Our purpose in this article is to explore the reasons for the continued attractiveness of Simmel's thought today and to probe the contemporary affinities to his philosophical stance towards the world. Simmel anchored the ‘philosophical attitude' in the philosopher’s particularly developed disposition for Erlebnis, i.e. the unified pre-conceptual experience of each moment of reality and life, as well as in a particular mode of objectivating this experience. We provide an illustration of such an approach and its implications through Simmel's analysis (...) of ‘remoteness from oneself’ and the restlessness it entails in The Philosophy of Money. We argue that Simmel's attempt at phenomenologically unveiling the contours and depths of life moments and fragments, as well as his emphasis on constant movement, provide much reassurance to contemporary subjectivities. But his philosophical stance is also driven by a quasi-mystical yearning for the One that lies beneath and beyond the fragments. We propose an initial assessment of the main implications of such a stance by relating it to the philosophical path it opened up (a path directly linking to Heidegger and his followers, but also in part to Deleuze) and by placing it in what we understand to be the new philosophical situation today. (shrink)

This book offers a comprehensive presentation of the Pratyabhij philosophy (elaborated in the 10th and 11th centuries by Utpaladeva and Abhinavagupta) by showing how its main concepts arose from the confrontation of aiva religious dogmas ...

Les langages humains et animaux diffèrent-ils réellement? Quel est le statut des gestes face aux autres signes linguistiques? L'importance de la voix? Si l'individu éprouve un tel besoin de communiquer, on peut se demander si les définitions les plus répandues du langage permettent de comprendre ce phénomène dans sa complexité et son fonctionnement au sein des interactions.

The question of universalism and relativism is often taken to be a matter of critical reflexivity. This article attempts to present the question instead as a matter of practical, political, and always-situated concern. The attempt starts from the consideration of modern experimental sciences. These sciences usually serve as the stronghold for universalist claims and as such are a target of relativism. It is argued that the specificity of these sciences is not a method but a concern. To be able to (...) claim that they have not unilaterally imposed their definitions on the phenomena they study is the leading concern of experimenters and should be understood in terms of the following achievement: the creation of a very particular “rapport” that authorizes claiming that what is operationally defined “lends itself” to this correlation. Linking knowledge production with a creation of rapports entails a pluralization of sciences along with the pluralization of modes of concern associated with the rapport. However, resisting unilaterally imposed definitions is not enough, since with the coming “knowledge economy” the questions that this article raises will soon be part of a romantic past. Thus it concludes with a speculative touch, which may be a requiem, relating the creation of rapports with an ecology of practices akin to William James's always-under-construction pluriverse. (shrink)

This paper suggests that one single thread characterizes the developments of French phenomenology that occurred after 1990 in the wake of Merleau-Ponty's and Levinas's major contributions. Janicaud in 1991 had already identified one global trend in French phenomenology and believed it was possible to unite the thoughts of Levinas, Henry, Marion and Chrétien under the common banner of “theological phenomenology.” However, his analysis seems to fail to account for deeper-seated affinities that exist between French phenomenologists such as Marion, Lacoste, Chrétien, (...) Richir, Depraz, Romano – and Benoist for part of his work. This is the reason why, although the present paper does agree with Janicaud's idea that the French authors who define themselves as phenomenologists share some common ground, it defines this common trend quite differently, i.e., as a form of epistemological realism that ultimately manifests itself as a radical empiricism. Consequently, the present study will state and defend three hypotheses: contemporary French phenomenology professes a form of realism of experience, which is the true rallying point of otherwise differing elaborations; this type of epistemological empiricism, by virtue of its radicality, implies a problem that threatens to drive phenomenology towards its own dissolution, because as it precipitates in fine the dilution of philosophical discourse into a multitude of other discourses; this variant of empiricism shows that, within its strictly defined viewpoint, there is scarcely any difference between French phenomenology and a certain part of French analytical philosophy. All three hypotheses lead to the same conclusion: the determination of the defining aspect of contemporary French phenomenology entails, beyond the apparent, misleading, and futile quarrel of paradigms, to bring to light a common space for contemporary French philosophy, which, from both perspectives, can be conveyed by the single term “to show.” It is, in fact, the elevation of “to show” to the detriment of “to demonstrate” that seems to ensnare thinkers within an impasse. (shrink)

"The Invention of Modern Science proposes a fruitful way of going beyond the apparently irreconcilable positions, that science is either "objective" or "socially constructed." Instead, suggests Isabelle Stengers, one of the most important and influential philosophers of science in Europe, we might understand the tension between scientific objectivity and belief as a necessary part of science, central to the practices invented and reinvented by scientists."--pub. desc.

