Husserl saw the Cartesian critique of scepticism as one of the eternal merits of Descartes’ philosophy. In doing so, he accepted the legitimacy of the very idea of a universal doubt, and sought to present as an alternative to it a renewed, specifically phenomenological concept of self-evidence, making it possible to obtain an unshakable foundation for the edifice of knowledge. This acceptance of the skeptical problem underlies his entire conceptual framework, both before and after the transcendental turn, and especially the (...) immanence/transcendence distinction, i.e., the very basis of intentionality. In taking as its starting point an analysis of perception, the article puts forth a certain number of phenomenological arguments in order to put into question the validity of the skeptical problem and, therefore, of the Husserlian conceptual framework; it defends, in the first place, a disjunctive conception of perception and, in the second place, a holism of experience. (shrink)

The Tindemans report on the European union and the decision to organize direct elections for the European Parliament have been two important events in European afjairs in 1976. This article analyses the origins, developments and bearing of these two events.Although his mandate was initiated and encouraged at the highest level - that of the European heads of state -, Mr. Tindemans' attempt to propose concrete steps in order to achieve a real political union in Europe did not get through. It (...) received a rather cold reception from several states who opposed some of his proposals on different grounds.At the Conference of The Hague, Mr. Tindemans was able to get a formal support to his ideas, but no decision was taken to implement any of them.The decision to organize direct elections for the European Parliament, which can be seen as a concrete step toward the implementation of the long awaited European union, is facing the same kind of resistance at the national level. Although the Nine have all agreed to do everything possible to organize these elections in the spring of 1978, there are still unsolved problems which are both technical and political. Moreover, even if they are taking place, it is not at all sure that they will bring about substantive changes in the role and functions of the European Parliament. (shrink)

Critical ethical questions arise concerning whether studies among adolescents of new behavioral and biomedical HIV preventive interventions such as Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis should obtain parental permission. This paper examines the relevant regulations and ethical guidance concerning waivers of parental permission, and arguments for and against such waivers. Opponents of such waivers may argue that adolescent decision-making is “too immature” and that parents always have rights to decide how to protect their children. Yet requiring parental permission may put adolescents at risk, and/or (...) limit adolescent participation, jeopardizing study findings’ validity. This paper presents recommendations on when researchers and Institutional Review Boards should waive parental permission, and what special protections should be adopted for adolescents who consent for themselves, e.g., assuring adolescent privacy and confidentiality, screening for capacity to consent, and identifying adolescents who are at elevated risk from study participation. We also present a series of specific areas for future research to design tools to help make these assessments, and to inform researcher and IRB decisions. These recommendations can help ensure that research is conducted that can aid adolescents at risk for HIV, while minimizing risks and protecting these individuals' rights as much as possible. (shrink)

The question of the oeuvre -- The concept of Machiavellianism -- Reading The prince. First signs -- The logic of force -- The social abyss and attachment to power -- Good and evil, the stable and the unstable, the real and the imaginary -- The present and the possible -- Reading The discourses. From The prince to The discourses -- Rome and the "historical" society -- Class difference -- War, and the difference of times -- Authority and the political subject (...) -- The oeuvre, ideology, and interpretation. (shrink)

Why does one need creativity? On a personal level, improvisation with available resources is needed for online coping with unforeseen environmental stimuli when existing knowledge and apparent action strategies do not work. On a cultural level, the exploitation of existing cultural means and norms for the deliberate production of novel and valuable artifacts is a basis for cultural and technological development and extension of human action possibilities across various domains. It is less clear, however, how creativity develops and how exactly (...) one arrives at generating new action possibilities and producing multiple alternative action strategies using familiar objects. In this theoretical paper, we first consider existing accounts of the creative process in the Alternative Uses Task and then present an alternative interpretation, drawing on sociocultural views and an embodied cognition approach. We explore similarities between the psychological processes underlying the generation of new uses in the Alternative Uses Task and children’s pretend play. We discuss possible cognitive mechanisms and speculate how the generation of new action possibilities for common objects in pretend play can be related to adults’ ability to generate new action strategies associated with object use. Implications for creativity development in humans and embodied artificial agents are discussed. (shrink)

