The harvesting of data about people, organizations, and things and their transformation into a form of capital is often described as a process of “accumulation by dispossession,” a pervasive loss of rights buttressed by predatory practices and legal violence. Yet this argument does not square well with the fact that enrollment into digital systems is often experienced as a much more benign process: signing up for a “free” service, responding to a “friend’s” invitation, or being encouraged to “share” content. In (...) this paper, we focus on the centrality of gifting and reciprocity to the business model and cultural imagination of digital capitalism. Relying on historical narratives and in-depth interviews with the designers and critics of digital systems, we explain the cultural genesis of these “give-to-get” relationships and analyze the socio-technical channels that structure them in practice. We suggest that the economic relation that develops as a result of a digital gift offering not only masks the structural asymmetry between giver and gifted but also permits the creation of the new commodity of personal data, obfuscates its true value, and naturalizes its private appropriation. We call this unique regime “accumulation by gift.”. (shrink)

Examines the relationship between the question of God and the destiny of metaphysics. Concept of the end of metaphysics; Ambiguous relation between phenomenology and metaphysics; Return of special metaphysics in phenomenology; Phenomenological figure of God. Examines the relationship between the question of God and the destiny of metaphysics. Concept of the end of metaphysics; Ambiguous relation between phenomenology and metaphysics; Return of special metaphysics in phenomenology; Phenomenological figure of God.

We will discuss a mathematical proof found in Wittgenstein’s Nachlass, a constructive version of Euler’s proof of the infinity of prime numbers. Although it does not amount to much, this proof allows us to see that Wittgenstein had at least some mathematical skills. At the very last, the proof shows that Wittgenstein was concerned with mathematical practice and it also gives further evidence in support of the claim that, after all, he held a constructivist stance, at least during the transitional (...) period of his thought (1929-33). (shrink)

Based on two workshops held February 1990 in New York and March 1990 in San Francisco. Following the presentation and discussion of three clinical case histories, psychotherapists James F. Masterson, Marian Tolpin, and Peter E. Sifneos compare and contrast developmental, self, and object relations.

Skyphoi with painted dedications from the Artemision of Epidamnos-Dyrrhachion Among the most abundant material collected in 1970-1971 on the hill of Dautë at Dürres, ancient Epidamnos-Dyrrhachion, there has recently been recognized two inscribed sherds : rims of large skyphoi, carrying dedications respectively to Artemis and to Hekate, painted in a monumental way in an original technique – red figure emphasized in red outline. These inscriptions confirm the recently proposed identification of the sanctuary on the Dautë hill as the Artemision situated (...) at the gates of the city mentio<< ned by Appian (II. 60), a major fix-point for the topography of Epidamnos-Dyrrhachion. To these sherds are compared some further examples of dedications painted in an ostentatious manner, a very rare practice, but which provides precious indications regarding the commissioning of vases destined to be offered as ex-votos. (shrink)

Le but de cet ouvrage n'est pas de présenter une généalogie conceptuelle du châtiment ni de brosser un panorama exhaustif des travaux en philosophie, en criminologie ou en droit sur les justifications de la peine. De façon plus modeste, nous avons voulu offrir au public un ensemble de travaux permettant de voir d'un peu plus près nos conceptions modernes de la justice pénale. De l'idée selon laquelle les peines sont infligées pour le propre bien des criminels à celle selon laquelle (...) tout crime mérite d'être réparé par le châtiment, en passant par le caractère préventif des peines, nos conceptions de la légitimité des peines reposent sur un certain nombre de postulats en apparence assez simples et que pour cette raison l'on hésite à remettre en cause : nécessité de l'ordre public, dette du criminel à l'égard de ses victimes et de la société, etc. L'ensemble de ces articles permet de jeter un regard critique sur la justice pénale sans prétendre pour autant vouloir la disqualifier. (shrink)

We argue that the pictorial nature of certain constructions in signs and in gestures explains surprising properties of their syntax. In several sign languages, the standard word order (e.g. SVO) gets turned into SOV (with preverbal arguments) when the predicate is a classifier, a distinguished construction with highly iconic properties (e.g. Pavlič, 2016). In silent gestures, participants also prefer an SOV order in extensional constructions, irrespective of the word order of the language they speak (Goldin-Meadow et al., 2008). But in (...) silent gestures and in Brazilian Sign Language (Libras), intensional constructions can override these SOV preferences, yielding SVO instead (Schouwstra & de Swart, 2014; Napoli et al., 2017). This distinction was argued to be due to iconicity: arguments are expressed before the verb if they correspond to entities that are present before the action, otherwise they follow the verb. While agreeing with this intuition, we propose that the extensional/intensional distinction is neither empirically nor theoretically appropriate. In new data from American Sign Language, we replicate the distinction among extensional classifier predicates: for _x ate up the ball_, the ball is typically seen before the eating and a preposed object is preferred; but for _x spit out the ball_, the ball is typically seen after the spitting and a postposed object is preferred, although both _eat up_ and _spit out_ are used extensionally. We extend this finding to data involving pro-speech (= speech-replacing) gestures embedded in French sentences. We argue for a Visibility Generalization according to which arguments appear before the verb if their denotations are typically visible before the action, and we develop a new formal account within a pictorial semantics for visual animations (inspired by Greenberg and Abusch). It derives the observed word order preferences, it explains how the semantics of classifier predicates combines iconic and conventional properties, and it makes a more general point: sign language semantics combines logical semantics with pictorial semantics. (shrink)

