Since the beginning of UN peace operations, there has been discussion as to exactly how they should be carried out. Thus far, a just theory of UN peacekeeping operations has not yet been formed, in the way a Theory of Just War for waging war or a theory of police ethics for law enforcement in a peace context had been formed. The article discusses what a justified risk distribution between UN peacekeepers and local civilians should be. One (...) of the points of criticism of UN peacekeeping missions is the lack of protection of the local population in the course of an escalating situation. Familiar examples are the traumas of Rwanda (1994) and Srebrenica (1995). Discussing differences between UN peacekeeping missions, warfare, and law enforcement, it appears that peacekeepers have more in common with law enforcers than with combatants during wartime. Through the method of analogy and by applying some typically military ethics principles, the moral status of the UN peacekeepers is analyzed. Finally, a risk distribution analysis between UN peacekeepers and the local population is carried out, by offering a concise overview by philosophers of arguments for and against taking fewer risks by peacekeepers. The analysis reveals important deontological and consequentialist arguments. Taking also into consideration that transferring more risk to the peacekeeping troops alone does not mandatory lead to less exposure to risk of the vulnerable and innocent local civilians, it can be concluded that a more practical, virtuous, responsible risk calculation will be necessary at that point to find the best risk distribution. (shrink)

UN peace operations have increasingly focused on the importance of “local ownership.” The logic is simple. For peace operations to succeed in helping war-torn states to create accountable, democratic institutions grounded in the rule of law, peace operations need to internalize democratic principles by making UN missions accountable to different domestic constituencies—crossing ethnic, religious, racial, social, and gender lines—within the war-torn country. As part of a special issue on “The United Nations at Seventy-Five: Looking Back to Look (...) Forward,” this essay argues that while there is widespread consensus among UN member states and UN bureaucrats that local ownership is necessary, UN peace operations have faced significant obstacles to creating true local ownership. These obstacles include the UN's focus on host-government ownership; the challenge of creating trust with different domestic constituencies that represent diverse perspectives; the supply-driven nature of UN intervention; and the mismatch between the UN's ideal post-conflict state and the preferences of post-conflict societies. To make UN peace operations more responsive to post-conflict societies, UN staff often have to bend or break rules established only to hold them accountable to their member states. (shrink)

This article examines the crisis management capabilities of Japan's Self Defense Forces (SDF) in the areas of United Nations (UN) peacekeeping, counter-terrorism, and disaster relief. The three types of overseas operations were all initiated by Japan as a response to international crises. While SDF crisis management capabilities for UN peacekeeping operations have steadily evolved, room for improvement remains. For example, Japan's commitment to logistic and rapid deployment missions could be strengthened. Regarding the second type of (...) class='Hi'>operations, counter-terrorism, Japan's crisis management capabilities were enhanced by the passing of a novel Anti-Terrorism Law in October 2001 after the 9/11 attacks. The law legalized a SDF oil-fuelling mission in the Indian Ocean in support of the US-led war on terror in Afghanistan. Compared to the first two types of missions, SDF crisis management capabilities in disaster relief are the least controversial. This is due to the nature of the SDF as politically neutral and their humanitarian and non-military activities. This article highlights and compares the strengths and weaknesses of Japan's capabilities in the three types of SDF overseas operations. It demonstrates that a number of problem areas remain, including the need for legal amendment as well as the enhancement of public support and political consensus. The Japanese government and the SDF should face up to these challenges so that Japan can become better positioned to react quickly to crisis situations that require the dispatch of the SDF. (shrink)

: In line with its foreign policy objectives, Nigeria, since itsindependence, has been participating in Peacekeeping Operations in Africa. It was in recognition of the country’s commitment to the UnitedNations’ objectives of maintaining peace and security that made itcontribute troops to the UN Operation in the Congo for the first timein 1960. For more than fifty years, Nigeria has continued to make giant stridesand commitment in this regard. This paper examines the benefits it derivesfrom participating in PKOs in (...) Africa under the UN, OAU and theECOMOG. Using both primary and secondary data, the paper argues that anormative anxiety was the primary motivating factor for Nigeria’s involvementin PKOs in Africa. This is driven by the idiosyncrasies of the country’s leaderssince its independence in 1960. Nigeria’s decision-makers are confident that itsparticipation in PKOs serves a number of foreign policy goals and provides forthe nation’s interests. The effort promotes the country’s prestige and influencein the comity of nations and in Intergovernmental Organisations. (shrink)

