Gaston Fessard employs Hegel’s dialectical logic to clarify how St. Ignatius’s _Spiritual Exercises_ envisage and prepare the decisions and choices between contrasting options or major turning points in spiritual life, in moments of what Ignatius would call _Election_.

Contemporary liberal states must provide an answer to the “question of cultural diversity”, requiring a principled way to determine which minority cultural practices a state must accommodate and support. (Liberal egalitarian) multiculturalism answers this question neatly by creating a dichotomy between national minorities and ethnic minorities (the national/ethnic “dichotomy”). Where national minorities are entitled to extensive and far-reaching cultural rights, ethnic minorities are entitled to significantly fewer cultural rights and accommodations. This dichotomy is enacted through a distributive logic that allocates (...) cultural rights to achieve equal individual autonomy. But the dichotomy is also influenced by the ways these groups were incorporated into the state. Their modes of incorporation are different and, thus, they have different requirements to achieve equally autonomous lives. Critics have challenged multiculturalism by questioning this dichotomy. They have suggested that the dichotomy does not adequately capture differences in kinds of minority groups and their entitlements. This paper defends the dichotomy by offering a supplementary principle to liberal egalitarian multiculturalism: the reparative multicultural principle. This principle allocates cultural rights as part of reparative entitlements for historical and ongoing injustices committed against minority groups. Supplementing multiculturalism in this way more accurately captures the idea of the historical mode of incorporation that inspires the dichotomy and can help resolve some the objections to multiculturalism. (shrink)

Philosophers have offered many arguments to explain why historical injustices require reparations. This paper raises an unnoticed challenge for almost all of them. Most theories of reparations attempt to meet two intuitions: (1) Reparations are owed for a past wrong and (2) the content of reparations must reflect the historical injustice. I argue that necessarily no monistic theory can meet both intuitions. I do this by showing that any theory that can meet intuition (1) necessarily cannot also meet intuition (2). (...) This result suggests that a theory of reparations must either sacrifice one of the two intuitions or be pluralist. I argue that we ought to prefer the pluralist over the monistic theory. I sketch the pluralist theory and I defend it by considering an objection about the way it can resolve conflicts. (shrink)

This paper discusses the pluralist theory of reparations for historical injustice offered by Daniel Butt (Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 24(5):1161–75, 2021). Butt attempts to vindicate purely past-regarding corrective duties in response to Alasia Nuti’s historical-structural model of reparations. I agree with Butt that reparative justice requires both past-regarding and future-looking structural duties. And I agree with him that Nuti’s model leaves out purely past-regarding duties. I argue, however, that Butt does not offer a genuinely pluralist account. I present minimal (...) necessary conditions for past-regarding (corrective) justice and demonstrate that the past-regarding duties Butt advocates do not meet these conditions. The past-regarding duties Butt offers collapse into the kinds of distributive (structural) duties from which he attempts to separate them. Yet, I suggest these shortcomings are instructive and sketch a path forward for a genuinely pluralist account of reparations. A genuinely pluralist account must follow this path in order to vindicate the intuitions that motivate both past-regarding duties and the structural injustice model. (shrink)

Why do speakers of all languages use different grammatical structures under different communicative circumstances to express the same idea? In this comprehensive study, Professor Lambrecht explores the relationship between the structure of sentences and the linguistic and extra-linguistic contexts in which they are used. His analysis is based on the observation that the structure of a sentence reflects a speaker's assumptions about the hearer's state of knowledge and consciousness at the time of the utterance. This relationship between speaker assumptions (...) and formal sentence structure is governed by rules and conventions of grammar, in a component called 'information structure'. Four independent but interrelated categories are analysed: presupposition and assertion, identifiability and activation, topic, and focus. (shrink)

In this lucid and insightful study, Stephen Makin investigates a form of argument widespread in ancient Greek philosophy, where the absence of a reason for one alternative to be the case rather than another is used to establish substantive conclusions—where the alternatives are “indifferent”. Examples abound: Anaximander engages in such reasoning to show that the Earth does not move; Zeno of Elea to show that what is cannot be divided; Democritus to argue for finite divisibility, on the one hand, and (...) the infinite variety of atoms and worlds, on the other; not to mention the extensive use of such arguments in ancient skepticism. (shrink)

