Reviews the history of teaching in the United States over three hundred years, and describes aspects of recruitment, organization, and logic particular to the profession.

A breathtaking look at the new science that can track consciousness deep in the brain How does our brain generate a conscious thought? And why does so much of our knowledge remain unconscious? Thanks to clever psychological and brain-imaging experiments, scientists are closer to cracking this mystery than ever before. In this lively book, Stanislas Dehaene describes the pioneering work his lab and the labs of other cognitive neuroscientists worldwide have accomplished in defining, testing, and explaining the brain events (...) behind a conscious state. We can now pin down the neurons that fire when a person reports becoming aware of a piece of information and understand the crucial role unconscious computations play in how we make decisions. The emerging theory enables a test of consciousness in animals, babies, and those with severe brain injuries. A joyous exploration of the mind and its thrilling complexities, Consciousness and the Brain will excite anyone interested in cutting-edge science and technology and the vast philosophical, personal, and ethical implications of finally quantifying consciousness. (shrink)

‘Number sense’ is a short‐hand for our ability to quickly understand, approximate, and manipulate numerical quantities. My hypothesis is that number sense rests on cerebral circuits that have evolved specifically for the purpose of representing basic arithmetic knowledge. Four lines of evidence suggesting that number sense constitutes a domain‐specific, biologically‐determined ability are reviewed: the presence of evolutionary precursors of arithmetic in animals; the early emergence of arithmetic competence in infants independently of other abilities, including language; the existence of a homology (...) between the animal, infant, and human adult abilities for number processing; and the existence of a dedicated cerebral substrate. In adults of all cultures, lesions to the inferior parietal region can specifically impair number sense while leaving the knowledge of other cognitive domains intact. Furthermore, this region is demonstrably activated during number processing. I postulate that higher–level cultural devel‐opments in arithmetic emerge through the establishment of linkages between this core analogical representation (the ‘number line’ ) and other verbal and visual representations of number notations. The neural and cognitive organization of those representations can explain why some mathematical concepts are intuitive, while others are so difficult to grasp. Thus, the ultimate foundations of mathematics rests on core representations that have been internalized in our brains through evolution. (shrink)

This introductory chapter attempts to clarify the philosophical, empirical, and theoretical bases on which a cognitive neuroscience approach to consciousness can be founded. We isolate three major empirical observations that any theory of consciousness should incorporate, namely (1) a considerable amount of processing is possible without consciousness, (2) attention is a prerequisite of consciousness, and (3) consciousness is required for some specific cognitive tasks, including those that require durable information maintenance, novel combinations of operations, or the spontaneous generation of intentional (...) behavior. We then propose a theoretical framework that synthesizes those facts: the hypothesis of a global neuronal workspace. This framework postulates that, at any given time, many modular cerebral networks are active in parallel and process information in an unconscious manner. An information becomes conscious, however, if the neural population that represents it is mobilized by top-down attentional amplification into a brain-scale state of coherent activity that involves many neurons distributed throughout the brain. The long-distance connectivity of these `workspace neurons' can, when they are active for a minimal duration, make the information available to a variety of processes including perceptual categorization, long-term memorization, evaluation, and intentional action. We postulate that this global availability of information through the workspace is what we subjectively experience as a conscious state. A complete theory of consciousness should explain why some cognitive and cerebral representations can be permanently or temporarily inaccessible to consciousness, what is the range of possible conscious contents, how they map onto specific cerebral circuits, and whether a generic neuronal mechanism underlies all of them. We confront the workspace model with those issues and identify novel experimental predictions. Neurophysiological, anatomical, and brain-imaging data strongly argue for a major role of prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate, and the areas that connect to them, in creating the postulated brain-scale workspace. (shrink)

Sean Irving’s book Hayek’s Market Republicanism: The Limits of Liberty shows that the commonly accepted reading of Hayek as a liberal thinker is mistaken, and that his political writings are best understood as belonging to the broader tradition of republicanism. The distinction is important for understanding many aspects of Hayek’s thought, and especially his rejection of social justice and majoritarian democracy. In that sense, one of the book’s more general merits is its implicit contribution to ongoing debates between republican ‘freedom (...) as non-domination’ and liberal ‘freedom as non-interference’. Irving focuses on what he sees as a contradiction between Hayek’s chief concerns about the state as the main source of domination and his disregard for private forms of power, and especially within the capitalist firm. I argue, however, that the example of Hayek should lead us to consider a more prosaic conclusion: freedom as non-domination is a concept less useful for criticising the free market than Irving and left-leaning Republicans seem to assume. (shrink)

