La question de la mort en général et de la mort volontaire en particulier est centrale dans l’œuvre de Sénèque, notamment dans les Lettres à Lucilius. Doublement inscrite dans la tradition stoïcienne et dans l’éthique romaine traditionnelle, la pensée de Sénèque sur le suicide renouvelle ces deux traditions : d’un point de vue général, tout en insistant, dans la tradition stoïcienne, sur la nécessaire rationalité du suicide, les Lettres accentuent le lien entre suicide, devoir social et liberté et (...) soulignent la dimension circonstancielle de la mort volontaire ; d’un point de vue plus spécifique, elles mettent en lumière un rapport ambivalent du philosophe à la fama. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:BOOK REVIEWS 263 articles, and supplementing his anthology of Wright (Liberal Arts Press). The biographical chapter presents Wright as an attractive character among devoted friends and also as a solitary, original scientist. Wright's primary achievement was to apply utilitarian principles to Darwinian natural selection theory. Since Darwin himself made no such attempt, nor did John Stuart Mill, and since Darwin showed an evident interest in Wright's attempt, this represents (...) a major contribution to evolutionary theory. On the negative side, too, Wright was incisive in his criticisms of Spencer, Mivart, Hamilton, Mansel, and Lewes. The pragmatic strains in Wright's philosophical method were incidental to his primary interest in showing that sciences are metaphysically "neutral." But his influence on Peirce and James was direct and strong, both on their cosmological and methodological doctrines. He deserves to be mentioned as the prime mover in this trinity of early pragmatism and naturalism, but since his own writings were relatively few and scattered, his historical importance rests largely on the use which Peirce and James made of his ideas and the development which they gave to his philosophy. HER~VRTW. SCHNEIDER Claremont, California Propos sur Jules Lequier: Philosophe de la libert~--R~flexions sur sa vie et sur sa pens~e. Par s Callot. (Paris: l~ditions Marcel Rivi~re et Cie, 1962. Pp. 142 [1]. Biblioth6que Philosophique.) L'oeuvre de Jules Lequier est importante. Nos philosophes am~ricains Charles Hartshorne et William L. Reese en ont fait un grand ~loge dans leur Philosophers Speak of God (pp. ix, 17, 109, 118, 227-230). Dans ce nouveau livre I~mile Callot nous donne des rfiflexions, des considerations, vraiment des Propos sur Jules Lequier en occasion du centenaire de la mort de Lequier (1862). La vie de Lequier est incontestablement dramatique. N~ en 1814 en Br6tagne off il passa son enfance, Lequier subit l'influence de son pays natal, de sa m~re dont il ~tait le ills unique, et d'une 6ducation profond~ment catholique. I1 entra ~t l'l~cole Polytechnique et il en sortit peu apr~s. Mais il y connut Renouvier et c'est grace ~ Renouvier que la pens~e de Lequier nous est connue. Renouvier intercala dans ses livres des fragments de Lequier et en publia des bonnes pages sous ce titre La recherche d'une premiOre v~rit& A l'~ge de 37 ans Lequier eut un acc6s de dfimence. Puis il eut un amour exaltfi pour une jeune fille qui le refusa en mariage. Lequier mourut, noy~, ~t l'~ge de 48 ans. De sa fin il nous est impossible de savoir si elle a 6t~ un suicide ou un accident, mais Lequier garda toujours con- 264 HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY science de son g6nie: "Je crois avoir trouv6 un myst~re merveilleux de simplicitY, de profondeur et de t~n6bres: quelque chose h quoi nul ne pense." Lequier est un philosophe de la libert& Tout philosophe part de l'id& de v~rit~, cela est n&essaire, mais la prudence exige qu'on la mette sans cesse en cause. Comme Vinet (1797-1847) a dit, "La v6rit~, sans la recherche de la verit6, n'est que la moiti~ de la v~rit& On ne salt bien que ce qu'on n'a pas su toujours; on ne croit bien qu'apr& avoir dour6; on n'est vainqueur qu'apr6s avoir &6 vaincu. Et c'est pourquoi, en cette mati~re, notre premier effort doit avoir pour objet de mettre l'homme en demeure de choisir." Lequier avait eu tr& fort le sentiment du d&erminisme universel. Mais, au moment oth la croyance ~ la n&essit6 semblait devoir triompher dans son esprit, il la rejetta brusquement "par une r&olte de l'&re entier." Selon Lequier, la premiere et fondamentale d6marche de l'esprit est une affirmation de la libert~ par la libert6 m~me. La libert~ ne cr& pas la v6rit6, mais la croyance en la libert6 est une premi6re v6rit6. Sans cette croyance, on ne peut rien chercher et rien d&ouvrir. Mais l'homme, auteur de ses actes par la libertY, ne l'est pas de sa libert& Le Dieu de la Bible est un &re infini qui rien ne peut &happer. Ainsi le probl6me entier de la pr6destination se pose ici de nouveau. Et Lequier d&ouvre une solution originale: Si Dieu... (shrink)

Résumé La fondation anthropologique de la fonction critique – socialement endossée par l’imaginaire utopique – et son lien dynamique avec la tâche intégrative de l’idéologie permettent à Ricœur de repenser sur le plan socio-politique la double nécessité du soupçon et de l’espérance. En reliant l’analyse de la structure contradictoire et analogisante de l’imaginaire social aux perspectives antérieurement développées sur “la liberté selon l’espérance,” notre propos vise à expliciter ses enjeux émancipateurs. Les apories auxquelles les médiations symboliques contraignent l’agir doivent (...) nourrir la double nécessité d’un “devoir de vigilance” et d’une “timide espérance”: telle est à la fois la difficulté irréductible et la force critique de l’analyse ricœurienne de l’imagination socialisante. Mots-clés: imaginaire social, critique, idéologie, utopie, espérance.The anthropological foundation of the critical function—endorsed by the utopian imaginary—and its dynamic relation with the integrative task of ideology allow Ricœur to rethink, at a social and political level, the necessity of both suspicion and hope. Linking Ricœur’s analysis of the contradictory and analogizing structure of the social imaginary to perspectives on “freedom in the light of hope,” which were developed earlier, it is my intention to make explicit certain emancipatory issues. The aporiae to which symbolic mediations constrict acting must provide for the necessity of both an “obligation for vigilance” and a “tentative hope.” Such is the irreducible difficulty but also the critical force of Ricœur’s analysis of the socializing imagination. Keywords: Social Imaginary, Criticism, Ideology, Utopia, Hope. (shrink)