Artificial intelligence (AI) is booming, and AI ethics is booming with it. Yet there is surprisingly little attention paid to what the discipline of AI ethics is and what it ought to be. This paper offers an ameliorative definition of AI ethics to fill this gap. We introduce and defend an original distinction between novel and applied research questions. A research question should count as AI ethics if and only if (i) it is novel or (ii) it is applied and (...) has gained new importance through the development of AI. We argue that a lack of such a definition contributes to six disciplinary problems: ethics washing and lobbying, limited applicability, dilution of the field, conceptual bloating, costs of AI ethics, and an internal dispute. Based on our definition, we construct a methodological framework for AI ethics and show how it helps address these problems. (shrink)

J'etudie! Je ne suis que le sujet du verbe etudier. Penser je n'ose. Avant de penser, il faut etudier. Seuls les philosophes pensent avant d'etudier. Dans son dernier livre La flamme d'une chandelle, Gaston Bachelard s'est defini comme un etudiant. Nous n'avons pas cru lui etre infidele en presentant ces Etudes reflechies, qui portent trace d'itineraires de recherche et de problematiques. Sont ici rassembles les textes suivants: Noumene et microphysique, La critique du concept de frontiere epistemologique, Idealisme discursif, Lumiere (...) et substance et Le monde comme caprice et miniature. (shrink)

One of the essential parts within the transition towards sustainable economies, is the way how higher education prepares its students for their future role in business. In order for them to contribute to corporate social responsibility within the enterprise context, they need specific skills and competences related to sustainable development. Derived from the societal role of business schools in preparing the future business leaders and entrepreneurs, the focus of this paper is the participation in, and the contribution of business schools (...) to the issues of efficiency measures for sustainability. This topic could be wider situated within the context of higher education for sustainable development, which aims at integrating competences for sustainable development into the curriculum, and integrating sustainability measures within campus operations, research and societal role. The paper furthermore looks at a business school context as a case for institutional efficiency measures. The paper describes how business schools could implement efficiency measures and apply instruments within their own context, looking at the campus as a ‘living laboratory’ for sustainability innovation. The paper describes how tools and instruments to foster sustainability integration are applied on campus, its benefits and possible problems. The paper focuses on the application of three instruments: Assessment Instrument for Sustainability in Higher Education; Ecological Footprint Analysis; and Principles for Responsible Management Education. It builds upon the data and results from several action research projects within two Belgian business schools. As a conclusion, the paper will reflect upon the essential characteristics of these initiatives, as a way to enhance efficiency measures for sustainability both within the business school itself, as within a wider business context. (shrink)

The sealing up of the municipalities was intended to make it possible to deal with some existing problems more adequately. This required more dedication, deeper understanding, a readiness to listen, and preliminary research on the part of the managers. In addition, the sealing up could also lead to centralisation of facilities. The resulting hierarchy and bureaucracy could prevent flexible management, however as the citizens do not want to be overlooked. they have reacted to the possible negative aspects of the consolidation. (...) The global impression is that the consolidation has been good for the small municipalities. The large municipalities, certainly those of more than 50,000 inhabitants, did not have to be involved, although they were, and the result has been that the understanding of the problems and the decision-making processes have been more complicated. (shrink)

In 2004 a new interconfessional Dutch translation of the entire Bible appeared. In this article, the new translation of 2 Cor 12:1-13 is compared with the last edition of the well-known Catholic Willibrord translation from 1995. Then, the translation of this passage is compared with a very literal rendering and a detailed evaluation follows. Serious critical remarks bear upon its translation of verses 9, 10, and 12. The third part of the study analyzes Paul’s rhetorical strategy with his paradoxical language (...) of verses 9-10. The paradox of strength in weakness functions within his lengthy apology. In Paul weakness and strength coexist; his strength is not completely hidden; his strength is not only that of God or Christ : Paul himself is strong in Christ. (shrink)