Stanislas Breton's _A Radical Philosophy of Saint Paul_, which focuses on the political implications of the apostle's writings, was an instrumental text in Continental philosophy's contemporary "turn to religion." Reading Paul's work against modern thought and history, Breton helped launch a reassessment of Marxism, introduce secular interpretations of biblical and theological traditions, develop "radical negativity" as a critical category, and rework modern political ideas through a theoretical lens. Newly translated and critically situated, this edition takes a fresh approach to (...) Breton's classic work, reacquainting readers with the remarkable ways in which an ancient apostle can reset our understanding of the political. Breton begins with Paul's biography and the texts of his conversion, which challenge common conceptions of identity. He broaches the question of allegory and divine predestination, introduces the idea of subjectivity as an effect of power, and confronts Paul's critique of Law, which leads to an exploration of the logics and limits of agency and power. Breton develops these and other insights in relation to Paul's subversive reflections on the crucified messiah, which challenge meaning and reason and upend our current world order. Neither a coherent theologian nor a stable humanist, Breton's Paul becomes a fascinating figure of excess and madness, experiencing a kind of being that transcends philosophy, secularity, and religion. (shrink)

Amidst the many brain events evoked by a visual stimulus, which are specifically associated with conscious perception, and which merely reflect non-conscious processing? Several recent neuroimaging studies have contrasted conscious and non-conscious visual processing, but their results appear inconsistent. Some support a correlation of conscious perception with early occipital events, others with late parieto-frontal activity. Here we attempt to make sense of those dissenting results. On the basis of a minimal neuro-computational model, the global neuronal workspace hypothesis, we propose a (...) taxonomy which distinguishes between vigilance and access to conscious report, as well as between subliminal, preconscious and conscious processing. We suggest that these distinctions map onto different neural mechanisms, and that conscious perception is systematically associated with a sudden surge of parieto-frontal activity causing top-down amplification. (shrink)

A uniquely integrative work, this volume provides a much needed compilation of primary source material to researchers from basic neuroscience, psychology, developmental science, neuroimaging, neuropsychology and theoretical biology. * The ...

Work occupies a central place in most people’s lives, yet a secondary one in most of political philosophy. This article attempts to show the negative theoretical consequences of this neglect by taking the example of the concept of constituent power as it appears in the writings of Emmanuel Joseph Sièyes and Karl Marx. Both authors conceived it as made up of the working classes. This, however, makes them both run into the same paradox: how to politically represent a class that (...) is characterised by a non-political activity – work? I argue that neither of them gives a satisfactory response since both rely on an implausible account of objective class interests based on fragile grounds. I conclude by showing that the political representation of workers is a theoretical and practical problem that the concept of constituent power is unable to resolve. (shrink)

This book investigates the philosophical, empirical, and theoretical bases on which a cognitive neuroscience of consciousness can be founded.

Cet essai est un retour aussi réfléchi que possible sur l'ensemble de mes écrits de philosophie. S'étalant sur une durée approximative de cinquante-cinq ans, ils sont à la fois nombreux et, du fait de leur nombre, menacés par la dispersion. Je suis bien conscient de l'objection possible ainsi que de la demande, toujours plus réitérée depuis 1990, d'une quasi-synthèse, de la part de lecteurs qui, à diverses reprises, m'ont fait part de leur sympathie et de leur encouragement. Je me suis (...) promis de les satisfaire par un bref écrit qui serait, à ma façon, et sans égaler le modèle qui de loin m'inspire, une quasi-monadologie. J'ai le sentiment, dans ce retour sur mon passé, de devoir beaucoup à ceux qui, au cours de mon cheminement, m'ont aidé dans ce long travail de pensée. Ma première interrogation serait donc celle-ci : " Qu'as-tu que tu n'aies reçu? STANISLAS BRETON. (shrink)