Emerging parallel to long-standing, academic and policy inquiries on personal responsibility for health is the empirical assessment of lay persons’ views. Yet, previous studies rarely explored personal responsibility for health among lay persons as dynamic societal values. We sought to explore lay persons’ views on personal responsibility for health using the Fairness Dialogues, a method for lay persons to deliberate equity issues in health and health care through a small group dialogue using a hypothetical scenario. We conducted two 2-h Fairness (...) Dialogues sessions (n = 15 in total) in Nova Scotia, Canada. We analyzed data using thematic analysis. Our analysis showed that personal choice played an important role in participants’ thinking about health. Underlying the concept of personal choice was considerations of freedom and societal debt. In participants’ minds, personal and social responsibilities co-existed and they were unwilling to determine health care priority based on personal responsibility. The Fairness Dialogues is a promising deliberative method to explore lay persons’ views as dynamic values to be developed through group dialogues as opposed to static, already-formed values waiting to be elicited. (shrink)

We argue that the proper context for understanding Collingwood’s The Principles of Art is his claim that it has bearing “upon the condition of art in England in 1937”. We thus argue that he formulated a philosophical argument that underpins avant-garde dramatic poetry and theatrical practices (Eliot, Auden and the Group Theatre), taking his interpretation of Spinoza’s Ethics 5 prop. 3 to be the book’s central thesis: it is through art that one knows, against the ‘corruption of consciousness’, what emotions (...) one feels and recognizes them as one’s own. Collingwood further believed that this could only be achieved through collaboration between the artist and the community, validating new theatrical practices involving interaction with the audience. We analyse these views in the context of England in 1937: in an era marked by the rise of Fascism and Nazism, Collingwood believed that art thus conceived could help restoring emotional support for the defense of liberal democracies. We conclude with an exploration of parallels with and divergences from the Spinozist idea of ‘mobilizing affects’ in contemporary ‘left populism’ (Mouffe). (shrink)

Ranging from miniaturized biological robots to organoids, multi-cellular engineered living systems (M-CELS) pose complex ethical and societal challenges. Some of these challenges, such as how to best distribute risks and benefits, are likely to arise in the development of any new technology. Other challenges arise specifically because of the particular characteristics of M-CELS. For example, as an engineered living system becomes increasingly complex, it may provoke societal debate about its moral considerability, perhaps necessitating protection from harm or recognition of positive (...) moral and legal rights, particularly if derived from cells of human origin. The use of emergence-based principles in M-CELS development may also create unique challenges, making the technology difficult to fully control or predict in the laboratory as well as in applied medical or environmental settings. In response to these challenges, we argue that the M-CELS community has an obligation to systematically address the ethical and societal aspects of research and to seek input from and accountability to a broad range of stakeholders and publics. As a newly developing field, M-CELS has a significant opportunity to integrate ethically responsible norms and standards into its research and development practices from the start. With the aim of seizing this opportunity, we identify two general kinds of salient ethical issues arising from M-CELS research, and then present a set of commitments to and strategies for addressing these issues. If adopted, these commitments and strategies would help define M-CELS as not only an innovative field, but also as a model for responsible research and engineering. (shrink)

Fifty-seven outstanding black-and-white photographs from the central California coast and Sierra reflect the author's special relationship with the coastline of California, as well as capture vivid images from the deserts of California and the Southwest.

Natural kinds is a widely used and pivotal concept in philosophy – the idea being that the classifications and taxonomies employed by science correspond to the real kinds in nature. Natural kinds are often opposed to the idea of kinds in the human and social sciences, which are typically seen as social constructions, characterised by changing norms and resisting scientific reduction. Yet human beings are also a subject of scientific study.Does this mean humans fall into corresponding kinds of their own? (...) In The Epistemology and Morality of Human Kinds Marion Godman defends the idea of human kinds. She first examines the scientific use and nature of human kinds, considering the arguments of key philosophers whose work bears upon human kinds, such as Ian Hacking, John Searle, Richard Boyd and Ruth Millikan. Using the examples of gender, ethnic minorities and Buddhism she then argues that human kinds are a result of ongoing historical reproduction, chiefly due to pre-existing cultural models and social learning. Her novel argument shifts the focus away from the reductionism characteristic of research about human kinds. Instead, she argues that they are “multiply projectable” and deserving of scientific study not in spite of, but because of their role in explaining our identity, injustice and the emergence of group rights. (shrink)

Events in the US in 2020 have laid bare the reality that racism and its effects continue to take a heavy toll on the lives of Black Americans. The three articles in this issue of AJOB each provide...