La tolérance pose certaines questions essentielles aux analyses phénoménologiques de l’intersubjectivité. Tout d’abord, comme Sartre ou Heidegger l’avaient souligné, dans quelle mesure la tolérance ne se retourne-t‑elle pas toujours en une intolérance plus profonde, sous les formes de l’indifférence à l’égard de l’autre ou bien d’une domination qui réduit l’altérité d’autrui à des propriétés imposées, le privant de sa liberté? Mais si l’on prend au contraire le parti de construire un concept positif de tolérance pour penser la relation éthique, alors (...) le problème est de maintenir une double exigence : celle d’accueillir autrui en s’ouvrant à son altérité par rapport à moi, mais aussi celle de ne pas traiter cette altérité comme une différence abstraite. Il s’agit de reconnaître que la manifestation d’autrui est toujours située dans le monde, impliquant un ensemble de valeurs et de croyances susceptibles d’être en inadéquation avec les miennes, et qui doivent être supportées ou endurées malgré tout dans certaines limites sûrement impossibles à fixer a priori. Ainsi le phénomène de la tolérance demande que l’on envisage les normes absolues de la rationalité éthique comme toujours déjà particularisées dans des situations sociales concrètes, avec leurs caractéristiques politiques, culturelles, cultuelles et historiques contingentes. Nous montrons dans cet article que c’est précisément ce que Levinas (et Derrida à sa suite) comprend lorsqu’il aborde la question de l’intersubjectivité à partir du problème du tiers. La tolérance donne ainsi l’opportunité de penser les conditions du cosmopolitisme comme structure phénoménologique de la relation intersubjective (le rapport à l’autre comme rapport situé mondainement), même si l’on pourra alors se demander, en conclusion, si la tolérance abordée dans une perspective de l’émancipation, au sein d’une « histoire universelle d’un point de vue cosmopolitique », n’appartient pas à la vision philosophique des Modernes et de l’ Aufklärung, et si elle est encore tenable dans un monde de plus en plus dominé par l’essence de la technique. (shrink)

: I explore the logic of counterexamples by possible conjunction in order to extend their use to estimate the degree of support of premises; address some problems with my proposal; discuss some ways of teaching this extended use; and argue that conditional probability fails to express the degree of support of premises. The scant literature on this topic sometimes presents the degree of support of premises P1…Pn for conclusion C in terms of conditional probability, Pr. I will argue that the (...) degree of support is better expressed by the probability of the conditional statement expressing the inference, Pr; and prove that Pr is not equivalent to Pr. (shrink)

Interculturalism and multiculturalism have been the subject of university courses, seminars and international colloquia for two decades, producing a large literature which has become the basis for a general political debate about democracy in the US and Western Europe. These concepts are now central even in discussions about an Eastern Europe recently liberated from the communist yoke — especially in regions with large national minorities. Just mentioning them seems sufficient to resolve the age old problems of the struggles between majority (...) and minority in those regions. Is it legitimate to borrow such concepts? Can the same terms be used to describe the new migrations of people from the impoverished South or East to the rich West and those historical movements which resulted in the Europe of nations? (shrink)

Analyzes the dynamics involved in the act of communication in order to highlight its context of production, reception, and effects, providing a framework for an analysis of selected theorists on the concept of communication.

Dans le Beyrouth des annees 1910-1920, deux hommes et deux femmes, ayant en commun des origines grecques et le metier d'ecrivain-journaliste, voient leurs destins se croiser autour du mouvement arabiste. Considere aujourd'hui comme martyr de la Nation libanaise, Petro Paoli (1882-1916) est condamne en raison de ses ecrits par le tribunal ottoman d'exception de Aley et execute le 6 mai 1916. Constantin Yanni (1885-1947) echappe au meme sort et se rend au Hijaz ou il prend part a la Grande revolte (...) menee par le Cherif Hussein. Marie Ajami (1888-1965), fiancee tragique de Petro et Marie Yanni (1890-1975), sur de Constantin, menent un double-combat en faveur de la cause feministe et de l'independance nationale. Ce livre suit le cheminement de la quete d'un Quatuor qui entraine l'auteur dans le dedale des identites multiples, entre memoire et oubli. Le temps de la recherche rythme le recit. Les carnets de bord tenus par Basma Zerouali tissent une trame dans laquelle viennent s'inserer compte-rendu historique, documents d'archives, photographies et entretiens realises lors d'enquetes de terrain. L'actualite d'alors s'y dessine par petites touches, de la France au Liban en passant par la Grece des annees de " crise " ou le Damas du dernier ete avant la guerre. Membre scientifique de l'Ecole francaise d'Athenes, Basma Zerouali y dirige depuis 2012 le programme de recherche La Grece et le monde arabe. Elle a collabore durant plusieurs annees aux recherches du Centre d'etudes d'Asie Mineure a Athenes et a enseigne a l'Universite de Chypre. Elle est l'auteur de nombreux travaux portant sur le cosmopolitisme et le metissage culturel en Mediterranee orientale. (shrink)