Social and environmental ratings provided by social rating agencies are multidimensional. The first goal of our paper is to identify a small number of independent and relevant socially responsible (SR) dimensions reflecting a firms’ coherent posture toward social issues. We put forward that these dimensions are not exactly the same as the ESG ones (Environment, Social, and Governance). Using the six sub-ratings provided by the Vigeo rating agency, we perform a principal component analysis and we highlight three main independent SR (...) dimensions related to (1) business stakeholders (employees, customers, and suppliers), (2) societal stakeholders (environment and society), and (3) financial stakeholders (stockholders and debt holders). The second objective of our paper is to explore the link between stock returns and these three SR dimensions. Our most notable finding is that for each SR dimension, investors ask for an additional risk premium when they accept to hold non-socially responsible stocks. The cost of equity is thus lower for SR firms. The average premium over the period 2003–2010 is larger for the components “business stakeholders” and “financial stakeholders” than for the component “societal stakeholders.” The premium for this last component has only existed since the end of 2008. Since that time, environment and community involvement have become important risk factors strongly considered by investors. For the three dimensions, investors notably penalize large non-social firms and reward small social firms. (shrink)

In a thought-provoking paper, Schuklenk and Smalling argue that no right to conscientious objection should be granted to medical professionals. First, they hold that it is impossible to assess either the truth of conscience-based claims or the sincerity of the objectors. Second, even a fettered right to conscientious refusal inevitably has adverse effects on the rights of patients. We argue that the main problem with their position is that it is not derived from a broader reflection on the meaning and (...) implications of freedom of conscience and reasonable accommodation. We point out that they collapse two related but distinct questions, that is, the subjective conception of freedom of conscience and the sincerity test. We note that they do not successfully show that the standard norm according to which exemption claims should not impose undue hardship on others is unworkable. We suggest that the main reason why arguments such as no one is forced to be a medical professional are flawed is that public norms should not constrain citizens to choose between two of their basic rights unless it is necessary. In fine, Schuklenk and Smalling, who see conscience claims as arbitrary dislikes, sell freedom of conscience short and forego any attempts at balancing the competing rights involved. We maintain the authors neglect that most of legal reasoning is contextual and that the blanket restriction of healthcare professionals' freedom of conscience is disproportionate. (shrink)

BackgroundInnovations in technology have contributed to rapid changes in the way that modern biomedical research is carried out. Researchers are increasingly required to endorse adaptive and flexible approaches to accommodate these innovations and comply with ethical, legal and regulatory requirements. This paper explores how Dynamic Consent may provide solutions to address challenges encountered when researchers invite individuals to participate in research and follow them up over time in a continuously changing environment.MethodsAn interdisciplinary workshop jointly organised by the University of Oxford (...) and the COST Action CHIP ME gathered clinicians, researchers, ethicists, lawyers, research participants and patient representatives to discuss experiences of using Dynamic Consent, and how such use may facilitate the conduct of specific research tasks. The data collected during the workshop were analysed using a content analysis approach.ResultsDynamic Consent can provide practical, sustainable and future-proof solutions to challenges related to participant recruitment, the attainment of informed consent, participant retention and consent management, and may bring economic efficiencies.ConclusionsDynamic Consent offers opportunities for ongoing communication between researchers and research participants that can positively impact research. Dynamic Consent supports inter-sector, cross-border approaches and large scale data-sharing. Whilst it is relatively easy to set up and maintain, its implementation will require that researchers re-consider their relationship with research participants and adopt new procedures. (shrink)

