In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Philosophy and Rhetoric 36.4 (2003) 301-329 [Access article in PDF] Toward a Skeptical Criticism of Transcendental Pragmatics Frédéric Cossutta CNRS, UMR "Savoirs et Textes" University of Lille III 1. How skeptical objections play a part in transcendental foundation The grounding task of a transcendental pragmatics according to K. O. Apel My subject is the contemporary attempts, and more precisely K. O. Apel's, that aim at the refoundation of (...) rationality within a communicational framework. 1 I want to show that this task, insofar as it aims at being radical, insofar as it is "transcendental pragmatics," is the target of criticisms that a skepticism always raises against the doctrines purporting to be built upon a foundation wholly devoid of presupposition. 2 It so happens that Apel's doctrine—in a manner more systematic than that of F. Jacques or Habermas—makes explicit the conditions of its own constitution. It does so through the overthrow of skeptical objections that aim at a refutation of its radical attempt at a transcendental foundation: in Apel's eyes, the objection of the relativist or of the skeptic, because it contains an inner contradiction (a "performative self-contradiction") a contrario ensures the absolute validity of his universal pragmatic principle. If this use of skepticism constitutes the spring of the argumentation and the cornerstone of the systematic edifice Apel built, a skeptical overthrow of his overthrow will demonstrate the fragile and unsteady nature of its transcendental ambitions. It will then become impossible to associate the communicative activity with a horizon of ethical presuppositions that guarantee the success of discussion and of negotiation. It is the legitimacy of this foundationalism that we propose to contest in order to undermine transcendental theories of discourse ethics.And yet, without reverting to a sociological empiricism or having recourse to a philosophy of intersubjectivity, by showing that philosophical skepticism is not as naive as its critiques would have it, the ethical [End Page 301] orientation of communicative activity can be suspended without giving up the quest for consensus. The latter is not originary; it is not presupposed by a speech act that is ethically neutral at its structural level, but it can at best be derived as can its contrary, disagreement. Thus, against the inflation of transcendental pragmatics, I shall oppose an ethical minimalism. The grounding device of transcendental pragmatics On the one hand, how is one to undertake a founding task without anchoring it in a philosophy of consciousness? On the other hand, how is one to protect oneself from the relativistic consequences of an empirical approach of intersubjectivity? Apel's aim is to show that communicative activity presupposes an a priori that is neither a social nor a linguistic fact but factum rationis in the sense that freedom is the condition of the possibility of moral experience in Kant. Thus, according to K. O. Apel, "it appears that even purely semantic-referential discourse presupposes a pragmatic-transcendental reflection on the communicative speech-acts' claim to validity" (Apel 1994, 54). In the same book, the author relies on the model that makes language into a mere tool of communication and of representation, the Aristotelian view of language as propositional understanding: "Among the historical effects of the Aristotelian understanding there is, to some extent, the Western concept of the common sense of language as a tool for communication and representation" (54). In the initial historical treatment (12-13), it is true that a reference to Plato occurs: "in Plato, it is true that the logos, with the aid of 'language' or 'discourse' is an organon making it possible to communicate something to the other; its realm is thus that of conversation (dialogos), and thought itself is conceived of as 'a silent conversation of the soul with itself' " (Theaetetus, 180e-190a).However, this concession is immediately withdrawn: "but, on the other hand, the significance of the logos is made precise at the very moment that it is expressed as an utterance or proposition that can be true or false; this is the import of definition, argument or rational deduction" (Apel 1994, 14). In this sense... (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Philosophy and Rhetoric 36.1 (2003) 48-76 [Access article in PDF] Dialogic Characteristics of Philosophical Discourse:The Case of Plato's Dialogues 1 Frédéric Cossutta The dialogic is increasingly acknowledged as a fundamental factor in the study of human language, a factor that transcends its explicit presence in dialogue. Habermas and Apel are examples of philosophers who do not think of the dialogic as subordinate to the monologic, an approach to (...) reflexive consciousness inherited from Cartesianism; they also invest it with a constitutive dimension when they demonstrate its foundational role in knowledge and ethics. In their eyes, dialogue does not so much constitute ordinary human activity as create the conditions of its possibility. Thus with Apel this pragmatic dimension becomes transcendental, a dimension logically independent of the social or historical circumstances within which it is brought to bear, and one that is capable of playing the role of ideal regulator in the establishment of any community that is authentically human.My aim in this paper is to investigate the role that this dialogic dimension plays in philosophical discourse. If it is constitutive, and not derived, as Habermas and Apel claim, then it should be found at work in the history of philosophy. Indeed a number of philosophers and historians of philosophy have recently claimed an implicit dialogicity at the core of Descartes's Meditations, although these are actually presented in the form of a soliloquy (cf. Jacques 1979; Beyssade and Marion 1994; Bouvier 1996). But while it is true that every philosophy exhibits interdiscursive and intertextual dimensions even at the moment that it attempts to efface all traces of this interplay to present itself as a closed system, may we not question this dialogical property as constitutive of philosophical discourse as such? Philosophers who present their doctrines in the form of dialogues often use this form merely for the purposes of polemic, refutation, or instruction. There is, however, one famous exception: Plato, whose philosophy [End Page 48] is developed for the most part through a series of fictional dialogues, to which his talent gives an intrinsic "literary" quality. We thus have a case in which we can justifiably examine the philosophical value of the dialogue form. Historians of philosophy usually claim that the elements of his dialogues are no more than expressions of an underlying and constitutive dialectical dimension, though there is some dissent. 2 But I shall show that all of the elements of the dialogues, even the prologues and the settings, play a role that is intrinsically philosophical. Studying these elements will enable us to reveal the philosophical status of the dialogical dimension.I shall consider three hypotheses: (1) Though Plato's dialogues are literary rather than actual, their form cannot be reduced to the empty shell for an otherwise purely monological thought; there is an effective dialogism at work in both the early and the later Dialogues. This statement can be more easily accepted if it is recalled that philosophical activity for Plato consists of dialegsthai (Dixsaut 1985). 3 (2) In Plato, in effect, dialogue constitutes philosophical speech itself. The link between dialogue as a way of embodying doctrine and dialectics as an expression of the process of thought is intrinsic and necessary. Insofar as this link is necessary, dialogic activity cannot be characterized as an empirical practice of conversation, nor can it be reconstructed as a literary genre; rather, it is informed throughout by a philosophical theory whose explanation it makes generally available. (3) As a consequence, dialogic interplay at work in the Dialogues follows pragmatic rules that are not empirical in nature but possess a transcendental dimension and require ethical presuppositions. A parallel may thus be drawn between the Platonist conception of dialogue and the theory developed by Karl Otto Apel as "transcendental pragmatics" (1987 and 1994). This last point I shall dwell upon at length. Plato's Dialogues: Dialogism or hidden monologism? Paradoxically, the very thinkers who regard language as constitutively dialogic refuse to see this dialogism in Plato. It is true that at first sight the Platonic dialogues seem to turn the... (shrink)

