chez Homère de la catégorie religieuse des demi-dieux. Le problème est ici renversé : partant des caractéristiques du héros homérique, l’objectif est de vérifier l’existence d’un héroïsme au féminin et de souligner les liens entre héroïnes et héros dans les épopées. (shrink)

Dans ce pays où, à la façon du Dictionnaire des idées reçues, il convient de tonner contre les méfaits de l’État jacobin, nul ne s’avise de savoir au juste comment celui-ci fonctionne ni ce qu’il fait. J’adopte en quelque sorte la position en miroir de l’idée reçue : je ne suis pas sûr de savoir ce qu’il faut penser de l’État en général, mais je sais empiriquement et en détails ce qu’il fait et comment il fonctionne. Je ne déduis pas (...) de proposition de réforme d’une théorie de l’État mais je tire de mon expérience l’idée d’une nouvelle façon d’agir ; je ne dessine pas la cité idéale mais je cherche ce qui pourrait faire revenir l’action dans l’institution. (shrink)

The work is divided into five chapters. The first, “Neglect of Everyday Aesthetics,” speaks of the fact that although the question of aesthetics has been enriched and enlarged by objects long ignored, with notable design, aesthetics is essentially a discourse on art. This is problematic in the sense that many implications of our aesthetic judgment escape all problematic reflexion if we stay centered on art. The aesthetic activity brings ethic choices (to prefer this or that type of environment) that are (...) not included in the artistic appreciation; the problematic of artistic creation does not take into consideration the ordinary creation, such as arranging a garden, a space, or a living space. The second chapter is .. (shrink)

L'intelligence économique constitue une nouvelle culture et une nouvelle pratique pour les acteurs économiques. Elle repose sur des actions de veille, de sécurité économique et d'influence. Elle répond à des modifications profondes de l'environnement global des entreprises. L'intelligence économique se structure aujourd'hui en une véritable profession et travaille activement à se doter d'un cadre déontologique.Business intelligence is a new culture and a new practice for economic actors. It is based on shares of watchkeeping, safety and economic influence. It responds to (...) profound changes in the global business environment. The intelligence structure is now a real profession and is actively working to develop an ethical framework. (shrink)

This paper intends to present the main lines of Heidegger’s philosophical program, as it was first presented in the book “Being and Time” and has been consistently developed in the later steps of his philosophical career. The adopted approach consists in confronting the program with Metaphysics, intended as a discipline concerning being, his structure and modes, having its own theoretical body of theses and history. This is not just one more point of view, among others, but the main question of (...) Heidegger’s thought, which has, since his early years, put him in the way to thought. And this in two regards: not only because underlying Metaphysics stands the great question of being, his meaning and ground, that human beings bring with them as a fundamental purpose of their existence and history, but also because, as a science, it presents a structure which has become problematic and, therefore, demands to be clarified and examined in his presuppositions and limits. The interpretation here proposed of Heidegger’s thought in its whole tends to be read as a repeated essay of proceeding to a new instauration of Metaphysics through a constant dialogue and discussion of its fundamental theses concerning being. The main contribution that Heidegger intends to bring to this topic concerns the proposal of a new way of understanding being: an existentialistic one instead of the naturalistic approach of Greek essentialism. In Heidegger’s approach, temporality, in its human mode of occurrence, acquires a peculiar relevance to a new conception of being as a process of coming to presence. (shrink)

Le sens du mot « culture » a changé. En 1938, Marrou formule ce qui lui semble être une évidence. « Culture... se limite au domaine intellectuel, spirituel ; elle laisse en dehors d’elle la vie économique, matérielle, la technique. » Cette évidence restera longtemps non interrogée. L’article « Culturalisme et culture » du Dictionnaire..

