The aim of this paper is to highlight several features of the concept of impiety and of its use in inscriptions. Two main types of epigraphic texts mention impiety: 1. preventive laws, where formulations such as ἀσεβὴς ἔστω, ἀσεβείτω and ἔνοχος ἔστω ἀσεβείᾳ have a double effect inasmuch as they categorize an offence as an impiety and, in addition, they give a culprit the status of impious and 2. reports of trials or of past wrongs. Being regarded as impious entails (...) other consequences on the relationship between the culprit and gods but also between the culprit and the human community – the main issue being that these consequences are seldom explicitly mentioned. Moreover, instead of a single law or text defining impiety or proceedings to take place in case of impiety, there is an array of texts in which impiety appears, the sum of which forms what a community would legally recognize as an impiety.Cet article vise à mettre en exergue différentes particularités du concept d’impiété et de son utilisation dans les inscriptions. Deux types principaux de textes épigraphiques mentionnent l’impiété : 1. des lois préventives, dans lesquelles des formulations telles que ἀσεβὴς ἔστω, ἀσεβείτω et ἔνοχος ἔστω ἀσεβείᾳ ont un double effet dans la mesure où elles définissent une infraction comme étant une impiété et, de surcroît, elles confèrent au coupable le statut d’impie et 2. des rapports de procès ou de torts commis par le passé. Être considéré impie entraîne d’autres conséquences, dans la relation du coupable avec les dieux mais également avec la communauté humaine – le problème étant principalement que ces conséquences sont rarement explicitement mentionnées. De plus, au lieu d’une loi unique définissant l’impiété ou envisageant les procédures à mettre en place en cas d’impiété, il y a un ensemble de textes dans lesquels apparaît l’impiété, dont la somme forme ce qu’une commu­nauté reconnaîtrait légalement comme impiété. (shrink)

In this article, I claim that using Marcel Mauss’ The Gift can prove fruitful in analyzing pharmaceutical donations, the role of interests in gift-giving, the complex intertwining of the domains of the gift and commerce, and in contributing to a theory of social justice. Drug donations refer to the practice of giving medicines “for free,” outside of the drug market, with the ultimate goal of reaching populations in need. So an object otherwise sold on the market, and usually subject to (...) a specific commercial process, enters a different circuit and distribution system. Yet, even if drug donations seem to break with the logic of exchange constitutive of the market, they are intimately linked to market dynamics. This is especially true in the case of corporate drug donations, because of the nature of the donor and the presence of ulterior motives. Accordingly, this practice can be explained with the help of a Maussian understanding of the gift, where gift-giv... (shrink)

On the fundamental essence of Buddhist logic and dialectical studies.

The areas of interest of the scholar of religious studies, Karl E. Grozinger, are diverse. His research is concentrated on the religious and cultural history of Judaism throughout the ages: Israel in antiquity, the era of rabbinical traditional literature, philosophy of religion during the Middle Ages, the kabbalistic tradition, as well as Jewish thinkers and devout movements in contemporary times. On the occasion of Professor Grozinger's seventieth birthday, numerous scholars present the first fruits of their current research as a first (...) look into the tendencies of future research in Jewish studies. In accordance with this scholar's broad interests, the volume Jewish Lifeworlds and Jewish Thought, edited by Nathanael Riemer, is comprised of contributions to a wide variety of topics of Jewish cultural history.With contributions by Hermann Lichtenberger, Hanna Liss, Ronit Meroz, Yoav Elstein, Susanne Talabardon, Nathanael Riemer, Giuseppe Veltri, Dirk Westerkamp, Thomas Meyer, Daniel Jutte, Frederek Musall, Robert Jutte, J. Friedrich Battenberg, Admiel Kosman, Rella Kushelevsky, Elvira Grozinger, Simon Bronner, Avidov Lipsker, Jascha Nemtsov, Rebekka Denz, Micha Brumlik, Micha? Galas, Manja Herrmann, Hans-Michael Haussig, Anat Feinberg, Adam Lipszyc, Vivian Liska, Julius H. Schoeps, Edward D'browa, Ewa Geller, Manfred Voigts, Mordechai Lewy and Stanislaw Krajewski. (shrink)

The adjective ἱερός is a central term in Greek religion and is used in various contexts. Generally translated ‘sacred’, it indicates that an object has been conceded to the gods and is now in relation with them (relation of belonging, protection, etc.). It appears frequently in Greek inscriptions in the expression τὰ ἱερά, to designate sacred objects or, in a more abstract meaning, sacred matters.

