John Dupre warns that our understanding of human nature is being distorted by two faulty and harmful forms of pseudo-scientific thinking. Not just in the academic world but in everyday life, we find one set of experts who seek to explain the ends at which humans aim in terms of evolutionary theory, while the other set uses economic models to give rules of how we act to achieve those ends. Dupre demonstrates that these theorists' explanations do not work and that, (...) if taken seriously, their theories tend to have dangerous social and political consequences. For these reasons, it is important to resist scientism: an exaggerated conception of what science can be expected to do for us. Dupre restores sanity to the study of human nature by pointing the way to a proper understanding of humans in the societies that are our natural and necessary environments. Anyone interested in science and human life will enjoy this book--unless they are its targets. (shrink)

This collection of essays explores the metaphysical thesis that the living world is not made up of substantial particles or things, as has often been assumed, but is rather constituted by processes. The biological domain is organised as an interdependent hierarchy of processes, which are stabilised and actively maintained at different timescales. Even entities that intuitively appear to be paradigms of things, such as organisms, are actually better understood as processes. Unlike previous attempts to articulate processual views of biology, which (...) have tended to use Alfred North Whitehead’s panpsychist metaphysics as a foundation, this book takes a naturalistic approach to metaphysics. It submits that the main motivations for replacing an ontology of substances with one of processes are to be found in the empirical findings of science. Biology provides compelling reasons for thinking that the living realm is fundamentally dynamic, and that the existence of things is always conditional on the existence of processes. The phenomenon of life cries out for theories that prioritise processes over things, and it suggests that the central explanandum of biology is not change but rather stability, or more precisely, stability attained through constant change. This edited volume brings together philosophers of science and metaphysicians interested in exploring the consequences of a processual philosophy of biology. The contributors draw on an extremely wide range of biological case studies, and employ a process perspective to cast new light on a number of traditional philosophical problems, such as identity, persistence, and individuality. (shrink)

El siguiente trabajo tiene como objetivo principal describir y analizar la percepción de Manuel Baldomero Ugarte sobre Estados Unidos. Ugarte fue literato y político, pero también fue un pensador interesado por los asuntos internacionales de América Latina. Evidencia de ello son sus propuestas integracionistas y antiimperialistas, en las cuales la presencia de Estados Unidos era evidente. Debido a lo anterior, se estima conveniente explicar qué pensó Ugarte sobre la nación norteamericana, y desde esa perspectiva, contribuir a la discusión sobre tan (...) trascendental intelectual latinoamericano. The purpose of this work is to describe and analyze the perception of Manuel Baldomero Ugarte about the United States. Ugarte was a writer and a politician, but it was also a thinker interested in the Latin America’s international affairs. Testimony of this are his integrationist and anti-imperialist proposals, in which the U.S. presence was evident. Thus, it is considered advisable to explain what he thought about the American nation, and from this perspective, to contribute to the discussion around this important Latin American intellectual. (shrink)

Analytic metaphysics has recently discovered biology as a means of grounding metaphysical theories. This has resulted in long-standing metaphysical puzzles, such as the problems of personal identity and material constitution, being increasingly addressed by appeal to a biological understanding of identity. This development within metaphysics is in significant tension with the growing tendency amongst philosophers of biology to regard biological identity as a deep puzzle in its own right, especially following recent advances in our understanding of symbiosis, the evolution of (...) multi-cellular organisms and the inherently dynamical character of living systems. Moreover, and building on these biological insights, the broadly substance ontological framework of metaphysical theories of biological identity appears problematic to a growing number of philosophers of biology who invoke process ontology instead. This volume addresses this tension, exploring to what extent it can be dissolved. For this purpose, the volume presents the first selection of essays exclusively focused on biological identity and written by experts in metaphysics, the philosophy of biology and biology. The resulting cross-disciplinary dialogue paves the way for a convincing account of biological identity that is both metaphysically constructive and scientifically informed, and will be of interest to metaphysicians, philosophers of biology and theoretical biologists. (shrink)

John Dupr explores recent revolutionary developments in biology and considers their relevance for our understanding of human nature and society. He reveals how the advance of genetic science is changing our view of the constituents of life, and shows how an understanding of microbiology will overturn standard assumptions about the living world.

