René Descartes, émerveillé par la rigueur scientifique des théorèmes de géométrie, en vint à « imaginer » que pouvaient être démontrées avec la même rigueur les conclusions de la philosophie. Son but: s'accoutumer l'esprit « à se repaître de vérités ». Sa méthode : devant toute chose, « qu'on s'abstienne d'en recevoir aucune pour vraie qui ne le soit, et qu'on garde toujours l'ordre qu'il faut pour les déduire les unes des autres ». Son point de départ : les « (...) raisons certaines et évidentes ». En somme, une dialectique consistant àconduire par ordre mes pensées, en commençant par les objets les plus simples et les plus aisés à connaître, pour monter peu à peu, comme par degrés jusqu'à la connaissance des plus composés; en supposant même de l'ordre entre ceux qui ne se précèdent point naturellement les uns les autres. (shrink)

Experiences of absence are common in everyday life, but have received little philosophical attention until recently, when two positions regarding the nature of such experiences surfaced in the literature. According to the Perceptual View, experiences of absence are perceptual in nature. This is denied by the Surprise-Based View, according to which experiences of absence belong together with cases of surprise. In this paper, I show that there is a kind of experience of absence—which I call frustrating absences—that has been overlooked (...) by the Perceptual View and by the Surprise Based-View and that cannot be adequately explained by them. I offer an alternative account to deal with frustrating absences, one according to which experiencing frustrating absences is a matter of subjects having desires for something to be present frustrated by the world. Finally, I argue that there may well be different kinds of experiences of absence. (shrink)

In this paper, I examine Pascal's Wager as a decision problem where the uncertainty is massive, that is, as a decision under ignorance. I first present several reasons to support this interpretation. Then, I argue that wagering for God is the optimal act in a broad range of cases, according to two well-known criteria for decision-making: the Minimax Regret rule and the Hurwicz criterion. Given a Pascalian standard matrix, I also show that a tie between wagering for God and wagering (...) against God is only possible under very narrow conditions when applying the Hurwicz criterion. Finally, I discuss three objections to these two versions of the Wager. The most pressing challenge comes from the Many-Gods objection. I conclude that this objection is even more challenging whenever one faces a situation of massive uncertainty about God's existence. I argue that addressing it requires a more detailed examination of the benefits of adopting a religious life compared to those of choosing non-theism, or an additional criterion that can break the tie between these options. (shrink)

This book presents a comprehensive and detailed exploration of the relationship between the thought of G.W.F. Hegel and that of John McDowell, the latter of whom is widely considered to be one of the most influential living analytic philosophers. It serves as a point of entry in McDowell’s and Hegel’s philosophy, and a substantial contribution to ongoing debates on perceptual experience and perceptual justification, naturalism, human freedom and action. The chapters gathered in this volume, as well as McDowell’s responses, make (...) it clear that McDowell’s work paves the way for an original reading of Hegel’s texts. His conceptual framework allows for new interpretive possibilities in Hegel’s philosophy which, until now, have remained largely unexplored. Moreover, these interpretations shed light on various aspects of continuity and discontinuity between the philosophies of these two authors, thus defining more clearly their positions on specific issues. In addition, they allow us to see Hegel’s thought as containing a number of conceptual tools that might be useful for advancing McDowell’s own philosophy and contemporary philosophy in general. (shrink)

Nottelman (2016) and Peels (2023) identify several categories of ignorance: factive, objectual, and practical, with erotetic ignorance —understood as the lack of knowledge of answers to questions—viewed as reducible to factive ignorance. This paper argues that erotetic ignorance is not in fact reducible to factive ignorance. More precisely, erotetic knowledge does not solely involve a relationship between a subject and a true proposition or set of propositions; instead, it involves a relationship between a subject, a true proposition or set of (...) propositions and epistemic goals of inquiry. (shrink)

Burge famously argued that one can have thoughts involving a concept C even if one’s understanding of C is incomplete. Even though this view has been extremely influential, it has also been taken by critics as less than clear. The aim of this paper is to show that the cases imagined by Burge as being ones in which incomplete understanding of concepts is involved can be made clearer given an account of direct concept ascriptions—such as “Peter has the concept of (...) arthritis”—according to which these ascriptions are to be analysed in terms of ascriptions of the knowledge of what something is. The upshot is that the cases imagined by Burge can be explained is terms of the idea of subjects knowing in part what something is. (shrink)

We argue that the pivotal role assigned by Northoff to the principle of top-down modulation in catatonia might successfully be applied to other symptoms of schizophrenia, for example, hallucinations. Second, we propose that Northoff's account would benefit from a more comprehensive analysis of the cognitive level of explanation. Finally, contrary to Northoff, we hypothesize that “top-down modulation” might play as important a role as “horizontal modulation” in affective-behavioral alterations.

