Frederic Lee sets out the foundations of a post-Keynesian price theory through developing an empirically grounded production schema. The administered, normal cost and mark-up price doctrines are explained in parts I-III of the book, as many of their theoretical arguments are important for developing the foundations. This involves discussing the work of Gardiner Means, Philip Andrews, and Michal Kalecki as well as the developers of the doctrines, such as Edwin Nourse, Paolo Sylos Labini, Harry Edwards, Josef Steindl and Alfred (...) Eisner. Drawing upon the arguments and formal modelling offered by the doctrines, in conjunction with empirical evidence from one hundred studies on pricing and production, Dr Lee develops an empirically grounded pricing model and production schema. He argues that the model and the schema together constitute the foundations for post-Keynesian price theory. (shrink)

'A very welcome compendium on the wide range of research methods available for economists and social scientists more generally. Highly recommended, particularly for those wishing to explore alternative methods to be applied in all fields of economic analy.

John F. Henry is an eminent economist who has made important contributions to heterodox economics drawing on Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Thorstein Veblen, and John Maynard Keynes. His historical approach offers radical insights into the evolution of ideas (ideologies and theories) giving rise to and/or induced by the changes in capitalist society. Essays collected in this festschrift not only evaluate John Henry's contributions in connection to Marx's and Veblen's theories, but also apply them to the socio-economic issues in the 21st (...) century. In Part I leading heterodox economists in the traditions of Marxism, Post Keynesianism, and Institutionalism critically examine Marx's and Veblen's theoretical frameworks (and their connections to each other) that have become the foundations of heterodox economics. Chapters in Part II showcase alternative theoretical explanations inspired by Marx, Veblen, and Henry. Topics in this Part include financial crisis, financialization, capital accumulation, economics teaching, and the historical relationship between money and class society. Part III is devoted to John Henry's heterodox economics encapsulated in his "farewell" lecture, interview, and bibliography. Essays in this book, individually and collectively, make an important point that the history of economic thought (or historical analysis of economic theory and policy) is an integral part of developing heterodox economics as an alternative theoretical framework. Anyone who is troubled by the recurring failure of capitalism as well as mainstream economics will find this book well worth reading. (shrink)

Nikolai Lossky is key to the history of the Husserl-Rezeption in Russia. He was the first to publish a review of the Russian translation of Husserl’s first volume of the Logische Untersuchungen that appeared in 1909. He also published a presentation and criticism of Husserl’s transcendental idealism in 1939. An English translation of both of Lossky’s publications is offered in this volume for the first time. The present paper, which is intended as an introduction to these documents, situates Lossky within (...) the Rezeptionsgeschichte of Husserl in Russia and explains why he is central to it. It also explains what Lossky principally found in Husserl: he saw in the latter’s critique of psychologism support for his own ontology, epistemology, and axiology. Lossky characterizes his ontology as an ideal-realism. According to ideal-realism, both the realm of ideal beings and the realm of real beings are mind-independent. Per his epistemology, which he calls “intuitivism,” real beings are intuited by sensual intuition and ideal beings by intellectual intuition. The realm of ideal beings includes the subrealm of values, which is intuited by axiological intuition. This thoroughly realist conception contrasted sharply with the subjectivist tendencies of the time. So, when Lossky took cognizance of Husserl’s critique of psychologism, he thereupon found an ally in his battle against the various subjectivisms. But, when Husserl took the transcendental idealist turn, Lossky was at the forefront of the backlash against the new direction Husserl wanted to give to phenomenology. (shrink)

This is an important new book about human motivation, about the reasons people have for their actions. What is distinctively new about it is its focus on how people see or understand their situations, options, and prospects. By taking account of people's understandings, Professor Schick is able to expand the current theory of decision and action. The author provides a perspective on the topic by outlining its history. He defends his new theory against criticism, considers its formal structure, and shows (...) at length how it resolves many currently debated problems: the problems of conflict and weakness of will, Allais' problem, Kahneman and Tversky's problems, Newcomb's problem, and others. The book will be of special interest to philosophers, psychologists, and economists. (shrink)

l'Histoire du scepticisme d'Érasme à Spinoza de Richard H. Popkin n'est pas seulement le récit des diverses doctrines sceptiques qui traversent le XVIe et le XVIIe siècle: un fil conducteur confère à l'ensemble sa cohérence. Mieux, une conception générale de la philosophie moderne sous-tend ses analyses. Selon Popkin en effet, toute la philosophie, depuis la Renaissance jusqu'aux lumières, s'est trouvée confrontée à la tâche de surmonter la «crise pyrrhonienne», née en contexte de querelle religieuse, et qui très vite s'étend à (...) tout le savoir. Popkin a ainsi proposé une interprétation originale mais peut-être aussi parfois contestable de la modernité, en particulier dans la mesure où il ne distingue pas assez nettement le scepticisme ancien du moderne, et où il ne prend pas en compte la spécificité du fidéisme. (shrink)

Postmodernity authors have taken parts from Nietzche and Heidegger’s writings, leaving aside other parts not of their interest. So, their philosophical grounding explains itself the denying of history and their suspicion for science and technology. But, as Nietzche and Heidegger heirs, postmodernit..