Japan created in 1992 to provide a legal framework for international peacekeeping activities, following its financial involvement in the Gulf War of 1991. This paper argues that the PKO Law imposed certain restrictions which complicated the missions of the Japanese Self Defence Forces (SDF) and civilian personnel in operational fields. Post 11 September (2001), the Japanese government created a new legal framework for counter-terrorism and dispatched its SDF personnel to the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) and (...) the United Nations Mission of Support in East Timor (UNMISET). (shrink)

Since the early 1990s, an increasing number of troops have been deployed in peacekeeping missions all around the world. The mixed success and high-profile failures of several missions have provided peacekeepers and scholars with a wealth of experience from which to generate knowledge and understand key lessons. In this article I use the Rwandan case to explore the issue of the use of force to protect unarmed civilians that have become the target of violence. In particular, I focus on (...) the moral responsibilities implied in such operations. I contend that in order for peacekeepers to be effective, they need to subscribe to, and be motivated by a peacekeeper ethos. The core element of this ethos is the protection of human life. Those peacekeepers who, through experience and education, internalize this ethos will be the best prepared for the difficult task they face. This article emphasizes the importance of sharpening moral autonomy among peacekeepers, in order to provide them with the skills they need to be more effective in saving lives. To illustrate this point, I analyze the slaughter of more than 2000 refugees at the ETO school in Kigali, Rwanda; a UN site protected by Belgian peacekeepers in 1994. (shrink)

Based on a multivariate analysis of the involvement of post-Soviet republics in UN and NATO peacekeeping operations, the author explores the integration of New Independent States into UN and NATO international organizations. Chronology of some peace-support and peace-enforcement operations is given. Of special focus is participation of special units of armed forces in such operations. Logical sequence of intrastate agreement on engagement of the military of independent Ukraine in international operations under the mandate of the (...) United Nations Security Council is traced. A respective decision-making process of the Lithuanian Parliament is examined for comparison purposes. Specific laws of Ukraine, which regulate such decisions, are indicated. The author offers concrete examples and describes the role of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in implementation of the UN peace-support mission. The paper cites Russian legislation governing cooperation with the UN and NATO in peacekeeping operations. By the example of formation of interstate military units between Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania ('Ukrpolitbat'), the Baltic Republics (the 'Baltic Battalion') and Central Asian Republics ('Kazbat'), the author shows the initiative of post-Communism republics in preservation of peace and stability in the world. Specific examples of involvement of the armed units of such post-Soviet republics as Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kirgizia in UN international operations are given. The paper describes the operations in Kosovo (1999), the Mediterranean Sea (2001), Turkey (2003), Iraq (2004), Bosnia and Herzegovina (1996-2004) as well as Sudan (2005). Attention is drawn to reorientation of the NATO from the collective defence strategy to that of common security and execution of mostly international operations with domination of police functions, technical assistance in the postwar period and coping with technogenic catastrophes. (shrink)

The United Nations Since its foundation in international relations has become a core system. From the United Nations restrictions on the use of force, peacekeeping and monitoring operations of the rapid expansion of the controversy surrounding the reform of the Security Council and international standards and guidelines for the four in terms of advocacy, the United Nations has played an irreplaceable role, and will remain in the international transformation of society play an important role. The United Nations has (...) become one of the central institutions since its foundation. This study takes into account some important issues in appraising the role of the United Nations in international relations including: the UN's restriction on the use of force, the rapid expansion of UN peacekeeping and election-monitoring activities, the debates concerning the reform of the Security Council and the UN's promotion on international standards and norms. It reaches a conclusion that the United States has played an irreplaceable role and will still been so in the transformation of international society. (shrink)