In the first English language translation of this classic late 20th-century text within French Catholic thought, Poetics of the Sensible brings together insights from Neoplatonism and phenomenology with a distinctive and innovative approach. Taking a stance within the generative conception of human language represented by continental thinkers such as Humboldt and Herder and powerfully articulated today by Charles Taylor, Stanislas Breton expands the sense of the "poetic"-the constructive meaning-bearing capacity that is a core characteristic of humanity-to include the body (...) and its senses phenomenologically intertwined with the world. Defying Heidegger's prohibition on the question of God alongside contemporary thinkers such as Jean-Luc Marion, Jean-Louis Chrétien and Emmanuel Falque, he boldly writes of God, of the angel, of the icon, and of prayer in a refusal to bracket his religious faith. Against a Neoplatonic backdrop, Breton promotes the dense material dimensions of embodied signification as paradoxically harbouring meaning that is greater than that of conceptual abstraction alone. Illuminating Breton's poetic and allusive discourse, Poetics of the Sensible showcases his unique voice in French philosophy, phenomenology and the philosophy of religion and is essential reading for scholars and students alike. (shrink)

‘Number sense’ is a short‐hand for our ability to quickly understand, approximate, and manipulate numerical quantities. My hypothesis is that number sense rests on cerebral circuits that have evolved specifically for the purpose of representing basic arithmetic knowledge. Four lines of evidence suggesting that number sense constitutes a domain‐specific, biologically‐determined ability are reviewed: the presence of evolutionary precursors of arithmetic in animals; the early emergence of arithmetic competence in infants independently of other abilities, including language; the existence of a homology (...) between the animal, infant, and human adult abilities for number processing; and the existence of a dedicated cerebral substrate. In adults of all cultures, lesions to the inferior parietal region can specifically impair number sense while leaving the knowledge of other cognitive domains intact. Furthermore, this region is demonstrably activated during number processing. I postulate that higher–level cultural devel‐opments in arithmetic emerge through the establishment of linkages between this core analogical representation and other verbal and visual representations of number notations. The neural and cognitive organization of those representations can explain why some mathematical concepts are intuitive, while others are so difficult to grasp. Thus, the ultimate foundations of mathematics rests on core representations that have been internalized in our brains through evolution. (shrink)

This paper clarifies the usage of Albert Hirschman’s categories of market behaviour as of exit and voice in debates about workplace democracy by taking seriously his critique of the neoclassical analysis of competition. Pro-market liberals are generally hostile to the idea of workplace democracy and tend to favour top-down hierarchies as a way of organising labour. This hostility is generally inspired by the neoclassical analysis of exploitation and efficiency, which leads them to defend distributions achieved through exit-based competitive equilibria. Following (...) Hirschman, I propose to consider a hypothetical alternative: a democratic equilibrium, reached through the use of voice. I show that it would present the same appealing characteristics than its competitive counterpart while also accounting for the non-ideal conditions in which markets operate. Support for free markets should entail support for workplace democracy minimally understood as a strengthening of voice. (shrink)

There are two opposing views concerning intuitive cases of wage exploitation. The first denies that they are cases of exploitation at all. It is based on the nonworseness claim: there is nothing wrong with a discretionary mutually beneficial employment relationship. The second is the reasonable view: some employment relationships can be exploitative even if employers have no duty towards their employees. This article argues that the reasonable view does not completely defeat defences of wage exploitation, because these do not rely (...) solely on the nonworseness claim. They also rely on the idea, popularised by Alan Wertheimer, that exploitation is a form of disequilibrium price occurring in defective markets. The article then proceeds to criticise Wertheimer’s account through neoclassical, new institutional, and Austrian economics. It concludes that considerations for economic efficiency are irrelevant to assessing intuitions regarding exploitation. (shrink)

‘Number sense’ is a short‐hand for our ability to quickly understand, approximate, and manipulate numerical quantities. My hypothesis is that number sense rests on cerebral circuits that have evolved specifically for the purpose of representing basic arithmetic knowledge. Four lines of evidence suggesting that number sense constitutes a domain‐specific, biologically‐determined ability are reviewed: the presence of evolutionary precursors of arithmetic in animals; the early emergence of arithmetic competence in infants independently of other abilities, including language; the existence of a homology (...) between the animal, infant, and human adult abilities for number processing; and the existence of a dedicated cerebral substrate. In adults of all cultures, lesions to the inferior parietal region can specifically impair number sense while leaving the knowledge of other cognitive domains intact. Furthermore, this region is demonstrably activated during number processing. I postulate that higher–level cultural devel‐opments in arithmetic emerge through the establishment of linkages between this core analogical representation (the ‘number line’ ) and other verbal and visual representations of number notations. The neural and cognitive organization of those representations can explain why some mathematical concepts are intuitive, while others are so difficult to grasp. Thus, the ultimate foundations of mathematics rests on core representations that have been internalized in our brains through evolution. (shrink)