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr, is considered by many to be the most influential American jurist. The voluminous literature devoted to his writings and legal thought, however, is diverse and inconsistent. In this study, Frederic R. Kellogg follows Holmes's intellectual path from his early writings through his judicial career. He offers a fresh perspective that addresses the views of Holmes's leading critics and explains his relevance to the controversy over judicial activism and restraint. Holmes is shown to be an original (...) legal theorist who reconceived common law as a theory of social inquiry and who applied his insights to constitutional law. From his empirical and naturalist perspective on law, with its roots in American pragmatism, emerged Holmes's distinctive judicial and constitutional restraint. Kellogg distinguishes Holmes from analytical legal positivism and contrasts him with a range of thinkers. (shrink)

At the age of twenty-five, Primo Levi was sent to Hell. Levi, an Italian chemist from Turin, was one of many swept up in the Holocaust of World War II and sent to die in the German concentration camp in Auschwitz. Of the 650 people transported to the camp in his group, only 15 men and 9 women survived. After Soviet liberation of the camp in 1945, Levi wrote books, essays, short stories, poetry, and a novel, in which he painstakingly (...) described the horrors of his experience at Auschwitz. He also spent the rest of his life struggling with the fact that he was not among those who were killed. In _Primo Levi and the Politics of Survival,_ Frederic D. Homer looks at Primo Levi's life but, more important, shows him to be a significant political philosopher. In the course of his writings, Levi asked and answered his most haunting question: can someone be brutalized by a terrifying experience and, upon return to "ordinary life," recover from the physical and moral destruction he has suffered? Levi used this question to develop a philosophy positing that although man is no match for life, he can become better prepared to contend with the tragedies in life. According to Levi, the horrors of the world occur because of the strength of human tendencies, which make relationships between human beings exceedingly fragile. He believed that we are ill-constituted beings who have tendencies toward violence and domination, dividing ourselves into Us and Them, with very shallow loyalties. He also maintained that our only refuge is in education and responsibility, which may counter these tendencies. Homer calls Levi's philosophy "optimistic pessimism." As Homer demonstrates, Levi took his past experiences into account to determine that goodwill and democratic institutions do not come easily to people. Liberal society is to be earned through discipline and responsibility toward our weaknesses. Levi's answer is "civilized liberalism." To achieve this we must counter some of our most stubborn tendencies. Homer also explores the impact of Levi's death, an apparent suicide, on the way in which his work and theories have been perceived. While several critics discount Levi's work because of the nature of his death, Homer argues that his death is consistent with his philosophy. A book rich in brutally honest philosophy, _Primo Levi and the Politics of Survival_ compels one to look at serious questions about life, tragedy, optimism, solidarity, violence, and human nature. (shrink)

This book, first published in 1997, is an introductory overview of decision theory. It is completely non-technical, without a single formula in the book. Written in a crisp and clear style it succinctly covers the full range of philosophical issues of rationality and decision theory, including game theory, social choice theory, prisoner's dilemma and much else. The book aims to expand the scope and enrich the foundations of decision theory. By addressing such issues as ambivalence, inner conflict, and the constraints (...) imposed upon us by our attachments to others, Frederic Schick reveals that our thinking is often more subtle than standard theories of rationality allow. Only a theory that respects that subtlety can illumine what is otherwise puzzling. The book contains many examples drawn from history and literature dealing with subjects such as love, war, friendship, and crime. (shrink)

The phenomenological effects of deep brain stimulation (DBS) on the self of the patient remains poorly understood and under described in the literature, despite growing evidence that a significant number of patients experience postoperative neuropsychiatric changes. To address this lack of phenomenological evidence, we conducted in-depth, semistructured interviews with 17 patients with Parkinson's disease who had undergone DBS. Exploring the subjective character specific to patients' experience of being implanted gives empirical and conceptual understanding of the potential phenomenon of DBS-induced self-estrangement. (...) Our study concluded that (1) the more patients preoperatively felt alienated by their illness, the more they experienced postoperative self-estrangement, and (2) the notion of self-estrangement seems to exist in association with certain common qualitative characters, namely, loss of control, which reflects a deteriorative estrangement, and distorted perception of capacities, which reveals a restorative estrangement. These findings indicate that subjective self-reports help us to understand some aspects of the potential phenomenon of DBS-induced self-estrangement. (shrink)