President Barack Obama should strive to realize the ideal goals expressed in the UN Charter. Accordingly, the concept of U.S. foreign policy should be replaced by a concept of UN global policy. Relatedly, the traditional concept of national security should be replaced by a cosmopolitan concept of global state and human security. Topics discussed include the role of the Security Council, the responsibility to protect (R2P), just war principles, UN peacekeeping operations, genocide in Darfur, treaties and other sources (...) of international law, nuclear abolition, climate change, the role of diplomacy, and the common good. (shrink)

Today the radical as well as the organizing pacifism have become compatible in the engagement for an universal legal system, which is based on the acknowledgement of human rights and a general prohibition of the use of force. The classical doctrines of just war have become obsolete, but their implicit elements concerning moral criticism of violence are indispensable. The author critisizes the misuse of the human rights argument for the justification of military interventionism. A legitimate policy of peace and security (...) has to depend on the development of a collective security system as proposed by the UN-Charter. It cannot be based on traditional military alliances of defence. To intervene in domestic conflicts, if any, peacekeeping operations are qualified, when and as far as they bind themselves to the principles of consensus of all parties concerned, of strict neutrality and of deescalation. There is a special obligation for Germany to restrain herself in military actions and toset an example in developing an international culture of nonviolence. (shrink)

Just war theory exists to stop armies and countries from using armed force without good cause. But how can we judge whether a war is just? In this original book, John W. Lango takes some distinctive approaches to the ethics of armed conflict. DT A revisionist approach that involves generalising traditional just war principles, so that they are applicable by all sorts of responsible agents to all forms of armed conflict DT A cosmopolitan approach that features the Security Council DT (...) A preventive approach that emphasises alternatives to armed force, including negotiation, nonviolent action and peacekeeping missions DT A human rights approach that encompasses not only armed humanitarian intervention but also armed invasion, armed revolution and all other forms of armed conflict Lango shows how these can be applied to all forms of armed conflict, however large or small: from interstate wars to UN peacekeeping missions, and from civil wars counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations. (shrink)

The paper reviews the military policy of a new independent Republic of Tajikistan over 1991-2011. The smallest by territory Central Asian republic lived through a five-year civil war on its way to an independent sovereign democratic state which seven million people were wise enough to reach national reconciliation in 1997. The majority of Tajikistan population is on the verge of poverty, which is indicative of the inadequate social policy. The country is rich in Pamir water which is drawn from eleven (...) glaciers as well as cotton, electric energy and aluminum. Tajikistan secures its military power owing to cooperation with the CIS, the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The Republic develops all-embracing cooperation with such Asian countries as India, Pakistan, Turkey, China and Iran. Among European countries it is Germany that allocated funds for strengthening the border with Afghanistan, which notably stands out. Cooperation with the NATO within the Partnership for Peace Program helps the military of the Republic to dispose of outdated ammunition as well as take part in NATO peacekeeping operations in accordance with resolutions of the United Nations Security Council. The Russian Federation having the largest foreign military alignment in the territory of the Republic remains the main strategic partner and guarantor of the national sovereignty of Tajikistan. The Republic still faces the problems of energy resources, terrorism and international drug trafficking. The internal political situation requires continuous international monitoring. UN observers left the country in 2000. The authoritarian government does not contribute to development of the democratic foundation of civil society. Today's Armed Forces of Tajikistan are of insignificant numerical strength and poorly-armed. The Army needs modernization and adaptation to a present-day environment. (shrink)

Medical Officers serving with their national contingents in peacekeeping operations are faced with difficult ethical decisions in regard to their obligations to the local civilian population. Such populations may be under-resourced in regard to medical care, and vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. Though the medical officer may support the local medical services, he/she should never undermine these resources. Adopting a human rights approach and observing the requirements of ethical medicine, aids the doctor in prioritising his/her duties. At times (...) there may be conflict with one’s own military superiors. It is wise to discuss potential difficulties prior to setting out on the mission. Human rights abuses cannot be ignored. The medical officer has a duty to do his/her best to report their observations so as to prevent abuse or to bring it to an end. (shrink)

Sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) by United Nations (UN) peacekeepers causes severe physical and psychological consequences. Where SEA leads to pregnancy and childbirth, peacekeepers typically absolve themselves of their paternal responsibilities and paternity suits are largely unsuccessful. The lack of support for peacekeeper-fathered children (PKFC) tarnishes the image of the UN who fails to implement a victim-centred approach to SEA. Analysing shortcomings in the provision of support, this article presents an evaluation of the UN’s accountability system from the perspective of (...) PKFC families. In-depth interviews with thirty-five PKFC and sixty mothers demonstrate local barriers to child support and paternity claims in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. We discuss PKFC’s need for assistance and their mothers’ attempts to navigate an opaque international legal system. The findings cast light on their limited access to UN subsidies and offer recommendations to better implement existing UN goals of justice and victim-oriented policies. (shrink)

This volume addresses the central theme of adjusting the United Nations system in light of, firstly, the broadening definition of security, secondly, a perceived shift from modernity to post-modernity; and finally, the contemporary debate about reform, adaptation and institutional learning in multilateral institutions during transnational periods. The UN has not been successful in learning appropriate lessons that could facilitate requisite changes to its structure and operations. Thus the authors in this study focus on the lessons learned from the organizations' (...) recent performance in collective security, preventative diplomacy, preventative deployment, peacekeeping, peacemaking, peace maintenance, and international legal, environmental and trade regulation. (shrink)

Weiss examines the moral choices that accompanied the military, humanitarian, and diplomatic dilemmas of the conflict in the former Yugoslavia and offers prescriptions for reconciling moral imperatives with political and operational constraints.

Résumé La linguistique du texte a pour tâche la théorisation et la description des opérations de segmentation qui délimitent des unités de rang et de longueur différentes, et la théorisation et la description des différents effets de continuité créés par les opérations de liage de ces unités. À la structuration phrastique-périodique par la morpho-syntaxe et la prosodie à l’oral, la ponctuation à l’écrit, le palier micro-textuel ajoute six facteurs de texture transphrastique : les liages référentiels et isotopiques, les liages du (...) signifiant, l’ensemble des phénomènes de connexion, les relations d’implicitation, la cohésion énonciative et la cohésion illocutoire. À partir de trois textes, cet article illustre systématiquement et détaille ces six formes de liage transphrastique des unités textuelles de base. (shrink)

Working as a peacekeeper is associated with the exposure to acute and/or catastrophic events and chronic stressors. Hence, the meager literature about peacekeepers’ wellbeing has mainly analyzed Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). This study aims to deep the analysis of the wellbeing of peacekeepers military. Based on the few studies on this population, we hypothesized that Italian peacekeeper military officers and enlisted men (n = 167; 103 males, 6 females, 58 missing) exhibit lower levels of internalizing symptoms (i.e., PTSD, depression, general (...) anxiety, obsessions, and somatization) as compared to a control group (n = 60; 32 males, 28 females). Moreover, we hypothesized that peacekeepers have higher levels of psychological resources (i.e., self-efficacy, self-esteem, social support) and quality of life (i.e., higher life satisfaction and lower general stress). We compared the groups by means of MANOVAs on the subscales of the Psychological Treatment Inventory (PTI; Gori et al., 2015). We found that Italian peacekeepers have lower internalizing symptoms and higher levels of self-efficacy and self-esteem than the control group; however, no statistically significant differences were observed on perceived social support. Finally, peacekeepers have a higher quality of life: scores reflect higher life satisfaction and lower distress than the control group. This study is in line with previous literature supporting the claim that Italian peacekeeper military officers have sufficient psychological resources for coping with the stressful situations implied in peacekeeping missions. Future studies should deepen the analysis of the military’s psychological characteristics by comparing war veterans and peacekeeper military. (shrink)