This article asks whether firms should exempt employees when they object to elements of their work that go against their conscience. Fairness requires that we follow the rules of an organization we have joined voluntarily only if these rules express mutual advantage. In corporations, I argue that subordination and exemption provides for mutual advantage better than subordination plus right of exit. This is because agents want to protect their conscientious convictions, even in hierarchical organizations geared towards efficient preference satisfaction. Thus (...) exemptions should be granted in unforeseeable circumstances, provided the costs are limited. (shrink)

Rather than distinguish a phenomenological moment from an ontological moment in Merleau- Ponty’s work, this article aims to recapture its unity by questioning a metaphor that traverses it: that of the writing, the text or the trace. Ontography is the name of a problem and a paradox that Merleau-Ponty’s philosophy bears and assumes: what good is it to say the Being, if it is already written, if every word breaks the silent contact it demands of us? To write is to (...) prolong and reveal a captive meaning in things. (shrink)

On Photography: A Philosophical InquiryCOSTELLODIARMUIDRoutledge. 2017. _pp._182. £19.99__.

The present study emphasizes Chapter Six of Huai-nan Tzu in expounding the theory of kan-ying STIMULUS-RESPONSE; RESONANCE, which postulates that all things in the universe are interrelated and influence each other according to pre-set patterns.

Our hypothesis is that ecological transformation involves socio-environmental communities formed through joint action on a material environment, which can be set as a conjonction of practices between senses and meanings — giving birth to landscapes, life environments and matter of all kinds — analyzed in the context of solidarities — as well as conflicts of territoriality, in which human collectives associate with living matter and the environment to fight against other uses of space or to implement new ways of seeing (...) nature. The environment as a collective work then becomes a self-sustaining call to action, which enhances the skills and legitimacy of the actors (citizens, formal and informal collectives) and their role in socio-ecological transition. We thus witness emerging environmental citizenships of a new kind that deviate from political militancy and testify to civic engagement in ordinary practices, a collective environmentalism that contributes to public action and democracy. What we call ordinary environmentalism includes environmental alliances and socio-environmental communities (with cats and cockroaches, mushrooms and noise interpretation, narrating, creating music, etc.) that have hitherto been considered negligible and we emphasize their value in democratizing the co-production of everyday and ordinary environments. One way to do this is to admit – as many scholars in the field of biosemiotics have done – that nature is made up of « signs, interpretations and meanings » (Wheeler 2014: 375) and to increase our knowledge of an aesthetic experience related to nature. We will deploy these issues on a theoretical level through the conceptual expression of environmental forms and the concept of immunity. Based on an interdisciplinary research, the related fieldwork includes a hundred non-directive interviews and observations conducted in several French cities (Paris, Rennes, Lyon), in specific neighborhoods such as the public housing district of Blosne in Rennes and the Croix-Rousse district in Lyon, or with specific associations to reflect the role of public institutions in the socio-natural arrangements of groups of inhabitants in the cities of France. (shrink)

Nous voulons montrer que les théories générales de la dépiction et les théories de la photographie diffèrent dans la manière dont elles ont jusqu’à présent mobilisé (ou non) la notion de ressemblance. En insistant sur la différence entre peinture et photographie, et sur la photographie en tant qu’ensemble de produits (les images photographiques) plutôt que sur la photographie en tant que technologie de production d’images, la plupart des théories existantes de la photographie se sont empêchées de comprendre quel est le (...) rôle exact de la ressemblance dans la dépiction photographique. Nous soulignons ce fait et suggérons qu’une distinction entre détection et dépiction est essentielle pour permettre le renouvellement de la philosophie de la photographie. (shrink)

Explaining digital impacts on social movements requires moving beyond technological determinism by addressing two underdeveloped questions: How does political strategy shape the use of information and communication technologies? And how do divergent uses of ICTs influence movement outcomes? This study addresses these questions by examining the 2018 educator walkouts in Oklahoma and Arizona—statewide actions initiated through rank-and-file Facebook groups. To explain why the strike in Arizona was more effective than in Oklahoma, despite more auspicious conditions for success in the latter, (...) this study shows that the impact of ICTs is mediated by leaders’ strategic choices. Whereas Oklahoma’s strike was marked by mobilization without organization—scaling up protest without an organizational foundation—Arizona used digital tools to build, rather than eschew, organization. Digital impacts further depend on the nature of the contentious performance itself, since the efficacy limitations of relying solely on ICTs are particularly pronounced for actions like strikes. (shrink)