C'est ce second volet qui est ici, pour la première fois, présentée dans son intégralité. F. Louzeau analyse les trois dialectiques fondamentales qui articulent les figures concrètes de la liberté dans la société et l'histoire : la dialectique du maître et de l'esclave, qui éclaire la faille du marxisme, définit les éléments du « social » et discerne les contradictions internes des mythes totalitaires son interférence avec la dialectique de l'homme et de la femme, d'où sont issues les trois (...) relations de paternité-maternité-fraternité, qui fondent la structure de toute société humaine et la dialectique paulinienne du païen et du juif, source et principe d'exacte interprétation des deux précédentes. Pages de début Remerciements Préface Introduction Première partie. De la dialectique maître-esclave Chapitre I. Un outil nécessaire et efficace pour comprendre la société et l'histoire Chapitre II. Qu'est-ce qu'une « conception du monde »? Chapitre III. L'origine commune du Communisme et du Nazisme Chapitre IV. La faille existentielle du marxisme Chapitre V. Qu'est-ce que le « social »? Chapitre VI. Contradictions internes du Communisme et du Nazisme Chapitre VII. Acquis et insuffisances de la dialectique du maître et de l'esclave Deuxième partie. De la dialectique homme-femme et de son interférence avec la précédente Chapitre VIII. Comment dépasser la dialectique du maître et de l'esclave? Chapitre IX. Épure de la dialectique de l'homme et de la femme Chapitre X. Objections Chapitre XI. Interférence et dialectique des relations familiales Chapitre XII. Paternité, Maternité, Fraternité Chapitre XIII. De la famille au peuple, du peuple à la Nation Chapitre XIV. Acquis et limites des dialectiques conjugale et familiale Troisième partie. Du bon usage des dialectiques maître-esclave et homme-femme à la lumière du rapport païen-juif Chapitre XV. Société et histoire Chapitre XVI. Fraternité universelle Chapitre XVII. Paradoxe et Mystère du peuple juif Chapitre XVIII. La dialectique du païen et du juif, source et mesure des dialectiques maître-esclave et homme-femme Chapitre XIX. Ontologie historique et dialectique Chapitre XX. Souplesse et exigence d'une perspective systématique Chapitre XXI. De son trésor tirer de l'ancien et du neuf Conclusion Annexe 1. Abréviation des principaux livres, articles et manuscrits de G. Fessard Annexe 2. Bibliographie de Gaston Fessard Annexe 3. Livres, articles et recensions concernant Gaston Fessard Annexe 4. Autres livres et articles Annexe 5. M. Sales, « Gaston Fessard. Un philosophe chrétien engagé dans l'histoire de son temps », in Hegel, le Christianisme et l'Histoire, Paris, puf, 1990, p. 17-21 Annexe 6. Index des noms propres de L'Anthropologie sociale du P. Gaston Fessard Gaston Fessard, Collaboration et Résistance au Pouvoir du Prince-Esclave Genèse et portée du manuscrit Avertissement « Argument » Avant-propos Chapitre I. Défaite Chapitre II. Révolution Chapitre III. Défaite et Révolution Chapitre IV. Devant la « Collaboration » Chapitre V. La politique de la nation vaincue Chapitre VI. Application des principes au concret Conclusion. De la direction de conscience dans la situation actuelle I. Quelques textes de Mein Kampf II. Le cardinal Mercier et les droits du pouvoir occupant III. Jeanne d'Arc et notre temps IV. Pourquoi la France est-elle entrée en guerre en 1939? V. Pourquoi le directeur de conscience doit protester contre mensonge et injustice VI. Les devoirs chrétiens du temps présent Index des noms propres de Collaboration et Résistance au Pouvoir du Prince-Esclave Pages de fin. (shrink)

Le solidarisme de Léon Bourgeois constitue une tentative convaincante de surmonter l’opposition traditionnelle entre libertés individuelles et justice sociale. Bourgeois tente de relever ce défi en faisant appel aux nouvelles découvertes scientifiques en sociologie comme en biologie. En bref, l’observation de la nature nous montrerait que les humains sont en rapport de solidarité les uns avec les autres. De ce fait, on pourrait tirer un devoir de solidarité que l’État serait à même d’imposer aux individus. Fonder une théorie politique (...) sur des théories scientifiques présente un double risque : d’une part, subir l’influence des biologistes collectivistes et de leur vision organiciste de la société ; d’autre part et surtout, se rendre coupable du sophisme naturaliste. Nous exposerons comment Bourgeois tombe initialement dans le piège du sophisme naturaliste avant de s’en extirper. Entre son texte Solidarité (1987) et son Essai d’une philosophie de la solidarité (1907), la progression est frappante. Au final, donc, Bourgeois nous semble présenter une théorie politique qui, tout en s’inspirant des sciences, ne s’y assujettit pas. (shrink)