Cet article vise à montrer comment Augustin conçoit la voix selon son aspect corporel. Phénomène acoustique d’origine physiologique, elle est une réalité muable et transitoire, qui relève du sensible ; en vertu d’une représentation de type dualiste, Augustin l’oppose à diverses réalités spirituelles et intelligibles, telle la forme, qui donne sens à la voix confuse. Outre l’influence des philosophies antiques du langage, cette conception de la voix reflète l’évolution de la valeur du « verbe », de plus en plus intériorisé (...) par Augustin. La voix s’intègre à une réflexion sur l’Incarnation, comme le montrent les images où elle apparaît : le paradigme du signe linguistique la rapproche de la « chair » extérieure du Verbe ; et la personne de Jean-Baptiste, voix proprement dite, résume en lui toutes les voix annonciatrices du Christ. Chair du Verbe ou représentée par Jean-Baptiste, la voix dépasse alors la simple corporéité et devient présence singulière qui fait signe vers l’altérité. (shrink)

This contribution presents an adult education workshop implemented in the field of early childhood education. One of the specificities of education and care practices lies in the competences of the professionals to give a central role to the detailed observation of situations, in order to adjust their modalities of action. How can such observational work be developed and transformed? A participatory research-training approach aims to support the co-construction of an analytical view on observable phenomena in the course of interactions. In (...) a perspective of interactional analysis, it focuses on the modalities that favor the construction of such an analytical posture. (shrink)

In this paper, we examine whether affect influences higher level cognitive processes. We review research on the effect of emotion on interpretation, judgement, decision making, and reasoning. In all cases, we ask first whether there is evidence that emotion affects each of these processes, and second what mechanisms might underlie these effects. Our review highlights the fact that interpretive biases are primarily linked with anxiety, while more general mood-congruent effects may be seen in judgement. Risk perception is also affected by (...) negative and positive affect. Research shows complex effects of emotion on decision making and reasoning, with emotion sometimes hindering normatively correct thinking and sometimes promoting it. There are also important effects of emotion on reasoning style. We discuss key differences between the effects of incidental affect (feeling states not related to the semantic contents of the cognitive task) and integral affect (where the feeling state is caused by or linked to the contents of the cognitive task). In the conclusion, we suggest that focusing on some of the constituent mechanisms involved in interpretation, judgement, decision making and reasoning provides a way to link some of the diverse findings in the field. We also highlight important areas for future research. (shrink)

Cet article présente le dispositif de formation et ses objectifs ainsi que l’analyse d’écrits réflexifs produits dans le cadre des travaux certificatifs et dans lesquels les participantes décrivent quelques-uns des effets de la formation sur leurs pratiques professionnelles.

Despite progress, gender gaps persist in mathematical and language-related fields, and gender stereotypes likely play a role. The current study examines the relations between parents’ gender-related beliefs and their adolescent child’s motivation and career aspirations through a survey of 172 parent-child dyads. Parents reported their gendered beliefs about ability in mathematics and language arts, as well as their prescriptive gender role beliefs. Students reported their expectancies and values in these two domains, as well as their career aspirations The results of (...) path models suggested that parents’ ability stereotypes about language boosted girls’ motivation for language arts, thereby nudging them away from STEM pathways. Girls’ career aspirations stemmed not only from their valuation of the corresponding domain, but also from their valuation of competing domains. Such findings highlight the need to consider multiple domains simultaneously in order to better capture the complexity of girls’ career decisions. For boys, parents’ language ability stereotypes were directly related to mathematical career aspirations. These results suggest that stereotypes that language arts is not for boys push them instead toward mathematics. Our study also highlighted the unique role of parental beliefs in traditional gender roles for boys’ motivation and career aspirations. Specifically, parents’ gender role stereotypes directly related to less interest in language arts only among boys. This highlights that research into gender gaps in female-dominated fields should consider stereotypes related to appropriate behavior and social roles for boys. (shrink)

The paper’s aim is to underline the growing phenomenon of categorization of EU migrants despite the existence of a common EU citizenship. It addresses legal categorization deriving from EU legislation and the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union, but also factual categorization arising from host member states’ practices. The legal categorization of EU migrants reveals a clear differential treatment between economically active and inactive EU mobile citizens. Member states’ practices very often go further than legal categorization (...) by excluding poor mobile citizens, viewed as abusers of rights or as a potential threat to local public order or security. This paper also investigates the incompleteness of EU citizenship, being unable to prevent categorization of EU migrants. (shrink)

