These two lectures by Jacques Derrida, 'Foreigner Question: Come from Abroad' and 'Step of Hospitality/No Hospitality', derive from a series of seminars on 'hospitality' conducted by Derrida in Paris, January 1996. The book consists of two texts on facing pages. 'Invitation' by Anne Dufourmantelle appears on the left clarifying and inflecting Derrida's 'response' on the right. The interaction between them not only enacts the 'hospitality' under discussion, but preserves something of the rhythms of teaching. The book also characteristically combines (...) careful readings of canonical texts and philosophical topics with attention to the most salient events in the contemporary world, using 'hospitality' as a means of rethinking a range of political and ethical situations. For example, Antigone is revisited in light of the question of impossible mourning; the trial of Socrates is brought into conjunction with the televised funeral of François Mitterrand. (shrink)

In this series of dialogues, Derrida discusses and elaborates on some of the central themes of his work, such as the problems of genesis, justice, authorship and death. Combining autobiographical reflection with philosophical enquiry, Derrida illuminates the ideas that have characterized his thought from its beginning to the present day. If there is one feature that links these contributions, it is the theme of singularity - the uniqueness of the individual, the resistance of existence to philosophy, the temporality of the (...) singular and exceptional moment, and the problem of exemplarity. The second half of this book contains an essay by Maurizio Ferraris, in which he explores the questions of indication, time and the inscription of the transcendental in the empirical. A work of outstanding philosophy and scholarship, the essay is developed in close proximity to Derrida and in dialogue with figures such as Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus, Kant, Hegel and Heidegger. It thereby provides a useful introduction to the philosophy of one of Italy's most prominent philosophers as well as an excellent complement to Derrida's own ideas. A Taste for the Secret consists of material that has never before appeared in English. It will be of interest to second-year undergraduates, graduate students and academics in philosophy, modern languages, literature, literary theory and the humanities generally. (shrink)

Derrida is one of the few Continental philosopher-critics as esteemed for his writings about visual topics as for his attention to more textually based subjects. This volume collects key and scarce writings about the making and apprehension of "visual objects," though the chief focus is on drawing, painting, and photography (with sorties into video and film). What preoccupied Derrida when it came to the visual arts is visibility: what does a pencil actually trace-make visible- when someone is making a drawing? (...) What aspect of the drawing documents the artist's thought and what part documents an external object? What comes from painting other than a painting? The writings collected range from essays originally published in small magazines and journals to never-before translated talks and interviews. There are 19 pieces in all, of which seven have been previously published in English.. The rest have been translated into English for the first time. None is included in the Press's already substantial inventory of works by Derrida. The collection comprises three thematic sections: (1) "The Traces of the Visible" is attuned to the field's preoccupation with the "trace," what is an "image," visibility, and space. (2) "Rhetoric of the Line: Painting, Drawing" engages nearly every register in which one can experience art: the materiality of line and text, the eros of aesthetic experience, the politics of color, and the components of painting, writing and drawing taken together. (3) "Spectralities of the Image: Photography, Video, Cinema and Theatre" explores the media we most readily associate with modern and contemporary art practices. (shrink)

En retraçant la dynamique de la communication à la base de toute expérience, l’anthropobiologie d’A. Gehlen (2021) a montré que l’avorton chronique qu’est l’être humain a dû, pour pouvoir vivre, se fixer au langage en faisant parler le monde. Pourquoi? Pour y retrouver le même bonheur que celui qu’il avait pris à l’écoute de la voix de la mère dans l’écoute intra-utérine, ainsi que l’a découvert Alfred Tomatis (1977 ; 1991). Parce que l’être humain n’est pas un être biologiquement bien (...) formé et est né un an trop tôt comme l’a découvert L. Bolk, corroboré Otto Schindewolf et développé S. J. Gould – si on le compare aux mammifères pourvus d’une complexité semblable – il n’est doté que d’instincts intraspécifiques (nutritionnels, sexuels et défensifs) [...]. (shrink)

C'est au christianisme que remonte l'initiative d'une révolution sans précédent dans la cité antique : la révolution chrétiennc de la souveraineté. «Rendez à César ce qui est à César et à Dieu ce qui est à Dieu.» Le Christ établissait en ces mots une distinction nette entre des ordres jusqu'alors confondus : le spirituel et le temporel, les choses de Dieu et les choses de César. Aujourd'hui, un tel partage paraît aller de soi aux esprits moulés par une civilisation chrétienne. (...) Mais il n'en fut pas toujours ainsi. II fallut que le Christ vînt renverser un vieil état de choses qu'on prenait pour acquis, qu'il s'attaquât ni plus ni moins à la domination absolue que les empereurs romains s'arro-geaient sur la vie civile et religieuse des citoyens. Les souverains ne manquérent pas de le ressentir vivement. Ils relèveront sans tarder le défi en déclenchant les célèbres persécutions contre ses disciples. II s'agissait bien à leurs yeux d'un crime lèse-État. Pouvaient-ils laisser impunément les chrétiens scinder en deux parts une société moniste où le religieux était incorporé au politique, le jus divinum au jus civile. (shrink)

On peut, en reprenant la distinction importante que fait Paul Boghossian dans _La_ _Peur du savoir _, distinguer deux formes de constructivisme social. Selon la première, il n’y a pas de faits qui soient indépendants du genre de théorie que nous choisissons pour les décrire. Selon la deuxième, moins radicale et à première vue plus plausible, ce sont seulement les faits d’une certaine catégorie, ceux qui ont trait à ce qui constitue une croyance justifiée ou rationnelle, qui sont socialement dépendants (...) et, par conséquent, relatifs : nos croyances peuvent être justifiées par des données qui ne sont pas nécessairement le résultat d’une construction, mais ce qui constitue ou ne constitue pas une donnée pertinente et probante pour l’adoption d’une croyance l’est forcément. La conséquence qui résulte de cela est un effacement de certaines des distinctions les plus fondamentales sur lesquelles semblait jusqu’à présent reposer notre c... (shrink)

