Since its inception, philosophy has aroused both fascination and hostility. What is it about philosophy that provokes such contrasting emotions? Plato’s works offer a valuable opportunity to explore this question, not only because of the dialogue form, which makes it possible to present a range of attitudes toward the practice of philosophy, but also because of Plato’s persistent efforts to define, describe, and defend philosophy as a radically unique activity. In this paper, the author collects and organizes the evidence in (...) order to show that, although Plato presents a wide array of motives for hostility toward philosophy, these are all grounded upon some form of ignorance that is a source of pain. The author also shows how, in well-disposed individuals, a special kind of ignorance can become a source of love rather than hatred, and how these people experience a special kind of pleasure—the very pleasure of practicing and loving philosophy. (shrink)

In this article, I examine the way Aristotle makes use of the methods Plato labelled as "dialectic". After suggesting a unified interpretation of Plato’s dialectic, I show that Aristotle makes room for them not inside the context of demonstrative science, but at the level of the investigation concerning the principles of such a science. These principles are, for the most part, definitions; and Plato’s dialectical methods are designed to search for and obtain definitions. Although Aristotle, contrary to Plato, seems to (...) distinguish between dialectic and philosophy, he relates both to the same capacity, and he suggests that their methods are identical up to a certain point. Moreover, the cognitive state corresponding to dialectic is, for Aristotle as for Plato, intelligence (nous). Nevertheless, there remain important differences between Plato and Aristotle on this issue: while the dialogical dimension of dialectic is for Plato constitutive of philosophy and implies that the philosophical thought is a perpetual motion, it is according to Aristotle what distinguishes dialectic from philosophy, which must for its part come to a rest; and while philosophy presupposes a rupture with sensation according to Plato, Aristotle envisages it in continuity with sensible experience. (shrink)

La lecture néokantienne de Platon est souvent reléguée au rang de simple curiosité historique dont l’intérêt ne dépasserait pas le cercle étroit des spécialistes de ce courant. C’est particulièrement regrettable, car elle offre un exemple remarquable de réappropriation philosophique philologiquement informée d’un penseur majeur du passé. Si l’histoire de la philosophie doit avoir, par-delà son intérêt antiquaire tout à fait légitime, une véritable pertinence pour la philosophie en train de se...

In this paper, I examine Plato’s and Aristotle’s contrasted treatment of the “Good itself ” and its relation to the human good. Contrary to a common view, Aristotle does not attack the very concept of a Good itself, but rather Plato’s interpretation of it as the Idea of the Good. One of his central criticisms is that such an Idea would have no practical use. By an analysis of the Philebus, I try to show why and how this Idea does (...) have such a use in Plato, but in a way which could not satisfy his pupil, because for Aristotle, the Good itself must be an ultimate end which must have a direct efficiency on the whole world, without any need of the mediation of knowledge. In the Metaphysics, Aristotle shows that such an end can be identified with a purely active intelligence, which he names God. Although this Good itself is absolutely necessary and thus cannot be a “practical good” in Aristotle’s terms, its contemplation by human intelligence can be, because it is for its part contingent. I conclude in assessing the main consequences of Plato’s and Aristotle’s different views of the Good itself on their philosophy as a whole. (shrink)

L’automne 2009 vit de violentes pluies s’abattre sur l’Eubée. À Érétrie, plusieurs tombes et stèles funéraires apparurent dans le lit du ruisseau bordant le site à l’Ouest. Ces découvertes apportent un éclairage bienvenu sur les nécropoles érétriennes, encore mal connues. Par ailleurs, plusieurs murs antiques furent documentés : si certains s’apparentent aux murs du canal archaïque déjà relevés à la Porte de l’Ouest, d’autres datent de l’époque classique-hellénistique et ouvrent de nouvelles pistes de recherche concernant l’étude de l’enceinte et la (...) topographie de ce secteur. L’étude des stèles funéraires, dont la date va de l’extrême fin du ve à la seconde moitié du iiie s., donne lieu à des observations nouvelles sur des sujets aussi variés que les techniques de taille, la typologie et l’iconographie des monuments, l’onomastique et les composantes de la population érétrienne. (shrink)

A review on the educational experience of students with disabilities, based on qualitative and quantitative surveys, questions the stated objectives of inclusive education policies. These studies show a more favourable experience in the specialized classe, due to a deteriorated relationship to schooling in the regular classroom and a sense of isolation and incompetence developed faced of difficulties. Research conducted in a bilingual French sign language-French written device, in secondary school with deaf and hearing students schooled together in the regular classroom, (...) suggests other stories. The way in which school and teaching situations are conducted within this aid system, engages these students in a rewarding and capaciting experience, to be a recognized student in the classroom and among peers. Learning French sign language, the work of translators at the linguistic as well as pedagogical and educational level, the supporting role of auxiliary teaching systems, participate in the process of accessing school situations, especially to educational accessibility, thus providing students with a space of opportunity to attend school. (shrink)