Nel 1545, dalla tipografia di Damiano de Turlini a Brescia, usciva un volume contenente due operette: la prima intitolata _Un brieve trattato dell’eccellentia delle donne_ composta dal filosofo lombardo Vincenzo Maggi; la seconda, anonima, con il titolo: _Una brieve essortatione a gli huomini_. Vincenzo Maggi, con un trattato –come lui stesso dichiara– breve e semplice, confuta il disprezzo verso il genere femminile imperante nella sua epoca, spinto dalla necessità di ritrovare la verità. Il tutto senza screditare né le tesi avverse (...) né i maschi; anzi, con l’intenzione di convincere costoro ad apprezzare ancor di più le donne e riconoscerne i superiori meriti. L’autore anonimo, invece, pretende smentire le affermazioni del filosofo lombardo esortando gli uomini all’azione, e si dichiara intimorito dall’idea che le donne possano prendere il sopravvento. È nostra intenzione analizzare le due opere presentandone le argomentazioni e i modi in cui esse vengono esposte, nonché offrire una breve biografia di Vincenzo Maggi oltre ad affrontare l’argomento della paternità della seconda opera. (shrink)

Raimondo Lullo (1232-1316) è una figura poliedrica, difficile da cogliere nella sua complessità. Un autore lontano nel tempo ma di sorprendente attualità, soprattutto nel suo essere "uomo del Mediterraneo" i cui orizzonti culturali spaziarono dall'una all'altra delle sue sponde e delle sue civiltà. Dopo aver riconosciuto e descritto ciò che le religioni del Libro avevano in comune e in cosa differivano, Lullo cercò di realizzare un dialogo basato non sulla loro uguaglianza, ma su una parità che deriva dalla dignità personale (...) delle parti. Sin dal 1294, egli afferma che gli "infedeli" sono uomini come noi. Con pochi mezzi a disposizione (l'eredità culturale condivisa dalle religioni monoteiste e un metodo di sua creazione, dono di Dio e del luogo in cui era vissuto), tenta di promuovere un confronto aperto e disteso con i suoi interlocutori da una posizione chiara e rispettosa della propria identità cristiana e dei valori di cui possono essere portatrici le altre fedi. L'atteggiamento di rispetto, di cortesia, di dialogo con l'"altro", che sintetizza ciò che viene oggi denominato "spirito di Assisi", può essere rinvenuto in molte delle sue opere, frutto del lavoro di un autore che, a 700 anni dalla morte, resta uno di noi nell'età che fu sua. (shrink)

Peacekeeping, peace enforcement and 'stability operations' ask soldiers to use violence to create peace, defeat armed threats while having no enemies and uphold human rights without taking sides. The challenges that face peacekeepers cannot be easily reduced to traditional just war principles. Built on insights from care ethics, case studies including Darfur, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti and Liberia and scores of interviews with peacekeepers, trainers and planners in the field in Africa, India and more, Daniel (...) H. Levine sheds light on the challenges of peacekeeping. And he asserts that the traditional 'holy trinity' of peacekeeping principles "e; consent, impartiality, and minimum use of force "e; still provide the best moral guide for peacekeepers. (shrink)

Tommaso si e confrontato spesso con il tema del fine dell'uomo: ampie sezioni delle sue opere vi sono espressamente dedicate e altre ne sono l'implicita trattazione. La presente ricerca vuole introdursi all'opera di Tommaso d'Aquino non tanto evocando gli spettri di polemiche solo posteriori sul soprannaturale, quanto invece gettando uno sguardo al tempo in cui e vissuto, il XIII secolo, ed ad un luogo caratteristico nel quale egli ha studiato e insegnato: l'universita di Parigi. Ne viene fuori una figura in (...) profonda osmosi con le tensioni spirituali della sua epoca e preoccupato di esprimere la perennita della fede. Alfonso Valsecchi, 1971, ha conseguito licenza e dottorato presso la Pontificia Universita Gregoriana. (shrink)

The scholia vetera on Works 734–735 are transmitted not only by the manuscript tradition of Hesiod, but also by an entry of the Etymologicum Genuinum. The latter, hitherto largely ignored, offers in several places a better text than the scholia of the Hesiod manuscripts. Particularly significant is the presence of an unpublished fragment of Zeno, who is said to have recommended not copulating while drunk. Analysis of parallels and material-historical specificities of the scholarly tradition relating to Hesiod reveals that this (...) passage should be included (at least as a dubium) among the fragments of Plutarch’s lost commentary on Hesiod’s Works and Days. Quite surprisingly, it is likely that Proclus is not involved in the transmission of this fragment at all. (shrink)

