Il s’agit dans cet article de dégager une certaine disposition de la philosophie russe envers la traduction comme opération fondamentale de la pensée. On considérera les cas précis des trois penseurs jouissant d’un prestige européen – Léon Chestov, Mikhaïl Bakhtine et Valery Podoroga. Cette disposition, considérée dans le geste des philosophes face à l’intraduisible, se manifesterait tout simplement par la violence, faite à l’original, de la non-hospitalité culturelle. Cette dernière est masquée parfois par l’idée reçue de l’omniréceptivité de la culture (...) russe, exprimée naguère par Dostoïevski dans son hommage à Pouchkine. (shrink)

Consciousness has been and will continue to be one of the central problems of philosophy. In written works the fact that the consciousness can sing is presented as one of the most interesting and enigmatic properties of consciousness. That consciousness can sing, and in fact does so, and to prove that this is the case is relatively easy. It is enough to say that “one is singing within oneself”, not loudly and only one or various simple sounds in a way (...) so that the Phonologic system does not take part at all. The arguments over whether or not the consciousness can sing are based on comparisons of paragraphs 15 to 27 from the first and second editions of Kant’s “Critique of Pure Reason” which were modified in the second edition, where no categorical statement about the similaritybetween reproduced representations and phenomenon is found. The problem between the similarity between the reproduced representations in the consciousness/brain and the consciousness/brain phenomenon were investigated by Kant in his first and second edition, where Kant reached his conclusion about the reproduced representations in the phenomenon. We are in agreement with Kant that there can exist in “the interior” of consciousness/brains of all human beings the state of similarity or difference between the represented and the perceived, but the unity of the consciousness can be found in only one state: the similarity between the represented and the perceived in the “interior”, of the consciousness/brain. In view of the similarity of the reproduced representations and the phenomenon of the consciousness/brain, the consciousness can sing and be united, or, if not, referring to the dissimilarity, the consciousness cannot sing and can be divided. (shrink)

The questions of « why » and « how to » translate Deleuze are examined by way of considerations concerning the recent penetration of Deleuze in Russian philosophical culture and the effect this has had on the manner in which one translates philosophy today in Russia. Under the sway of a strange misinterpretation, Deleuze’s thought has been diffused as a sort of introduction to Capitalist life, by which philosophy can be « de-marxised » and Russian thought freed from the burden (...) of Marxism or, rather, pseudo-Marxism. At the same time, the translation of Deleuze has become a site of conflict between traditionalists who reduce Deleuze’s language to that of classical philosophy and proponents of new practices who defend the singularity of Deleuze’s language and style. (shrink)

Parmi les courants de pensée française de l'après-guerre, le marxisme joua un rôle très important, en imposant les thèmes par rapport auxquels les philosophes se situèrent. Les débats sur le marxisme ne sont pas séparables de l'existence du pays qui prétendait le réaliser dans toutes les sphères de sa vie. La politique comme une action collective en vue de la transformation de la société par les débats et par l'émancipation n'a pas été développée, ni dans les pays qu'on disait socialistes, (...) ni dans les pays dits 'bourgeois'. En même temps, nous pensons que les intellectuels français de gauche dans l'après-guerre ont considérablement contribué au renouveau de la pensée socialiste. Il y avait ceux qui adhéraient au PCF, et d'autres, comme Jean-Paul Sartre, qui devenaient 'compagnons de route'. D'autres intellectuels encore, comme Cornelius Castoriadis et Claude Lefort, voulaient former des groupuscules indépendants en critiquant la politique du PCF stalinien et du PCI trotskiste. La crise du socialisme réel, les luttes anti-bureaucratiques dans les pays d'Europe de l'Est et la découverte de la vérité sur les camps soviétiques, ont provoqué des ruptures de certains de ces intellectuels avec le marxisme. Les changements démocratiques en ont conduit certains à envisager la perspective d'une révolution démocratique au-delà du 'socialisme réel'."--Page 4 of cover. (shrink)

Résumé L’auteur fait ici partager plus de 30 ans d’expérience de l’étude du XVIIIe siècle dans les murs d’un institut académique russe. L’évolution de ses propres intérêts et des tendances historiographiques générales, la transformation du milieu académique, les changements dans l’organisation et le financement de la recherche russe sont placés dans le contexte plus large des métamorphoses dramatiques survenues dans son pays depuis la fin de l’ère soviétique jusqu’à nos jours.