Ubiquitin is the most phylogenetically conserved protein known. This 8,500 Da polypeptide can be covalently attached to cellular proteins as a posttranslational modification. In most cases, the addition of multiple ubiquitin adducts to a protein targets it for rapid degradation by a multisubunit protease known as the 26S proteasome. While the ubiquitin/26S proteasome pathway is responsible for the degradation of the bulk of cellular proteins during homeostasis, it may also be responsible for the rapid loss of protein during the programmed (...) death of certain cells, such as skeletal muscle during insect metamorphosis. In addition, alterations in the expression and regulation of ubiquitin may play significant roles in pathological disorders. For example, dramatic increases in ubiquitin and ubiquitin‐protein conjugates are observed in a wide variety of neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's disease. Patients suffering from the autoimmune disease systemic lupus erythematosus generate antibodies reacting with ubiquitin and ubiquitinated histones. At present, it is not known whether these changes in ubiquitin expression and regulation initiate pathological changes in these diseases or if they are altered as a consequence of these disorders. (shrink)

This article provides a critical view of the didactic transposition of the dominant approach to psychology, which is now extended to the psychology of education. First, we present the scientific principles used in psychology training. These principles concern the notion of participant, privileged research objects and the activity of the researcher. Following Habermas (1987), we demonstrate that this psychology participates in a “colonization of the lifeworld” and in its historico-cultural narrowing. Finally, we propose an epistemological and methodological alternative allowing a (...) re-reading of these three principles in a historico-cultural perspective. (shrink)

Not very long ago, Plato'sSophistwas often presented as a dialogue devoted to the problem of being and not-being, entangled with limited success in an inquiry into the nature of the sophist. Thanks to the renewal of interest in the dramatic form of Plato's dialogues, recent works have shown that this entanglement is far from ill-conceived or anecdotal. However, the inquiry into the sophist is itself introduced by another question, concerning the nature of the Stranger from Elea himself. I would like (...) to show that this question and the way in which it is raised in the prologue may themselves shed light on the relations between the many threads which run across this very complex dialogue. (shrink)

This book provides a comprehensive commentary of the Philebus designed to shed light on the nature and function of the good in Plato’s philosophy as a whole. Topics discussed include dialectic, pleasure, epistemology, and the relations between metaphysics and ethics.

Sylviane Agacinski has never shied away from controversy. Vilified by some--including many feminists--and celebrated by others as a pioneer of gender equality, she has galvanized the French political scene. Her articulation of the theory of "parity" helped inspire a law that went into effect in May 2000 requiring the country's political parties to fill 50 percent of the candidacies in every race with women. Sylviane Agacinski, according to _The New Yorker,_ "is sometimes credited with making _parité_ respectable." Agacinski begins with (...) the notion that sexual difference should be affirmed rather than denied. Sex, Agacinski points out, is not a social, cultural, or ethnic characteristic--it is a universal human trait. In her argument for the necessary recognition of sexual difference, she enters into today's most controversial social territory. Agacinski's model of parity does not strive for the nebulous ideal of "equality" between the sexes; instead, it demands a concrete formula for political contests: an equal number of female and male candidates in every election. It is a theory that has sparked impassioned debate across France: Are female politicians necessarily different from male politicians? Is parity democratic? Is it truly feminist? Agacinski's sophisticated polemic will stimulate debate on American shores as it has in France. _Parity of the Sexes_ sheds light on one of the crucial spheres of public life in which earlier French feminists left their work unfinished--the realm of political power. (shrink)

This paper examines the discussion about false pleasures in the "Philebus" (36 c3-44 a11). After stressing the crucial importance of this discussion in the economy of the dialogue, it attempts to identify the problematic locus of the possibility of true or false pleasures. Socrates points to it by means of an analogy between pleasure and doxa. Against traditional interpretations, which reduce the distinction drawn in this passage to a distinction between doxa and pleasure on the one hand and their object (...) on the other, it is argued that, rather, Socrates distinguishes between the mere fact of having a doxa or a pleasure, on the one hand, and the content of these acts, on the other hand. Consequently, the possibility for a pleasure to be false does not concern its relation to an object, but the affective content which defines it. In order to show how the affective content of a pleasure can be false, it is necessary to examine the three species of false pleasures described by Socrates in their relation to appearance and imagination. Appearance is not identical with perception for Plato: it consists in a mixture of perception and doxa. As for imagination, it consists in "illustrating" a doxa present in the soul by means of a "quasi-perception". It is the presence of a doxa in each of these processes which makes it possible for them to be true or false, while mere perception cannot be either true or false. It is then argued that according to the "Philebus" pleasure can be false precisely because its affective content is not a mere perception, but either an appearance or an imagination. (shrink)