Parmi les philosophies qui tentent de faire face à la crise de la rationalité, certaines, plus radicales que d’autres, en proposent une fondation reposant sur des principes qui se veulent exempts de toute présupposition. Ainsi K. O. Apel entend opérer une refondation de la rationalité éthique et cognitive en considérant les activités communicationnelles et argumentatives. Il s’agit d’élaborer une «pragmatique transcendantale» dont le processus d’étayage auto-réflexif s’appuie sur la «contradiction pragmatique» dans laquelle tombent ses éventuels contradicteurs. Une telle prétention n’est-elle (...) pas exorbitante ? Les sceptiques grecs ont élaboré une approche pragmatique du sens qui leur permet d’éviter la disqualification de leur énonciation, ce qui permet, en transposant leurs conceptions à la lumière des théories contemporaines du langage, d’échapper à la critique de Apel. On peut dès lors reconnaître le caractère constitutif de l’activité communicationnelle, sans prétendre en proposer une fondation ultime de type transcendantal, ni préjuger de son orientation éthique. Resterait à se demander s’il est possible de reconstruire une rationalité minimale compatible avec la posture sceptique. (shrink)

Utilisant de nouveaux outils d'analyse, les études platoniciennes contemporaines cherchent dans tout ce qui accompagne le contenu explicite d'une œuvre - tout ce qui est suggéré de façon oblique, les situations, l'atmosphère, les digressions, les réticences... - des indications sur ce que l'auteur, soit veut communiquer, soit communique réellement. Ce fait si simple et en même temps énigmatique, connu de tout temps, à savoir que la philosophie de Platon ne nous est accessible que par ses dialogues, constitue l'un de ces (...) traits par lesquels tout énoncé philosophique émis par Platon se trouve inévitablement modalisé. L'attention à la forme dialogue, telle qu'elle est thématisée ici, c'est donc la prise en compte, pour mieux entendre Platon, de tous les aspects " para-énonciatifs " de ses dialogues ; de tout ce qui fait le sens, non seulement des énoncés théoriques prêtés à tel ou tel personnage, mais de leur ensemble, de l'échange en tant que tel (entre les personnages, entre l'auteur et le lecteur), et de la stratégie platonicienne pour faire de la réception de son œuvre une expérience (y compris émotive) pour son lecteur. (shrink)

A collection of essays in French or English on the reception of Cartesian philosphy.

