Exploring responsibility in the works of Nietzsche, Sartre, Levinas, Heidegger, and Derrida, Raffoul identifies decisive moments in the development of the concept, retrieves its origins, and explores new reflections on it.

This article deals with the main themes I discussed in a book under the same title. The leading thread of the work is to present the issue that Hume, from A Treatise of Human Nature to Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion , continually discusses and examines. Th e point aim is to put metaphysics and its claims to a most ruthless test that would ultimately disqualify it. Such disqualification, which brings metaphysics down to an incoherent daydreaming, is the other side and (...) consequence of a notion of science that Hume wants to create foundations for, i.e. a “science of human nature”. In a sense, this enterprise is a continuation of Descartes, who provided philosophy with a new foundation, that is the self-awareness of the human subject. But, if Descartes’ subject is funded on the cogito act, Hume’s turns out to be not a certain “I”, but a non-personal subject, a kind of il y a, whereas the mind is a kind of theatre, on whose stage various perceptions appear in different configurations. Hume’s analyses demonstrated that human cognition has no foundation in any substantial subjectivity, but in temporal genealogy of appearing impressions and ideas.Descartes wants to define the functioning of the mind, beginning with separating it from sensuality, while Hume sees the mind as a simple interplay of relations between ideas, having their source in the sensuality. Hence the critique of metaphysical claims and of religion. It is precisely the study of sources of religious beliefs that constitutes a substantial part of Hume’s work, because they are a good example of how easily the human mind exceeds the borders of experience – the only foundation of knowledge – and how easily it paves the way for metaphysical illusions.For Hume, the subject, comes down to the functioning of the relations between ideas, which merely are simple refl exes of sensuality. In the mind there is nothing and cannot be anything apart from what has already been introduced there by the senses. Thus Hume takes up and radicalizes Locke’s thesis. (shrink)

Over the past two decades, the study of moral reasoning has been heavily influenced by Joshua Greene’s dual-process model of moral judgment, according to which deontological judgments are typically supported by intuitive, automatic processes while utilitarian judgments are typically supported by reflective, conscious processes. However, most of the evidence gathered in support of this model comes from the study of people’s judgments about sacrificial dilemmas, such as Trolley Problems. To which extent does this model generalize to other debates in which (...) deontological and utilitarian judgments conflict, such as the existence of harmless moral violations, the difference between actions and omissions, the extent of our duties of assistance, and the appropriate justification for punishment? To find out, we conducted a series of five studies on the role of reflection in these kinds of moral conundrums. In Study 1, participants were asked to answer under cognitive load. In Study 2, participants had to answer under a strict time constraint. In Studies 3 to 5, we sought to promote reflection through exposure to counter-intuitive reasoning problems or direct instruction. Overall, our results offer strong support to the extension of Greene’s dual-process model to moral debates on the existence of harmless violations and partial support to its extension to moral debates on the extent of our duties of assistance. (shrink)

A study of Marey, physician, physiologist, aviation researcher, and inventor, delineates his innovative work in chronophotography.

A brief synoptic parallel -- Taking the side of the 'modern' in philosophy -- Old and new relations between science and philosophy -- Matrices and principles -- Subtraction and superposition -- Philosophy and mathematics in the mirror -- Ontology and materiality -- Philo-fiction.

Nanomaterials have attracted much interest in the medical field and related applications as their distinct properties in the nanorange enable new and improved diagnosis and therapies. Owing to these properties and their potential interactions with the human body and the environment, the impact of nanomaterials on humans and their potential toxicity have been regarded a very significant issue. Consequently, nanomaterials are the subject of a wide range of cutting-edge research efforts in the medical and related fields to thoroughly probe their (...) potential beneficial utilizations and their more negative effects. We posit that the lack of standardization in the field is a serious shortcoming as it has led to the establishment of methods and results that do not ensure sufficient consistency and thus in our view can possibly result in research outputs that are not as robust as they should be. The main aim of this article is to present how NanoDiaRA, a large FP7 European multidisciplinary project that seeks to investigate and develop nanotechnology-based diagnostic systems, has developed and implemented robust, standardized methods to support research practices involving the engineering and manipulation of nanomaterials. First, to contextualize this research, an overview of the measures defined by different regulatory bodies concerning nanosafety is presented. Although these authorities have been very active in the past several years, many questions remain unanswered in our view. Second, a number of national and international projects that attempted to ensure more reliable exchanges of methods and results are discussed. However, the frequent lack of publication of procedures and protocols in research can often be a hindrance for sharing those good practices. Subsequently, the efforts made through NanoDiaRA to introduce standardized methods and techniques to support the development and utilization of nanomaterials are discussed in depth. A series of semi-structured interviews were conducted with the partners of this project, and the interviews were analyzed thematically to highlight the determined efforts of the researchers to standardize their methods. Finally, some recommendations are made toward the setting up of well-defined methods to support the high-quality work of collaborative nanoparticle-based research and development projects and to enhance standardization processes. (shrink)