We previously showed that the illusory sense of ownership and agency over a moving body in immersive virtual reality can trigger subjective and physiological reactions on the real subject’s body and, therefore, an acute improvement of cognitive functions after a single session of high-intensity intermittent exercise performed exclusively by one’s own virtual body, similar to what happens when we actually do physical activity. As well as confirming previous results, here, we aimed at finding in the elderly an increased improvement after (...) a longer virtual training with similar characteristics. Forty-two healthy older subjects completed a parallel-group randomized controlled trial including an adapted version of the virtual training previously used: while sitting, participants observed the virtual body in a first-person perspective or a third-person perspective performing 20 min of virtual high-intensity intermittent exercise. This was repeated twice a week for 6 weeks. During the vHIE, we measured the heart rate and administered questionnaires to evaluate illusory body ownership and agency. Before the beginning of the intervention, immediately after the first session of vHIE, and at the end of the entire intervention, we evaluated the cognitive performance at the Stroop task with online recording of the hemodynamic activity over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. While we confirm previous results regarding the virtual illusion and its physiological effects, we did not find significant cognitive or neural improvement immediately after the first vHIE session. As a novelty, in the 1PP group only, we detected a significant decrease in the response time of the Stroop task in the post-intervention assessment compared to its baseline; coherently, we found an increased activation on left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex after the entire intervention. While the current results strengthen the impact of the virtual full-body illusion and its physiological consequences on the elderly as well, they might have stronger and more established body representations. Perhaps, a longer and increased exposure to those illusions is necessary to initiate the cascade of events that culminates to an improved cognitive performance. (shrink)

This paper provides an analysis of the use of axioms in Banach’s Ph.D. and their role in the progression of Banach’s mathematical thought. In order to give a precise account of the role of Banach’s axioms, we distinguish two levels of activity. The first one is devoted to the overall process of creating a new theory able to answer some prescribed problems in functional analysis. The second one concentrates on the epistemological role of axioms. In particular, the notion of norm (...) completeness, as it appears in Banach’s text, can be interpreted as an epistemic linchpin between several a priori inhomogeneous domains of mathematical thought. (shrink)

Cet article s’intéresse au problème de la maintenance, c’est-à-dire au moment où les membres d’un collectif social tentent d’assurer dans le temps l’existence de leur collectif en instituant des règles pour réguler leurs comportements. Ce problème se pose avec acuité lorsque certains membres ne respectent pas ces règles communes. Pour maintenir la coopération sociale, les membres peuvent décider d’instituer des règles secondaires visant à sanctionner les transgressions des règles primaires déjà établies. La maintenance d’un collectif peut ainsi reposer sur l’émergence (...) de pouvoirs déontiques qui donnent aux membres l’autorité de légitimement punir et expulser les transgresseurs. Mais d’où viennent ces règles ? On peut penser qu’elles émergent des émotions éprouvées par les membres envers les transgresseurs. Je le démontre à l’aide d’une étude de cas qui établit que, dans le collectif Occupy Geneva, l’institutionnalisation de normes pour punir, exclure et réintégrer les déviants s’ancraient respectivement dans l’indignation, le mépris et le pardon. -/- This article focuses on the problem of maintenance; that is the moment when the members of a social collective attempt to ensure the existence of their collective over time by instituting rules to regulate their behavior. This problem becomes critical when certain members do not respect the common rules. To maintain social cooperation, members can decide to institute secondary rules aimed at sanctioning the transgressions of the already established primary rules. The maintenance of a collective can thus rely on the emergence of deontic powers that give members the authority to legitimately punish and expel transgressors. But where do these rules come from? The hypothesis is that they emerge from the emotions felt by the members towards the transgressors. I show this with the help of a case study, which establishes that the institutionalization of norms allowing the punishment, the exclusion, and the reintegration of deviants within the “Occupy Geneva” collective, was grounded in indignation, contempt, and forgiveness respectively. (shrink)

According to several late medieval logicians, the use the universal quantifier ‘omnis’ creates the requirement that the sentence refers to at least three items—the principle of sufficientia appellatorum. The commitment is such that, when the quota is not fulfilled, one has to import the missing items from the realm of the nonexistent. While the central argument for this principle, whose origin is Aristotle’s De Caelo, stems from the contrast between unrestricted universal quantifiers and binary quantifiers, the discussion is often mixed (...) with another issue, concerning the requirement of a plurality of referents for universals. In this paper, we try to distinguish those different issues and map the reactions of xiii th authors to the principle of sufficientia appellatorum. (shrink)

Although an invasive medical intervention, Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) has been regarded as an efficient and safe treatment of Parkinson’s disease for the last 20 years. In terms of clinical ethics, it is worth asking whether the use of DBS may have unanticipated negative effects similar to those associated with other types of psychosurgery. Clinical studies of epileptic patients who have undergone an anterior temporal lobectomy have identified a range of side effects and complications in a number of domains: psychological, (...) behavioural, affective and social. In many cases, patients express difficulty adjusting from being chronically ill to their new status as ‘treated’ or ‘seizure free’. This postoperative response adjustment has been described in the literature on epilepsy as the ‘Burden of Normality’ (BoN) syndrome. Most of the discussion about DBS postoperative changes to self is focused on abnormal side effects caused by the intervention (ie, hypersexuality, hypomania, etc). By contrast, relatively little attention is paid to the idea that successfully ‘treated’ individuals might experience difficulties in adjusting to becoming ‘normal’. The purpose of this paper is (1) to articulate the postoperative DBS psychosocial adjustment process in terms of the BoN syndrome, (2) to address whether the BoN syndrome illustrates that DBS treatment poses a threat to the patient’s identity, and (3) to examine whether the current framework for rehabilitation after DBS procedures should be updated and take into account the BoN syndrome as a postoperative self-change response. (shrink)