We critically discuss the impact of sustainable development initiatives in Kerala, India, on biodiversity and on women farmers in the matrilineal Adivasi community of the Kurichya-tribe in Wayanad. By contextualizing development programs regarding the specifically gendered access to land, division of labor, distribution of knowledge and decision-making power, we situate our analysis within the theoretical framework of feminist political ecology. We first outline women’s gaining of social and political space in local self-government institutions and then critically discuss the impacts of (...) women’s farming groups. Decentralization and development programs have aimed at empowering women and reducing poverty through improved food security. However, little success has materialized, as patriarchal power structures concerning decision-making processes as well as control over the most valuable resources and traditional knowledge have been maintained. Whereas women’s self-help groups in Kerala have enhanced their position, women’s farming groups, by contrast, have brought little betterment. In some cases they have even downsized women’s management and knowledge of resources related to agriculture and do not integrate or enhance Kurichya women’s knowledge. As some women are now introducing high-yielding rice seeds and fertilizer and as it is impossible for them to control land and get access to traditional rice seeds—the domain of men—we contest the notion of women being considered the preservers of agrobiodiversity. We argue, rather, that the construction and transformation of ecological traditional knowledge is highly dependent on the gendered multi-scaled power structures of state and community. (shrink)

La 4ème de couverture indique : "Cet ouvrage, qui réunit juristes, sociologues, anthropologue et psychanalyste, se propose de saisir la place du genre en bioéthique à l'heure de questions sociétales liées tant aux progrès de la médecine reproductive qu'aux rôles assignés aux femmes et aux hommes à l'intérieur de la famille ou en dehors de celle-ci. Il s'agit, au travers de regards croisés, d'éclairer le débat du genre au sein de la sphère bioéthique en identifiant, au sein et au-delà des (...) thèmes de la procréation, de la parentalité et du patrimoine, les questions juridiques qui peuvent naître de la rencontre de la bioéthique et du genre. Les sujets sont nombreux, regroupés autour d'interrogations telles que : le genre est-il reçu dans le droit du vivant? Que font les lois bioéthique au genre? Y a-t-il un âge pour procréer? Existe-t-il une égalité entre les femmes et les hommes en termes d'accès aux soins? Assiste-t-on à une désexualisation du couple? Peut-on parler de patrimoine sexuel?... Éventail d'interrogations, diversité des opinions : les meilleurs spécialistes de chaque question abordée y analysent les réponses fournies par le droit en livrant des pistes de réflexion sur le traitement des inégalités ou des différences existant entre hommes et femmes dans l'exercice, parfois l'existence, des droits et libertés qui sont les leurs en ce domaine.". (shrink)

This study investigated the relationship between supervisor personality and subordinate reports of exposure to bullying and harassment at work. Three research questions were examined: Is there a direct relationship between supervisor personality and reports of workplace bullying? Is there an interaction between supervisor personality and supervisors’ perceived stress as predictors of workplace bullying? Will subordinates who experience bullying at their workplace rate their supervisor’s personality more negatively? The sample consisted of 207 supervisors and employees within 70 Norwegian restaurants. Supervisors low (...) on conscientiousness, high on neuroticism and portraying high levels of exposure to stress were the subject of significantly more reports from subordinates of exposure to workplace bullying. An interaction between agreeableness and stress was found showing that agreeableness is related to bullying under low levels of stress. In addition, subordinates who perceived their supervisor as being low on agreeableness and high on introversion reported significantly more workplace bullying, supporting a negative halo effect hypothesis. (shrink)

