Constellations, Volume 29, Issue 2, Page 263-265, June 2022.

Deux cours. Les deux derniers professés par Emmanuel Lévinas en Sorbonne, durant l'année universitaire 1975-7976. Deux cours qui sont comme une glose méditative autour de quelques mots : Dieu, la mort, le temps. En ouverture, la mort et le temps. Pour la première fois, ces deux notions qui parcourent l'œuvre entière du philosophe sont longuement explicitées. Parallèlement, Lévinas renoue avec sa recherche sur le mot Dieu, inversant les termes du diagnostic heideggerien : lorsque la philosophie a confondu, dès son (...) origine, Dieu et l'être, ce n'est pas tant le second qui a été oublié, c'est d'abord le premier qui a été éclipsé. La tâche de la pensée revient alors à libérer Dieu de l'emprise métaphysique. Au final, ces deux textes éclairent sous un autre jour et à partir d'un angle nouveau trois des thèmes majeurs de la réflexion d'Emmanuel Lévinas. Mais ils reviennent aussi, au gré d'une parole vagabonde, sur d'autres notions fondamentales de l'œuvre : la responsabilité, Autrui, la patience, le Dire, la transendance, le témoignage... (shrink)

The philosophy of Hitler is simplistic [primaire]. But the primitive powers that burn within it burst open its wretched phraseology under the pressure of an elementary force. They awaken the secret nostalgia within the German soul. Hitlerism is more than a contagion or a madness; it is an awakening of elementary feelings.But from this point on, this frighteningly dangerous phenomenon becomes philosophically interesting. For these elementary feelings harbor a philosophy. They express a soul's principal attitude towards the whole of reality (...) and its own destiny. They predetermine or prefigure the meaning of the adventure that the soul will face in the world.The philosophy of Hitlerism therefore goes beyond the philosophy of Hitlerians. It questions the very principles of a civilization. The conflict is played out not only between liberalism and Hitlerism. Christianity itself is threatened in spite of the careful attentions or Concordats that the Christian churches took advantage of when Hitler's regime came to power.But it is not enough to follow certain journalists in distinguishing between Christian universalism and racist particularism: a logical contradiction cannot judge a concrete event. The meaning of a logical contradiction that opposes two forms of ideas only shows up fully if we go back to their source, to intuition, to the original decision that makes them possible. It is in this spirit that we are going to set forth the following reflections. Emmanuel Levinas has been professor of philosophy at the Ecole Normale Superieure Israelite de Paris and at the University of Paris I . Among his books that have been translated into English are Totality and Infinity, Ethics and Infinity, Otherwise Than Being or Beyond Essence, and The Levinas Reader. His essay "As If Consenting to Horror" appeared in the Winter 1989 issue of Critical Inquiry. Sean Hand is lecturer in French at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth. He is the editor of The Levinas Reader and the translator of Levinas's Difficult Freedom . He is currently completing a book on Michel Leiris. (shrink)

When the Matrix trilogy was published in the mid-1980s, it introduced to mass culture a number of post-human tropes about the conscious machines that have haunted our collective imaginaries ever since. This volume explores the social representations and significance of technological developments - especially AI and human enhancement - that have started to transform our human agency. It uses these developments to revisit theories of the human mind and its essential characteristics: a first person perspective, concerns and reflexivity. It looks (...) at how the smart machines are used as agents of change in the basic institutions and organisations that hold contemporary societies together: for example in the family and the household, in commercial corporations, in health institutions, or in the military. Its main purpose it to enrich the ongoing public discussion of the social and political implications of the smart machines by looking at the extent to which they further digitalize and bureaucratize the world, in particular by asking whether they are used to develop techno-totalitarian societies that corrode normativity and solidarity. talize and bureaucratize the world, in particular by asking whether they are used to develop techno-totalitarian societies that corrode normativity and solidarity. (shrink)

Hitherto, the African intellect had been decimated by notable European scholars such as David Hume, Charles Darwin, Friedrich Hegel, Lucien Levy-Bruhl to name a few. The common denominator among these male scholars is that the African intellect is not yet developed to the extent that it can accommodate logical reasoning. Whereas notable African scholars have responded to these charges as misleading whilst exploring ways of coming up with a logic system that can mediate the theory, thought and practice peculiar to (...) Africans yet applicable in other climes, the role of women in this journey has usually been downplayed. This research thereby seeks to fill this void by making a case for the contribution of the Australian Helen Verran who did not engage in armchair scholarship as most of her European male counterparts who deny the African the ability to reason logically, but journeyed to Nigeria to perform some experiments with the Yorùbá numerical system. She is persuaded that through the traditional Yorùbá numerical pattern, an underlying logic system is implied. Even when her conclusions are questionable on several fronts, this research concludes that her role in instilling confidence in the development of artificial logic in Africa must not go unmentioned. (shrink)