L’inceste, comme transgression en acte, et l’incestuel, comme séduction narcissique et aliénante, constituent des figures d’une causalité que Spinoza et Freud, dans des perspectives différentes, ont explorée. Appuyée sur les grands principes qui fondent leurs démarches respectives, la confrontation de leurs analyses du procès d’individuation, de la filiation et de la transgression conduit à un éclairage réciproque des deux doctrines : apparaissent alors nettement certains de leurs points de convergence théorique comme leurs dissemblances. Elle permet aussi la reconstitution théorique de (...) la genèse et de la nature de l’inceste dans ses trois principales formes, en tant qu’objet d’interdit social, inceste psychique et inceste en acte. Loin d’être l’effet de désirs sexuels conduisant à la transgression de la loi, l’inceste résulte de son absence, et de la persistance de liens fusionnels qui manifestent à la fois les difficultés et l’immaturité des individus qu’ils unissent. (shrink)

Philosophers debate the death of philosophy as much as they debate the death of God. Kant claimed responsibility for both philosophy's beginning and end, while Heidegger argued it concluded with Nietzsche. In the twentieth century, figures as diverse as John Austin and Richard Rorty have proclaimed philosophy's end, with some even calling for the advent of "postphilosophy." In an effort to make sense of these conflicting positions—which often say as much about the philosopher as his subject—Isabelle Thomas-Fogiel undertakes the (...) first systematic treatment of "the end of philosophy," while also recasting the history of western thought itself. Thomas-Fogiel begins with postphilosophical claims such as scientism, which she reveals to be self-refuting, for they subsume philosophy into the branches of the natural sciences. She discovers similar issues in Rorty's skepticism and strands of continental thought. Revisiting the work of late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-century philosophers, when the split between analytical and continental philosophy began, Thomas-Fogiel finds both traditions followed the same path—the road of reference—which ultimately led to self-contradiction. This phenomenon, whether valorized or condemned, has been understood as the death of philosophy. Tracing this pattern from Quine to Rorty, from Heidegger to Levinas and Habermas, Thomas-Fogiel reveals the self-contradiction at the core of their claims while also carving an alternative path through self-reference. Trained under the French philosopher Bernard Bourgeois, she remakes philosophy in exciting new ways for the twenty-first century. (shrink)

Descartes' morals are often considered a marginal epiphenomenon not only with respect to his metaphysics, but also in regard to the ethical theories that preceded and followed it, that is, broadly Aristotle's eudaimonism, Kantian deontologism and Mill's utilitarianism. I argue in this paper that Descartes' morals do not play a merely subaltern role in his metaphysics, as is often claimed. I first present the specificity and the evolution of his morals by giving an account of his provisory and perfect morals. (...) Second I argue that a close reading of important passages from his correspondence and his treatise on the Passions of the Soul indicates that Descartes develops a third kind of morals based on the virtue-passion of generosity. The last part of the paper discusses Descartes' own treatment of the passions and suggests against the standard view that Descartes' concern is also the veri hominess , and ultimately the generosi hominess . South African Journal of Philosophy Vol. 25(2) 2006: 177-188. (shrink)

Previous research on religion and helping has left some questions unanswered. In the present study, participants expressed willingness to help groups of people in need, and this after having been religiously versus non-religiously stimulated. The activation of religious context increased the willingness to help, but only the homeless. Orthodox religious people tended to consider the targets responsible for their problem, an association partially mediated by the belief in a just world for other. Symbolic thinking was associated with willingness for helping, (...) an association partially mediated by the belief in ultimate justice. Results suggest a limited and conditional prosociality as a consequence of religion. (shrink)