Cohen Kadosh & Walsh (CK&W) neglect the solid empirical evidence for a convergence of notation-specific representations onto a shared representation of numerical magnitude. Subliminal priming reveals cross-notation and cross-modality effects, contrary to CK&W's prediction that automatic activation is modality and notation-specific. Notation effects may, however, emerge in the precision, speed, automaticity, and means by which the central magnitude representation is accessed.

La connaissances noyau de la géométrie euclidienne est liée au raisonnement déductif et non à la reconnaissance de motifs perceptuels.

Le monde moderne de par son mode de vie a reçu l'empreinte de l'hygiène et de la médecine ainsi que des principes résultant des découvertes de l'industrie pharmaceutique chimique, de Pasteur, de Flemming, etc. Ces produits sont certes d'un apport utile pour garantir le confort anatomique et physiologique de l'organisme humain, mais il faut raisonnablement les considérer aujourd'hui comme un triomphe d'une humanité à l'incessante poursuite d'une santé durable. La physiologie et l'anatomie n'étant pas les seules composantes de l'être humain, (...) la santé ne saurait en aucun cas être considérée, prise en charge ou ajustée, comme une simple machine industrielle ou être comparée à un plan d'ajustement structurel ou de relance économique pour assurer la croissance et la survie d'un peuple. C'est la colonne vertébrale de la thèse de l'auteur Gervais Mvogo dans son ouvrage Limites et échecs de la médecine occidentale. Théorie de la guérison. Le sujet de réflexion fascine dans son ancrage de parallélisme des sources ontologiques de la nature humaine, s'appuyant ainsi sur Dieu. Le titre ouvre le débat sur la démarche, la pratique, l'émergence et la radiance des firmes et des intelligences artificielles de l'industrie pharmaceutique, véritable politique de la médecine occidentale. (shrink)

Les sciences du cerveau peuvent enrichir une anthropologie fondamentale, en permettant de dépasser la conception réductionniste de l’individualisme méthodologique. À condition de s’appuyer sur la neurobiologie et non sur le strict cognitivisme. Cela nécessite quatre déplacements. Tout d’abord, il s’agit de penser le cerveau comme une partie d’un corps vivant dans un environnement à la fois naturel et culturel. Ce premier pas implique de partir de la décision et de l’action plutôt que de la computation. La neurobiologie enseigne également que (...) l’émotion est partie intégrante du raisonnement. Enfin, elle montre qu’autrui est au cœur du soi. (shrink)

"La méditation du Principe est le principe même de la philosophie." Cette sentence par laquelle débute le présent ouvrage ne décline pas seulement le projet d'un livre, elle traduit l'ambition d'une oeuvre. Son auteur, Stanislas Breton, disparu le 2 avril 2005, métaphysicien original et génial, parvenu alors au faîte d'une recherche initiée dans les universités romaines, poursuivie dans les Instituts catholiques de Lyon de Paris et relancée à l'Ecole normale supérieure d'Ulm, en déroulait alors la thèse dans une étonnante (...) fulgurance. Trente ans exactement après sa première publication, celle-ci se trouve à nouveau, plus actuelle que jamais, présentée au public. Les quatre parties qui la structurent sont consacrées au concept antique de "Principe" à "l'Ineffable" auquel il se trouve nécessairement confronté, à ses usages en philosophie et en théologie, et à la critique à laquelle le soumet la pensée contemporaine. Elles déchiffrent, chemin faisant, ce qui décide, sous des modes bien différents, de l'"organisation du pensable" à l'intérieur des philosophies et des théologies. Ainsi réédité, cet ouvrage se livre à l'inspiration de nouvelles générations soucieuses d'honorer et d'exploiter, dans la ligne du N Fonds Breton une oeuvre d'exception. (shrink)