In this paper, I reflect on the puzzle that machine learning presents to social theory to develop an account of its distinct impact on social reality. I start by presenting how machine learning has presented a challenge to social theory as a research subject comprising both familiar and alien characteristics (1.). Taking this as an occasion for theoretical inquiry, I then propose a conceptual framework to investigate how algorithmic models of social phenomena relate to social reality and what their stochastic (...) mode of operation entails in terms of their sociality (2.). Analyzed through a theoretical lens that relies on central tenets of sociological systems theory, I find that machine learning implies a distinct epistemic transformation, based on how algorithmic modeling techniques process meaning as represented in data embedded in vector space. Building on this characterization, I introduce my conceptualization of stochastic technology as distinct from mechanistic technologies that rely on causal fixation (3.). Based on this understanding, I suggest that real-world applications of machine learning are often characterized by a constitutive tension between the stochastic properties of their outputs and the ways in which they are put to use in practice. Focussing on the large language models LaMDA and ChatGPT, I examine the epistemological implications of LLMs to account for the confusion of correlation and causality as the root of this tension. Next, I illustrate my theoretical conception by way of discussing an essay on image models by German media artist Hito Steyerl (4.). Following a critical reflection on Steyerl's characterization of Stable Diffusion as a “white box ”, I finally propose to conceive ofmachine learning-based technologies as stochastic contingency machines that transform social indeterminacy into contingent observations of social phenomena (5.) In this perspective, machine learning constitutes an epistemic technology that operates on meaning as extractable from data by means of algorithmic data modeling techniques to produce stochastic accounts of social reality. (shrink)

Cet ouvrage se penche sur la question des transformations à l’œuvre dans les traditions rituelles des religions méditerranéennes antiques, avec une attention particulière portée aux acteurs à l’origine de ces changements ainsi qu’aux émotions suscitées. Plusieurs contributions sont issues de communications présentées dans le panel « agency » du colloque « Ritual Dynamics and the Science of Ritual », organisé à Heidelberg en 2008. Je résume ici les contributions portant sur le monde grec. L’an...

L’ouvrage de P. Ismard (P.I.) cherche à comprendre « le poids de l’événement que représente le procès de Socrate dans la mémoire occidentale » (p. 11). Cet objectif repose sur trois angles d’approche : il s’agit de saisir les enjeux du procès comme tel, d’utiliser cet « événement » comme clé d’analyse des institutions athéniennes contemporaines du procès, et d’étudier la réception du procès aux époques ultérieures. L’analyse est structurée autour de neuf chapitres, dans un langage fluide et a...

Derrière un titre assez sobre, la structure de l’ouvrage de R. Gagné (R.G.) permet d’entrevoir son originalité. Loin de se contenter d’une brève circonscription du concept de faute ancestrale dans l’introduction, l’A. consacre les deux premiers chapitres à la réception et à la réinterprétation de cette notion après l’Antiquité. Il cherche ainsi à montrer par quels filtres successifs a transité la notion avant d’arriver jusqu’à nous. Ce n’est qu’après un exposé assez érudit sur les nombreux au...

The world is out of joint, so much so that disobeying should be an urgent question for everyone. In this provocative essay, Frédéric Gros explores the roots of political obedience. Social conformity, economic subjection, respect for authorities, constitutional consensus? Examining the various styles of obedience provides tools to study, invent and induce new forms of civic disobedience and lyrical protest. Nothing can be taken for granted: neither supposed certainties nor social conventions, economic injustice or moral conviction. Thinking philosophically requires (...) us never to accept truths and generalities that seem obvious. It restores a sense of political responsibility. At a time when the decisions of experts are presented as the result of icy statistics and anonymous calculations, disobeying becomes an assertion of humanity. To philosophize is to disobey. This book is a call for critical democracy and ethical resistance. (shrink)