Although several studies propose that the integrity of neuronal assemblies may underlie a phenomenon referred to as awareness, none of the known studies have explicitly investigated dynamics and functional interactions among neuronal assemblies as a function of consciousness expression. In order to address this question EEG operational architectonics analysis (Fingelkurts and Fingelkurts, 2001, 2008) was conducted in patients in minimally conscious (MCS) and vegetative states (VS) to study the dynamics of neuronal assemblies and operational synchrony among them as a function (...) of consciousness expression. We found that in minimally conscious patients and especially in vegetative patients neuronal assemblies got smaller, their life-span shortened and they became highly unstable. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the extent/volume and strength of operational synchrony among neuronal assemblies was smallest or even absent in VS patients, intermediate in MCS patients and highest in healthy fully-conscious subjects. All findings were similarly observed in EEG alpha as well as beta1 and beta2 frequency oscillations. The presented results support the basic tenets of Operational Architectonics theory of brain-mind functioning and suggest that EEG operational architectonics analysis may provide an objective and accurate means of assessing signs of (un)consciousness in patients with severe brain injuries. Therefore this methodological approach may complement the existing “gold standard” of behavioral assessment of this population of challenging patients and inform the diagnostic and treatment decision-making processes. (shrink)

L'arte è l'espressione intima--ma concepita per essere condivisa--della sensibilità di alcuni individui che avvertono l'urgenza di manifestare il proprio sentire rispetto al reale, o al non-reale. Gli artisti e, di conseguenza, le loro opere non possono non accogliere le sollecitazioni provenienti dall'attualità che li anima elaborando le complessità del mondo contemporaneo. È quindi necessario intrecciare come in una mappa neuronale lo studio delle opere d'arte con altre discipline, come antropologia, filosofia, biologia, perché una più ampia libertà di indagine consente di (...) strutturare con maggiore armonia la storia e la critica d'arte. Realizzare dialoghi plurimi permetterà così una visione più piena e approfondita dell'arte stessa."--Back cover. (shrink)

A la muerte de Suárez algunos de sus escritos permanecían aún inéditos. De ellos se hablaba ya en las primeras cartas que comunicaban su fallecimiento. Así, el P. Núñez Mascarenhas, superior de la casa de Lisboa donde falleció el insigne teólogo, decía al provincial de la Compañía de Jesús en el reino de Aragón: "El P. Suárez se había recogido en el Noviciado para preparar la impresión de varios volúmenes: primero, el De Angelis; segundo, el De opere sex dierum [en (...) adelante, DOSD]; tercero, De fide; cuarto y quinto, De gratia y De auxiliis; sexto y séptimo, De statu religionis; octavo, De voluntario et involuntario"3. (shrink)

Ce travail opère une relecture de deux textes de jeunesse de Th. W. Adorno dans l’optique d’une réévaluation de leur importance pour son œuvre ultérieure, en particulier pour sa philosophie de l’histoire. Ces deux textes, dans lesquels est défini le concept d’interprétation philosophique de l’histoire, ou Deutung, seront abordés à partir d’une question issue des philosophies de l’histoire classiques du xixe siècle, celle du lien entre cette interprétation philosophique et une expérience commune de l’histoire. Nous montrerons que, loin de pouvoir (...) constituer un programme univoque pour la suite de la philosophie adornienne, ces textes de jeunesse sont au contraire travaillés par une ambiguïté. Fondamentale pour toute la philosophie adornienne de l’histoire, cette ambiguïté prend place entre un fondement méthodologique de la Deutung et la tentative de l’originer au contraire dans une expérience dialectique de la réalité historique. (shrink)