Presupposition, vagueness, and oddness can lead to some sentences failing to have a clear truth value. The homogeneity property of plural predication with definite descriptions may also create truth-value gaps: The books are written in Dutch is true if all relevant books are in Dutch, false if none of them are, and neither true nor false if, say, half of the books are written in Dutch. We study the projection property of homogeneity by deploying methods of general interest to identify (...) truth-value gaps. Method A consists in collecting both truth judgments and, independently, falsity judgments. The second method, employed in experiment series B and C, is based on one-shot ternary judgments: completely true vs. completely false vs. neither. After a calibration of these methods, we use them to demonstrate that homogeneity projects out of negation, the scope of universal sentences and the scope of non-monotonic quantifiers such as exactly two, to some extent. We assess our results in light of different theoretical approaches to homogeneity—approaches based on presuppositions, scalar implicatures, and something like supervaluations, respectively. We identify free parameters in these theories and assess various variants of them based on our results. Our experimental paradigms may be of broader significance insofar as they can be applied to other phenomena which result in the failure of a sentence to have a definite truth value. (shrink)

The Southern Journal of Philosophy, Volume 60, Issue 2, Page 304-319, June 2022.

Zjawisko globalizacji wymaga podejść badawczych, które są na przemian opisowe i normatywne, a często zarówno opisowe, jak i normatywne. Dlatego konieczne jest opracowanie analiz, które pozwolą zrozumieć, w jaki sposób cele lub zasady działań publicznych (krajowych lub międzynarodowych) ewoluują w odpowiedzi na zmiany w warunkach międzynarodowej koordynacji i współpracy. W artykule szczególności omówiono wpływ globalizacji na relacje między państwami i wdrażanie zasad takich jak prawa podstawowe.

Bringing together canonical philosophical texts from African, African-American, Afro-Caribbean, and Black European thinkers, this major new anthology is designed to serve both as a textbook and as the authoritative reference volume in Africana philosophical and cultural studies.

I learned very early, perhaps even before 1933 and certainly after Hitler’s huge success at the time of his election to the Reichstag, of Heidegger’s sympathy toward National Socialism. It was the late Alexandre Koyré who mentioned it to me for the first time on his return from a trip to Germany. I could not doubt the news, but took it with stupor and disappointment, and also with the faint hope that it expressed only the temporary lapse of a great (...) speculative mind into practical banality. It cast a shadow over my firm confidence that an unbridgeable distance forever separated the delirious and criminal hatred voiced by Evil on the pages of Mein Kampf from the intellectual vigor and extreme analytical virtuosity displayed in Sein und Zeit, which had opened the field to a new type of philosophical inquiry.Could one question the incomparable impression produced by this book, in which it immediately became apparent that Heidegger was the interlocutor and equal of the greatest—those very few—founders of European philosophy? that here was someone, this seemed obvious, all modern thought would soon have to answer? Emmanuel Levinas has been professor of philosophy at the École Normale Supérieure Israélite de Paris and at the University of Paris I . Among his books that have been translated into English are Totality and Infinity, Ethics and Infinity, and Otherwise Than Being or Beyond Essence. Paula Wissing, a free-lance translator and editor, has recently translated Paul Veyne’s Did the Greeks Believe in Their Myths? (shrink)

This article argues that Bowers and Paternoster’s emphasis on a moral community marks an important step towards a more ethical and effective approach to anti-doping. However, it also argues that the authors’ proposed strategies undermine their stated goal of effectively engaging athletes as partners in anti-doping efforts and raise ethical concerns. Their proposed emphasis on exploiting shaming as a punishment and their general view of athletes as adversaries fosters mistrust between athletes and those who enforce the anti-doping rules. Instead, this (...) article describes a model for empowering athletes as stakeholders in anti-doping policy as a means to provide anti-doping rules with increased moral legitimacy among athletes. (shrink)