Drawing partly on unpublished materials from the Sozialwissenschaftliche Archiv Konstanz (Alfred‑Schütz‑Gedächtnis‑Archiv), in this paper I attempt to reconstruct Schutz’s barely explored reception of Marx and Marxism. To this aim, I proceed in four steps. First (1), I trace the very few references to Marxian thought in Schutz’s published work. Second (2), I review Schutz’s mentions of the topic in his correspondences with his friends and colleagues Aron Gurwitsch and Eric Voegelin. Third (3), I give an overview of the books by (...) Marx and other Marxist literature that Schutz had in his personal library. Finally (4), I analyze Schutz’s unpublished lectures on “Dialectics” and “Problems of a Sociology of Knowledge,” two of the only documents where he extensively discusses Marx and Marxism. The reconstruction carried out in the paper is not an end in itself but an effort to contribute to the contemporary ‘critical turn’ in phenomenology. (shrink)

Rassemble des études autour de la notion de parrhêsia, de dire-vrai ou de franc-parler dans la culture grecque, qui constitue un élément fondamental de la pensée de Foucault.

We know that Helmuth Plessner complained about his anthropological magnum opus, published in 1928, being overshadowed by Heidegger from the beginning. When the latter, in turn, responded to Plessner, for example to his preface toStufen, it was always anonymously; Heidegger never actually mentioned Plessner in any publication. Plessner on the other hand emphasized that he had developed his concept without any knowledge ofSein und Zeit, even though since 1924, he had shown strong interest in the yet-unknown colleague’s work. Thus, it (...) appeared to the public that they philosophised independently of one another.In fact, the situation is much more complicated. This paper tries, above all, to identify the sources of the peculiar discomfort caused on both sides by the work of the respective other, as well as to delineate the philosophical effects. Notably in Heidegger’s case, not enough is known about this. Heidegger starts out, in the 1920’s, cultivating a strong anti-anthropological affect; however, after his triumphal success, both with his publication and in the institutional field, in 1927/1928, he finds himself in an orientation crisis; it is from this point onwards that traces of Plessner’s anthropology can be found in his thinking. Ultimately, Plessner will prove a serious source of irritation as well as of inspiration for Heidegger.Additionally, from a systematic point of view, the present text retraces the main points of Plessner’s critique (subjectivity, disembodiedness of fundamental ontology). The investigation makes use of a broader corpus of text than was available to Plessner and Heidegger’s contemporaries, and concentrates on two questions: Did Plessner understand his opponent? Is he able to raise valid objections? It becomes obvious that Plessner is right in complaining about disembodiedness (even though his ownLeibphilosophy remains conceptually diffuse), while some differentiation is advisable concerning the subjectivism charge. (shrink)

Resumen En este artículo me propongo revisitar de manera sucinta y sistemática los li-neamientos centrales de la teoría de la subjetividad de Sigmund Freud, persiguiendo el objetivo de mostrar la vigencia filosófica y teórico-social de la misma. Para ello, procedo en tres pasos: en primer lugar expongo el modo en que el autor construye su concepción del "sujeto del Inconsciente" a través de un enfrentamiento con la noción de "sujeto cartesiano". Luego, examino la tensión entre natura y nurtura que puede (...) rastrearse en su tratamiento del problema de la "pulsión" [ Trieb]. Y, finalmente, reseño su descripción de la estructura tripartita del aparato psíquico, poniendo especial énfasis en su noción de la subjetividad escindida y en el análisis del origen intersubjetivo del "Superyó" [Über-Ich].In this paper, I intend to systematically revisit the main lines of Sigmund Freud's theory of subjectivity, with the aim of showing its current relevance within the fields of philosophy and social theory. In order to do so, I will proceed in three steps. First, I will scrutinize the way Freud elaborates his account of the "subject of unconsciousness" arguing against the conception of the "Cartesian subject". Then, I will examine the tension between nature and nurture, which can be found in his treatment of the problem of "drives" [Triebe]. Finally, I will sketch out his description of the three-fold structure of the psychical apparatus, putting special emphasis on his conception of the "split subjectivity" and on his analysis of the intersubjective origin of the Superego [Über-Ich]. (shrink)