Despite growing evidence that a significant number of patients living with Parkison’s disease experience neuropsychiatric changes following Deep Brain Stimulation treatment, the phenomenon remains poorly understood and largely unexplored in the literature. To shed new light on this phenomenon, we used qualitative methods grounded in phenomenology to conduct in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 17 patients living with Parkinson’s Disease who had undergone DBS. Our study found that patients appear to experience postoperative DBS-induced changes in the form of self-estrangement. Using the insights (...) from patients’ subjective perceptions of postoperative self-change provides a potent explanation of potential DBS-induced self-estrangement. (shrink)

L’« aristotélisme » est resté très largement étudié tout au long du XVIIe siècle, mais certainement pas de manière uniforme. Une rupture décisive est intervenue avec l’avènement du cartésianisme qui parvient à se poser en système rival suffisamment crédible pour obliger à une nouvelle donne, à la fois dans l’enseignement prodigué à l’université et dans la pratique philosophique en général. Cet article explique la nature de ces transformations imposées que l’aristotélisme a dû subir, puis examine les différentes façons dont, chacun (...) à leur manière bien spécifique, Hobbes, Spinoza, Malebranche et Leibniz se sont situés par rapport à l’héritage et à la figure du Stagirite. Comment, en l’espace de quelques décennies seulement, l’aristotélisme qui avait tant dominé le paysage philosophique pendant des siècles s’est-il trouvé mis au rang de vestige de l’histoire? (shrink)

Propose une hypothèse originale sur les sources de la pensée de Bergson et sa portée profonde, sur le mouvement de son oeuvre et la méthode qui s'impose pour la lire, sur la place de sa philosophie dans l'histoire.

Les ouvrages des premiers siècles du christianisme tournés explicitement vers l'extérieur (apologies antipaïennes, ouvrages adu. ludaeos ou traités hérésiologiques) ne sont pas dépourvus d'une visée interne et contribuent à forger l'identité de la communauté chrétienne. Pour cela, différentes approches étaient possibles, comme l'indique, sur un point particulier, la comparaison des manières dont deux contemporains, Clément d'Alexandrie et Tertullien, conçoivent la diversité de leurs adversaires. Chez le premier, la distinction est présentée explicitement, à travers des classifications bien formalisées : il semble (...) considérer ses adversaires comme les interlocuteurs d'une discussion ouverte. Tertullien, en revanche, ne recourt pas à ce genre de division : s'il est conscient de la diversité des adversaires et s'il sait les identifier, il répugne à les intégrer dans une typologie unique et universelle, et préfère s'en tenir à une division binaire fondée sur la distinction de la vérité et de l'erreur. Le fondement d'une telle divergence d'approche entre deux contemporains tient sans doute en partie à la façon dont ils conçoivent le temps et la perspective eschatologique. (shrink)

Pragmatism, Logic and Law traces legal pragmatism as a distinct logical theory originated in late 19th century America, covering various issues, cases, personalities, and relevant intellectual movements within and outside law. It addresses pragmatism’s relation to legal liberalism, natural law, critical legal studies (CLS), and neopragmatism.

Nineteenth-century references to the syllogism by J. S. Mill and Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. reveal a distinct approach to the logic of inference in the formative years of pragmatism. In the latter may be found an element of the emergence of generals from particulars. Fallibilism in law and science reflects their social dimension as part of the communal ordering of experience. This implies a distinct approach to uncertainty, as experience yet to be integrated within a developing system of classification.

The philosophy of Johannes Rehmke (1848–1930), also called “Rehmkeanism,” and the intuitivism of Nikolai Lossky (1870–1965) converge on essential doctrinal points. The Bulgarian philosopher Dimitar Mihalchev (1880–1967), who studied under Rehmke in Greifswald, became a promoter of the Rehmkean philosophy in Bulgaria. The points of convergence between Rehmkeanism and Losskyan intuitivism led Mihalchev to develop an interest in Lossky. He visited Lossky in Saint Petersburg in 1911 and mentioned the similarities between Rehmke and Lossky in 1914 in Forma i otnoshenie (...) (Form and Relation). They also moved in the same circles in Prague, where Lossky, whom Lenin had expelled from Russia in 1922, had found refuge, and where Mihalchev had been appointed ambassador between 1923 and 1927. After his return to Sofia, Mihalchev invited Lossky to publish an article in his newly created philosophy journal, Filosofski pregled. Mihalchev would likely have seen in Lossky an ally in his endeavor of promoting Rehmkeanism in Bulgaria. Moreover, given the similarities between Rehmke and Lossky, Mihalchev had come to believe that Lossky had, just like himself, been influenced by Rehmke and that he developed his intuitivism under this influence. However, Lossky, who translated one of Rehmke’s books as a student and who admitted similarities between Rehmke’s philosophy and his own intuitivism, nevertheless denied having been influenced by him. The present article proposes a comparison of Lossky and Rehmke, and chronicles the interactions between Lossky and Mihalchev in their historical context. (shrink)