Prenant appui sur les acquis de l’analyse du discours philosophique, cet article se propose d’explorer les conséquences sur la pratique traductive du lien intrinsèque qui existe entre la pensée et son énonciation. Dans sa dimension éminemment constitutive du sens, l’écriture philosophique prend des formes diverses, que le traducteur se doit de prendre en compte. L’étude d’un genre particulier, à savoir le discours fragmentaire, analysé ici au travers du modèle canonique des Pensées de Pascal, permet d’illustrer la notion d’investissement générique de (...) Frédéric Cossutta et les enjeux traductologiques qui en découlent, pour déboucher sur une philosophie de la traduction fondée sur une approche dynamique. (shrink)

Este artigo visa investigar a imbricação entre ideal e material a partir de formulação do antropólogo francês Maurice Godelier, em diálogo com Marx. O problema formulado é: dado o contexto da pandemia mundial da Covid-19, com ênfase na especificidade brasileira, como pensar os problemas que vivemos atravessados pelas “realidades ideais” forjadas no capitalismo e, mais especificamente, no capitalismo brasileiro? O objetivo é formular algumas proposições conceituais que, articuladas, definam a própria condição central do capitalismo, referidas posteriormente ao caso atual. A (...) investigação é de natureza filosófica, pensada, no sentido de Frédéric Cossutta, como “reexame e definição do conceito”, tendo como “referência” a própria pandemia. Os resultados apresentados mostram que as “idealidades” principais atribuídas ao capitalismo - o individualismo, o nacionalismo, a primazia do dinheiro, o ideal de multiplicação permanente do valor e um modo particular e dinâmico de perfazer divisões de grupos sociais – operam conjuntamente nas reações apresentadas, nas exigências de “volta à normalidade” e nas desigualdades a elas associadas. O artigo conclui com uma reflexão inicial sobre os desafios para a reversão de um quadro dessa ordem, rejeitando formulações idealistas - como certa ideia de “conscientização” eventualmente sugere -, mas também formulações mecanicamente materialistas – como pode sugerir certo modelo de revolução a partir de um ato “acima da sociedade”. (shrink)

One of intuitions driving the acceptance of a neat structured tree of life is the assumption that organisms and the lineages they form have somewhat stable spatial and temporal boundaries. The phenomenon of symbiosis shows us that such ‘fixist’ assumptions does not correspond to how the natural world actually works. The implications of lateral gene transfer (LGT) have been discussed elsewhere; I wish to stress a related point. I will focus on lateral function transfer (LFT) and will argue, using examples (...) of what many would call ‘superorganisms’, that the emergence of symbiotic individuals revives the importance of functional and adaptationist thinking in how we conceptualize the lineages of biological individuals. The consequence of the argument is that, if we really want to hold onto tree of life thinking, we had better accept that new saplings appear and disappear all the time. (shrink)

E. O. Wilson (1974: 54) describes the problem that social organisms pose: “On what bases do we distinguish the extremely modified members of an invertebrate colony from the organs of a metazoan animal?” This framing of the issue has inspired many to look more closely at how groups of organisms form and behave as emergent individuals. The possible existence of “superorganisms” test our best intuitions about what can count and act as genuine biological individuals and how we should study them. (...) As we will discuss, colonies of certain organisms display many of the properties that we usually reserve only to individual organisms. Although there is good reason to believe that many social insects form genuine emergent biological individuals, the conclusion offered here is of a slightly different sort. I will argue that to understand some social insects' interactions and the emergent traits they give rise to, it may be helpful to shift our understanding from a community-level approach to an ecosystem-level approach. I will argue that viewing certain insect colonies (termites) as parts of ecosystems allows us to better understand some of the adaptations that have emerged from their evolution. (shrink)

Given the complexity of most phenomena, we have to delegate much epistemic work to other knowers and we must find reasons for relying on these specific knowers and not others. In our societies, these other knowers are often called experts and we rely on their epistemic authority more and more. For many complex phenomena such as climate change, genetically modified crops, and immunization, the experts that are called upon are scientific experts. For that reason, finding good reasons and justification for (...) deferring to their knowledge is of paramount societal importance. As we shall see, many have analyzed this epistemic dependence on scientific experts and have tried to show in what contexts are there good... (shrink)

1891. The recovered manuscript of Aristotle's Constitutional History of Athens, now for the first time given to the world from the unique text in the British...