"La nouvelle nous est parvenue que pas une étymologie de Heidegger, pas même Léthé et Aléthès, n'était exacte. Mais le problème est-il bien posé?Tout critère scientifique d'étymologie n'a-t-il pas d'avance été répudié, au profit d'une pure et simple Poésie? On croit bon de dire qu'il n'y a là que des jeux de mots. Ne serait-il pas contradictoire d'attendre une quelconque correction linguistique d'un projet qui se propose explicitement de dépasser l'étant scientifique et technique vers l'étant poétique? Il ne s'agit pas (...) d'étymologie à proprement parler, mais d'opérer des agglutinations dans l'autre-langue, pour obtenir des surgissements dans la langue". (Gilles Deleuze Critique et clinique, 1993, p. 122 à 124). Ces lignes de Deleuze expriment parfaitement et par avance l'objection que l'on pourrait opposer à notre ouvrage. Cependant, et tout en conservant à Deleuze un respect entier pour sa belle oeuvre, nous ne pensons pas que des "agglutinations" dans la langue suffisent à faire passer dans un registre poétique. Le détail de notre démonstration philosophique et philologique a voulu montrer que Heidegger, en faisant comme s'il "entendait" la pensée grecque de l'origine, est entré dans une région que ne peuvent plus atteindre ni philosophie, ni philologie, ni même poésie, parce qu'elle se retire dans l'invérifiable. (shrink)

Chantal Mouffe har altid sat spørgsmålet om sociale bevægelser i relation til spørgsmålet om demokratisering. Hendes ideer om agonistisk og radikalt demokrati har fået gennemslag i den europæiske samfundsmæssige debat, men i den sammenhæng glemmer man måske, at hun først og fremmest er engageret i en radikalisering af det liberale demokrati. I hendes nuancerede debatstil kan de mange begreber, nogle af hvilke hun selv er ophavet til, godt få læseren til at fokusere på enkelte træer, som for eksempel netop agonistisk (...) og radikalt demokrati. Dermed kan selve skoven, det liberale demokrati og dets udvikling, forsvinde ud af fokus. Det gør det imidlertid ikke i dette interview, der fandt sted i hendes hjem i Hampstead, Nordlondon, primo 2012, omtrent samtidig med, at hendes seneste bog Agonistics blev afsluttet. (shrink)

Human multitasking suffers from a central attentional bottleneck preventing parallel performance of central mental operations, leading to profound deferments in task performance. While previous research assumed that the deferment is caused by a mere waiting time, we show that the bottleneck requires executive functions accounting for a profound part of the deferment. Three participant groups with EF impairments showed worse multitasking performance than respective control groups. Three further groups with EF improvements showed improved multitasking. Finally, three groups performed a dual-task (...) and different measures of EF and showed significant correlations between multitasking performance and working memory capacity. Demands on EF during multitasking may cause more errors, mental fatigue and stress, with parts of the population being considerably more prone to this. (shrink)

Pour les scientifiques, le monde est gouverné par des lois observables dans les phénomènes naturels et formulables par les mathématiques. Einstein a parlé de l'énigme que constitue le lien étroit entre les lois de l'Univers et les lois des mathématiques. La conception d'une alliance, et non d'une simple relation, entre Dieu et l'Homme, est la contribution la plus significative de la pensée hébraïque à l'histoire de l'humanité. À ces deux pactes pour les chrétiens, vient s'en greffer un troisième : celui (...) proposé par Jésus de Nazareth, personne unique dans l'histoire de l'humanité. (shrink)

Entre les actions judiciaires intentées contre l’inertie des États ou des grandes entreprises, les mouvements sociaux qui revendiquent une transition plus équitable et les sommets climatiques internationaux où elle est sans cesse invoquée pour négocier des accords, la justice climatique s’est installée comme un sujet politique majeur. En complément des analyses juridiques, politiques, sociologiques et économiques, une réflexion éthique est indispensable pour en saisir toute la portée. -/- Comment justifier l’objectif de limiter le réchauffement planétaire à 2 ou 1,5 °C (...) d’ici la fin du siècle ? Selon quels principes distribuer les droits d’émission et l’effort de lutte contre le changement climatique à l’échelle mondiale ? Seuls les États ou bien aussi les individus ont-ils des responsabilités ? Pierre André et Axel Gosseries exposent les concepts, principes et arguments qui structurent aujourd’hui la question de la justice climatique. (shrink)

Our reasoning evolved not for finding the truth, but for social bonding and convincing. This book highlights the consequences of these facts for scientific practice, and suggests how to correct the mistakes we still make.