Cornélius Castoriadis fut un libre penseur. Il a réactualisé le kairos : ce temps de l'action politique et de l'imaginaire créatif. Cet ouvrage est consacré à l'analyse et à l'interprétation de son apport majeur concernant le kairos : ce moment propice et opportun, qui est le temps de l'acteur et de l'action. Son oeuvre est porteuse d'espoir ; il ne s'est pas attardé sur les côtés obscurs de la société et ses souffrances, mais s'est préoccupé avant tout de sa libération. (...) Pour lui, l'anthropos est à la recherche de la maîtrise du temps, et il possède un imaginaire créatif. Castoriadis a ainsi rétabli la possibilité que possède l'être humain de pouvoir innover et intervenir dans sa société en la modifiant. (shrink)

L'anthropobiologie esthétique du langage a découvert la nature dialogique de l'imagination : sa capacité à harmoniser le monde et la vie humaine en testant l'objectivité de ses créations à l'aune du bonheur auquel elles ouvrent l'accès. De Shakespeare à Duras, les temps modernes se sont facilité la tâche. Il suffisait à ces philosophes et à ces écrivains de s'approprier la prosopopée judéo-chrétienne pour expérimenter leurs résultats sur leur propre nature. Ils se dispensaient ainsi allègrement de juger l'objectivité de leurs innovations (...) culturelles. Serguei Panov analyse ici avec acribie l'expérimentation philosophique et littéraire par laquelle ils ont transformé leurs convictions et leurs sentiments en ersatz de leurs propres jugements. Il y étend sa critique de la prosopopée littéraire russe à la modernité elle-même. Il montre qu'elle nous soumettait ainsi à une nature régulatrice transcendante présumée nous dicter ses lois morales sous couvert de lois objectives et irrécusables"--Page 4 of cover. (shrink)

La théorie de l’extase de Sergueï Eisenstein propose le paradoxe de représenter la « sortie de la représentation ». À partir d’un projet artistique iconoclaste, proche de celui des avant-gardes des années 1910-1920, qui concevaient la représentation ( Vorstellung ) comme un « mur » à détruire, Eisenstein pense cet objectif possible seulement en sauvegardant la mimésis. Il conçoit alors une esthétique à la fois organique et pathétique qui développe les possibilités expressives et donc une nouvelle et plus puissante (...) représentation ( Darstellung ). (shrink)

Several types of inferences are employed in the diagnosis and prognosis of patients with brain injuries and disorders of consciousness. These inferences introduce unavoidable uncertainty, and can be evaluated in light of inductive risk: the epistemic and nonepistemic risks of being wrong. This article considers several ethically significant inductive risks generated by and interacting with inferences about patients with disorders of consciousness, and argues for prescriptive measures to manage and mitigate inductive risk in the context of disorders of consciousness.

In this essay we discuss a class of apparently metaphorical idioms, exemplified by “fine as frog's hair,” that do not afford any obvious interpretation, and appear to have originated, at least in part, in language play. We review recent trends in both play theory and metaphor theory, and show that a playful approach to language is often an important element in the use and understanding of metaphors (and idioms generally), even when metaphors can be readily interpreted by means of a (...) vehicle-to-topic mapping. Based on this evidence we call for a more deliberate inclusion of language play in metaphor theory and analysis. (shrink)

Conceptions of autonomy in western philosophy and ethics have often centred on self-governance and self-determination. However, a growing bulk of literature also questions such conceptions, including the understanding of the autonomous self as a self-governing independent individual that chooses, acts, and lives in accordance with her or his own values, norms, or sense of self. This article contributes to the critical interrogation of selfhood, autonomy, and autonomous decision making by combining a feminist focus on relational dimensions of selfhood and autonomy (...) with phenomenological philosophy of the embodied self as being-in-the-world. It offers a philosophical investigation of different dimensions of bodily relational autonomy by turning to phenomenological accounts of the lived body as self-reflexive. When so doing, we hope to contribute to bridging the gap that sometimes exists between discussions of autonomy in analytic moral philosophy and of freedom and facticity in phenomenological philosophy. We see this gap as unfortunate, and hold that a nuanced understanding of autonomy and autonomous decision making can be reached if these strands of philosophy are brought into dialogue. (shrink)