How promising is Bitcoin as a currency? This paper discusses four claims on the advantages of Bitcoin: a more stable currency than state-backed ones; a secure and efficient payment system; a credible alternative to the central management of money; and a better protection of transaction privacy. We discuss these arguments by relating them to their philosophical roots in libertarian and neoliberal theories, and assess whether Bitcoin can effectively meet these expectations. We conclude that despite its advocates’ enthusiasm, there are good (...) reasons to doubt that Bitcoin can fulfill its promises and act as a functioning currency, rather than as a mere speculative asset. (shrink)

Pour Gaston Bachelard, le « non » signifie dépasser et compléter le savoir antérieur, la philosophie de la connaissance scientifique doit englober les contradictions. Il établit le profil épistémologique de l’évolution, du réalisme naïf au surrationalisme en passant par le rationalisme classique et élargit le domaine de l’intuition à ce qu’il appelle une « intuition travaillée»s’exerçant dans un espace non analytique.

Si l'on veut bien définir le rationalisme comme une pensée d'organisation, on devra lui accorder une matière à organiser, des éléments à assembler, des expériences à ajuster. On devra le juger au terme même de cette organisation, après son effort synthétique, après son travail de mise en ordre. Il y a peu de justice à le taxer d'incapacité à propos d'une analyse de ce qu'il prend comme éléments de sa construction. Autant dire que le rationalisme est une philosophie fonctionnelle, une (...) philosophie d'opérations - ou plutôt, comme nous le montrerons plus explicitement dans notre livre sur la Mécanique ondulatoire, une philosophie d'opérateurs. Ce n'est pas une philosophie existentielle. Le rationalisme ne prétend pas pénétrer dans l'individualité d'une existence. Il ne commence à penser qu'en établissant des relations. (shrink)

In The Dialectic of Duration Gaston Bachelard addresses the nature of time in response to the writings of his great contemporary, Henri Bergson. For Bachelard, experienced time is irreducibly fractured and interrupted, as indeed are material events. At stake is an entire conception of the physical world, an entire approach to the philosophy of science. It was in this work that Bachelard first marshalled all the components of his visionary philosophy of science, with its steady insistence on the human (...) context and subtle encompassing of the irrational within the rational. (shrink)

Niels de Haan (2023) defends the possibility of holding collectives morally responsible against a challenge posed by the problem of self-induced moral incapacity. Self-induced moral incapacity seems to introduce a responsibility gap that corporate agents might exploit to avoid responsibility. De Haan argues that the problem does not introduce responsibility gaps because collective moral agents become responsible for actions they committed while they were incapacitated once they reacquire moral capacity. I argue that de Haan’s argument is incomplete. Simply because a (...) group reacquires moral capacity does not also necessarily mean that the group retains attributability for the wrongs in question. This means we must supplement de Haan’s argument with an Attributability Proviso: To overcome the problem of self-induced moral incapacity it must be the case that the group reacquires moral capacity and that we can still attribute the earlier actions to the group despite the changes that it has gone through. (shrink)

There is widespread intuition that historical injustices require reparations. This paper considers one philosophical problem for reparations: the Nonidentity Objection. The Objection states that present agents are not owed reparations for historical injustices because without the historical injustice they would not exist. I show the Objection only challenges the possibility of reparations for historical injustice if we adopt a particular model of reparative justice that takes someone experiencing harms to be a necessary condition for reparative justice. Instead, if we adopt (...) a different model of reparative justice based on relational wrongdoing, we can avoid the Objection. I defend my solution by considering the Nonidentity Objection in detail. I show that it challenges harm-based models of reparative justice regardless of the account of harm that the Objection uses. And I demonstrate that common objections to wrong-based solutions to the general nonidentity problem do not apply in the case of historical injustice. I conclude by sketching challenges my wrong-based model faces and argue that despite these challenges we ultimately have reason to prefer it over harm-based ones. (shrink)

Does intellectual property satisfy the requirements of the Lockean proviso, that the appropriator leave “enough and as good” or that he at least not “deprive others”? If an author's appropriation of a work he has just created is analogous to a drinker “taking a good draught” in the flow of an inexhaustible river, or to someone magically “causing springs of water to flow in the desert,” how could it not satisfy the Lockean proviso?