Among the main reactions to scepticism, fallibilism is certainly the most popular nowadays. However, fallibilism faces a very strong and well-known objection. It has to grant that concessive knowledge attributions—assertions of the form “I know that p but it might be that not p”—can be true. Yet, these assertions plainly sound incoherent. Fallibilists have proposed to explain this incoherence pragmatically. The main proponents of this approach appeal to Gricean implicatures (Rysiew in Noûs 35(4):477514, 2001; Dougherty and Rysiew in Philos Phenomenol (...) Res 78(1):123132, 2009; Dougherty and Rysiew in Synthese 181(3):395403, 2011). Very recently, some philosophers have observed that fallibilists can also explain this apparent incoherence pragmatically if they embrace a (context-sensitive) certainty norm for assertion (Petersen in Synthese 196(11):4691–4710, 2019; Beddor in Philos Impr 20(8), 2020; Vollet in Dialectica 74:3, 2020). In this paper, I argue for the superiority of this latter explanation over its older rivals. (shrink)

This prize-winning book, first published in France in 1982 and now available in an English translation, investigates the question of human subjectivity.

Ceci n’a rien d’un texte référencé, documenté par de multiples citations et connaissances littéraires ou mythologiques accumulées : ce n’est que l’expression de relations humaines, pathétiques ou tragiques dérivant au gré du besoin de l’enfant... à tout prix.Fabriquer une vie, transmettre un peu de soi – en duplication de deux unités – dépasse toutes les..

According to the subjective Bayesian interpretation of quantum mechanics, the instruments used to measure quantum systems are to be regarded as an extension of the senses of the agent who is using them, and quantum states describe the agent’s expectations for what they will experience through these extended senses. How can QBism then account for the fact that instruments must be calibrated before they can be used to ‘sense’ anything; some instruments are more precise than others; more precise instruments can (...) lead to discovery of new systems? Furthermore, is the agent ‘incoherent’ if they prefer to use a less precise instrument? Here we provide answers to these questions. (shrink)

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and (...) made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant. (shrink)

RÉSUMÉ L'article qui suit se propose de montrer que le concept de « relativité » trouve, dans les conceptions de Mach, de Galilée et d'Einstein, une origine et un fondement philosophiques différents. En mettant ainsi en évidence les différences fondamentales qui séparent ces conceptions, il s'oppose en particulier à toute interprétation visant à faire de la théorie de la relativité d'Einstein, un « prolongement » de la philosophie positiviste de Mach et du principe galiléen de relativité. ABSTRACT The following paper (...) analyses relativity's philosophical origin and fundament through the conceptions of Mach, Galileo and Einstein. It emphasizes the fundamental differences that lie between these conceptions thus opposing all interpretations suggesting that Einstein's theory of relativity can he properly described as being a mere "extension" of Mach's positivism and Galileo's principle of relativity. (shrink)

The bulk of Bastiat’s scientific work is contained in Economic Harmonies, a work generally overlooked or underestimated. Thsi paper would contribute to its comprehensive rehabilitation by re-examining and reappraising Bastiat’s theory of value.Bastiat defined value as “the relationship existing between two services that have been exchanged.” He respected the principle of objective or intrinsic value, of materiality or durability, utility, scarcity. “Products” have no value if not traded, and the exchange is not between two products but two services mutually produced, (...) traded and subjectively compared by two persons. The origin of the value is the “effort”, which transforms the gifts of nature, and consists in providing services to others in return for services desired.Bastiat’s criticism of Smith and Say anticipated recent developments in contemporary economics. By stressing the importance of services rather that of products, he laid the groundwork for a new approach to consumer theory. By abandoning the reference to production and concentrating on exchange, he has been joined by some Austrian Economists.However, Bastiat in his eagerness to blunt the socialist criticism of private property, was on a wrong fast in making the prediction that the area of property and value will decrease with the progress in civilization, since the efforts will be smaller and smaller, and the action of Nature will play a larger and larger role. Errare humanum Le talent scientifique de Bastiat s’exprime et s’apprécie dans Les Harmonjes Economiques, oeuvre posthume et injustement méconnue.En 1850, sa théorie de la valeur est d’avant garde. Bastiat réfute les conceptions courantes à l’époque qui rattachent la valeur aux caractéristiques d’un produit, qu’elles soient le travail requis, ou l’utilité ou la rareté. Pour lui la valeur naît de la comparaison subjective entre services échangés par deux individus. “Les services s’échangent contre des services”. L’échange est luimême le résultat d’un “effort”, c’est-àdire d’une action humaine tendant à rapprocher besoins à satisfaire et moyens de les satisfaire. Ainsi Bastiat annonce-t-il à la fois les nouvelles approches de la rationalité du consommateur et la théorie de la création entrepreneuriale et de la subjectivité des Autrichiens.Bastiat a été moins heureux dans sa prospective : pour répondre aux socialistes révoltés par la propriété privée, il diagnostique que le progrès de la civilisation, grâce au génie de l’homme, nous conduira vers moins d’efforts et d’échanges, donc moins de propriété, et plus de dons gratuits offerts par la nature, plus de communauté. Il se jugeait lui-même : Errare humanum... (shrink)