We show that the first order theory of the lattice $\mathscr{L}^{ (S) of finite dimensional closed subsets of any nontrivial infinite dimensional Steinitz Exhange System S has logical complexity at least that of first order number theory and that the first order theory of the lattice L(S ∞ ) of computably enumerable closed subsets of any nontrivial infinite dimensional computable Steinitz Exchange System S ∞ has logical complexity exactly that of first order number theory. Thus, for example, the lattice of (...) finite dimensional subspaces of a standard copy of $\bigoplus_\omega$ Q interprets first order arithmetic and is therefore as complicated as possible. In particular, our results show that the first order theories of the lattice L(V ∞ ) of c.e. subspaces of a fully effective ℵ 0 -dimensional vector space V∞ and the lattice of c.e. algebraically closed subfields of a fully effective algebraically closed field F ∞ of countably infinite transcendence degree each have logical complexity that of first order number theory. (shrink)

Here are the answers to questions Man has sought through the ages; here are practical answers you hoped could be found somewhere; here are answers that work. ...

We show that arbitrary tautologies of Johansson’s minimal propositional logic are provable by “small” polynomial-size dag-like natural deductions in Prawitz’s system for minimal propositional logic. These “small” deductions arise from standard “large” tree-like inputs by horizontal dag-like compression that is obtained by merging distinct nodes labeled with identical formulas occurring in horizontal sections of deductions involved. The underlying geometric idea: if the height, h(∂), and the total number of distinct formulas, ϕ(∂), of a given tree-like deduction ∂ of a minimal (...) tautology ρ are both polynomial in the length of ρ, |ρ|, then the size of the horizontal dag-like compression ∂ᶜ is at most h(∂)×ϕ(∂), and hence polynomial in |ρ|. That minimal tautologies ρ are provable by tree-like natural deductions ∂ with |ρ|-polynomial h(∂) and ϕ(∂) follows via embedding from Hudelmaier’s result that there are analogous sequent calculus deductions of sequent ⇒ρ. The notion of dag-like provability involved is more sophisticated than Prawitz’s tree-like one and its complexity is not clear yet. Our approach nevertheless provides a convergent sequence of NP lower approximations of PSPACE-complete validity of minimal logic. (shrink)

This article focuses on the most recent debates in the vibrant and emerging subfield of philosophy of emotion research. Given the dominance of 'cognitivist' theories of emotion in the philosophy, neurobiology, and cognitive science of emotion, we have witnessed a move away from attempts to pit reason and emotion against each other. This move, however, has opened the door to a host of thorny challenges for how we think about our affective relationship with the world, with concepts, and with other (...) minds. (shrink)

The migration of elder-care workers appears to be a zero-sum game. This naturally offends our sense of justice, especially when the host populations are richer. In this article, I argue that we ought to look beyond the short run. Once we look at the long run, we will see possibilities of non-zero-sum games that are mutually beneficial.

The struggle over legal abortion access in the United States is a religious controversy, not a scientific debate. Religious activists who believe that meaningful individual life (i.e., “personhood”) begins at a specific “moment-of-conception” are attempting to pass laws that force this view upon all pregnant persons, irrespective of their medical circumstances, individual preferences, or personal religious beliefs. This paper argues that such actions promote a constitutionally prohibited “establishment of religion.” Abortion policy in a secular state must be based upon scientifically (...) accurate biology, not unprovable theological presuppositions. The scientific facts regarding human pregnancy do not support the position that personhood begins with fertilization—at which point a pregnancy does not yet even exist. Abortion policy should regard the embryo/fetus as part of the pregnant individual’s body until delivery. We argue that individual “personhood” only begins when the _latent_ potentialities of the fetal nervous system are _actualized_ in the newborn after delivery. The paper argues that instantiating non-scientific beliefs concerning embryonic/fetal “personhood” into the law as the basis for abortion policy establishes a state-sponsored religion. The protection of religious liberty requires that abortion be decriminalized. Abortion should be treated like any other medical procedure and regulated similarly. To protect both religious freedom and sound medical practice, individual legal personhood should be recognized as beginning only at birth. (shrink)