An arithmetical language, whose words are natural numbers written in hexadecimal numeration system, is defined and its applications for the representation, analysis and decision of formulae of some logical and normative systems are described and illustrated.The formulae, operations and relations of the represented system are associated as follows respectively to the numbers and the arithmetical operations and relations of the proposed language:1. Each well-formed-formula of the system is associated to a number of a set of natural numbers between (...) zero (associated to all tautologies and theses) and the binary supremum Φ of the set (Φ is associated to all contradictions and antitheses and his value is 2n-1, n depending on system’s dimensions and structure).2. Negation of a formula and disjonction and conjonction of t wo other more formulae of the system are associated respectively to the binary complement Φ-N(f) of the number associated to the first and to the binary infimun and supremum of the numbers associated to the last.3. The logical relations “f1 implies f2” (f1 -> f2), “f1 is incompat.ible with f2” (f1|f2), “f1 is the contradictory opposite of f2” (f1wf2) and “f1 is alternative to f2” (f1vf2) are true in the represented system if and only if the associated arithmetical relations, respectively “N(f1) absorbs arithmetically N(f2)”, “binary supremum of N(f1) and N(f2) is equal to Φ”, “sum of of N(f1) and N(f2) is equal to Φ” and “binary infimum of N(f1) and N(f2) is equal to 0”, are true.The applications of the proposed arithmetical language as very rapid and simplified tool of analysis and decision method are shown for the following systems: propositional logic, syllogistic, some deontic and alethic modal systems and some normative systems of statutory law:1. In the propositional logic, after fixing the maximum of variables considered, the numbers associated to these variables and to the contradictions are calculated. On this permanent basis, the evaluation of a farmula (especially in the case of many occurrences of many variables) is performed by the calculation of the associated number faster as in the traditional way.2. In the syllogistic, after the calculation of the number associated to each type of premise or conclusion, an arithmetical table of syllogisms shows that a proposed syllogism is valid if and only if the binary supremum of the numbers associated to the premises absorbs arithmetically the number associated to the conclusion. It is well-known that the search of this sort of arithmetization of syllogistic and the study of its possibilitiy has been a recurrent topic in modern logic, from Leibniz to Łukasiewicz and to-day.3. In a deontic equivalent:ial system who includes Von Wright’s deontic system of 1982 far norms of the first order, the calculation of the numbers associated to an types of permission and obligation sentences allows the im mediate arithmetical verification of an the classical relations between those sentences. The same is shown for an alethic modal system including the modlities of the first order of Lewis’s S5.4. For normative systems of statutory law, the arithmetical verification of the logical and normative relations is shown in precedent author’s papers -especially in recent “The ‘Ars Judicandi.’ Programme”-, though not yet in hexadecimal numeration system but only in binary and decimal ones.In all the represented systems, the arithmetical verification of the metalogical properties of the system -consistency and completeness- is performed in a very easy and rapid manner, after the arithmetic representation of the axiomatic basis of the latter by a system of equations. (shrink)

A time operator, which incorporates the idea of time as a dynamical variable, was first introduced in the context of a theory of irreversible evolution. The existence of a time operator has interesting implications in several areas of physics. Here we demonstrate a close link between the existence of the time operator for relativistic particles and the existence of an indivisible time interval or chronons for dynamical evolution. More explicitly, we consider a Klein-Gordon particle and require the existence of a (...) time operator for its evolution. We also make a natural choice of the form of the time operator which expresses it in terms of the generators of the Poincaré group. These then imply that the physical time evolution group must be the discrete subgroup Unτ (n integers) of the originally given evolution group Ut of the Klein-Gordon particle and the constant τ is given by τ=h/2mc2. This means that the requirement of the existence of a time operator implies that the time evolution cannot be followed to time intervals smaller than τ and, as such, τ emerges as a chronon for the dynamical evolution. Expecting that the same results hold for a Dirac particle also, we conclude that the so-called Zitterbewegungdoes not occur in reality. Thus, possible confirmation of the existence of chronons would result if no observableconsequence of Zitterbewegungis actually realized in nature. This calls for a search of observable consequences of the Zitterbewegungand a re-examination of their agreement (if any) with experiments. A possible consequence of Zitterbewegung,the so-called Darwin term present in the Dirac Hamiltonian in an electric field, is briefly considered. (shrink)