L'idéalisme comprend le devoir moral comme une catégorie éternelle et le formule en lois qui s'adressent aux sentiments de chaque individu. Le matérialisme, au contraire, cherche à expliquer la conscience morale par les conditions sociales et à l’exposer historiquement. L'article ci-dessus donne les grandes lignes d'une telle analyse. Il distingue entre la morale, phénomène de notre temps, l'éthique de l'antiquité et la conception autoritaire du moyen âge. La morale se base essentiellement sur la société bourgeoise, dans laquelle l'intérêt particulier (...) et l’intérêt général sont distincts. L'individu qui, dans l'activité quotidienne, ne recherche que son propre avantage, éprouve à l’appel de sa conscience, le souci de la société. L'auteur démontre ce fait au moyen d'une analyse de l’impératif catégorique de Kant.La morale bourgeoise contient déjà les germes de sa victoire sur elle- même. Elle tend vers une société dans laquelle le devoir et l'intérêt ne seront plus séparés. On retrouve cette tendance non seulement chez Kant, mais encore chez d'autres grands philosophes bourgeois. Les idées de justice, d'égalité et de liberté prennent peu à peu, au fur et à mesure que la société bourgeoise se développe, une autre signification que celle qu'elles paraissent avoir eue au début ; elles exigent aujourd'hui la modification des conditions pour l'introduction desquelles elles ont pourtant été proclamées à l'origine. Cette dialectique est une des raisons de la perplexité actuelle en matière d’idées sur le monde et la vie. Dans l'exposition de cette dialectique, l'auteur montre comment les idées bourgeoises ne vivent plus aujourd'hui dans la pensée idéaliste, mais bien plus dans la pensée matérialiste. Les deux formes principales d’expression de la morale ont actuellement, d’après M. Horkheimer, la pitié et la politique. Elles ne peuvent pas être rationnellement liées l'une à l'autre, mais le sens moral se manifeste dans toutes deux.L'impulsion morale est vivante non seulement dans la vie pratique, mais aussi dans la science. Le matérialisme nie la possibilité d'une science entièrement objective : les intérêts des hommes influencent la recherche scientifique. Il est vrai que ces intérêts, si sublimes qu'ils puissent être, ne sont pas l'émanation d’un sujet libre, comme l'enseigne l'idéalisme, mais la conséquence nécessaire du processus historique. Aussi le matérialisme n’exige- t-il nullement, pour autant que le respect de la vérité reste l'élément de base, le manque de chaque jugement moral dans la science. La croyance du positivisme actuel à la possibilité de faire des constatations affranchies de toute théorie, comme d'ailleurs son aversion envers toute théorie en général, sont dues à ce qu’il ne possède pas lui-même de grandes idées directrices. La théorie naît partout où les connaissances sont sciemment rapportées à un but, c'est-à-dire strictement en relation avec des valeurs de la pratique.Philosophical idealism conceives moral obligation as an eternal category, and formulates it in commandments that appeal to individual sentiment. Philosophical materialism on the other hand, endeavours to explain moral consciousness in terms of social conditions, and to present it in its historical perspective. This essay attempts to furnish the main features for such an analysis. It distinguishes ethics, as a phenomenon of modern times, from that of ancient times, and from the authoritative attitude in the middle ages. Its foundation rests on bourgeois society in which individual and collective interests become sharply separated from each other. The individual, who in his daily work looks to his private interests, experiences through his conscience, concern for the public welfare. H. proves this through his analysis of Kant’s categorical imperative.Bourgeois morality already contains within itself the seeds of its own dissolution. It indicates a society in which duty and interest are no longer separate. This tendency in ethics becomes manifest, not only in Kant, but also in other great philosophers of bourgeois society. With the development of the latter the ideas of Justice, Equality, and Freedom acquire a content other than that they seem to have possessed in their genesis, and to-day require that change in conditions, to effect which, they were originally introduced. This dialectical process is one of the causes of the present-day philosophical uncertainty. H. shows in his exposition of this dialectical process, how bourgeois ideas are no longer active in idealist thought, but are so in materialist thought.The two main forms in which contemporary ethics expresses itself, are according to H. pity and politics, which cannot indeed, in a rational way, be connected one to the other. Both arise out of a moral sentiment. This moral impulse is active not only in practical life, but also in knowledge. Philosophical materialism denies the possibility of completely objective knowledge : men’s interests find expression also in their cognition. Indeed, however sublime these interests are, they do not spring from „free“ beings, as idealism maintains, but are the necessary results of historical processes.Accordingly, materialism in no way claims for knowledge, freedom from all subjective valuations, but only that a consideration for truth, remain the dominant characteristic. The belief of modern positivism in the possibility of attitudes free from all valuations, as well as its disinclination for all theory, is due to the fact that it possesses no great leading ideas. In all cases is theory vindicated, only when knowledge has a definite aim, that is, when it is related to practical values. (shrink)

Ce qui singularise l'homme dans l'ensemble du règne animal, c'est qu'il se sait libre. Pourtant, il n'a de cesse d'interroger cette liberté. C'est la singularité de l'homme qui dessine l'axe essentiel de toute réflexion éthique. Dans cette perspective, Jean Baechler propose une double analyse du devenir et de la destinée humaine d'une part, et de la vie heureuse d'autre part. Cette réflexion est double dans la mesure où elle concerne autant l'individu que la société qui l'englobe. Les objectifs de l'éthique (...) - ces " fins dernières " - sont à la fois le bien-être individuel et le souci de vivre selon le bien dans une société donnée. En d'autres termes, l'éthique se propose de guider l'individu selon des principes gouvernant l'action humaine en fonction de son appartenance à un groupe social déterminé. Dès lors, l'éthique se scinde en devoirs d'état et en choix de vie. Les deux exigences, prescrites à tout individu, imposent à l'éthologie humaine de s'achever dans une éthique de la personne. Cet essai constitue la pierre angulaire de l'œuvre de Jean Baechler, qui cherche à comprendre les spécificités éthiques et sociales de l'homme par rapport au monde animal. Cette réflexion aussi novatrice qu'originale a pour ambition de renouveler fortement les recherches éthiques actuelles, en philosophie comme en sciences sociales. (shrink)