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain (...) in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant. (shrink)

La physique sociale commence, dans le Cours, par prendre acte du cercle où s’enferme la modernité: l’esprit critique refuse toute perspective d’organisation sociale; l’esprit rétrograde refuse l’idée même de progrès. Comte, progressiste, considère que l’on ne pourra sortir de ce cercle qu’en assumant l’héritage des rétrogrades, de manière à dépasser le danger qu’enveloppe la critique. Notre époque, totalement révolutionnaire, n’a d’autre horizon que sa propre critique. Or, ce qu’enseigne le Moyen-Âge interprété par les rétrogrades, c’est que sans horizon positif, la (...) critique nécessairement en vient à faire le jeu de la force, et en ce sens à détruire la société. C’est donc la comparaison des rétrogrades et des révolutionnaires qui, non seulement justifie le recours au concept de pouvoir spirituel, mais permet de mesurer ce que devient une société qui prétend s’en passer. (shrink)

This paper examines the correspondence and contacts between Galileo and a number of French intellectuals. It demonstrates that exchanges between Galileo and those Frenchmen did much to stimulate an interest in new scientific ideas in France, especially in astronomy; for example, Galileo provided a number of good telescopic lenses that did much to establish observational astronomy in France. The Frenchmen for their part provided Galileo with considerable useful information. Several were very active in his support after the condemnation of 1633 (...) and in publishing his later works. The paper further demonstrates the extent of the network of intellectuals who corresponded with Galileo and each other across Europe in the early seventeenth century. (shrink)

Interpretation of the development of merleau-ponty's attitude toward phenomenological reflection. first, ``the phenomenology of perception'' is shown to be a critique of the transcendental idealism of husserl's works prior to the ``crisis''. second, ``the visible and the invisible'' is shown to be an imminent critique of the ``lifeworld phenomenology'' of the ``crisis'' and of ``the phenomenology of perception'', leading to the view that phenomenological reflection, like reflective philosophy in general, must be superseded by a new approach which would articulate our (...) truly immediate relation with the world. (shrink)

L’importance des sources néoplatoniciennes de la philosophie première de Jankélévitch s’inscrit dans la lignée de l’enseignement de Bréhier qui le met sur la voie d’une « négation libératrice ». La fidélité à Bergson et la lecture de Schelling ne pouvaient néanmoins que reconduire la tentative de dépassement de la logique qui en résulte à une forme d’expérience pure qui recherche la plénitude dans une adéquation à la vie. Ainsi, « l’évanouissante entrevision » à laquelle Jankélévitch nous condamne à tendre sans (...) jamais l’atteindre, rivés que nous sommes à notre finitude, marque-t‑elle tout autant une forme de distance vis-à-vis de la philosophie de Plotin. La compréhension de cet héritage critique pourra ainsi nous permettre de mieux cerner ce qui sépare le vitalisme de Jankélévitch de l’idéalisme néoplatonicien, c’est-à-dire ce qui demeure incompatible entre la logique de la vie et la dialectique de la pensée. (shrink)

Série de l’ère #MeToo, I May Destroy You de Michaela Coel montre que la violence est une potentialité inhérente à la relation sexuelle. Le viol n’est pas le problème spécifique de la série, mais plutôt le cas extrême et paradigmatique qui donne lieu à une problématisation plus générale de la sexualité ordinaire, en une famille de cas hétérogènes. Le point culminant de la série est la manière dont elle transmue le genre du « Rape and Revenge », en substituant à (...) la vengeance des formes politiques d’action, par la puissance du récit et de la parole publique. (shrink)

Il ne suffit plus de s'interroger sur l'art littéraire mis au service de la composition des récits bibliques ; il faut poser aux textes eux-mêmes la question de la littérature, discerner l'effet de la littérature sur ce qu'on appelle la Bible. Car la littérature n'est pas un simple effet construit, mais d'abord, culturellement, un mode d'expression qui induit également une réception, une compréhension de ce qu'il exprime. L'exemple de l'appel d'Abraham et de la “ ligature d'Isaac ”, le rappel de (...) la création et la figure de Job ouvrent à cette dimension littéraire essentielle à la Bible qui ne se contente pas d'échanger ou de transmettre des expériences, mais se définit elle-même comme expérience ou épreuve adressée à ses lecteurs.It is no longer enough to question oneself about literary art put to the service of the composition of biblical narratives. One must put the question of literature to the texts themselves, discern the effect of literature on that which one calls the Bible. For literature is just no simply composed, but above all a cultural type of expression that calls for a reception, an understanding of that which it expresses. The examples of the call of Abraham, and the "binding of Isaac ", the recall of creation and the figure of job, give this a literary dimension that is essential to the Bible, which does not stop at exchanging or transmitting some experiences, but defines itself as experience or test addressed to its readers. (shrink)