This work defines homology groups for proof-structures in multiplicative linear logic (see [Gir1], [Gir2], [Dan]). We will show that these groups characterize proof-nets among arbitrary proof-structures, thus obtaining a new correctness criterion and of course a new polynomial algorithm for testing correctness. This homology also bears information on sequentialization. An unexpected geometrical interpretation of the linear connectives is given in the last section. This paper exclusively focuses onabstract proof-structures, i.e. paired-graphs. The relation with actual proofs is investigated in [Gir1], [Gir2], (...) [Dan], [Ret] and [Tro]. (shrink)

This article addresses paucity in literature on the conceptualising of the true nature of a Protestant revival. Through a literary review and document study, the article aims to compile a Protestant revival evaluation criterion to assess protestant revivals. This was done by integrating the distinctives of Evangelical revivals throughout history as described by prominent scholars such as Armstrong, Cairns, Edwards, Lloyd-Jones and Sprague in general. In addition, various past and present examples and exponents of true and juxtaposing anti-revivals were investigated (...) and beacons set for sustainable revival. From the PREC, three levels were established by which to assess revivals: individuals, the church and surrounding communities. For the case study, information was gleaned from multiple sources, including interviews, documents, sermons, newsletters, observations and research reports. Applying the PREC in a case study, demonstrates how it operates as a valuable tool; in this case, the revival among the Zulus in KwaSizabantu, South Africa. (shrink)

IntroductionThe observation that animals may respond to emotional states of conspecific or even hetero-specific individuals is not new. Darwin broached the question by underlying the ability of animals to express sympathy, i.e. the response to non-self-emotional status, and this across species barriers. More importantly, he tried to find the evolutionary origin of this animal trait, suggesting that it evolved from the selective advantages of kinship behaviour in the struggle for life (Darwin, 1872). Such a behaviour corresponds, for instance, to alloparental (...) care relatively common in mammals and birds, and now also characterized in fishes and insects (Josi, Taborsky, & Frommen, 2019; Wu, Walser, Sun, & Kölliker, 2020). After more than one century, the need of defining what exactly non-human animals are able to feel, and from this starting point, rethink the legal status and place of animals in human societies, suddenly arises. This can mainly be considered as an indirect consequence of people awareness of human-driven dramatic impacts on global climate, biodiversity, but also on a more daily basis on animal life and welfare. However, because assessable currencies are required to establish laws, animals were classified into categories based on ecological (e.g. invasive species, pest, wild, domestic), biological (e.g. vertebrates and invertebrates) or cognitive (e.g. primates, cephalopods) traits. This should help lawyers to define ethical rules of animal use by humans and t... (shrink)

De 1748, date de L'Esprit des Lois, à 1788, date de décisions royales qui annoncent de profondes réformes du système répressif, l'opinion publique abandonne progressivement, mais rapidement et complètement, la philosophie pénale qu'illustrait l'Ordonnance de 1670, pour s'attacher à des principes nouveaux, largement diffusés par des auteurs tels que Beccaria et Voltaire. L'article s'attache à suivre cette évolution, principalement du point de vue des remises en question de la procédure criminelle.

. This article analyzes the epistemic contributions of models by distinguishing three roles that they might play: an evidential role, a revealing role and a stimulating role. By using an account of learning based on the philosophical understanding of propositional knowledge as true justified belief, the paper provides the conditions to be fulfilled by a model in order to play a determined role. A case study of an economic model of the labor market—the DMP model—illustrates the usefulness of these conditions (...) in articulating debates over the epistemic contributions of a given model. (shrink)

Les différents articles de ce volume ont tous pour idée directrice la question du sujet. Chacun d'eux explore une façon singulière et unique dont la première personne se découvre, s'exprime et se construit dans la civilisation chinoise, classique et moderne. Cet inventaire des multiples façons d'être soi ou d'être à soi se fait à partir de méthodes et d'approches très variées, linguistique, littéraire, historique, philosophique... Elles se font l'écho de la formule de Mencius "Tout ce qui existe est virtuellement là (...) en moi". (shrink)

"Lettre à l'Autre. Comment empêcher que la présence, en s'instaurant, s'installe? Qu'elle s'enlise de ce qu'elle se réalise et s'abîme dans la durée? Les Amants en sont menacés..."--Page 4 of cover.