Unlike the Phaedoitself, its reception in Antiquity remains little studied. By examining the extant commentaries, their sources, and the dialogue's presence in the reflections of ancient thinkers both inside and outside the Platonic tradition, this volume aims to reconstruct its ancient history.

This volume explores the tremendous influence of Plato's Phaedrus on the philosophical, religious, scientific and literary discussions in the first two millennia of the dialogue's reception history. It will appeal to readers interested in the Ph.

La présente collection d’articles vient clôturer la table ronde internationale « Architecture militaire, une culture partagée entre Grèce et Provence », qui s’est tenue du 23 au 24 novembre 2017 à la Maison méditerranéenne des sciences de l’homme à Aix‑en‑Provence. Cette rencontre a permis de rassembler des spécialistes des fortifications antiques et médiévales du monde méditerranéen, avec un accent particulier porté sur la Grèce et la Provence. L’approche, qui s’illustre par sa portée chrono...

In his paper “Idealism and Greek Philosophy: What Berkeley Missed and Descartes Saw,” Myles Burnyeat purports to show not only that idealism was not endorsed by any ancient philosopher, but also that it could not have been endorsed before Descartes; Greek philosophy was dominated by an “unquestioned, unquestioning assumption of realism.” By ‘idealism,’ Burnyeat means mainly Berkeley’s immaterialism, but he also extends his demonstration to something more akin to Kant’s transcendental idealism. After arguing that this last version has more historical (...) credentials to the title of idealism than Berkeley’s doctrine, I compare Burnyeat’s reading to Natorp’s interpretation in Platos Ideenlehre, subtitled “An Introduction to Idealism.” Natorp argues that there is, on the contrary, a kind of underlying idealism in Greek philosophy, one that can be discerned on the basis of an interpretation of the meaning of the verb ‘to be’ which has found support in more recent research. (shrink)

Cet article se propose d’étudier les procédés platoniciens de l’exemple, de l’analogie et du paradigme, en insistant à la fois sur leur distinction et sur leur articulation mutuelle. En ce qui concerne l’exemple, il convient d’en distinguer un usage dianoétique, que Platon proscrit, d’un usage proprement dialectique, qu’il encourage et qui peut avoir deux fonctions différentes : faire comprendre une question ou une méthode et faire saisir une structure. L’analogie au sens strict développe cette deuxième fonction, en la complexifiant parfois (...) (notamment dans le Gorgias et la République) par une dimension « constructive ». Reste que le but de l’analogie, comme celui de l’exemple, est avant tout de faire saisir des rapports ; et dans la mesure où ces rapports sont purement intelligibles, l’analogie peut elle aussi être considérée comme un procédé dialectique. Enfin, le paradigme tel qu’il est utilisé dans le Sophiste et le Politique développe les traits précédents au sein d’un dispositif très élaboré, qui a pour but essentiel de faire saisir une méthode susceptible d’être appliquée à ce qui fait l’objet de l’examen. En ce sens, il s’agit d’un prolongement de l’un des usages dialectiques des exemples que l’on trouve dès les premiers Dialogues. La pensée paradigmatique de Platon manifeste ainsi une grande continuité, qui repose sur une conception fondamentale : la dialectique, en tant que science suprême qui étudie les Idées, ne peut être décrite de l’extérieur, mais seulement se pratiquer. Cette pratique se prépare, non pas en commençant par se tourner vers le sensible, comme on l’écrit parfois, mais en se tournant vers des cas tout aussi intelligibles – en tant que rapports ou ensembles de rapports, c’est‑à‑dire structures –, quoique « plus faciles », afin de rendre le dialecticien ultimement capable d’examiner n’importe quel sujet. (shrink)