Following Wallace’s suggestion, Darwin framed his theory using Spencer’s expression “survival of the fittest”. Since then, fitness occupies a significant place in the conventional understanding of Darwinism, even though the explicit meaning of the term ‘fitness’ is rarely stated. In this paper I examine some of the different roles that fitness has played in the development of the theory. Whereas the meaning of fitness was originally understood in ecological terms, it took a statistical turn in terms of reproductive success throughout (...) the 20th Century. This has lead to the ever-increasing importance of sexually reproducing organisms and the populations they compose in evolutionary explanations. I will argue that, moving forward, evolutionary theory should look back at its ecological roots in order to be more inclusive in the type of systems it examines. Many biological systems can only be satisfactorily accounted for by offering a non-reproductive account of fitness. This argument will be made by examining biological systems with very small or transient population structures. I argue this has significant consequences for how we define Darwinism, increasing the significance of survival over that of reproduction. (shrink)

Although being generally safe, the use of Deep Brain Stimulation has been associated with a significant number of patients experiencing postoperative psychological and neurological harm within experimental trials. A proportion of these postoperative severe adverse effects have lead to the decision to medically prescribe device deactivation or removal. However, there is little debate in the literature as to what is in the patient’s best interest when device removal has been prescribed; in particular, what should be the conceptual approach to ethically (...) guide the decision to remove or maintain implants. The purpose of this article is to examine the ethical issues raised when patients refuse brain device explantation despite medical prescription. In order to illustrate these issues, we report and discuss a clinical case involving a patient suffering from treatment resistant depression who experienced forms of postoperative self-estrangement, as well as suicidal attempts, but who resists giving consent to device explantation. (shrink)

« On nous apprend que les entreprises ont une âme, ce qui est bien la nouvelle la plus terrifiante du monde. »On sent bien qu’il va falloir s’expliquer sur les mots – et notamment « totalitarisme »... Mais tant qu’à faire, c’est par « capitalisme » qu’il faut commencer. Des nombreuses confusions qui affligent le débat public, celle qui mêle « capitalisme » et..

Ce livre propose de relire la philosophie de Walter Benjamin à partir de sa cosmologie. Le cosmos de Benjamin n'est pas un univers ordonné, composé de corps célestes identifiables, mais l'occasion d'une expérience fulgurante: dans l'univers post-copernicien de Benjamin, l'intériorité du désir et l'extériorité des étoiles, le politique et le théologique, le présent et le distant passé se rencontrent sans fusionner. Situant Benjamin dans la tradition philosophique (G. W. Leibniz, K. Marx, F. Hegel) tout en s'appuyant sur des pensées contemporaines (...) (J. Butler, S. Hartmann, M. Löwy), ce livre crée une 'correspondance' entre Benjamin et notre actualité. Dans un monde soumis aux replis nationalistes, aux virus destructeurs d'altérité et à l'intrusion technologique, le lointain semble s'évanouir. En prise avec l'histoire la plus récente, celle du New Space et de la Sixième Extinction, de Black Lives Matter et des Communes éphémères, ce livre soutient qu'aucune transformation politique radicale, aucune émancipation, aucun communisme n'est possible, et souhaitable, sans relation avec un lointain telle l'Étoile du Nord que les esclaves en fuite suivaient dans le ciel nocturne pour les guider vers la liberté."--Page 4 of cover. (shrink)

La logique classique, qui repose sur trois principes fondamentaux (d'identité, de non-contradiction et de tiers-exclu), a pu séduire par son efficacité orientée vers l'être, elle permet d'appréhender la cohérence du réel, donc de développer les savoirs. Pour autant, sa puissance s'avère limitée dans certaines situations des limitations internes des formalismes à l'apparition de nouveaux objets paradoxaux, la science du XXe siècle a été confrontée à une crise de ses fondements dont elle n'est pas encore sortie. Or, s'affranchir de ce qui (...) vient en nous entraver la pensée a été un enjeu pour des courants soucieux de fonder leur rigueur démonstrative sur un au-delà de l'être. Dans la lignée de l'hénologie néoplatonicienne, ces modes d'explication ont néanmoins souvent été jugés irrationnels, mystiques ou simplement absurdes. À l'aide des logiques non standards contemporaines, c'est une étude systémique de ces positions qui est ici envisagée à travers la critique de l'hégémonie des trois grands principes logiques grâce à la logique intuitionniste, il devient possible de construire rigoureusement la notion de néant suressentiel; grâce aux logiques paraconsistantes, les contradictions et les paradoxes qu'une telle dialectique engendre perdent leur caractère irrationnel; enfin, grâce aux traditions logiques indiennes et japonaises, le principe d'identité peut lui-même être questionné. Cette remise en cause radicale de nos certitudes les mieux ancrées permet ultimement de dégager de nouvelles perspectives à la pensée logique."--Page 4 of cover. (shrink)