Resumen: La Regla de San Benito (RB) ha experimentado una revitalización en el panorama intelectual contemporáneo, trascendiendo su origen monástico para convertirse en un referente para diversos movimientos sociales y filosóficos. Siguiendo esta lógica hermenéutica actual, propongo una lectura de la RB a través de la lente de la Filosofía de la Liberación de Enrique Dussel, con el objetivo de explorar su potencial para ofrecer una crítica y una alternativa a los modelos de desarrollo imperantes de la Modernidad. En este (...) marco, distingo un primer momento poiético (naturaleza-cultura), centrado en el análisis de la revolución tecnológica y civilizatoria subyacente a la RB; y un segundo momento praxístico (cultura-cultura), en el que se destaca el opus benedictino como un ejemplo paradigmático de la “Nueva Política Económica de Liberación”, es decir, como una propuesta alternativa de organización social y cultural, capaz de superar las limitaciones del Capitalismo y el Socialismo Real del s. XX, ya que logra propiciar la reproducción de la vida material bajo parámetros éticos. Abstract: The Rule of Saint Benedict (RB) has undergone a revitalization in the contemporary intelectual landscape, transcending its monastic origin to become a reference point for various social and philosophical movements. By following this current hermeneutic logic, I propose a reading of RB through the lens of Enrique Dussel’s Philosophy of Liberation, with the aim of exploring its potential to offer a critique and an alternative to the prevailing development models of Modernity. In this framework, I distinguish a first poietic moment (nature-culture), focused on the analysis of the technological and civilizational revolution underlying RB; and a second praxistic moment (culture-culture), in which the Benedictine opus is highlighted as a paradigmatic example of the “New Economic Politics of Liberation”, that is, as an alternative proposal of social and cultural organization, capable of overcoming the limitations of Capitalism and Real Socialism of the 20th century, since it succeeds in fostering the reproduction of material life under ethical parameters. (shrink)

_A Companion to Buddhist Philosophy_ is the most comprehensive single volume on the subject available; it offers the very latest scholarship to create a wide-ranging survey of the most important ideas, problems, and debates in the history of Buddhist philosophy. Encompasses the broadest treatment of Buddhist philosophy available, covering social and political thought, meditation, ecology and contemporary issues and applications Each section contains overviews and cutting-edge scholarship that expands readers understanding of the breadth and diversity of Buddhist thought Broad coverage (...) of topics allows flexibility to instructors in creating a syllabus Essays provide valuable alternative philosophical perspectives on topics to those available in Western traditions. (shrink)

We observed that despite international declarations on child-rights, outsourced domestic girl-child labour still persists. Raising the question whether outsourced domestic girl-child labour constitutes hermeneutical injustice, we respond affirmatively. Relying on two indigenous victimology-narratives that are newspaper reports, we expose some of the horrors that the victims of outsourced domestic girl-child labour suffer. Comparing these reports with other victimology-narratives of hermeneutical injustice as reported by Miranda Fricker and Hilkje Hänel, we argue that the victims of outsourced domestic girl-child labour suffer a (...) hermeneutical gap and hermeneutical interference; and that the perpetuators of this practice, help to foster what we call ‘hermeneutical obstruction’. We recommend different counteracting measures such as: a radical feminization of educational curricula, which will allow for the introduction of the relevant hermeneutical resources that female children need in making sense of their experiences, into the classrooms and other places of learning; establishing feminist liberation agencies in all schools, religious institutions and hospitals, as ways of increasing the level of awareness about the rights of the girl-child in children and adults; feminizing legislation and legislative processes, to allow for the enactment of laws to protect the rights of the girl-child; and campaigning for a more rigorous enforcement of child-rights laws. (shrink)

Most writing on informed consent in Africa highlights different cultural and social attributes that influence informed consent practices, especially in research settings. This review presents a composite picture of informed consent in Nigeria using empirical studies and legal and regulatory prescriptions, as well as clinical experience. It shows that Nigeria, like most other nations in Africa, is a mixture of sociocultural entities, and, notwithstanding the multitude of factors affecting it, informed consent is evolving along a purely Western model.Empirical studies show (...) that 70–95% of Nigerian patients report giving consent for their surgical treatments. Regulatory prescriptions and adjudicated cases in Nigeria follow the Western model of informed consent. However, adversarial legal proceedings, for a multiplicity of reasons, do not play significant roles in enforcing good medical practice in Nigeria. Gender prejudices are evident, but not a norm. Individual autonomy is recognized even when decisions are made within the family. Consent practices are influenced by the level of education, extended family system, urbanization, religious practices, and health care financing options available. All limitations notwithstanding, consent discussions improved with increasing level of education of the patients, suggesting that improved physician's knowledge and increasing awareness and education of patients can override other influences.Nigerian medical schools should restructure their teaching of medical ethics to improve the knowledge and practices of physicians. More research is needed on the preferences of the Nigerian people regarding informed consent so as to adequately train physicians and positively influence physicians’ behaviors. (shrink)

The year 2001, the first of our twenty-first century, marks a turning point in the publication of the work of Martin Heidegger. That year, the very first courses he taught during the Third Reich were published. Under the seemingly noble title Being and Truth (Sein und Wahrheit), the double volume 36/37 of the complete works (Gesamtausgabe) grouped the 1933 summer course, The Fundamental Question of Philosophy (Der Grundfrage der Philosophie), and the 1933/34 winter semester course, On the Essence of Truth (...) (Vom Wesen der Wahrheit). Why was this a turning point? For one thing, these are among the most explicitly National Socialist and Hitlerian courses he taught. In them, we discover that Heidegger does not limit .. (shrink)

Commentaire philosophique de l'oeuvre de Celan, à partir d'un commentaire de Celan lui-même : Le poème va d'une traite au-devant de cet autre qu'il suppose à même d'être rejoint. Texte précédé par une réflexion d'Henri Michaux.