What do we mean when we say time passes? How do contingency and anachronism and other philosophical concepts bearing on time affect the more (seemingly) concrete realities of our political and cultural lives? In ways small and great, personal and cultural, we all experience the mutability of time. We feel it expand and contract, speed up and slow down, as it bends to the imperatives of memory, money, and the media. In our own time (itself a pregnant phrase) we have (...) witnessed a disengagement with the past even as technological advances have allowed us to capture and reproduce past time as never before. How are we to make sense of this paradox? In this wide-ranging meditation on the meaning of time, Sylvaine Agacinski weaves together discussions of Aristotle, Kant, Hegel, Freud, Heidegger, Baudelaire, Barthes, and especially Walter Benjamin--her model for the modern "passer of time"--as she traces a time line of the philosophy of time. After examining how shifting attitudes toward the passage of time have affected everything from art criticism to the development of photography to the rise of modernism itself, Agacinski concludes by proposing a rethinking of democracy that emphasizes patience in the face of our current temporal frenzy. (shrink)

J’examine dans cet article le double aspect sous lequel la loi se trouve discutée par l’Étranger dans le Politique : si elle fait tout d’abord l’objet d’une critique sévère au nom d’une science idéale, elle est ensuite réhabilitée à titre de substitut à l’idéal défaillant. Cette réhabilitation est complexe : elle passe par un étrange récit de politique-fiction qui fait écho sans le dire à Thucydide et qui permet à l’Étranger de lier dans un même procès écriture juridique et écriture (...) spéculative ; elle se développe ensuite moyennant une série d’arguments qui insistent sur le nécessaire respect de la loi indépendamment de son contenu et de sa pertinence, mais qui indiquent aussi implicitement la nécessité de lui attribuer une origine mythique dans une connaissance divine devenue inaccessible. Le Politique signe l’acte de naissance de la fiction théologico-politique.I explore in this paper the dual aspect of the Eleatic Visitor’s discussion of law in the Statesman. Although it is at first severely criticized on behalf of an ideal science, it is then rehabilitated as a substitute for the failing ideal. But this rehabilitation is a complex one : it is made via a very peculiar account of political fiction echoing implicitly Thucydides and allowing the Eleatic Visitor to put on the same trial legal and speculative writing. Then it develops by using several arguments, insisting on the necessary respect due to the law, whatever content and relevance it may have, but yet implicitly pointing out the need to confer a mythic origin to law within the context of divine knowledge now impervious to men. Thus Plato’s Statesman pioneers theological political fiction. (shrink)

In the two last chapters of Platos Ideenlehre, Paul Natorp compares his interpretation of Plato’s theory of Ideas to Aristotle’s, whom he considers as the origin of the historical distortions which it underwent. According to him, these distortions stem from the deep dogmatism of Aristotle’s thought, unable to gain access to Plato’s criticist viewpoint. The debate between Plato and Aristotle is therefore an opportunity for Natorp to make the signification of the opposition between criticism and dogmatism as he understands them (...) clearer. For him, criticism and dogmatism are mainly distinguished on two counts : their relation to object and their relation to infinite. The study of these characters thus makes it possible to deepen the meaning of the critical idealism that Natorp tries to reactivate in the Marburgian version of Neokantianism. (shrink)

Plato’s treatment of the theme of insatiability of desire in the Philebus is only implicit, but deeply original. Considering pleasure as the immediate object of desire, and caracterising pleasure as an apeiron (i.e. an undetermined or an illimited), it locates the origin of that phenomenon not in the essence of desire itself, but in its object, which by nature always eludes it. The only way of avoiding it is therefore to reorientate desire towards another object, namely the intelligible, which is (...) the only thing able to limitate it – which does not mean to reduce it, but rather to give it the means of finding its own satisfaction in itself. The desire thus transformed is philosophy itself, the only way towards goodness and happiness according to Plato. (shrink)

At first sight, everything seems to oppose the attitude of Plato and Kant with regard to law. According to Kant, only submission to the moral law gives access to autonomy, and therefore freedom, to the subject, while Plato affirms that any submission to a law is incompatible with the authentic freedom of intelligence. This article tries to make this opposition more nuanced, showing that the deepening of the respective position of each of the two thinkers allows them to be brought (...) closer together, while at the same time highlighting the precise point on which they differ, i.e. the question of the application of this law to particular cases arising in experience. (shrink)

Cet ouvrage est un recueil d’études rassemblées en l’honneur de Christopher Rowe et consacrées à différents aspects des dialogues de Platon par quelques-uns des spécialistes les plus importants de ce philosophe. Dans ses très nombreux travaux consacrés à Platon, dont la liste impression­nante figure en fin de volume (p. 312-324), Christopher Rowe a développé une approche originale et extrêmement féconde des Dialogues, qui tranche avec ce que l’on appelait encore il y a quelques années une lec...