À la fois observateur des mœurs de ses contemporains, journaliste, attentif aux goûts vestimentaires, et spécialiste des images, John Grand Carteret, écrivait que l’on n’a pas pu jusqu’à présent trouver les vertus fin-de-siècle mais uniquement les « crimes fin-de-siècle », soulignant de la sorte qu’il existe des modes dans la manière de s’emparer de la vie d’autrui ou de provoquer d’irréparables blessures et lésions corporelles. Le vitriolage en fait partie. Le mot apparaît vers 1873. Il dési...

La conquête de l'espace est terminée? Non, une nouvelle planète est apparue : la Terre. Une Terre post-naturelle qu'on pourrait refaire et piloter grâce aux prouesses d'une ingénierie absolue. Cet imaginaire accompagne la naissance d'un géopouvoir prenant la planète entière comme objet de gouvernement. Ce nouveau Grand récit est secondé par une pensée constructiviste aujourd'hui hégémonique. Celle-ci a remis en cause la coupure nature-culture ; mais sur les ruines de cette critique a été construite une nature 2-0, hybride, homogène au (...) réquisit d'un géocapitalisme prospère. Déniant toute altérité à la nature, cette pensée anaturaliste est incapable de s'opposer au projet géoconstructiviste de terraformation de la planète. Au mythe fusionnel de toute-puissance technologique, mais sans revenir à la coupure nature-culture, l'auteur oppose une écologie de la séparation qui insiste sur la capacité inconstructible de la nature. Ni objet constructible, ni effroyable Gaïa, la Terre est un devenir insubstituable, qui, traversant les milliards d'années, se retirant dans le passé le plus lointain et le futur le plus inaccessible, échappe à toute saisie. (shrink)

Comment Lucien Lévy-Bruhl, auteur d'ouvrages sur la philosophie allemande et la "mentalité primitive", peut-il éclairer les enjeux des sciences sociales aujourd'hui? Pour actualiser cette grande figure de la Troisième République, il faut repenser les liens entre le socialisme français et le système colonial à partir de l'affaire Dreyfus. Celle-ci mit à l'épreuve la thèse de Lucien Lévy-Bruhl sur la responsabilité et le conduisit à étudier les formes d'anticipation de l'avenir dans les sociétés sans État. À partir d'archives inédites et d'une (...) hypothèse théorique nouvelle, ce livre retrace les engagements de Lucien Lévy-Bruhl, du soutien des ouvriers au cours de la Première Guerre mondiale à l'aide aux exilés juifs dans les années 1930, et replace l'ethnologie parmi d'autres sciences de la vigilance, comme les statistiques et l'épidémiologie. Il montre ainsi que l'étude des sociétés éloignées permet à la nôtre de se préparer aux catastrophes à partir de l'observation des sentinelles."--Page 4 of cover. (shrink)

Economy, politics and ontology are entered into conjunction; immanency situation discribed by Empire’s authors. Our interrogation will be based on two hypotheses: 1°) immanency is the liberation of an infinity of outsides; 2°) desire of the multitude includes a counter-desire which prefers rest to movement, and reterritorialisation to deterritorialisation. How to deal with such a counter-desire?

This article discusses the concept of joint attention and the different skills underlying its development. Research in developmental psychology clearly states that the development of skills to understand, manipulate and coordinate attentional behavior plays a pivotal role for imitation, social cognition and the development of language. However, beside the fact that joint attention has recently received an increasing interest in the robotics community, existing models concentrate only on partial and isolated elements of these phenomena. In the line of Tomasello’s research, (...) we argue that joint attention is much more than simultaneous looking because it implies a shared intentional relation to the world. This requires skills for attention detection, attention manipulation, social coordination and, most importantly, intentional understanding. After defining joint attention and its challenges, the current state-of-the-art of robotic and computational models relevant for this issue is discussed in relation to a developmental timeline drawn from results in child studies. From this survey, we identify open issues and challenges that still need to be addressed to understand the development of the various aspects of joint attention and conclude with the potential contribution of robotic models. (shrink)

The article Deflating the "DBS causes personality changes" bubble, written by Frederic Gilbert, J. N. M. Viaña and C. Ineichen, was originally published electronically on the publisher’s internet portal on 19 June 2018 without open access.