Psychological assessment has long been reported as a key component of clinical psychology. This paper examined and shed light on the complexities surrounding the clinical significance of therapeutic approach to treatment Planning. To achieve this objective, the paper searched and used the PsycINFO and PubMed databases and the reference sections of chapters and journal articles to analysed the underlying themes: 1) a strong basis for the usage of therapeutic approach to psychological assessment in treatment plans, 2) explained the conceptual meaning (...) of clinical significant change in therapeutic assessment, 3) used initial theory to explain the therapeutic mechanisms of change in clinical practice, 4) analysed the empirically documenting clinically significant change in therapeutic assessment. Finally, the study suggested that though therapeutic assessment is not sufficient for the systematic study of psychotherapy outcome and process, it is still consistent with both the lay-man and professional expectations regarding treatment outcome and also provides a precise method for classifying clients as “changed” or “unchanged” on the basis of clinical significance criteria. (shrink)

Se distingue en primer lugar la verdad originaria del ser -fundamento de toda noción de verdad en la tradición griega- frente a la conciencia, la tematizacion de la verdad frente a la manifestación en la inteligibilidad. Toda expresión de verdad -sentido- remite a un desvelamiento previo del ser. El testimonio, en cuanto confesión de un saber o experiencia por un sujeto, esta referido al ser desvelado y gobernado por él. en cierto modo, el sujeto del saber queda anulado. Pero el (...) testimonio, además de expresar el ser, apunta también mas allá de él. La conciencia está estructuralmente abierta al ámbito de lo no-representable, de la responsabilidad para con el otro, previa a toda decisión subjetiva. La responsabilidad testimonia la relación con un infinito no tematizable, ambiguamente presente en el profeta. (shrink)

an has been the concern of various philosophical schools of thought and can be said as the center of philosophical inquiry. However, not all of the concerns of philosophy points to defend man in his external and internal dimensions. In Karol Wojtyla’s philosophy of the Human Person, he interprets man as not being solely as a “rational animal.” He offers instead an understanding of man viewing his innerness as a person manifested not only by his existence, but more importantly through (...) his actions. In this paper, the fundamental concepts of Wojtyla’s Human Person are precisely enumerated for a clear understanding of who a Human Person is. This paper aims to interpret man in his two-fold character, as a Person and as a Subject using Karol Wojtyla’s Personalism. In this task, one must be noted that Wojtyla employs Thomism and Phenomenology in his thought. In the discussion, I will lay down the primary distinction between these two concepts for a better understanding of the anthropological structure of man, his innerness and exteriority. The discussion has three divisions, the first part discusses the two different ways of understanding Human Being; the second part discusses the concept of Person; and the third part discusses the Human Subject. (shrink)

Quisiéramos vivir “bajo el sol de Dios” (Ecl. 8, 15), pero nos descubrimos bajo el sol de Satanás. Nadie más que Bernanos lo ha visto, y también lo ha sabido, pues la literatura alcanza lo que ni la filosofía ni la teología logran expresar, especialmente en lo que respecta al tormento del mal. Oculto bajo la figura del “maquignon picard”, y por tanto de un hombre ordinario, el diablo no se deja ver; prefiere disfrazarse. No existe el mal de un (...) lado y el bien del otro en Bernanos, sino más bien “el mal bajo la figura del bien”. Tal es su suprema astucia, y también su modo más seguro de desenmascararnos. Confundiendo las fronteras, haciéndose pasar por nadie siendo alguien, prefiriendo el “Frío” del hielo al calor de las llamas, y yaciendo con el abad Donissan para quitarle su aliento, Satanás nos acecha siempre, menos para mostrarse que para atraparnos. Una “lectura filosófica” de estas páginas fulgurantes de Sous le soleil de Satan (encuentro del abad Donissan con el maquignon picard) elevará a Bernanos al rango de los más grandes pensadores católicos. Nadie lo había dudado. Pero leerlo y releerlo permite confirmarlo.. (shrink)