De 1581 a 1585, Montaigne foi prefeito de Bordeaux. Foi acusado por detratores de não se ter aplicado o bastante e de não ter feito nada de marcante durante seus dois mandatos. Ao responder às acusações no ensaio "De poupar a própria vontade" (III, 10), o autor encontra a ocasião para uma crítica das paixões em geral e, em particular, das que pertencem ao contexto político. Isto porque ele visava, com sua aparente falta de aplicação aos deveres de prefeito, evitar (...) a paixão que tantas vezes se oculta por trás do engajamento - a ambição, desejo de honras, glória, renome. Sobretudo, esperava evitar um duplo perigo, ao mesmo tempo ético e político: comprometer a própria liberdade numa busca servil da glória e subordinar o bem coletivo ao interesse pessoal. No presente estudo, procuraremos reconstituir a trama argumentativa do ensaio em questão, acompanhando de perto os argumentos que sustentam a crítica montaigniana das paixões, bem como a terapia muito particular a que o ensaísta as submete, a qual lhe permite fazer do episódio da Mairie de Bordeaux um modelo de conciliação entre o cuidado de si e o cumprimento dos deveres políticos. From 1581 to 1585 Montaigne was the mayor of Bordeaux. He was accused by detractors of not having been sufficiently dedicated to his functions and of having done nothing remarkable during his two terms. In answering to such charges in the essay "Of Managing the Will" (III, 10), the author finds the occasion for criticising passions in general and, in particular, those concerning the political context. The reason for it is that he sought, with his apparent lack of commitment to the mayor's duties, to avoid the passions which usually hide behind such an engagement: ambition, desire for honours, glory, renown. Above all he hoped to avoid a double danger, both ethical and political: to compromise his freedom in a servile pursuit of glory and to subordinate the common good to his personal advantage. In the present study we will seek to rebuild the argumentative plot of the essay, following closely the reasoning which supports the Montaignean critique of passions and also the very particular therapy to which the essayist submits them, which allows him to turn the Mairie de Bordeaux episode into a conciliation model between the care of the self and the fulfillment of political duties. (shrink)

Cet article tente de dégager la signification de la circoncision comme signe de l’alliance avec Dieu, telle qu’elle émerge des précisions données dans les discours divins de Gn 17. Dans sa dimension individuelle, le rite demande, en vue de l’alliance, de consentir à une perte de complétude, qui fait entrer dans le manque: il permet ainsi un ajustement de la relation d’Abraham vis-à-vis de Sarah, ce qui l’ouvre à la fécondité. Dans sa dimension collective, il établit Abraham et son clan (...) dans une différence par rapport aux autres nations, consacrant l’élection en vue de la bénédiction de tous à travers des relations où sont respectées les singularités propres. Consentir à la circoncision, c’est dès lors aussi ouvrir une place, entre homme et femme et entre groupes, au Dieu qui sépare et rend fécond, précisément dans l’ajustement mutuel que rend possible la séparation. C’est donc entrer en alliance avec lui. (shrink)

The point of departure for this article is that the current white backlash over the use of the framing device “Black Lives Matter” is a correlate of the diminished capacity to make race-based claims fostered by neoliberal conceptions of race. The article attends to how President Obama, paradoxically, has deepened color-blind forms of racism and thus weakened the ability for grass-roots Black challenges to the discursive and political status quo. His implicit conception of whiteness as invisible, singular and of transcendent (...) power, is discussed as a theo-politics and assessed via two examples: the rhetoric he uses with Black audiences, and his foreign policy choices in Africa. This article hopes both to show that Obama's management of the complex conditions he inherited have not been fruitful for African Americans, the group that offered such unmitigated supported for his campaigns; and to inspire momentum against neoliberal ways of thinking about race and its concomitant color-blind whiteness. (shrink)

La reunión de los textos que componen esta obra les confiere un significado propio que contribuye a permitir una mejor comprensión de la globalización gracias a la realización de una serie de aproximaciones críticas que competen a formaciones disciplinarias diversas y complementarias como la historia, la filosofía y la sociología. El profesor Arnaud insite aquí en la revolución que la globalización engendra en la producción y en la implementación de la norma jurídica, siendo ésta última la razón principal por la (...) cual no puede ni debe ignorarla el jurista. (shrink)

This paper reviews the origin of inertia according to Mach's principle and Weber's law of gravitation. The resulting theory is based on simultaneous nonlocal gravitational interactions between particles in the solar system and others in the remote universe beyond the Milky Way galaxy. It explains the precession of the perihelion of Mercury. A most important implication of the Mach-Weber theory of the force of inertia is the necessity for a large amount of uniformly distributed matter in the galactic universe. This (...) matter could be the source of the cosmic background radiation. Nonlocal inertia forces are compatible with a static universe and also with an expanding universe but the latter would demand slow changes in the mass of particles and the gravitational constant. (shrink)

Cette édition numérique a été réalisée à partir d'un support physique, parfois ancien, conservé au sein du dépôt légal de la Bibliothèque nationale de France, conformément à la loi n° 2012-287 du 1er mars 2012 relative à l'exploitation des Livres indisponibles du XXe siècle. Pages de début Préface Sigles utilisés Tableau synchronique Politique et religion des employeurs de Leibniz A - La philosophie politique L'architectonique archaïque : le rapport puissance > sagesse L'inversion du rapport structural : sagesse > puissance L'empire (...) de la sagesse sur les perfections finies et infinies B - La politique philosophique La socialité Souveraineté et majesté Les trois formes du gouvernement de la République Entre paix et guerre Les facteurs matériels de la paix Les facteurs culturelsde la paix Futurition Utopie et optimum Bibliographie Pages de fin. (shrink)