In this article, we explore the implications of a Rawlsian theory for intergenerational issues. First, we confront Rawls's way of locating his `just savings' principle in his Theory of Justice with an alternative way of doing so. We argue that both sides of his intergenerational principle, as they apply to the accumulation phase and the steady-state stage, can be dealt with on the bases, respectively, of the principle of equal liberty (and its priority) and of the difference principle. We then (...) proceed by focusing on the implications of applying maximin to his steady-state stage. One central claim is that, in principle, Rawlsians should consider not only generational dissavings, but also generational savings, as unfair. This principle suffers a series of exceptions on which we focus in the fourth section of the article. In some cases, growth can be maximin compatible. (shrink)

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been regarded as an efficient and safe treatment for Parkinson’s disease (PD) since being approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1997. It is estimated that more than 150 000 patients have been implanted, with a forecasted rapid increase in uptake with population ageing. Recent longitudinal follow-up studies have reported a significant increase in postoperative survival rates of patients with PD implanted with DBS as compared with those not implanted with DBS. Although DBS (...) tends to increase life expectancy for most patients with PD, this medical benefit does not come without attendant negative consequences. For example, emerging forms of iatrogenic harms are sometimes induced—harms which were not initially expected when clinicians proposed neurosurgery and patients or their guardians consented to the treatment. We report and discuss the clinical case of a patient who was implanted with DBS more than 20 years ago (at the time of writing) and is now experiencing unexpected stages of PD. This case illustrates how extending the life span without improving quality of life may introduce a burden of harms for patients and families. As well, this case shows why we should prepare for the expanding numbers of PD-implanted patients experiencing a gain of longevity but with severe stages of disease leading to diminution in quality of life. This newly observed effect of DBS treatment requires us to explore ethical questions related to iatrogenic harms, informed consent, end of life and caregivers’ burden. (shrink)

Optogenetics is being optimistically presented in contemporary media for its unprecedented capacity to control cell behavior through the application of light to genetically modified target cells. As such, optogenetics holds obvious potential for application in a new generation of invasive medical devices by which to potentially provide treatment for neurological and psychiatric conditions such as Parkinson's disease, addiction, schizophrenia, autism and depression. Design of a first-in-human optogenetics experimental trial has already begun for the treatment of blindness. Optogenetics trials involve a (...) combination of highly invasive genetic and electronic interventions that results in irreversible and permanent modifications of an individual's nervous system. Given its novelty, its uncertain benefit to patients, and its unique risk profile of irreversible physiological alteration, optogenetics requires a reassessment of the ethical challenges for protecting human participants in clinical trials, particularly at formative stages of clinical evaluation. This study explores the evolving ethical issues surrounding optogenetics’ potential harm to participants within trial design, especially focusing on whether Phase 1 trials should incorporate efficacy as well as safety endpoints in ways that are fair and respectful to research trial participants. (shrink)

Les Essais réunis ici sont des interventions de Lambert à l’Académie des sciences de Berlin. Le Discours de réception envisage la question des secours mutuels que peuvent s’apporter les classes de l’Académie (et, à travers elles, les domaines du savoir qu’elles représentent). Les Observations sur quelques dimensions du monde intellectuel abordent, à travers la question du sublime, la manière dont quelques aspects du « monde physique » sont transférés aux dénominations dans le « monde intellectuel », c’est-à-dire celui de la (...) connaissance et de la volonté, en elle-même et dans ses représentations poétiques. Les deux Essais de taxéométrie ont pour objet de présenter une théorie de la mesure de l’ordre tel qu’il apparaît ; le deuxième essai étant tout particulièrement associé à la question du plaisir esthétique. Ces essais, publiés en français, sont brièvement présentés et annotés. (shrink)

Cet article étudie la présence de la valeur humaniste de "douceur" chez Montaigne et Descartes, dans le champ de l'éducation, des relations humaines, mais aussi de la méthode cartésienne pour bien conduire son entendement. Ainsi, la méthode doit faire preuve de douceur dans la culture de l'âme, et Descartes dans l'Epître à Voet décrit la douceur comme une composante essentielle des "lois de l'amitié" entre les hommes. Il s'agit donc de proposer une interprétation nouvelle et humaniste de la pensée cartésienne, (...) qui porte à la fois sur la morale et la recherche de la vérité. (shrink)