This paper is a discussion about how the Application Perspective works in practice.1 We talk about values and attitudes to system development and computer systems, and we illustrate how they have been carried out in practice by examples from the Florence project.2 The metaphors ‘utensil’ and ‘epaulet’ refer to questions about how we conceive the computer system we are to design in the system development process. Our experience is that, in the scientific community, technical challenges mean making computer systems that (...) may be characterised as ‘epaulets’: they have technical, fancy features, but are not particularly useful. Making small, simple, but useful computer systems, more like ‘utensils’, does not give as much credit even if the development process may be just as challenging. (shrink)

Basic course of study of elementary Buddhist logic and dialetrical studies.

On Bonpo system of philosophical debate on logical points.

How do social audiences negotiate and handle stigmatized organizations? What role do their heterogenous values, norms and power play in this process? Addressing these questions is important from a business ethics perspective to improve our understanding of the ethical standards against which organizations are judged as well as the involved prosecutorial incentives. Moreover, it illuminates ethical concerns about when and how power imbalances may induce inequity in the burdens imposed by such social evaluations. We address these questions building on two (...) event-based case studies involving Hells Angels Motorcycle Club Norway, and contribute to organizational stigma theory in three ways. First, social evaluations of a stigmatized organization by multiple audiences are found to interact, collide and combine in a labelling contest. Second, we show that labels employed in this contest are pushed to either negative extremes or positive extremes. Finally, we show when and how power represents a double-edged sword in social evaluation processes, which can be wielded either to the benefit or to the detriment of the actors under evaluation. (shrink)

New 'states of violence' are changing how we think about war and peace, as terrorists attacks, insurgencies, precision missiles, and a belief that conflict can avoid casualties all demonstrate a shift of focus from the state to the individual.

Georg Simmel is among the intellectuals taking part in the German side of the »Culture War«, parallel to the war 1914–1918. This article discusses three different meanings of »Culture War«: 1. »Culture War« as war about culture, 2. »Culture War« as war by means of culture, 3. »Culture War« as aggravated proceeding of criticism of culture. Among the motives of the »Culture War« is the reproach of »barbarism« made by Henri Bergson against the German side originating from a public debate (...) after the destruction of the Cathedral of Reims. In the reactions of German intellectuals a reinterpretation of the concept of culture is apparent, inspired by philosophy of life and leading to a peculiar »ethic of the creative power of culture«. Simmel's examination of the generic case of the Cathedral of Reims conclusively serves as prototype of a criticism of this approach: German intellectuals confuse metaphors stemming from the sphere of nature with those of culture without reflection, thus obliterating essential differences between those spheres. (shrink)

The term “biology” was introduced in 1802 by a German, Treviranus, and by a Frenchman whose name would remain well known to posterity, Jean-Baptiste Lamarck.

J’aimerais présenter quelques réflexions autour du concept de vérité dans les travaux de Michel Foucault. Elles seront extrêmement schématiques, et pourtant ce problème de la vérité est, chez Foucault, à la fois compliqué et central. Il est particulièrement présent dans le dernier cours prononcé au collège de France, à travers par exemple l’analyse de la mort de Socrate ou l’étude des cyniques. La question qu’on pourrait poser, à travers cette relecture, est celle du rapport entre vérité et obéissance, vérité et (...) désobéissance. (shrink)

In heart, the propagation of electrical activity is mediated by intercellular channels, referred to as junctional channels, aggregated into gap junctions and localised between myocytes. These channels consist of structurally related transmembrane proteins, the connexins, three of which (CX43, CX40 and CX45) have been shown to be associated with the myocytes of mammalian heart; a fourth, CX37, was detected exclusively in endothelial cells. In this paper, we review the recent data dealing with the topographical heterogeneity of expression of these connexins (...) in the different cardiac tissues and the unique conductance properties of the channels they form, and attempt to assess the role played by each connexin and the consequences of their multiplicity in the propagation of action potentials. (shrink)