L'Adhésion littéraire est son dernier ouvrage : un livre testament, dans lequel il partage sa conception de la littérature comme objet politique, qui engage nos valeurs, nos croyances, notre manière d'être ensemble."--Page 4 of cover.

Self-awareness represents the capacity of becoming the object of one’s own attention. In this state one actively identifies, processes, and stores information about the self. This paper surveys the self-awareness literature by emphasizing definition issues, measurement techniques, effects and functions of self-attention, and antecedents of self-awareness. Key self-related concepts (e.g., minimal, reflective consciousness) are distinguished from the central notion of self-awareness. Reviewed measures include questionnaires, implicit tasks, and self-recognition. Main effects and functions of self-attention consist in selfevaluation, escape from the (...) self, amplification of one's subjective experience, increased self-knowledge, self-regulation, and inferences about others' mental states (Theory-of-Mind). A neurocognitive and socioecological model of self-awareness is described in which the role of face-to-face interactions, reflected appraisals, mirrors, media, inner speech, imagery, autobiographical knowledge, and neurological structures is underlined. (shrink)

A leading continental philosopher from France and author of Theory of the Subject interrogates the "anti-philosophy" of Ludwig Wittgenstein in Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, arguing that his beliefs compromise truth and logic while rendering philosophy a practice of esoteric aphorisms.

In this book a noted physiologist and neuroscientist introduces the concept of simplexity, the set of solutions living organisms find that enable them to deal with information and situations, while taking into account past experiences and anticipating future ones. Such solutions are new ways of addressing problems so that actions may be taken more quickly, more elegantly, and more efficiently. In a sense, the history of living organisms may be summed up by their remarkable ability to find solutions that avoid (...) the world's complexity by imposing on it their own rules and functions. Evolution has resolved the problem of complexity not by simplifying but by finding solutions whose processes--though they can sometimes be complex--allow us to act in the midst of complexity and of uncertainty. Nature can inspire us by making us realize that simplification is never simple and requires instead that we choose, refuse, connect, and imagine, in order to act in the best possible manner. Such solutions are already being applied in design and engineering and are significant in biology, medicine, economics, and the behavioral sciences. (shrink)

The present review of literature surveys two main issues related to self-referential processes: (1) Where in the brain are these processes located, and do they correlate with brain areas uniquely specialized in self-processing? (2) What are the empirical and theoretical links between inner speech and self-awareness? Although initial neuroimaging attempts tended to favor a right hemispheric view of selfawareness, more recent work shows that the brain areas which support self-related processes are located in both hemispheres and are not uniquely activated (...) during self-reflective tasks. Furthermore, self-awareness at least partially relies on internal speech. An activation of Broca's area (which is known to sustain inner speech) is observed in a significant number of brain-imaging studies of self-reflection. Loss of inner speech following brain damage produces self-awareness deficits. Inner speech most likely can internally reproduce social mechanisms leading to self-awareness. Also, the process of self-reflection can be seen as being a problem-solving task, and self-talk as being a cognitive tool the individual uses to effectively work on the task. It is noted that although a large body of knowledge already exists on self-awareness, little is known about individual differences in dispositional self-focus and types of self-attention (e.g., rumination vs. self-reflection). (shrink)

In this paper, we study dialogue as a game, but not only in the sense in which there would exist winning strategies and a priori rules. Dialogue is not governed by game rules like for chess or other games, since even if we start from a priori rules, it is always possible to play with them, provided that some invariant properties are preserved. An important discovery of Ludics is that such properties may be expressed in geometrical terms. The main feature (...) of a dialogue is “convergence”. Intuitively, a dialogue “diverges” when it stops prematurely by some disruption, or a violation of the tacit agreed upon conditions of the discourse. It converges when the two speakers go together towards a situation where they agree at least on some points. As we shall see, convergence may be thought of through the geometrical concept of orthogonality . Utterances in a dialogue have as their content, not only the processes (similar to proofs) which lead to them from a monologic view, but also their interactions with other utterances. Finally, any utterance must be seen as co-constructed in an interaction between two processes. That is to say that it not only contains one speaker’s intentions but also his or her expectations from the other interlocutor. From our viewpoint, discursive strategies like narration , elaboration , topicalization may derive from such interactions, as well as speech acts like assertion, question and denegation. (shrink)

Destexhe expands upon the discussion begun in " The Politics of Rescue," stating that the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, in choosing a humanitarian route rather than a political one, further enabled ethnic cleansing and prolonged the conflict in the Balkans.

En 1950, Paul Ricœur publia une imposante Philosophie de la volonté, vite brocardée par la vague structuraliste et les critiques de toute « philosophie de la conscience ». On y trouve notamment une analyse du phénomène de l’hésitation qui contient bien des éléments encore pertinents. Phénomène bien connu, l’hésitation n’a pas été vraiment thématisée en tant que telle, même si, comme le montre Ricœur, l’histoire de la philosophie est susceptible d’aider à le faire. Mais le doute cartésien, par exemple, n’est (...) guère hésitant. Ce chapitre fourmille d’analyses denses mais claires, d’allusions qu’il faut expliciter, de métaphores « vives » très riches, qui permettent de concevoir un sujet se cherchant dans l’hésitation avant de se choisir dans la décision. Il y a là un concept indispensable à toute théorie de l’action.Philosophie de la volonté, a major work published by Ricœur in 1950, was quickly derided by members of the structuralist trend and by those critical of every single « philosophy of consciousness ». The book includes notably an analysis of the phenomenon of hesitation, many elements of which are still relevant. Although a well known phenomenon, hesitation has never been fully analyzed in itself, even though the history of philosophy, as Ricœur shows, might be helpful in such an endeavor. Cartesian doubt, for instance, shows hardly any hesitation. This chapter is replete with dense yet clear discussions, with allusions that require elucidation, and with a wealth of vivid metaphors which help us to envisage a subject in search of himself through hesitation, before choosing himself through decision. Such a concept is indispensable for any theory of action. (shrink)