John Dupré explores recent revolutionary developments in biology and considers their relevance for our understanding of human nature and human society. Epigenetics and related areas of molecular biology have eroded the exceptional status of the gene and presented the genome as fully interactive with the rest of the cell. Developmental systems theory provides a space for a vision of evolution that takes full account of the fundamental importance of developmental processes. Dupré shows the importance of microbiology for a (...) proper understanding of the living world, and reveals how it subverts such basic biological assumptions as the organisation of biological kinds on a branching tree of life, and the simple traditional conception of the biological organism. (shrink)

Analytic metaphysics has recently discovered biology as a means of grounding metaphysical theories. This has resulted in long-standing metaphysical puzzles, such as the problems of personal identity and material constitution, being increasingly addressed by appeal to a biological understanding of identity. This development within metaphysics is in significant tension with the growing tendency amongst philosophers of biology to regard biological identity as a deep puzzle in its own right, especially following recent advances in our understanding of symbiosis, the evolution of (...) multi-cellular organisms and the inherently dynamical character of living systems. Moreover, and building on these biological insights, the broadly substance ontological framework of metaphysical theories of biological identity appears problematic to a growing number of philosophers of biology who invoke process ontology instead. This volume addresses this tension, exploring to what extent it can be dissolved. For this purpose, the volume presents the first selection of essays exclusively focused on biological identity and written by experts in metaphysics, the philosophy of biology and biology. The resulting cross-disciplinary dialogue paves the way for a convincing account of biological identity that is both metaphysically constructive and scientifically informed, and will be of interest to metaphysicians, philosophers of biology and theoretical biologists. (shrink)

This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction: No Need for Special Biological Laws? The Reductionist Principle Strong Emergence Complex Relations in Biology A Misinformed Slogan and Its Contributions Genes Causation Systems Biology Metaphysical Coda Postscript: Counterpoint Acknowledgments Notes References.

La thérapie psychanalytique en couple est l’analyse du lien que les partenaires ont construit entre eux. Dès les entretiens préliminaires, des interventions globales sur le fonctionnement du couple et des partenaires doivent permettre une restauration narcissique et proposer à chacun des conjoints un étayage pour « penser le couple ». La thérapie passe par l’élaboration des collusions du couple ; les conjoints l’un par l’autre, l’un avec l’autre, retravaillent dans le cadre thérapeutique leurs deux histoires personnelles qu’ils ont mises en (...) commun dans le secret de leurs collusions inconscientes. Ils passent de la projection de l’objet interne à la reconnaissance de l’objet externe et découvrent la richesse de l’altérité, celle de la fécondité psychique. (shrink)

La thérapie psychanalytique en couple est l’analyse du lien que les partenaires ont construit entre eux. Dès les entretiens préliminaires, des interventions globales sur le fonctionnement du couple et des partenaires doivent permettre une restauration narcissique et proposer à chacun des conjoints un étayage pour « penser le couple ». La thérapie passe par l’élaboration des collusions du couple ; les conjoints l’un par l’autre, l’un avec l’autre, retravaillent dans le cadre thérapeutique leurs deux histoires personnelles qu’ils ont mises en (...) commun dans le secret de leurs collusions inconscientes. Ils passent de la projection de l’objet interne à la reconnaissance de l’objet externe et découvrent la richesse de l’altérité, celle de la fécondité psychique. (shrink)

Questions of ethics - about how we should act, our responsibilities to one another, the difference between right and wrong - have long been debated by philosophers the world over and form the foundations of government, culture and religion. Here, in concise, easy-to-read chapters, Ben Dupré explains the fundamentals of this discipline and how it is relevant to our lives today. Covering essential ethical concepts, including relativism, the golden rule and utilitarianism, as well as high-profile issues such as terrorism, (...) censorship and the death penalty, 50 Ethics Ideas You Really Need to Know will lead you through the moral maze - and rattle your conscience in the process. (shrink)

Résumé À partir de leur expérience d’accueillantes en binôme dans un lieu d’écoute ouvert aux malades du cancer et à leur entourage, les auteurs s’interrogent sur le réveil des relations primaires de l’histoire infantile et la possible reprise de leur élaboration, permettant l’inscription dans une généalogie et ouvrant sur une meilleure transmission. L’article présente le dispositif de cet accueil en insistant sur la spécificité de ce binôme (l’un des deux thérapeutes accueillants a personnellement l’expérience de la maladie) et propose quelques (...) exemples cliniques pour illustrer cette réflexion. (shrink)

Résumé À partir de leur expérience d’accueillantes en binôme dans un lieu d’écoute ouvert aux malades du cancer et à leur entourage, les auteurs s’interrogent sur le réveil des relations primaires de l’histoire infantile et la possible reprise de leur élaboration, permettant l’inscription dans une généalogie et ouvrant sur une meilleure transmission. L’article présente le dispositif de cet accueil en insistant sur la spécificité de ce binôme (l’un des deux thérapeutes accueillants a personnellement l’expérience de la maladie) et propose quelques (...) exemples cliniques pour illustrer cette réflexion. (shrink)

Le handicap transforme la vie du couple et de la famille. La surcharge psychique qu’il implique pour tous les membres de celle-ci et les défenses mises en place révèlent les fragilités du couple et rendent nécessaires un travail d’élaboration, principalement de certaines collusions sur lesquelles s’était construit le couple. La régression de fonctionnement que le traumatisme provoque peut amener le thérapeute à se demander si ce fonctionnement révèle la structure du couple ou s’il est une défense. Ce fut en tout (...) cas l’hypothèse qui a soutenu le travail clinique dans le cas présenté. (shrink)

Dans un premier cas, le travail du contre-transfert en thérapie de couple met au jour les traumatismes mis en résonance dans le choix amoureux et leur élaboration. Deux autres thérapies montrent comment les traumatismes des générations précédentes peuvent être mis en figuration dans l’organisation du couple et être mobilisés dans le transfert.