Comment comprendre la thèse selon laquelle la liberté d’expression constitue l’un des fondements d’une société démocratique, comme cela a pu être invoqué dans de nombreuses décisions constitutionnelles, en particulier en Allemagne? L’article se propose d’éclairer la nature du lien entre liberté d’expression et démocratie en s’inscrivant dans une réflexion sur les concepts de liberté que nous mobilisons lorsque nous cherchons à penser la liberté d’expression. En s’appuyant sur les contributions de Habermas et de Honneth à ce débat, il s’attache à (...) en décliner les différentes facettes : liberté privée, communicationnelle, droit de participation politique ou liberté sociale. Sur la base d’une compréhension de la liberté d’expression comme un droit et une pratique sociale constitutifs d’un espace public démocratique, il s’agit de poser la question de sa régulation à nouveaux frais. (shrink)

Juan-Vicente Cortés-Cuadra1 | : Cet article propose un examen de l’exemple du suicide de Sénèque dont Spinoza se sert pour rendre compte du type de causalité à l’oeuvre dans le suicide. S’agissant toujours, d’après Spinoza, d’une causalité externe, celui qui se suicide est un « impuissant d’âme » qui a été « vaincu » par une cause plus forte et contraire à sa nature. Toutefois, le cas de Sénèque met en cause cette généralisation puisque le sage stoïcien semble se conduire (...) rationnellement et être pris dans un rapport politique d’obéissance dont il ne peut se défaire. Ainsi, il semble bien être à l’opposé de l’impuissance. Enfin, nous essaierons de montrer quelle peut être une position proprement spinoziste face à quelques-uns des aspects de la question du suicide. | : This article focuses on the example of Seneca’s suicide, which Spinoza uses in order to explain what sort of causality is involved in suicide. According to Spinoza, suicide is always determined by an external cause and the person who kills herself is therefore a “weakminded” ; she has been “completely conquered” by an external force contrary to her nature. Nevertheless, the case of Seneca puts this generalization into question because the wise stoic appears to behave rationally and, moreover, is situated within political relationship of obedience from which he cannot escape. Thus, he seems to be representing the polar opposite of a weak person. Finally, we will attempt to conceptualize what a properly spinozistic position concerning suicide is and how it may face some of the issues pertaining to the problem of suicide. (shrink)

L'éthique de la responsabilité de Hans Jonas conçue à la fin des années 70 se donnait la tâche de faire face aux défis et dangers du progrès technoscientifique et de la crise écologique. Trois décennies après, il sied de se demander si elle est toujours à la hauteur de cette ambition. En effet, les thèmes majeurs de cette théorie éthique - la métaphysique comme fondement de l'éthique, l'heuristique de la peur comme voie d'approche et la téléologie comme manière de reconnaître (...) et de fonder la valeur au sein de la nature - peuvent-ils encore parler au monde d'aujourd'hui tant les défis sont omniprésents et imposants? Comment peut-on s'opposer à l'utopie de Karl Marx relayée par Ernst Bloch quand la crise financière semble prouver qu'il faut probablement attendre et espérer des lendemains meilleurs pour enfin bien vivre? Penser aux générations futures garde-t-il encore son sens quand l'aujourd'hui devient de plus en plus précaire et incertain? Comment vouloir dépasser l'impératif catégorique kantien quand on se rend compte que pouvoir, obligation et devoir deviennent plus que jamais des acquis d'une liberté humaine qui veut fondamentalement se développer de manière réflexive et intersubjective dans un environnement social libre et démocratique? En des termes plus simples : Hans Jonas et son impératif de la responsabilité sont-ils encore actuels? C'est à ces inquiétudes que cette recherche tente de donner une réponse. (shrink)

Although arguments are a good way of exploring the limitations and complexities of a concept or a theory we may find ourselves faced with a real phenomenon that challenges the existing formulations of a concept or a theory so strongly and reveals its limitations to us so starkly that we are forced to break away from the current discussion and start anew. Such is the challenge posed by the phenomenon of farmer suicides on our existing theories of corporate social (...) responsibility. Contemporary discussions in corporate ethics are replete with many theories of corporate social responsibility which in one way or the other rely on the concept of the social contract. For the most part these theories have gone unchallenged and no fundamental limitations have been revealed. However, the phenomenon of farmer suicides in central India poses a serious challenge to them. This article attempts to show how the phenomenon of farmer suicides in central India starkly exposes some of the fundamental limitations of the contractarian formulations of corporate social responsibility. (shrink)

Suicide is a complex act whose meanings, while sometimes tragic, vary widely. This chapter surveys the ethical landscape surrounding algorithmic methods of suicide prevention especially as it pertains to social media activity and to the moderation of online suicide communities. We begin with a typology of suicide, distinguishing between varied goals in which suicide may factor as a means. Suicides should be understood as an act with varied eliciting desires, meanings, consequences, and ethics. Further,while many suicides may be grounded (...) on irrational desire, we argue that a desire to suicide may nonetheless be rational in some cases. We then offer a survey of the attempts by social media corporations to create suicide prediction algorithms and launch interventions aimed at preventing suicide as well as an overview of the current ethical debate. We argue that the values embedded within algorithmic suicide prevention nudges are “thick” in a substantive sense and deserving of scrutiny. Given that debates about the rationality, meaning, and permissibility of suicide are common and subject to intracultural and cross-cultural differences, we maintain that the task of suicide prediction is ill-suited to algorithmic approaches. Despite an algorithm’s ability to quantify a complex phenomenon like suicide risk and its appearance of objectivity, any suicide prediction algorithm is thoroughly subjective and involves moral judgments all the way down. Any such algorithm would necessarily impose a normative stance on suicide onto its user base that is subject to reasonable intra and cross-cultural disagreement. (shrink)