Over the past two decades there has been a rapid expansion in our understanding of how human genetic variability impacts susceptibility and severity of disease. Through applications of genome-wide association studies, genome and exome sequencing, researchers have made thousands of discoveries of genetic variants that impact risk of common and rare disorders affecting millions of people. Although these techniques have been primarily applied to highly prevalent chronic disorders such as diabetes1 and cardiovascular disease2, infectious diseases have proven to not be (...) immune to genome-wide association, with studies of Tuberculosis3, HIV4 and SARS-CoV25, to name but a few, identifying host susceptibility loci across the genome. Unlike non-communicable diseases, infectious diseases have the unique element of impacting not only the affected the host, but those who may be most vulnerable to acquiring the infection. Thus, genetic variants that impact one individual’s susceptibility to and severity of an infection may also have broader implications to public health, as was brought into keen focus during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, as we begin to apply the knowledge gained from genomic studies in the clinic or into policy, there are unique ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) at the intersection of infectious diseases and human genomics. In this issue of the Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics, Jose et al attempt to address this need by proposing a research agenda for ELSI studies at what they term the “blurred boundaries” of infectious and genetic diseases.6. (shrink)

The latest progress made in the classification and reading of the Delphic accounts belonging to the key period ca 337-335 warrants a re-examination of the role played by the sanctuary and the Amphictiony in Macedonian affairs, not only at the time of Alexander's accession to power, but also during the sequence to his reign. In the appendix two names are suggested for the new archon for the year 338/7.

A re-examination from a chronological standpoint of the 3rd c. Amphictionic lists and decrees has long been awaited. An explanation is given of the method followed, based on the cycles of the représentation of the different delegations and the internal reference points at Delphi (Pythia-Soteria), rather than on prosopography or contemporary political history, and a brief descriptive record is suggested for each document. Considerable advances have been made since G. Daux's Chronologie Delphique, but this article should only be considered as (...) a provisional step, while we wait for final confirmation from other sources. It remains, moreover, subject to the still tentative state of Attic chronology. (shrink)

Dans la partie de la philosophic que l'on appelle habituellement philosophie du langage, la vieille opposition entre le réalisme et le nominalisme est toujours actuelle. D'un côté, les thèses nominalistes trouvent de nouveaux défenseurs qui apportent quelquefois des arguments originaux ou qui reprennent d'anciennes argumentations. D'un autre côté le réalisme est violemment attaqué sur tous ses flancs.

SummaryIn this paper I will strive towards three main objectives. First of all, I will try to show that a very commonplace property of knowledge, that of yielding truth, can be used to characterize an ideal and radical notion of knowledge. It will be argued that this property generates a basic and autonomous concept of knowledge, i.e., a purely logical concept of knowledge that can be clearly separated from the psychological, intentional or epistemological aspects of knowledge. What results can thus (...) be regarded as a kind of reduction of the concept of knowledge to that of truth. This reduction will be expressed by means of a criterion which a relation between an agent and a sentence must satisfy in order to be interpreted as exemplifying the relation of knowing.Secondly, 1 will offer an analysis of presuppositional knowledge which shows how the very strong and ideal notion of knowledge previously developed can be useful in interpreting the ordinary use of “knowing”.My third and last objective will be to use this criterion to characterize formally the semantic interpretation associated to a rational and competent agent, i.e. the space of his knowledge. (shrink)

Foundations of Illocutionary Logic de John Searle et Daniel Vanderveken constitue, à ma connaissance, la première suggestion sérieuse d'un cadre formel destiné à l'élaboration d'une logique de l'illocutoire. Les phénomènes illocutoires sont en effet d'une telle com-plexité que, souvent, les schèmes explicatifs proposés n'ont qu'une valeur très locale et ne constituent une explication que pour quelques exemples bien précis, ceux qui justement ont servi de base empirique sur laquelle ces schèmes se sont élaborés. La prévention de FIL est tout autre. (...) On ne saurait en aucun cas faire un reproche de provincialisme aux auteurs dont le but explicite est d'élaborer un véritable cadre théorique général à l'intérieur duquel tous les phénomènes illocutoires pourront trouver une explication. (shrink)