Les justifications a priori ou pragmatiques des normes rationnelles d’interprétation, comme le principe de charité, placent l’interprétationnisme devant un dilemme : soit échouer à justifier ces normes, soit les rendre inutiles et impertinentes par cette justification même. Les justifications a priori du principe de charité, proposées par Davidson, reposent sur un retour implicite à l’analycité et à une forme de détermination du sens incompatibles avec la position interprétationniste. La même critique s’applique à la justification pragmatique de ces normes opérée par (...) Dennett. L’usage pragmatique du mythe de la rationalité suppose d’accorder une valeur de norme à ce qui marche. Mais ériger les maximes pragmatiques de l’interprète en critères, au lieu d’en faire de simples guides, sape l’intelligibilité et la validité des principales thèses de Quine sur l’indétermination de la traduction et l’inscrutabilité de la référence. L’extension pragmatique du principe de charité pour pallier une indétermination, absente en pratique, est dès lors superfétatoire et infondée.In attempting to provide a priori or pragmatic justifications for rational norms of interpretation, such as the principle of charity, interpretationism faces the dilemma of having to choose between failing to justify those norms or making them useless and irrelevant by this very justification. Davidson’s a priori justification of the principle of charity relies on an implicit return to analyticity and to a form of determinacy of meaning, which are incompatible with the interpretationist stance. The same critique applies to Dennett’s pragmatic justification of these norms. The pragmatic use of the myth of rationality presupposes taking what works as constituting a norm. But treating the interpreter’s pragmatic maxims as norms, and not simply as guides, undermines the intelligibility and validity of Quine’s main thesis on the indeterminacy of translation and the inscrutability of reference. A pragmatic extension of the principle of charity aiming at compensating for indeterminacy, absent in practice, is therefore superfluous and unfounded. (shrink)

Depuis une vingtaine d'années, on assiste en France à un vaste mouvement d'initiatives féminines citoyennes que l'on peut qualifier d'espaces de médiation. Leur point commun est de créer, souvent en partenariat avec les collectivités locales, des espaces de proximité visant à résoudre les problèmes vécus au quotidien par les femmes et leurs familles. À partir d'exemples concrets, nous montrons que ces espaces de proximité sont susceptibles d'aider les femmes à acquérir une certaine autonomie à condition qu'ils reposent sur une double (...) médiation: médiation entre les pôles de l'individuel et le collectif, ce qui permet à chacune d'être reconnue dans sa singularité tout en appartenant à un collectif; médiation entre l'intérêt collectif du groupe et l'intérêt général, le groupe devenant ainsi une sorte d'intermédiaire vers la société civile.A vast movement of citizen-based initiatives led by women has emerged in France over the last twenty years or so and these can be qualified as providing mediation programmes. These projects are often run in partnership with local governments and generally have in common the fact that they are community initiatives aimed at helping women and their families solve day-to-day problems. Using real examples, we show that these community programmes can help women acquire a certain autonomy as long as they are based on a dual mediation, firstly mediation between poles of the individual and the collective and secondly mediation between the collective interest of the group and the general interest, the group thus acting as a sort of intermediary towards society as a whole. (shrink)

Résumé Le microcrédit, en Inde comme ailleurs, a été présenté ces dernières années comme un outil d’éradication de la pauvreté, permettant d’abolir des formes d’endettement informelles asservissantes, de soutenir la diffusion du capitalisme populaire et de promouvoir l’émancipation féminine. Plusieurs années de recherche en Inde rurale du Sud (Tamil Nadu) montrent que le microcrédit a surtout pour effet de renforcer une « démocratie de patronage ». La dette, sous toutes ses formes, reste un puissant moteur de paupérisation des travailleurs pauvres (...) mais aussi de construction des identités individuelles et collectives et de différentiation sociale. (shrink)

Sabemos que a noção de criação não tem lugar nas antigas cosmologias. a não ser nos discursos míticos, como o Timeu de Platão. A despeito dessa ausência, os Padres da Igreja não hesitaram em procurar, nas cosmogêneses das filosofias gregas. conceitos adequados a ajudá-los a comentar o Gênesis e a lidar com a criação do mundo e dos seres que o habitam. A partir daí, ocorreu a retomada, às vezes surpreendente, de certos conceitos, cujo sentido foi então profundamente modificado, sob (...) a aparente continuidade de vocábulos gregos para vocábulos latinos. Eu gostaria de ilustrar esta tradução capciosa num caso preciso: o uso, por Agostinho, de um tema tradicional grego, que ele encontrou nas Enéadas de Plotino, isto é, a “ausência de ciúme" peculiar aos deuses. Este artigo trata portanto de analisar a passagem - e as transformações que nela têm lugar - da aphthonia que Plotino atribui ao princípio supremo dos seres à non invidentia peculiar ao Deus de Agostinho. (shrink)

Sobre o conceito de voluntas em Agostinho.