The main subject of this very original and engaging book is the history of the idea of formal proof. Von Plato shows how that idea emerged, from the Greeks to the crucial last few decades of the ni...

Professor Oswald Szemerényi's Einführung in die vergleichende Sprachwissenschaft, first published in 1970, remains the standard introduction to comparative Indo-European linguistics. It is available here in English for the first time, in a revised, enlarged, and updated fifth edition. The introductory section presents a general survey of the principles of diachronic-comparative linguistics, and the remainder of the book is a thorough and detailed analysis, according to those principles, of the phonological and morphological structure of the Indo-European group of languages. Each section (...) of the book has a detailed bibliography, so that the student can progress from the general overview to a more detailed examination of particular topics. (shrink)

‘Biochromatology’ can be defined as the study of the relationships between colours, and between colours and design in nature. Certain laws concerning biochromatics can be formulated in the terminology of the Colour Circle. One of them is that planes in warm colours and planes in cold colours never adjoin. Another law is that design is never polychromatic. It seems that the observed biochromatical facts can be explained with the help of the principle “optimal manifestation of colour”, which in turn is (...) based on the formative principles of matter itself. (shrink)

Solving complex spiritual problems of modern life leads us to rethinking its higher meanings, absolute values, essences. Philosophical and cultural worldview, as the supreme form of knowledge and comprehension of the existence of the world and man, now directs the study of the root causes, the essential foundations of the world order, the disclosure of the deep meaning of what is happening to the world, society, culture and man, focuses on the creation of universal explanatory models of things, its individual (...) components. Philosophical and cultural reflection as analytical means of cognition involves the ability to go beyond the real spheres of being and deduces the general cultural categories of the world of thought, such as being and non-being, God and soul, time and eternity, spirit and matter, death and immortality, etc. It is in the sense of reflexive activity of philosophical and cultural consciousness that it is possible to consider any phenomenon of being not in itself, but through the prism of the space of deep cultural meanings, which testifies to the metaphysical nature of culture, which is connected with the world of higher, absolute meanings and entities. In cultural studies, there is a tremendous experience with genesis and historical development of socio-cultural life, in particular, religious and philosophical culture. (shrink)

Dans cet article, nous analysons les textes de G. W. Leibniz qui portent sur la censure et la liberté d’expression, notamment par rapport aux auteurs qu’il qualifie de « libertins » ou d’« athées ». Nous explorons le dispositif théorique qu’il propose pour déterminer les limites justes entre la censure et la liberté de pensée; dispositif qui permet, dans chaque cas, de choisir entre la réfutation savante et la suppression autoritaire des textes estimés pernicieux pour la morale ou la piété.

The question addressed here is whether evidence concerning defendants' past criminal records should be introduced at their trials because such evidence reveals their character and thus reveals whether they are the kinds of persons likely to have committed the crimes with which they are currently charged. I strongly caution against the introduction of such evidence for a number of reasons. First, the link between defendants' past criminal records and claims about their standing dispositions to think and act is tenuous, at (...) best. Second, noncharacter, or trace, evidence should have primacy in determining the guilt or innocence of defendants. Third, character evidence will vary in its freshness and specificity. Other things being equal, only relatively fresh and specific character evidence has probative value. Moreover, such evidence will have greater probative value in criminal cases where the issue before the court is whether a crime has been committed than in cases where the issue is whether it was the defendant who committed the crime. Finally, we might be more sanguine about the introduction of fresh and specific character evidence under conditions likely to work against its misuse or misinterpretation. However, the relevant conditions may not often be satisfied in the real world of criminal trials and defendants. (shrink)