Machine learning algorithms reshape how people communicate, exchange, and associate; how institutions sort them and slot them into social positions; and how they experience life, down to the most ordinary and intimate aspects. In this article, we draw on examples from the field of social media to review the commonalities, interactions, and contradictions between the dispositions of people and those of machines as they learn from and make sense of each other.

Global-scale solar geoengineering raises critical ethical questions, including questions of distributive, procedural, and intergenerational justice. Although geoengineering is sometimes framed as a response to injustice, insofar as it might benefit those most vulnerable to climate-related harms, geoengineering also has the potential to exacerbate climate injustice, especially if control of research, governance, and potential plans for deployment remains concentrated in the hands of a few. The scope and scale of solar geoengineering, the diverse concerns it raises, and the lack of consensus (...) surrounding it pose particular challenges for justice. I argue that addressing these challenges requires an inclusive, dialogical approach that takes seriously diverse perspectives, particularly the perspectives of those who are most affected by climate change and those who have had the least voice in decisions surrounding it. The concept of recognition––as developed in the work of Nancy Fraser, David Schlosberg, and others––offers a normative ground for this approach and can help guide the development of institutions and practices directed toward geoengineering justice. (shrink)

Transcending the standard critique of the politically correct university, Marion Montgomery reveals the ancient sources of our educational chaos. There can be no reform, he insists, without a new openness to the truth of things, which marks the character and work of the good teacher.

This paper explores ‘reasonable doubt’ as an enlightening notion to think of reasoning and decision-making generally, beyond the judicial domain. The paper starts from a decision-theoretic understanding of the notion, whereby it can be defined in terms of degrees of belief and a probabilistic confirmation threshold for action. It then highlights some of the limits of this notion, and proposes a richer analysis of epistemic states and reasoning through the lens of ‘reasonable doubt’, which in turn is likely to supplement (...) the DT framework. The strategy consists in fighting on two fronts: with DT, the paper claims that there is no absolute notion of ‘reasonable doubt’ but, pace DT, it shows that reasonable doubt cannot be accounted for only in terms of degrees of belief and probabilistic threshold. We argue that the lens of reasonable doubt sheds light on aspects of belief dynamics, as well as of the nature of epistemic attitudes, which are often obscured by belief-centred approaches. In particular, when it comes to acknowledging the necessary ignorance and irreducible uncertainty that we face in our everyday-life decisions, studying the various facets of doubt rather than focusing on what can be believed, enables one to do justice to the richness and diversity of the mental states in play. (shrink)

This book stands in the tradition of philosophers who advance the rationality of faith. Yet, this book goes beyond their accounts, for it not only defends the view that faith can be termed rational, but it also considers the different senses in which faith can be termed rational. While this book advances the idea that faith as a general category can be termed rational, it does not investigate in a detailed way whether there are arguments for the rationality of particular (...) faiths which would go beyond the arguments for the rationality of faith as a general category. Besides discussing whether betting on God in Pascal’s wager and believing in miracles are forms of the rationality of faith, I will provide unique solutions to the problem of evil and the paradoxes of omnipotence and omniscience. (publisher). (shrink)

Historien de la philosophie, Jean-Luc Marion est l'un des philosophes français contemporains les plus discutés, les plus commentés et les plus traduits aujourd'hui. La rigueur d'une oeuvre aussi riche que dense rend ainsi très précieuse cette conversation. Le philosophe y revient sur quelques grandes figures qui ont marqué sa vie (Ferdinand Alquié, Louis Bouyer, Emmanuel Levinas qu'il a remplacé à la Sorbonne, Jean-Marie Lustiger dont il a pris la place à l'Académie française...). Il évoque également les grandes étapes de (...) son travail, et rend compte de la dynamique d'une quête philosophique jamais éteinte. Philosophe-phare du catholicisme français, il offre enfin un éclairage neuf et très original sur l'état de l'Eglise et le dialogue judéo-chrétien. (shrink)

The problems of racism and racially motivated violence in predominantly African American communities in the United States are complex, multifactorial, and historically rooted. While these problems are also deeply morally troubling, bioethicists have not contributed substantially to addressing them. Concern for justice has been one of the core commitments of bioethics. For this and other reasons, bioethicists should contribute to addressing these problems. We consider how bioethicists can offer meaningful contributions to the public discourse, research, teaching, training, policy development, and (...) academic scholarship in response to the alarming and persistent patterns of racism and implicit biases associated with it. To make any useful contribution, bioethicists will require preparation and should expect to play a significant role through collaborative action with others. (shrink)