Education in the post-truth era: Reflections on the role of learning in sustainability and democracy This paper revisits the field of (Higher) Education for Sustainable Development in a post-truth era. It reflects on the current debate regarding the role of education in sustainability from a Deweyan perspective. This approach leads towards a renewed interpretation of individual sustainability competences in societal context influenced by post-truth characteristics and super wicked problems. The Deweyan perspective with focus on personal flourishing and the role of (...) education in democracy, provides guiding principles to frame individual sustainability competences in the current post-truth context, thereby highlighting the importance of critical inquiry. The paper recommends to revisit the connection between education and sustainability from a personal and societal perspective, thereby taking into account the current context of higher education, influenced by neoliberalism, economic efficiency and managerialism. (shrink)

This brief study is to examine whether some legal questions do influence the administrative control in general and more particularly the administrative control of merged municipalities. First are analysed the propositions aiming the administrative control in the new local government act as proposed by the Association of Belgian Towns and Villages. It says that administrative control must not be excessivily hindering. It would rather change the control phylosophy and procedures in order to relieve the administrative control. The two important State (...) Reform Acts of 8 and 9 august 1980 present in fact major institutional changes concerning the administrative control. The Flemish and the Walloon regions obtain the competence to organise the procedures and to exercise the administrative control with regard to provinces, towns, villages and agglomerations. After revision of article 108 of the Constitution in 1980opportunity-control of administrative acts is maintained and the exercise of the autonomy of action must take place in harmony with the jurisprudence of the «Council of State». Finally, comparison between theFrench Act of March 2nd, 1982 about decentralisation of administrative control in France and the opportunity-control in Belgium is made. (shrink)

There is widespread intuition that historical injustices require reparations. This paper considers one philosophical problem for reparations: the Nonidentity Objection. The Objection states that present agents are not owed reparations for historical injustices because without the historical injustice they would not exist. I show the Objection only challenges the possibility of reparations for historical injustice if we adopt a particular model of reparative justice that takes someone experiencing harms to be a necessary condition for reparative justice. Instead, if we adopt (...) a different model of reparative justice based on relational wrongdoing, we can avoid the Objection. I defend my solution by considering the Nonidentity Objection in detail. I show that it challenges harm-based models of reparative justice regardless of the account of harm that the Objection uses. And I demonstrate that common objections to wrong-based solutions to the general nonidentity problem do not apply in the case of historical injustice. I conclude by sketching challenges my wrong-based model faces and argue that despite these challenges we ultimately have reason to prefer it over harm-based ones. (shrink)

In the first book-length study of Derrida and the question of history, and in response to the 2016 publication of Derrida's 1964-1965 seminar on Heidegger and history, Sean Gaston explores Derrida's own political responses to the historical events of his time. He argues that contemporary philosophy can provide a basis for thinking about history.

"In June 2015, Nobel Laureate Tim Hunt resigned from the Faculty of Life Sciences at University College London after making a dismissive remark about female scientists. The incident is just the tip of the iceberg, argues Nicola Gaston, President of the New Zealand Association of Scientists. She scrutinises the sexism afflicting the discipline of science, from the under-representation of women to the 'scientific' argument that mental capabilities are gendered. Ultimately, she asks what can be done to combat unconscious bias (...) in science - and to ensure that the future of scientific inquiry is both balanced and objective."--Publisher information. (shrink)

This article deals with the theatrical work of Francisco García Escalante, known as Francis, from the point of view of Gender and Queer Theory. Since the theater work of Francis belongs to popular culture, this article analyzes elements of Mexican Review Theater (similar to Musical Theater) in reference to the dynamics she used to present diverse masculinities on stage. This essay also compares Francis’ symbolical construction of gender with that of popular singer Juan Gabriel.