Popper cite Bergson dès ses premiers écrits, dans les années 1930, en s'appuyant sur l'idée d' « intuition créatrice », contre l'inductivisme et le positivisme, mais sans accorder quelque infaillibilité que ce soit à l'intuition. Il lui emprunte ensuite les termes de « société ouverte / société close », en leur donnant un sens rationaliste, et en critiquant fortement le mysticisme et le vitalisme « historiciste » et même « hégélien » du philosophe français. À partir des années 1960, il (...) donne un tour evolutionniste à son épistémologie, et est amené à réhabiliter l'idée d'évolution créatrice, en référence constante à Bergson, dont il cherche à montrer qu'une vision « activiste » de l'évolution néodarwinienne permet de simuler Y élan vital sans le supposer. Il propose une cosmologie de l'avenir ouvert, affirmant la réalité du temps et de sa direction, pour permettre de penser l'émergence et la liberté créatrice de nouveauté, ce qui le rapproche encore de Bergson, mais sans spiritualisme ni arrière-plan religieux. Il a toujours admiré la clarté du style de Bergson. In the thirties, Popper used Bergson's idea of a « creative intuition », against inductivism and positivism. But he denied it any infallibility. In the forties, he borrowed from Bergson the expressions « société ouverte I société close », but gave them a rationalist interpretation, criticizing fiercely Bergson's mysticism, as well as his vitalism, regarded as an essentialist historicism à la Hegel. But eventually in the sixties Popper gave his epistemology an evolutionary turn, somewhat rehabilitating the Bergsonian idea of a « creative evolution » and even the idea of an « élan vital ». He argued that an « activist » understanding of Darwinian mechanisms was able to simulate the latter idea, without presupposing it. He proposed a cosmology of the « Open Universe », stressing the reality and irreversibility of time. He went on to use the concept of emergence and tried to give an account of man's freedom, regarded as a power to create genuine novelty in the world, as Bergson had proposed. But Popper eliminated all substantialist spiritualism, and he gave no religious background to his vision of the world. It may be added that he confessed his admiration for the lucidity of Bergson's writing. (shrink)

Machiavel a largement défini la politique comme un art souverain du mensonge. Elle doit pourtant être autre chose : la capacité d'une société à s'emparer de son destin, à inventer un ordre juste et se placer sous l'impératif du bien commun.

Translation of: Je vous sais si nombreux.

Quest’enunciato non è di per sé evidente. Che la matematica sia un pensiero, è stato più volte sostenuto, innanzitutto da Platone, che però avanza in proposito numerose riserve, e più volte negato, in particolare da Wittgenstein. Si tratta di un enunciato indubbiamente sottratto alla dimostrazione. Forse è il punto di impasse della stessa matematizzazione, e dunque il reale della matematica. Ma il reale, più che essere conosciuto, viene dichiarato. L’oscurità di quest’enunciato risulta da qua...

In this article, we offer a rebuttal to a key thesis in Chapter 5 of Engelhardt’s After God: namely, that there exists an “unbridgeable gap” between the dominant secular culture and traditional religious believers. Contra Engelhardt, we argue that it is possible to bridge the gap by employing a strategy that includes, but is not limited to, methods for cultivating understanding and respect and a sense of solidarity. Our argument proceeds in three steps. First, we elucidate Engelhardt’s thesis in light (...) of some of the key concepts he discusses elsewhere in After God. Second, in the hope of developing understanding and respect, we elucidate the history and teachings that form the consciences of traditional Christian medical professionals concerning abortion, euthanasia, and disfiguring surgeries. Third, in the hope of developing a sense of solidarity, we explain the broad scope of the dominant secular culture’s attempt to limit people’s freedom of conscience rights, showing that it includes not only traditional Christians but also members of other traditional religions, members of mainline religious groups, people with alternative conceptions of secularity, and even faithful members of the dominant secular culture. (shrink)

Les travaux archéologiques sur l'apparition et le développement des édifices chrétiens en Jordanie sont déjà anciens et, dans ce pays longtemps préservé des destructions jusqu'à une époque récente, les vestiges, surtout connus par leurs belles mosaïques, offrent une exceptionnelle documentation à l'historien de l'antiquité tardive, de l'époque byzantine et de l'époque omayyade. Comme le dit N. Duval dans sa préface, la Jordanie est un terrain privilégié. Or, tandis que des répertoires et des études d'ensemble sont disponibles pour la Syrie-Palestine et (...) pour le Liban, on en manquait pour la Jordanie. L'ouvrage d'Anne Michel fait plus que combler ce manque : il nous offre une somme exhaustive des vestiges connus à ce jour. (shrink)