Ce texte est une petite histoire de la consultation conjugale durant ces cinquante dernières années, avec l’idéologie de ses débuts, les recherches théoriques, cliniques et méthodologique du conseil conjugal. La pression de la demande et son évolution est mise en parallèle avec les recherches cliniques ayant amené à proposer des thérapies de couple. Celles-ci à leur tour nous renseignent sur les difficultés des couples actuels, reflétant l’évolution des valeurs de la société.

La rencontre des consultants et des thérapeutes se fait sur un choc de leurs croyances au couple. Cette question est interrogée à partir des formulations des consultants et des thérapeutes sur le couple, sur leur couple. Elle introduit à ce qu’est un couple pour l’auteur, un organisateur du psychisme, une matrice de subjectivité.

Excerpt from La Légende Socratique Et les Sources de Platon Cette maniere de se représenter le rôle de Socrate, les his toriens modernes l'ont adoptée presque sans réserve et n'ont ambitionné que de la développer point par point. Leur estime pour la personne du Philosophe égale la haute idée qu'ils se font de son oeuvre. Voici comment s'exprime l'un d'eux, choisi parmi les plus autorisés et les plus lus. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and (...) classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Journal of the History of Philosophy 42.2 (2004) 220-221 [Access article in PDF] Clyde Lee Miller. Reading Cusanus: Metaphor and Dialectic in a Conjectural Universe. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 2003. Pp. viii + 276. Cloth, $64.95. In an age where the idea of postmodernity gains more and more ground, the period of postmodern thinking has turned into a major challenge to the human mind. Whereas the (...) project of modernity revokes itself through the contradictions it has generated, the need to find new perspectives makes us wonder what happened in the 15th century when the Renaissance paved the way to modernity and still contained seeds of alternative developments which for one reason or another did not get a chance to germinate. This is an invitation to concentrate on the work of Nicholas of Cusa (1401-1464) as one of the major Renaissance thinkers.Miller's book is an attempt to promote the understanding of Cusanus by a close reading of six of the major works of this author. In reading these works he focuses on Cusan thought both as this thought presents itself in these works, and as it appears against the background of traditional philosophy, especially when seen in the light of the Neoplatonic tradition.The works in question are the books On Learned Ignorance (De docta ignorantia) and On Conjectures (De coniecturis), aptly presented under the title: "Envisiong the Whole," and "Conjecturing Oneness and Otherness" respectively. The remaining four works concern the The Layman: About Mind (Idiota de mente) in which Cusanus develops his understanding of the mind and of intellectual authenticity; The Vision of God (De visione Dei), a treatise on mystical theology and an invitation to enter the divine mystery through a combination of prayer and reflection; On the Not Other (De non aliud), a highly speculative work on divine immanence and transcendence; and The Hunt for Wisdom (De venatione sapientiae) in which Cusanus gives an account of his philosophy by connecting it with the metaphor of a hunt in ten different fields. [End Page 220]Miller begins his book with an Introduction in which he outlines his approach to Cusanus, taking the cue from Plato's image of the divided line with its emphasis on the dialectical distinction between noesis (intellect) and dianoia (reason), and from the dialogue On the Hidden God (De Deo abscondito), a brief discussion between a Heathen and a Christian in which Cusanus connects the theme of learned ignorance with the act of adoration. The distinction between reason and intellect is important because the work of Cusanus is a continuous effort to cope with the meaning of distinctions and their impact on our ways of thinking. The reference to the dialogue is significant because this text clearly indicates that the quest for God is the central issue in the thought of Cusanus, and that the notion of ignorance is actually connected with the theoretical and practical meaning of God.In his discussion of the six works Miller follows the text of Cusanus which he presents in the form of argumentative summaries and complementary reflections. His presentation is lucid and to the point. In his reflections on the text and context of Cusan thought he gives valuable insights into the historical position of Cusanus and the manner in which Nicholas appropriated and transformed traditional ways of thinking. At the same time Miller keeps track of the reception of Cusanus by contemporary scholarship and the various interpretations it has to offer.The book ends with a "reprise" of the previous chapters which provides "an overall perspective on Nicholas' thought and its main themes and proposals" (241). The central elements of this perspective are "the metaphysics of the Infinite and the finite" (242) and the doctrine of perspectival relations as it has been developed in De coniecturis. What connects them with one another finds expression in the distinction (and transition) between explanatory and exploratory metaphors (252); that is, between metaphors such as "image-exemplar" and "unfolding-enfolding," which provide explanatory structures for the interpretation of reality, and metaphors such... (shrink)

Contains brief references to Aborigines based on secondary literature.