Ernesto Kroch foi um ativista político judeu-alemão que se exilou no Uruguai a partir de 1938, logo após ter sido preso no campo de concentração de Lichtenburg pelos nazistas. Desde sua chegada, trabalhou como metalúrgico e atuou no Partido Comunista. Em virtude do golpe civil-militar de 1973, Kroch retoma atividades de resistente até 1982, quando se vê obrigado a deixar sua segunda pátria e retornar, ainda que por apenas 4 anos, à Alemanha, onde buscou refúgio político. Em 1985, regressa ao (...) Uruguai e volta a trabalhar como metalúrgico e como tradutor. Em 2004, redige suas memórias, livro publicado primeiramente em Frankfurt e depois, no Uruguai, tema que inspira o presente artigo. Nosso objetivo é analisar como as duas experiências de exílio conformaram sua identidade a partir de sua autobiografia, que é uma leitura de si, mas também a construção de uma memória e a busca por reconhecimento. (shrink)

This superb new translation of Nietzsche's mature masterpiece, Beyond Good and Evil, offers the most comprehensively annotated text, complemented by a lucid introduction by one of the most eminent of Nietzsche scholars, Robert C. Holub.

On vise à saisir les dynamiques de petits groupes sociaux et de réseaux personnels, de leur formation initiale à leur délitement. Pour cela, depuis 2011, je mène des enquêtes ethnographiques dans trois résidences universitaires en France, aux États-Unis et au Canada. J’effectue ainsi une analyse sur deux niveaux : celui de plusieurs groupes suivis conjointement sur chacun de ces terrains, et celui des relations et des réseaux qui émergent et évoluent. J’articule la représentation graphique des réseaux personnels à des données (...) qualitatives sur ces groupes et ces réseaux. La représentation des liens et des réseaux permet de compléter l’étude des relations affinitaires et de leurs degrés d’intensité. Elle donne aussi à voir l’évolution des réseaux personnels au cours de l’année universitaire. Les descriptions ethnographiques, quant à elles, révèlent la réflexivité des acteurs sur leurs réseaux personnels, et sur leurs évolutions. Cette analyse permet dès lors d’identifier quatre étapes dans le processus de formation et transformation de petits groupes sociaux. Ces quatre temporalités se retrouvent dans l’ensemble des groupes suivis conjointement, malgré la pluralité de leurs compositions. Nous pouvons alors nous demander si dans tout groupe social de ce type se retrouveraient ces quatre temps. En ce sens, cette recherche contribue à compléter les travaux sur les réseaux personnels et les temporalités de leurs évolutions, en apportant une démarche ethnographique et microsociologique. (shrink)

Jean Bodin, renowned for his powerful intellect and breadth of knowledge, was truly a renaissance man. His works on political and legal thought set him apart as one of the most brilliant minds of the period. Although he is perhaps less known for his writing on religious questions of his day, his _Colloquium_ remains a unique contribution to religious dialogue. It circulated in its Latin manuscript form, but it was not published until the nineteenth century. Marion Leathers Kuntz offers (...) the first English translation of this masterpiece. Structured as a conversation among a Catholic, a Jew, a Lutheran, a Calvinist, a Muslim, a skeptic, and a philosophical naturalist, the _Colloquium _encourages religious tolerance and poses challenging questions for anyone interested in the nature of religious and philosophical thought. Kuntz’s introduction, translation, and annotations situate the volume both as a historical work and as a timeless chronicle of the tensions among religion, philosophy, science, faith, doubt, and empirical evidence. (shrink)

Iris Marion Young (1949-2006) was one of the most influential and innovative political theorists of her generation who had a significant impact on a wide range of topics such as democratic theory, feminist theory, and justice. She bridged many longstanding divides among political theorists, engaging in Continental and critical theory, but also insisting on the importance of normative argument: her corpus stands as a testament to the fruitfulness of engaging in both abstract theory and the 'real world' of everyday (...) politics. This volume spans the several decades of her work, illustrating her intellectual development over time through three major areas of innovation: Gender: Maintaining that gender is both conceptually and politically meaningful, Young theorized gender in terms of structures that, in combination, position different people we call "women" in different ways, such that some women have some structures in common, without all women sharing all gendered structures in common. Justice: Young's early writings on a critical theory of justice evolved in her later and posthumously published works where she developed an account of justice that brought together her theorization of structure with her concern to respond to contemporary claims of injustice. The Politics of Difference: Young rejected universal and abstract theories of justice and maintained that justice instead required attending to the experiences of people marked by difference. (shrink)