Produites entre 1967 et 1974, les Organisations d’espaces de Jean-Michel Sanejouand constituent un exemple d’installations avant la lettre. Les définissant en opposition par rapport aux pratiques artistiques traditionnelles, notamment la sculpture, leur auteur a l’ambition d’induire de nouvelles relations entre l’intervention artistique, l’espace qui l’accueille et les personnes qui en font l’expérience. Notre analyse se propose d’exposer de quelle façon ces relations sont mises en œuvre par l’artiste et de pointer leurs singularités. Il s’agit d’abord de revenir sur les circonstances (...) qui amènent Sanejouand à faire du rapport à l’espace la donnée centrale de ses interventions et à tourner le dos à la production d’œuvres autonomes déplaçables au profit d’une pratique in situ. Ensuite, l’investigation porte sur les qualités des matériaux présents dans les Organisations d’espaces et sur la manière dont l’artiste les utilise. Si certains matériaux sont présents antérieurement dans son œuvre, nous montrons comment l’artiste cherche désormais à déplacer l’attention de l’objet vers ce que celui-ci révèle ou perturbe dans le lieu où il prend place. L’observation menée permet ainsi de mettre en lumière une différence qualitative dans la prise en compte du lieu au sein des Organisations d’espaces, par rapport aux œuvres précédentes de l’artiste. Enfin, l’action menée sur le lieu et son but sont interrogés. La volonté de Sanejouand de désaliéner l’individu permet de comprendre pourquoi celui-ci conçoit les Organisations d’espaces comme des expériences perceptives qui font des lieux et de leur stabilité des espaces, pour reprendre les distinctions posées par Michel de Certeau. Produced between 1967 and 1974, Jean-Michel Sanejouand’s Organisations d’espaces are an example of installation art before the term existed. Defining them in opposition to traditional artistic practices, especially sculpture, their author has the ambition to induce new relationships between the artistic intervention, the space that welcomes it and the people who experience it. Our analysis proposes to expose how these relationships are implemented by the artist and to point out their singularities. First of all, it is a question to return to the circumstances that lead Sanejouand to make the relationship with space the heart of his interventions and to turn his back on the production of autonomous works that can be displaced in favor of a site-specific practice. Then, the investigation focuses on the qualities of the materials present in the Organisations d’espaces and on the way in which the artist uses them. If some materials are previously present in his work, we show how the artist now seeks to shift the attention of the object towards what it reveals or disturbs in the place where it takes place. The observation carried out thus provides the possibility to highlight a qualitative difference in the way Organizations d’espaces take into account the places, compared to the previous works of the artist. Finally, the action carried out on the place and its purpose are questioned. Sanejouand’s desire to de-alienate the individual makes it possible to understand why he conceives Organisations d’espaces as perceptive experiences that turn places and their stability into spaces, to use the distinctions put forward by Michel de Certeau. (shrink)

Digital photography is sweeping the country, and it’s easy to see why. You can take pictures of anything, do it quickly, see instantly what you got, save only the stuff you like, and share your pictures as prints, on the Web, as a slideshow, or even on things like mugs and mousepads. A digital camera and the appropriate software let you Take wide-angle or closeup shots, indoors or out Know immediately whether you got what you wanted Delete shots you don’t (...) like and retake them Improve your images on your computer Combine images into a montage Customize your pictures by adding special visual effects Digital photography is fun, but whether you’re an old hand at taking digital pictures or still picking out your first camera, there are plenty of times when you know what you want to do and just want to figure out how to do it, right now. That’s exactly what Digital Photography Just the Steps For Dummies helps you do. It’s designed so you can quickly find the task you want to perform and follow step-by-step instructions to get the job done, right now. Loaded with full-color photos to show you what you can do, Digital Photography Just the Steps For Dummies helps you Choose the camera, lenses, and flash equipment that are best for the type of photography you want to do Compose good pictures regardless of your subject Scan and digitize existing photos so you can enhance or repair them Change the size or format of an image Adjust color, brightness, contrast, sharpness, and other attributes of a digital image Repair tears, creases, or scratches in a scanned photo, remove red-eye, and restore a faded image Use layers to alter an image, add text, or change the background Photograph items you want to sell online to show them at their best Sort and organize photos on your computer Print picture albums, make photo T-shirts, create a slideshow, or burn a video CD When you’re looking for a clear set of instructions so you can get results right away, you want a Just the Steps For Dummies book. With Digital Photography Just the Steps For Dummies, you’ll find everything quickly comes into focus! (shrink)

Background: Informed consent for genetic tests is a well-established practice. It should be based on good quality information and in keeping with the patient’s values. Existing informed consent assessment tools assess knowledge and values. Nevertheless, there is no consensus on what specific elements need to be discussed or considered in the consent process for genetic tests.Methods: We performed a systematic review to identify all factors involved in the decision-making and consent process about genetic testing, from the perspective of patients. Through (...) public databases, we identified studies reporting factors that influence the decision to accept or decline genetic testing. Studies were included if they reported the perspective of patients or at-risk individuals. All articles were thematically coded.Results: 1989 articles were reviewed: 70 met inclusion criteria and 12 additional articles were identified through the references of included studies. Coding of the 82 articles led to the identification of 45 factors involved in decision-making and consent, which were initially divided into three domains: in favor of, against or with an undetermined influence on genetic testing. Each factor was also divided into three subdomains relating to the informed choice concept: knowledge, values or other. The factors in the “other” subdomain were all related to the context of testing (e.g. timing, cost, influence of family members, etc), and were present in all three domains.Conclusions: We describe the network of factors contributing to decision-making and consent process and identify the context of genetic testing as a third component to influence this process. Future studies should consider the evaluation of contextual factors as an important and relevant component of the consent and decision-making process about genetic tests. Based on these results, we plan to develop and test a more comprehensive tool to assess informed consent for genetic testing. (shrink)