Penser l'humanisme comme fondement philosophique et éthique du vivre ensemble constitue un choix engagé pour le devoir d'humanité. A l'heure des intégrismes, des replis identitaires, des sectarismes et de la haine de soi et de l'autre, l'engagement signifie d'abord et avant tout penser que la dignité humaine ne peut faire l'objet d'aucune forme de confiscation identitaire, culturelle, religieuse, politique et idéologique. Le respect de la vie et la promotion de la dignité humaine sont des valeurs fondatrices de l'éthique de (...) l'humanisme universel, dont la gouvernante politique est la démocratie. C'est elle, la démocratie, à travers le paradigme de l'Universel qui constitue l'enjeu majeur de la civilisation du vivre ensemble rationnel fondé sur la reconnaissance de la citoyenneté universelle. L'épuisement de la citoyenneté représentative exige de repenser les fondations de la démocratie par l'éducation à la singularité universelle. Du Contrat social de Rousseau, en passant par le devoir d'humanité kantien, de l'éthique de la rencontre du visage de l'autre de Lévinas au penser global d'Edgar Morin, l'humanité universelle est un appel à la prise de conscience de la reconnaissance de notre appartenance à une commune humanité. Il ne saurait y avoir de dérogation à l'impératif du respect du paradigme de l'universalité de la dignité humaine comme valeur fondatrice de l'idée démocratique. C'est l'énoncé de ce principe qui constitue le fil conducteur de cet ouvrage. Défendre et préserver le vivre ensemble démocratique est la seule forme de résistance contre tous les chantres et les agitateurs de la négation de la dignité humaine, de la liberté et de la fraternité universelle. (shrink)

The past 20 years have seen dramatic rises in suicide rates in the United States and other countries around the world. These trends have been identified as a public health crisis in urgent need of new solutions and have spurred significant research efforts to improve our understanding of suicide and strategies to prevent it. Unfortunately, despite making significant contributions to the founding of suicidology – through Emile Durkheim’s classic Suicide (1897/1951) – sociology’s role has been less prominent in contemporary efforts (...) to address these tragic trends, though as we will show, sociological theories offer great promise for advancing our understanding of suicide and improving the efficacy of suicide prevention. Here, we review sociological theory and empirical research on suicide. We begin where all sociologists must: with Durkheim. However, we offer a more comprehensive understanding of Durkheim’s insights into suicide than the prior reviews provided by those in other disciplines. In so doing, we reveal the nuance and richness of Durkheim’s insights that have been largely lost in modern suicidology, despite being foundational to all sociological theories of suicide – even those that have moved beyond his model. We proceed to discuss broadly acknowledged limitations to Durkheim’s theory of suicide and review how more recent theoretical efforts have not only addressed those concerns, but have done so by bringing a larger swatch of sociology’s theoretical and empirical toolkit to bare on suicide. Specifically, we review how recent sociological theories of suicide have incorporated insights from social network theories, cultural sociology, sociology of emotions, and sociological social psychology to better theorize how the external social world matters to individual psychological pain and suffering. We conclude by making explicit bridges between sociological and psychological theories of suicide; by noting important limitations in knowledge about suicide – particularly regarding the roles of organizations, inequality, and intersectionality in suicide – that sociology is well situated to help address. (shrink)

In his Nicomachean Ethics’ commentary , Johannes Buridan, called by the historiography ‘the philosopher of freedom’, examines the problem of libertas from the individual and psychological point of view but also from the social and political point of view. The parisien master reconciles the both aspects of the concept by articulating liberty and sociality, freedom and friendship in a moral way of thinking.

Excerpt from Droit Naturel: Devoir Religieux, Droit Individuel, Droit Social, Droit Domestique, Droit Civil Et Politique, Droit International L'amour bien réglé de soi est le principe de tous nos devoirs personnels, lesquels se divisent en devoirs de conservation et devoirs de perfection. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the (...) work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works. (shrink)

Literature reports that depressive symptoms may precede suicidal ideation. Several studies have identified social support and substance use as moderators of this relationship. However, no study has evaluated these variables together by testing how substance use can affect the moderating effect of social support in this relationship. The purpose of this article is to individually evaluate dimensions of social support (friends, family, significant others, and school) and substance use (alcohol, marijuana, and other illicit drugs), as moderators of (...) the relationship between depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation; as well as analyze the moderating role of substance use in the moderation exerted by social support in this relationship. This study, quantitative and cross-sectional, considered 775 adolescents [Average age = 15.48 (SD = 0.96), 45.9% women], from 20 randomly selected schools in Santiago de Chile. Simple moderation models were used to analyze possible moderators separately, and double moderation models were used to analyze the moderating role of substance use in the moderating effect of social support. The results show that the four dimensions of social support moderate the relationship between depressive symptomatology and suicidal ideation, showing the strongest interaction in the case of family support, followed by support of a significant person, support at school, and support of friends, in that order. On the other hand, alcohol was the only drug that moderated the relationship in question. In addition, the results show that the use of alcohol limits the moderating effect of social support in the fields of family, significant person, and school support, but not in the case of support of friends. The use of marijuana and other illicit drugs did not affect the moderating effects of social support for any of the areas evaluated. The results are discussed according to the different roles that alcohol use can play in adolescence, and how these, together with perceived social support, are related to the emergence of suicidal ideation from depressive symptoms. (shrink)

As one component of a broader social and normative response to the problem of suicide, scientism served to minimize sociopolitical and religious conflict around the issue. As such, it embodied, and continues to embody, a number of interests and values, as well as serving important social functions. It is thus comparable with other normative frameworks and can be appraised, from an ethical perspective, in light of these values, interests, and functions. This work examines the key values, interests, and (...) functions of scientism in suicidology and argues that although scientism has had some social benefit, it primarily serves to maintain political and professional interests and has damaging implications for suicide research and prevention. (shrink)

Suicide as a form of political protest is a little studied social phenomenon that cannot be dismissed simply as being irrational or patholognomic. We consider protest suicide to be a meaningful social action as purposive political act intended to change oppressive policies or practices. This paper synthesizes theoretical propositions associated with suicide in general, and protest suicide in particular, so as to construct a general explanatory model of protest suicide as a social phenomenon. Then, it analyzes protest (...) suicide as a meaningful social action. People considering protest suicide have to discern the logic of the situation in which such action is to take place. This involves answering two fundamental questions: Is suicide an acceptable course of social action? Is the envisaged protest suicide likely to achieve their hopes, aspirations and goals? How these questions are answered gives rise to a set of protest suicide archetypes. Our analysis generates a more sophisticated understanding of the potential reasons for, and motivations behind, protest suicide as a social phenomenon. (shrink)

Considering liberty as a social notion implies the adoption of both an innovative method and style. With this aim in mind, Axel Honneth provides a fresh outlook on notions typically found with Hegel, Marx, Dewey, or Habermas. At last, inspired by psychoanalysis, he pioneers fruitful and unprecedented social therapeutics.