This article applies to a study in the history of thought in Quebec certain principles that I have proposed elsewhere about the historiography of philosophy in general. The chosen example is a 1976 paper by Louise Marcil-Lacoste about the use of the idea of common sense in some French-Canadian texts of the nineteenth century. I examine this case in the light of two general theses : that the historian must be able to refer to some of the real beings of (...) which the authors of the past also spoke about ; and that the phenomena that are problematic for philosophy often are of a logico-linguistic nature. Clarifying the meaning of these principles makes it possible to see under what conditions the apparently obsolete doctrines which are often dealt with by the historians of philosophy in Quebec can still be of philosophical interest, and how this interest can be highlighted. (shrink)

A panorama of ethnological studies during the last two or three years must cover considerations as apparently remote as the margin of error in estimating the age of radio-active elements on the one hand and, on the other, the question of whether ethnology originates from the sciences of Man or the sciences of Nature. This widening of the scope of ethnological studies is matched by the widening of public interest in ethnological problems, or, to put it more precisely, in problems (...) presented in the terms and by the aid of ethnological formulae. It should be noted, moreover, that also the traditional domain of ethnology is in a process of expansion, stretching from the study of the so-called savage or primitive social forms, without hesitating any longer, to the field of modern society and its most complex activities. (shrink)

Analysing the debate in the press concerning the most crucial and sensible point of Public Service Broadcasting in Belgium, i.e. an objective and nationwide representative news service, shows clearly that this critizing of the news has primarily a political function because its aim is not to demonstrate how subjectivc or so the news is supposed to be.Accepting and demonstrating the point that a public service organization of broadcasting is no worse for objective newsreporting than a commercial or a Dutch one; (...) it follows from this that these critics must 'hide' other interests.Strong correlations are found between this press debate and the political debate on the nature of this system and the wish to change it. Thus the press, being part of the party system in Belgium, reveals itself as an agenda-setter of political action.These results do not suggest that the press bas an ultimate influence in political matters but it certainly demonstrates that the press indicates how the debate wilt develop.Showing up the agenda-setting concept in the dynamics of politics could be a more fruitfull way to define the political functions of the mass media. (shrink)

Dans les premières lignes du compte-rendu substantiel qu’il fournit de l’ouvrage de Mikel Dufrenne paru en 1963 sous le titre Le Poétique, Paul Ricœur écrit : Le dernier livre de Mikel Dufrenne n’est pas seulement le fruit mûr d’une œuvre qui pousse comme une plante – les images végétales conviennent à merveille à une philosophie qui se veut fidèle aux voix de la Nature! –, il est aussi l’un des signes de la mue de la philosophie française : celle-ci, de (...) multiples façons, se rebelle comme l... (shrink)

À travers le présent entretien, Salah Stétié, écrivain au carrefour d’au moins deux traditions culturelles, envisage son rapport singulier à la question de l’entre-deux. Il évoque en particulier le lien très étroit qui l’unit aux civilisations de la Méditerranée ; la question de l’intervalle l’amène à parler du sens de son écriture poétique, de son rapport à la langue et à la traduction. Plus surprenant sans doute est le contexte premier qu’il donne à son exploration poétique, selon une inspiration très (...) orientale : une physique spirituelle de l’énergie — de la danse de l’énergie, au centre de laquelle le poète se tient, à « la source des vertiges ». C’est une entité quasi impersonnelle et insituable qui écrit, à la croisée des dimensions mentales, spirituelles et verbales — et d’un inconscient qui serait beaucoup plus large que le personnel. Cependant, pour Salah Stétié, le poète, loin de ne résider nulle part, développe une « citoyenneté surplombante » qui lui permet de circuler dans toute l’étendue du réel, de l’embrasser dans son ensemble et d’en témoigner sans exclusive. Through this interview, Salah Stétié, writer in the crossroads of at least two cultural traditions, envisages his singular relationship in the question of the in-between. He evokes in particular the very narrow link which unites him with the civilizations of the Mediterranean Sea ; the question of the interval leads him to speak about the sense of its poetic writing, about its relationship in the language and in the translation. More surprising doubtless is the first context which he gives to his poetic exploration, according to a very oriental inspiration: a spiritual physics of the energy—of the dance of the energy, in the center of which the poet stands, near to “the spring of the dizzinesses”. It is a quasi-impersonal and insituable entity who writes, between the mental, spiritual and verbal dimensions—and of an unconsciousness which would be much wider than the personal one. However, for Salah Stétié, the poet, far from livig in Utopia, develops an “overhanging citizenship” who allows him to travel in all the areas of the reality, to embrace them and to testify of them without any exclusive. (shrink)