Si l’on possède peu de témoignages sur la manière dont les femmes du XIXe siècle ont vécu le vieillissement, les discours des médecins sur cette question abondent. La ménopause est décrite par eux comme une période particulièrement dangereuse qui, à l’instar de la puberté, bouleverse toute l’économie de la femme. Au nombre des maladies qui sont susceptibles de l’assaillir lorsque s’interrompt le mécanisme régulateur que représentait la menstruation s’ajoute la blessure narcissique que provoque la perte de sa féminité et l’entrée (...) dans l’âge de décrépitude. Plus encore, la femme perdant avec la faculté d’engendrer sa vocation sociale (la maternité), cette période, souvent qualifiée d’âge critique ou d’âge dangereux, s’annonce comme une véritable mort sociale. Privée de sa capacité de séduction, fragilisée par la révolution physiologique qui s’opère en elle, la femme, encouragée à se retirer d’un monde où elle ne peut plus briller, est plus que jamais assignée à la sphère privée. (shrink)

L’individu dont le nom, Pasiôn fils de Dikaiarchos, est gravé sur une tablette de plomb publiée par D. Jordan en 2003 (SEG LIII 256) est bien le célèbre banquier Pasiôn, comme l’éditeur l’a soutenu, mais l’interprétation du texte proposée par celui‑ci ne semble pas convaincante. Il ne s’agit pas d’une lettre, mais d’un texte destiné à servir dans une opération magique, un katadesmos dirigé contre des personnes dont trois sont connues grâce au plaidoyer pseudo-démosthénien Contre Nikostratos. Les circonstances dans lesquelles (...) Pasiôn décida d’agir contre ces personnes par le biais de la magie ne se laissent pas établir ; il est cependant permis de supposer qu’il était mécontent des rapports entre elles et son fils aîné, Apollodôros. Il ne semble pas que cette opération magique ait été liée à un procès judiciaire. Il est intéressant, bien que non surprenant, de constater qu’il pouvait arriver à un homme très riche et influent comme le banquier Pasiôn d’avoir recours à la magie. (shrink)

D'un sommet à l'autre, quelle continuité ? C'est une question qui se pose encore en 2004, dix-huit ans après le premier Sommet de 1986. Faute de n'avoir pas su, dès les premiers sommets, en définissant les grandes priorités, déterminer dans le temps et dans l'espace une programmation resserrée et cohérente, mettre en oeuvre les moyens correspondants, faute de n'avoir pas respecté le principe de continuité, comme il est de règle lorsqu'on agit sur le long terme, on s'est lancé dans des (...) opérations tout azimuts, éparpillant des crédits insuffisants. Le sommet de Cotonou en 1995 a incontestablement envoyé un signe fort, en dégageant les constantes de la Francophonie avec cinq domaines mobilisateurs reliés entre eux par la langue française, ciment de la Francophonie. A la suite du sommet de Moncton , celui de Beyrouth affirme ses priorités: elles sont politiques ; elles sont linguistiques ; elles sont éducatives ; elles sont économiques . Cette programmation recentrée et cohérente devra se réaliser dans un cadre régional multilatéral et sur une période de dix ans rythmée par des périodes de quatre ans sur un financement pluri-annuel. Il est temps de repenser la programmation pour une Francophonie, humanisme de différence à l'échelle mondiale, alternative à cette uniformisation du monde qui est en train de se faire.From One Summit to Another: What Continuity is there? This question comes up again in 2004, eighteen years after the first summit in 1986. When the main priorities were defined at the earliest summits, we were unable to determine a tight, coherent schedule and programme for initiatives, to put into action the corresponding means and to respect the principal of continuity which is essential when working on long-term basis. Thus initiatives were launched in a scattergun fashion thus spreading insufficient funding too thinly in too many directions. The 1995 Cotonou Summit indisputably sent a strong signal by defining Francophony’s constant factors in five fields that rally support and are linked to each other by the French language, the cement of Francophony. Following the Summit at Moncton in 1999, the Beyrouth Summit affirmed the movement’s priorities as political , linguistic , educational and economic . This re-defined and coherent programme should be achieved within a regional, multilateral framework over a period of ten years involving four-year intervals with pluriannual financing plans. The francophone programming should principally take into consideration the development of human resources. It is time to rethink the roadmap for Francophony, a form of humanism with a difference on the world scale, an alternative to the uniform standardization prevalent worldwide. (shrink)