En 1994, Sue Rodriguez se suicide avec l’aide d’un médecin après une intense bataille judiciaire en Cour suprême du Canada dont l’objet était la décriminalisation du suicide assisté. À la suite de ce suicide, aucune accusation criminelle ne fut portée contre la ou les personnes ayant présumément aidé Sue Rodrigues à mettre fin à ses jours, et ce malgré le fait que le suicide assisté est un acte criminel au Canada. Cette non-intervention du droit pénal est examinée en fonction du (...) rôle que l’affaire Rodriguez a pu jouer dans la transformation des moralités au Canada. Dans ce livre, le suicide assisté de Sue Rodriguez est envisagé comme un « crime » utile (au sens durkheimien du terme), car il met en évidence une inconsistance entre les moralités dominantes inscrites dans le droit pénal et les conditions sociales qui ont rendu ce « crime » possible. Apparenté au crime de Socrate, le « crime » de Sue Rodriguez est analysé comme un héraut annonciateur de nouvelles moralités, comme un prélude préparant directement la voie à des changements dans le poids accordé aux moralités dominantes. Dans ce contexte, le rôle du droit pénal comme mode privilégié de régulation morale est remis en question. (shrink)

자살은 의식적으로 자기 신체의 죽음을 초래하는 행위를 지칭한다. 우리나라의 자살률 순위를 보면 2018년 현재 OECD 1위를 기록하고 있어서 심각한 실정이다. 에밀 뒤르켐에 의하면 사회는 변동을 겪지 않는 한 고유한 수치의 자살률을 보이며 그 자살률은 그 사회 집단의 특성을 나타낸다. 즉 자살률은 사회적 공동의식이라는 집단적 힘의 결과라는 것이다. 뒤르켐에 따르면 자살에는 이기적 자살, 이타적 자살, 아노미성 자살, 숙명론적 자살 등의 유형이 있으며 이들 모두 사회와의 연관성 속에서 나타난다. 이들 유형 가운데 현재 우리나라에서 가장 현저하게 대두되고 있는 것은 이기적-숙명론적 자살, 이기적-아노미성 자살이다. (...) 자살의 사회적 성격을 염두에 두고서 본 연구는 사회 윤리적 관점에서 우리나라의 높은 자살률의 원인을 사회 구조 및 제도적 측면에서 탐색한다. 개인주의 문화의 확산, (신)자유주의의 경쟁 패러다임의 전제(專制), 복지 시스템 등 사회 안전망의 취약, 자존감의 훼손, 대중매체의 영향 등이 그 구체적 내용으로서 지적된다. 마지막으로 사회 윤리의 기본 원리를 간략히 살펴보고 이에 의거해서 사회 윤리적 관점에서 자살률을 낮출 수 있는 방안을 제시하였다. (shrink)

In her latest work, Le commun de la liberté (2022), Catherine Colliot-Thélène returns to Kant, which seems to her to offer a more robust defence of subjective rights and, above all, to provide these rights with all the guarantees necessary for them to be effective, notably through a reflection on the universalisation of private property understood as a fundamental right. This approach – which reinforces the definition of the subject of rights as a political subject advocated in La démocratie sans (...) “demos” (2011) – is similar to that of the reciprocity of powers described – and put aside – in Philip Pettit’s neo-republicanism. Our article seeks to understand whether a return to Hegel, interpreted in the light of the analyses proposed by Colliot-Thélène in her first work, Le désenchantement de l’État (1992), might not offer a better strategy in order to protect subjective rights: that of compatibility between the antecedence of a just social order and the defence of subjective rights. (shrink)

Contributors explore the social, medical, and ethical dilemma of assisted suicide in this revised edition that includes international as well as domestic viewpoints. The federal government's continued challenges to Oregon's Death with Dignity Act, the disabled community's response to assisted suicide, and the slippery slope argument are all examined.

Suicide is amongst the top ten causes of death for all age groups in most countries of the world. It is the second most important cause of death in the younger age group (15-19 yrs.) , second only to vehicular accidents. Attempted suicides are ten times the successful suicide figures, and 1-2% attempted suicides become successful suicides every year. Male sex, widowhood, single or divorced marital status, addiction to alcohol ordrugs, concomitant chronic physical or mental illness, past suicidal attempt, adverse (...) life events, staying in lodging homes or staying alone, or in areas with a changing population, all these conditions predispose people to suicides. The key factor probably is social isolation. An important WHO Study established that out of a total of 6003 suicides, 98% had a psychiatric disorder. Hence mental health professionals have an important role to play in the prevention and management of suicide. Moreover, social disintegration also increases suicides, as was witnessed in the Baltic States following collapse of the Soviet Union. Hence, reducing social isolation, preventing social disintegration and treating mental disorders is the three pronged attack that must be the crux of any public health programme to reduce/prevent suicide. This requires an integrated effort on the part of mental health professionals (including crisis intervention and medication/psychotherapy), governmental measures to tackle poverty and unemployment, and social attempts to reorient value systems and prevent sudden disintegration of norms and mores. Suicide prevention and control is thus a movement which involves the state, professionals, NGOs, volunteers and an enlightened public. Further, the Global Burden of Diseases Study has projected a rise of more than 50% in mental disorders by the year 2020 (from 9.7% in 1990to 15% in 2020). And one third of this rise will be due to Major Depression. One of the prominent causes of preventable mortality is suicidal attempts made by patients of Major Depression. Therefore facilities to tackle this condition need to be set up globally on a warfooting by governments, NGOs and health care delivery systems, if morbidity and mortality of the world population has to be seriously controlled . The need, first of all, is to identify suicide prevention as public health policy, just as we think in terms of Malaria or Polio eradication, or have achieved smallpox eradication. (shrink)