The works of Joseph Glanvill, who was a fellow of the Royal Society, are complex : indeed, the most radical scepticism can be found to go hand in hand with the deepest trust in the advancement of knowledge. This apparent paradox bespeaks a new conception of science : a science that is definitely free from any claim to an intuitive comprehension of the nature of things. Scepticism thus becomes the condition of scientific progress as well as the very method of (...) science itself. In so far forth, Glanvill has an important place, however unconspicuous, in the modern history of critical philosophy. In his answer to Descartes’s argument of theDeus deceptor(a deceptive god), Glanvill makes a distinction between “infallible certainty” and “indubitable certainty”, which indeed marks the moment when science, aware of its own rules, acknowledges its relativity. (shrink)

En ce qui concerne la santé et la maladie, le scepticisme est diversement apprécié par ses détracteurs ou ses adeptes. Pour les premiers, il est la figure même de la maladie de l’âme privée de vérité, pour les seconds il est le seul moyen d’atteindre la santé mentale. Mais les choses sont plus compliquées, car certains sceptiques modernes, comme Hume ou Montaigne, voient dans le doute un moment critique qu’il faut traverser.

La physique sociale commence, dans le Cours, par prendre acte du cercle où s’enferme la modernité : l’esprit critique refuse toute perspective d’organisation sociale ; l’esprit rétrograde refuse l’idée même de progrès. Comte, progressiste, considère que l’on ne pourra sortir de ce cercle qu’en assumant l’héritage des rétrogrades, de manière à dépasser le danger qu’enveloppe la critique. Notre époque, totalement révolutionnaire, n’a d’autre horizon que sa propre critique. Or, ce qu’enseigne le Moyen-Âge interprété par les rétrogrades, c’est que sans horizon (...) positif, la critique nécessairement en vient à faire le jeu de la force, et en ce sens à détruire la société. C’est donc la comparaison des rétrogrades et des révolutionnaires qui, non seulement justifie le recours au concept de pouvoir spirituel, mais permet de mesurer ce que devient une société qui prétend s’en passer. Sociology begins by taking account of the circle in which modernity is caught. The critical stance refuses any prospect of social organisation ; the counter-revolutionary stance refuses the very idea of progress. As a progressive, Comte feels that, in order to find a way out and to overcome the danger involved in the critical way of thinking, we need to accept the conservative heritage. Our time is totally revolutionary and its horizon is only critical. The middle ages, as seen by the counter-revolutionaries, taught us that, without a positive horizon, the critical stance necessarily comes to side with force and, in the long run, to destroy society. It is therefore the comparison between conservatives and revolutionaries which not only justifies the use of the concept of spiritual power, but allows us to see what happens to a society which pretends to do without it. (shrink)

Le rapport Sarr-Savoy sur la restitution du patrimoine africain a provoqué controverses et crispations. Quels peuvent être les critères de restitution des objets? Les modes d’acquisition, les usages dans le contexte culturel d’origine, les modalités de retour en Afrique? Il s’agit ici de faire un pas de côté par rapport au débat sur le devenir des musées détenteurs de collections coloniales, particulièrement euro centré. La restitution n’est pas seulement le déplacement physique d’un artefact d’un musée à un autre, elle est (...) un geste symbolique. Ainsi, dans les angles morts de la restitution formelle, cette Mineure recherche des formes alternatives de restitution de basse intensité, à partir desquels pourrait s’ouvrir de nouveaux horizons d’appropriation. (shrink)

Imperial Power and Maritime Trade: Mecca and Cairo in the Later Middle Ages. By John L. Meloy. Chicago: Middle East Documentation Center, University of Chicago, 2010. Pp. xiii + 305. $59.95.

. Computational chemistry grew in a new era of “desktop modeling,” which coincided with a growing demand for modeling software, especially from the pharmaceutical industry. Parameterization of models in computational chemistry is an arduous enterprise, and we argue that this activity leads, in this specific context, to tensions among scientists regarding the epistemic opacity transparency of parameterized methods and the software implementing them. We relate one flame war from the Computational Chemistry mailing List in order to assess in detail the (...) relationships between modeling methods, parameterization, software and the various forms of their enclosure or disclosure. Our claim is that parameterization issues are an important and often neglected source of epistemic opacity and that this opacity is entangled in methods and software alike. Models and software must be addressed together to understand the epistemological tensions at stake. (shrink)

The author attempts to encompass the self, or a self, that, while at some times appears to be his own, at other times not, thus encompassing and continually morphing. It is a mixture of poetry and prose.