In reviewing the Belgian policy towards Zaïre for the last two decades, one is struck by a certain politica! as well as economic withdrawal which has become more obvious since the end of the sixties. In the context of the «Mobutu Plan», the Marshall Plan for Zaïre, or in that of the two Shaba upheavals, Belgium, unlike France with respect to its former colonies, has choosen to align itself with big powers policies and international organizations, and to avoid taking too (...) strong stands in the rather confuse situation which prevails in Zaïre today. Although unanimity does no langer exist among the various Belgian pressures groups about what is tobe done in Zaïre, the official policy of the government is entrenched in a «wait and see» attitude which points to the deepening contradictions within Western states towards Africa in general and Zaïre in particular. (shrink)

Preface Leadership, Spirituality and the Common Good East and West Approaches Henri-Claude de Bettignies & Mike J. Thompson For many, to bring together “ leadership”, “spirituality” and “the Common Good” will be seen more as a ...

« Rythmes et Croyances au Moyen-Âge » Journée d'études organisée par Marie Formarier et Jean-Claude Schmitt 23 juin 2012 – Paris Présentation : Cette journée d'études a eu pour objectif de faire dialoguer les diverses disciplines concernées par le rapport entre rythmes et croyances au Moyen-Âge. Elle a accueilli des historiens, des anthropologues, des sociologues, des philologues et des linguistes. Présents dans la langue latine et les langues vernaculaires, dans la rhétorique du sermon, la prière et (...) - Histoire (...) – NOUVELLE JOURNÉE d'ÉTUDES. (shrink)

According to Brentano, logic, ethics and aesthetics are practical normative sciences, and they correspond to the three classes of psychic phenomena. But if a judgment or a love may be correct or incorrect, it seems more difficult to speak of a correct representation as this class of phenomena ignores a polarity such as right / wrong or good / bad. Brentano speaks nevertheless from the aesthetical “value” of representations. Aesthetics could in this way be considered as part of a general (...) theory of value; but compared to ethics the specificity of this science tends to vanish. Another way to consider the question is to remember that the distinction among the three classes of psychic phenomena is only formal. It means that one has to question more precisely the very nature of representation and especially its relation to feeling. (shrink)

Cet ouvrage restitue l'apport considérable du refondateur de la rhétorique Chaïm Perelman sur le point précis des valeurs en prenant la mesure exacte de son entreprise théorique et de la réception qui lui a été réservée dans les études contemporaines d'argumentation et de rhétorique.

Faut-il définir la phénoménologie comme une discipline transcendantale? Si toute phénoménologie consiste en un " dire les phénomènes " (legein ta phainomena) qui les approche et les décrit tels qu'en eux-mêmes, le logos phénoménologique doit-il être compris exclusivement - ou même principalement - en référence à la logique mathématique issue de Frege? Enfin, qu'en est-il de la phénoménologie dans son rapport à la métaphysique, non pas au sens " scolaire " du terme, mais dans celui - que lui ont conféré (...) Nietzsche, Bergson et Heidegger - d'une configuration historique unitaire de la pensée occidentale dans son ensemble? Ces trois questions parcourent ce recueil d'études et lui confèrent sa cohésion interne. À travers elles, il s'agit de se frayer un chemin vers la question de l'apparaître en tant que tel, qu'Héraclite a placée au ceux du questionnement de la " philosophie " naissante, et que l'entreprise phénoménologique ne peut manquer de soulever et, à son tour, de perpétuer. (shrink)

Le bilan d'une vie marquée par la littérature, la peinture et la musique, et une introduction à l'oeuvre de l'anthropologue. Il évoque son itinéraire intellectuel, ses voyages et ses rencontres, ses goûts et ses aversions. Publié à l'occasion de son centenaire.

This paper reports the text of the intervention pronounced by Claude Lévi-Strauss for the 60th anniversary of Unesco in 2006. Lévi-Strauss recalls the intersections between his activity in the field of anthropology and ethnology and Unesco since its foundation, and the role Unesco can play nowadays in the preservation of cultural diversity and biodiversity.

Patient self-disclosure is essential to the work of health professionals, and this is even more critical in mental health where speech is a reflection of the content of thought. Self-disclosure is then about invisible symptoms that are associated with health problems where discrimination and stigmatization are still very prevalent. This article explores the ethical issues of this phenomenon which has received very little study. Disclosure as a decision-making, interpersonal, dynamic and complex process will be defined and deepened with the help (...) of examples from research. Subsequently, the vulnerability of the person who discloses will be addressed, followed by issues of quality of care and related to the standards of professional practice associated with patient disclosure and their associated responsibility. These elements highlight many ethical issues and ultimately lead us to a proposal to situate the professionals involved. (shrink)