Mark Reiff’s book In the Name of Liberty: The Argument for Universal Unionization successfully delivers the promise contained in the title—the case for a version of liberal capitalism where every worker would belong to a union. The argument, based on the greater freedom unions bring to workers, clearly seeks an overlapping consensus, for virtually all major contemporary political philosophies defend freedom. The book especially tries to be appealing to right-libertarians. This review will argue, however, that Reiff takes the ‘liberty’ in (...) ‘libertarianism’ way too seriously. Right-libertarians do not defend liberty; they defend property rights. Reiff’s argument will certainly be convincing to anyone who believes liberty is the main currency of justice. The problem is precisely that not everyone believes that. (shrink)

Does geometry constitues a core set of intuitions present in all humans, regarless of their language or schooling ? We used two non verbal tests to probe the conceptual primitives of geometry in the Munduruku, an isolated Amazonian indigene group. Our results provide evidence for geometrical intuitions in the absence of schooling, experience with graphic symbols or maps, or a rich language of geometrical terms.

Sept ouvrages récents présentant des portraits contrastés de l’œuvre de Pierre Bourdieu sont mis en dialogue à travers les thèmes du sujet, des rapports des sciences humaines à la philosophie, de la critique du néolibéralisme, de la race, l’identité et le genre, des perspectives de l’émancipation sociale.

The most influential justification of individual property rights is the Propertarian Argument. It is the idea that the institution of private property renders everyone better off, and crucially, even the worst-off members of society. A recent critique of the Argument is that it relies on an anthropologically false hypothesis – the idea, following Thomas Hobbes, that life in the state of nature is one of widespread scarcity and violence to which property rights are a solution. The present article seeks to (...) reformulate this Anthropological Objection in a way that more directly addresses Hobbes’ original argument. It then shows that private property is justified to the extent that it allows anyone to reclaim their free time. (shrink)

Les religions et les spiritualités de l'Extrême-Orient ne cessent aujourd'hui de nous solliciter. A l'aube du troisième millénaire, le christianisme peut-il répondre à l'accusation de fatigue et de vieillissement qu'elles lui adressent en sourdine? Il convenait donc de méditer ce qui fut et est toujours, dans les termes de l'apôtre Paul, la première affirmation d'une existence et d'une pensée chrétiennes : le message de la Croix, qui demeure l'essentiel du christianisme. Qu'en est-il de cette foi austère en notre monde de (...) sécularisation et de laïcité? Quelle est, aujourd'hui, la place du christianisme dans un espace interreligieux aux dimensions du monde? Quelles seraient, de l'Orient extrême, Inde et Chine confondues, les questions et les requêtes les plus pertinentes à retenir? Comment concevoir entre religions si différentes un mode de collaboration qui leur permettrait d'alléger la souffrance des hommes? Autant de questions qu'il était urgent de poser avec le courage d'une lucidité qui tient à " rendre à qui la demande la raison de son espérance ". (shrink)

This conceptual paper contributes to the critique of a body of literature that will be named ‘deliberative corporate governance’ by defending non-deliberative acts performed by stakeholders. It first argues that this literature introduces to the corporation a decision-making process where it does not belong, given the corporation's economic role. This leads to an ‘efficiency constraint’ on any attempt to justify deliberation – deliberative governance theorists must show that it is the most efficient and cost-effective way to address the issues that (...) concern them. A real case example where deliberation would have been counter-productive in that regard will show that this is not the case. Building on this example, the paper uses the theory of democratic agonism to argue that non-deliberative acts should be part of governance. A sketch of managerial duties vis-à-vis such acts is attempted as well. The paper does not seek to reject deliberative corporate governance entirely, but rather to defend the importance of non-deliberative practices in addressing its theoretical concern. It makes a conceptual contribution to corporate governance theory, from which it draws practical implications for stakeholders-oriented management. (shrink)

The ἐπιβολή is one of the main concepts of Hellenistic and Neoplatonic epistemology. Already related to the activity of thought (διάνοια) by Epicurus and Alexander of Aphrodisias, this notion allows Plotinus to conceive the transition from intuition, which grasps its whole object by a single act, to discursive thought, which sets out its many attributes successively. It can be defined as the sighting of an innate form by the διάνοια, an intuitive act expressed in propositional form by the λόγος. By (...) analogy with the intuition of the human thought, the Plotinian ἐπιβολή also refers to the knowledge that the Intellect has of itself and of its principle, the One-Good. (shrink)

The performance of the Mundurucu on the number-space task may exemplify a general competence for drawing analogies between space and other linear dimensions, but Mundurucu participants spontaneously chose number when other dimensions were available. Response placement may not reflect the subjective scale for numbers, but Cantlon et al.'s proposal of a linear scale with scalar variability requires additional hypotheses that are problematic.