Cet article analyse les liens entre les SEL et l'économie solidaire. Les SEL sont définis comme des associations au sein desquelles des personnes échangent services et biens au moyen d'une comptabilité interne tenue en une monnaie propre ; elles émergent en 1983. SEL et économie solidaire partagent certains objectifs communs. Les SEL revendiquent en effet par leurs actions l'institution de nouveaux rapports économiques procédant d'une solidarité sous la forme d'une proximité relationnelle et spatiale, à laquelle ne répondent pas l'échange marchand (...) et la redistribution étatique. Cependant les SEL peuvent voir leur projet solidaire remis en cause, en particulier pour deux raisons : le risque d'instrumentalisation politique d'une part, la contrainte juridique et sociale d'autre part.This article analyzes links between LETS and a civil and solidarity-based economy. LETS are defined as associations in which individuals exchange services and goods by means of an internal accounting system based on its own currency. The first LETS appeared in 1983. These LETS and the new social economy share some common purposes. By their actions, LETS aim to set up a new system of economic relations based on solidarity proceeding from relational and spatial proximity. Market exchanges and State redistribution do not provide an efficient response to these needs. However, there are certain threats to the solidarity aimed at by LETS such as firstly the risk that politicians may instrumentalize these initatives and secondly legal and social constraints. (shrink)

Cette contribution présente un programme d’investigation en cours sur l’art et le territoire dans l’optique d’une alimentation durable. Les chercheurs et les artistes engagés ont mené des enquêtes auprès des habitants du territoire de Plaine Commune pour explorer leurs recettes, qu’elles renvoient à des récits d’enfance, du temps présent ou nous projettent dans l’avenir. Ces récits-recettes mettent en exergue le mélange des traditions culinaires et la diversité de leurs hybridations selon les univers de sens des personnes.

Cette contribution présente un programme d’investigation en cours sur la maladie chronique, son lien au concept de nature et combien sont limités la connaissance, les langages et les vocabulaires la concernant. L’article évoque le manque d’odes à la maladie et de livres qui pourraient mettre en lumière et recréer les fluctuations de cette nature dépourvue de sens. Il éclaire l’invention du diagnostic de la souffrance, sa mesure et son vocabulaire ainsi que sa place dans les interventions sur les blogs et (...) forums. Il discute la rareté d’un monde commun en la matière, qui est de parvenir à parler de la condition humaine et de forcer la solitude de malades qui n’ont pas de mots pour parler de ce qui leur arrive. (shrink)

Ce livre peut être lu comme une réflexion sur le statut de l'anthropologie. Souvent l'analyse des actes humains se tourne vers l'investigation de formes symboliques et culturelles, largement dépouillées de tout ancrage naturel. Mais on peut adopter une autre démarche, dans la tradition inaugurée par Auguste Comte. On attribue alors au concept de vie un rôle majeur, et c'est en fonction des phénomènes organiques que les phénomènes humains sont appréhendés. Il s'ensuit une véritable réforme de l'anthropologie. Celle-ci a pour condition (...) une philosophie biologique et médicale qui fait apparaître la vie comme puissance d'individualisation et production de normes. Elle trouve son accomplissement dans une théorie de l'innovation sociale. Telle se présente la philosophie de la vie de Georges Canguilhem qui va du vital au social. Le centre de gravité de l'anthropologie se déplace d'une analyse linguistique ou artificialiste des faits sociaux vers une compréhension des types d'activité produits dans la vie. Une invitation à repenser les bases philosophiques de toutes les sciences humaines. (shrink)