This qualitative study investigated the personal and professional stances of 40 health and social care professionals confronted with assisted suicide of older persons living in nursing homes or supported by social welfare or home care and support services in French-speaking Switzerland. Requests of assisted suicide triggered questions with regard to the professional mission, the quality of accompaniment, values, and ethical principles. Four types of stances emerged from the analysis performed according to the principles of the grounded theory: favorable (...) in principle, professional compromise, personal compromise, and opposed in principle. Each stance results from the combination of several dimensions: personal or professional concordance or compatibility with assisted suicide; implication in, and impact of, the process; appreciation of the process; and satisfaction with the resources at disposal. The differentiated stances adopted by professionals depend largely on their way of interpreting their mission, deontology, and the relationship to the older person. (shrink)

Value judgements in research and political decision-making that exclude evidence for the social determinants of suicide suggest that evidence is not sufficient on its own to guide policy and practice, and that there is a lack of conceptual clarity with regard to decisions relating to the prioritization of problems, the allocation of resources, the translation of research into practice, as well as questions of responsibility for suicide prevention. In this work I seek to broaden conventional ethical debate about suicide (...) through the use of public health ethics frameworks. I argue that despite espousing a public health approach, current suicide prevention strategies are based largely on individual-level theorizing. This emphasis on the individual works to responsibilize individuals and communities for suicide prevention and directs attention away from public policy and systemic inequities. Given continued high rates of suicide, especially among disadvantaged social groups and communities, comprehensive government action is required to address the social and political determinants of suicide. Normative justification for action in realizing these ends is critical. I conclude by proposing one practicable form of action to make values and value judgements in suicide prevention explicit so that alternative forms of ethical and political recognition and responsibility are acknowledged. (shrink)

Patients with serious illnesses or injuries may decide to quit their medical treatment if they think paying the fees will put their families into destitution. Without treatment, it is likely that fatal outcomes will soon follow. We call this phenomenon “near-suicide”. This study attempted to explore this phenomenon by examining how the seriousness of the patient’s illness or injury and the subjective evaluation of the patient’s and family’s financial situation after paying treatment fees affect the final decision on the treatment (...) process. Bayesian Mindsponge Framework (BMF) analytics were employed to analyze a dataset of 1042 Vietnamese patients. We found that the more serious the illnesses or injuries of patients were, the more likely they were to choose to quit treatment if they perceived that paying the treatment fees heavily affected their families’ financial status. Particularly, only one in four patients with the most serious health issues who thought that continuing the treatment would push themselves and their families into destitution would decide to continue the treatment. Considering the information-filtering mechanism using subjective cost–benefit judgments, these patients likely chose the financial well-being and future of their family members over their individual suffering and inevitable death. Our study also demonstrates that mindsponge-based reasoning and BMF analytics can be effective in designing and processing health data for studying extreme psychosocial phenomena. Moreover, we suggest that policymakers implement and adjust their policies (e.g., health insurance) following scientific evidence to mitigate patients’ likelihood of making “near-suicide” decisions and improve social equality in the healthcare system. (shrink)

The target article by Laacke et al. focuses on the specific context of identifying people in social media with a high risk of depression by using artificial intelligence technologies. I...

By leveraging the case of Hindu sati, this paper elucidates the ways in which structure and culture condition suicidal behavior by way of social psychological and emotional dynamics. Conventionally, sati falls under Durkheim's discussion of altruistic suicides, or the self-sacrifice of underindividuated or excessively integrated peoples like widows in traditional societies. In light of the fact that Durkheim's interpretation was based on uneven data, nineteenth century Eurocentric beliefs, and a theoretical framework that can no longer resist modification and elaboration, (...) by reconsidering sati it is possible to sketch a new model that strengthens Durkheim's theory by making it more robust and generalizable. The following model is built on five principles. First, integration and regulation are not distinct causal forces, but overlapping contextual conditions. Second, to better explain the variation in suicidality across time and space, we must also pay attention to culture as it provides the underlying meanings of suicide that can increase the odds a person or class of persons become suicidal or are protected against suicidality. Third, structure still matters, but in many cases, the role power and power-differentials play must be considered. Fourth, understanding why and how people choose suicide depends on incorporating identity and status processes. Fifth, because the expression of social emotions like shame are patterned by structural and cultural conditions, to understand how suicidality is socioculturally patterned we must further explore the link between identity/status, social emotions, and structure and culture. (shrink)