Dans cet important ouvrage, S. Breton cherche à dégager le concept d'idéologie. Puis il fait la typologie des formes majeures d'idéologies (celles qui au cours de l'histoire ont eu l'impact le plus décisif), en analysant les facteurs qui les composent et les définissent, ce qui lui permet d'affronter la question de la détermination en dernière instance des idéologies. Les derniers chapitres sont consacrés à déterminer les rapports des idéologies à la religion et à la foi chrétienne, ainsi qu'au savoir et (...) à la philosophie. Enfin, l'auteur s'interroge sur la crise actuelle des idéologies et sur la signification de cette crise. Pas toujours facile à suivre, cette réflexion contribue à mettre de la clarté dans des débats trop souvent confus. (shrink)

Devenir chrétien, est-il un gain ou une perte par rapport aux croyances traditionnelles du Muntu? Est-ce un choix raisonnable pour le Muntu ou une fuite du poids de la tradition? L'auteur part d'une étude anthropologique du peuple bantu à qui il souhaite proposer un horizon sotériologique, loin de toute aliénation ancestrale. Il présente le Muntu comme celui qui reçoit sa parole des ancêtres. Il n'est que le garant de la parole.

Reading in the Brain (Les neurones de la lecture, 2007) examined the origins of human reading abilities in the light of contemporary cognitive neuroscience. It argued that reading acquisition, in all cultures, recycles preexisting cortical circuits dedicated to invariant visual recognition, and that the organization of these circuits imposes strong constraints on the invention and cultural evolution of writing systems. In this article, seven years later, I briefly review new experimental evidence, particularly from brain imaging studies of illiterate adults, which (...) indicates that reading acquisition invades culturally universal cortical circuits and competes with their prior function, including mirror-invariant visual recognition and face processing. In response to my critics, I emphasize how brain plasticity and brain constraints can be reconciled within the Bayesian perspective on learning. I also discuss the importance of a newly discovered gesture system in reading and writing. Finally, I argue that there is consistent evidence for deep cross-cultural universals in writing systems, as well as for the multiple subtypes of dyslexia that are expected given the broad set of areas recruited by the reading task. (shrink)

L'ouvrage de Jean Piaget: Sagesse et illusions de laphilosophie n'a point fini de faire parler de lui et de donner à penser. La pierre que le maître genevois a lancée dans le lac des Cygnes, a provoqué un ébranlement salutaire qui remet en question, non seulement un mode contemporain de philosophic mais la philosophic elle même. Substance et modes sont à nouveau soumis à cette interrogation salutaire qui, périodiquement, confronte la philosophie au problème crucial de sa propre possibilityé. À ce (...) titre, même s'il dût être le seul, ce petit livre mériterait la reconnaissance des intéressés. (shrink)

Comment s'inscrit dans l'univers des causalités cette causalité singulière que signifiait jadis l'étrange expression " cause de soi "? (causa sui)? Le projet humain n'est autre que cette énigmatique causalité dont l'icône est, parmi nous, l'enfant nouveau-né. La tradition philosophique, plus soucieuse de la mort, a fait constamment abstraction de la naissance. Il convenait donc de partir de la naissance comme première étape d'une causalité de soi par soi. Sur cette paradoxale causalité se posent aujourd'hui les questions les plus décisives (...) : Quel est le monde de temporalité qui lui convient? Quel rapport entretient-elle avec le monde sous le double aspect d'immanence et de rupture? Comment s'insère-t-elle dans le politique en sa forme démocratique? Et tout d'abord quel jugement porter sur les événements majeurs de notre temps qui ont motivé la critique de cette démocratie? (shrink)