Background Care-dependency constitutes an important issue with regard to the approval of end-of-life decisions, yet attitudes towards assisted suicide and euthanasia are understudied among care-dependent older adults. We assessed attitudes towards assisted suicide and euthanasia and tested empirical correlates, including socio-demographics, religiosity, physical illness, psychological distress and social isolation. Methods A nationwide cross-sectional survey among older care allowance recipients in private households in Austria was conducted in 2016. In computer-assisted personal interviews, 493 respondents were asked whether or not they (...) approved of the availability of assisted suicide and euthanasia in case of long-term care dependency and whether or not they would consider using assisted suicide or euthanasia for themselves. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to assess the impact of potential determinants of attitudes towards assisted suicide and euthanasia. Results About a quarter of the sampled care-dependent older adults approved of the availability of assisted suicide and euthanasia respectively indicated the will to make use of assisted suicide or euthanasia. Attitudes towards assisted suicide were most favourable among care-dependent older adults living in urban areas, those who did not trust physicians, those who reported active suicide ideation, and individuals with a strong fear of dying. With regard to euthanasia, living alone, religiosity and fear of dying were the central determinants of acceptance. Conclusions Positive attitudes towards and will to use assisted suicide and euthanasia were expressed by a substantial minority of care-dependent older adults in Austria and are driven by current psychological suffering and fear of the process of dying in the future. Community-based psychosocial care should be expanded to address psychological distress and fears about end-of-life issues among care-dependent older adults. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Philosophy and Literature 28.1 (2004) 223-225 [Access article in PDF] Devoirs et Délices d'une vie de passeur: Entretiens avec Catherine Portevin, by Tzvetan Todorov; 395 pp. Paris: Les Éditions du Seuil, 2002, €22. Caveat lector. Let the reader beware: this is no leisurely, nostalgic stroll by another Parisian intellectual now ruminating and pontificating over issues and events outside his competence. True to his vocation as ferryman (passeur), Todorov guides (...) the reader over the vast expanses of historical, ideological, and intensely personal terrain that he has explored as an émigré of Bulgaria, a brilliant Structuralist, French citizen, father, spouse, and son caring for his aged father. The resulting mosaic composes a narrative itinerary rich in intellectual history.The exceptional range of Todorov's experience and research affords him a unique perspective. Having first lived and studied under Stalinism, he distinguished himself as a Parisian literary scholar stressing the primacy of the linguistic. Now internationally renowned, his books cover a broad spectrum of human experience, including the Holocaust, WWII, totalitarianism, the ethics of memory, the role and function of the intellectual, race and culture, ethnocentrism and conquest, and, most recently, human identity and a new humanism. Having immersed himself in numerous contexts, Todorov has acquired extensive firsthand knowledge from within. He is nevertheless adept at standing back and assessing them from without, revealing idiosyncrasies and limitations. His uncompromising scrutiny bows to no ideological a priori, nor spares any sacred cow.Some pronouncements will ruffle feathers in a number of intellectual aviaries. He values literature, for example, above philosophy, science, and the social sciences as a source of not only beauty, but meaning and truth. Contrary to the tendency to view literature as an arbitrary construction used to further an agenda of socio-economic domination and political repression, he contends that literary texts can best enrich our vision of the world and our personal sensibilities. Stressing art's essential humanity while challenging the obsession with science and technology, Todorov views language as neither estranged from reality nor subjugated by politics. Hence the impossibility of isolating literature from ethics and existence: writers legitimately seek to come to terms with the human condition, communicating experiences and sensibilities we would otherwise ignore. [End Page 223]Criticism, contends Todorov, should accordingly plunge back into the work's context or thought, as does Bénichou in studying French Classicism, or Joseph Frank in analyzing Dostoyevsky, or else it should explore anthropological perspectives, as does René Girard. Todorov's focus remains squarely on the literary work, not on the genius of theory: we have more to learn from texts of all ages than from contemporary critics who embed them in systems, reducing them to mere examples of theory.Beyond the "ethnocentrism" (p. 124) that he sees in the tendency to approach literary works through current preoccupations, Todorov delivers a severe verdict on the Marxist intellectuals so prominent throughout the 1950s, 60s, and 70s: "... the thirty years (1945-1975) that were so glorious for the French economy [were] disastrous for political thought. Ideologically, these are years of stagnation and of an intellectual straight jacket in which all discourse was judged by the measure of Marxist-Leninist dogma" (pp. 144-45, translation mine). Todorov thus deplores such irresponsibility: all while enjoying the many material comforts and civil freedoms of a free-market, democratic society, "bobos" (bourgeois bohèmes) advocated the instauration of a totalitarian regime whose economic failures and political repression Todorov had known only too well. Their actions thus were not in keeping with their discourse, for they made no effort to seriously weigh the concrete results of their ideology.Like Tony Judt, who voices similar criticisms in Past Imperfect and The Burden of Responsibility, Todorov prefers Raymond Aron's intellectual rigor and Camus's humane moderation to Sartre's knee-jerk radicalism and futile gesticulations. Given Todorov's experience and erudition, such criticisms can neither be brushed aside nor attributed to being a rear-guard action. He moreover distributes incisive criticisms to the Right, to the Left, and even to the Center. But... (shrink)

In this paper, we address the question of whether AI should be used for suicide prevention on social media data. We focus on algorithms that can identify persons with suicidal ideation based on their postings on social media platforms and investigate whether private companies like Facebook are justified in using these. To find out if that is the case, we start with providing two examples for AI-based means of suicide prevention in social media. Subsequently, we frame suicide (...) prevention as an issue of beneficence, develop two fictional cases to explore the scope of the principle of beneficence and apply the lessons learned to Facebook’s employment of AI for suicide prevention. We show that Facebook is neither acting under an obligation of beneficence nor acting meritoriously. This insight leads us to the general question of who is entitled to help. We conclude that private companies like Facebook can play an important role in suicide prevention, if they comply with specific rules which we derive from beneficence and autonomy as core principles of biomedical ethics. At the same time, public bodies have an obligation to create appropriate framework conditions for AI-based tools of suicide prevention. As an outlook we depict how cooperation between public and private institutions can make an important contribution to combating suicide and, in this way, put the principle of beneficence into practice. (shrink)

L’évolution de Sartre, hormis l’évidente amplification de l’ère de son individualisme anarchiste à l’ère historico-sociale des ensembles pratiques, se manifeste également sur le plan de la normativité attachée à la liberté. On pourrait en effet penser qu’il est passé d’un stoïcisme radical de la liberté à à un sceptcisme quiétiste quand, abandonnant dans Les Carnets de la drôle de guerre explicitement son stoïcisme, il en vient à une liberté en situation. Celle-ci pour s’enraciner dans le concret n’en conserve pas moins (...) le critère de la liberté intérieure puisqu’il la norme par la lucidité prise quant à son but ultime. Mais c’est pour rebondir aussitôt : tout but ultime est encore une entrave à la liberté, et la lucidité à son endroit ne peut que renforcer l’entrave. Alors que faire ? (shrink)