Language, through the discrete nature of linguistic names and strictly determined grammatical rules, creates absolute, “quantized”, sharply separated “facts” within the external world that is continuous, “fuzzy” and relational in its essence. Therefore, it is similar, in some important sense, to magic, which attributes causal and creative power to magical words and formulas. On the one hand, language increases greatly the effectiveness of the processes of thinking and interpersonal communication, yet, on the other hand, it determines and distorts to a (...) large extent the picture of the world created within the mind. The relatively smallest (but still significant) magical admixture is present in science, because of its relatively reliable methodology, while the largest is found in religion and a large part of philosophy. The magical nature of language also manifests itself in logic and mathematics that refer to ill determined, fuzzy objects, sets and relations in the real world. The meaning of linguistic names is based on the conceptual network—an epiphenomenon (continuous in its essence) of the neural network—where interactions between particular concepts are based on the relation of connotation. The names and formulas of language correspond to these concepts which are best separated and determined. A direct relation of denotation between the elements of language and “facts” of the world is an illusion. While we cannot dispense with language because of its immense usefulness, we must remember about its “fact-creating” nature and influence on our thought and cognitive processes. The picture of the reality created as the result of them is to a large extent formed and deformed by the nature of language, and not by the “immanent” properties of the world in itself. (shrink)

The cybernetic definition of a living individual proposed previously (Korzeniewski, 2001) is very abstract and therefore describes the essence of life in a very formal and general way. In the present article this definition is reformulated in order to determine clearly the relation between life in general and a living individual in particular, and it is further explained and defended. Next, the cybernetic definition of a living individual is confronted with the real world. It is demonstrated that numerous restrictions (...) imposed on the cybernetic definition of life by physical reality imply a number of particular properties of life that characterize present life on Earth, namely: (1) a living individual must be a dissipative structure (and therefore a low-entropy thermodynamic system out of the state of equilibrium); (2) spontaneously-originated life must be based on organic compounds; (3) evolutionarily stable self-dependent, free-living individuals must have some minimal level of complexity of structure and function; (4) a living individual must have a record of identity separated from an executive machinery; (5) the identity of living individuals must mutate and may evolve; (6) living individuals may collect and accumulate information in subsequent generations over very long periods of time; (7) the degree of complexity of a living individual reflects the degree of complexity of its environment (ecological niche) and (8) living individuals are capable of supple adaptation to varying environmental conditions. Thus, the cybernetic definition of a living individual, when confronted with the real physical world, generates most of the general properties of the present life on Earth. (shrink)

The main idea -- The functioning of a neuron -- Brain structure and function -- The general structure of the neural network -- Instincts, emotions, free will -- The nature of mental objects -- The rise and essence of (self-)consciousness -- Artificial intelligence -- Cognitive limitations of man.

The mathematical dynamic model of oxidative phosphorylation in muscle mitochondria developed previously was used to calculate the flux control coefficients of particular steps of this process in isolated mitochondria at different amounts of hexokinase and oxygen concentrations. The pattern of control was completely different under different conditions. For normoxic concentration, the main controlling steps in state 4, state 3.5 and state 3 were proton leak, ATP usage (hexokinase) and complex III, respectively. The pattern of control in state 4 was not (...) changed at hypoxic oxygen concentration, while in state 3.5 and state 3 much of the control was shifted from other steps to cytochrome oxidase. The implications of the theoretical results obtained for the regulation of oxidative phosphorylation in intact muscle are discussed. (shrink)

Descartes has often been called the 'father of modern philosophy'. His attempts to find foundations for knowledge, and to reconcile the existence of the soul with the emerging science of his time, are among the most influential and widely studied in the history of philosophy. This is a classic and challenging introduction to Descartes by one of the most distinguished modern philosophers. Bernard Williams not only analyzes Descartes' project of founding knowledge on certainty, but uncovers the philosophical motives for (...) his search. With acute insight, he demonstrates how Descartes' _Meditations _are not merely a description but the very enactment of philosophical thought and discovery. Williams covers all of the key areas of Descartes' thought, including God, the will, the possibility of knowledge, and the mind and its place in nature. He also makes profound contributions to the theory of knowledge, metaphysics and philosophy generally. With a new foreword by John Cottingham. (shrink)

Descartes has often been called the 'father of modern philosophy'. His attempts to find foundations for knowledge, and to reconcile the existence of the soul with the emerging science of his time, are among the most influential and widely studied in the history of philosophy. This is a classic and challenging introduction to Descartes by one of the most distinguished modern philosophers. Bernard Williams not only analyzes Descartes' project of founding knowledge on certainty, but uncovers the philosophical motives for (...) his search. With acute insight, he demonstrates how Descartes' _Meditations _are not merely a description but the very enactment of philosophical thought and discovery. Williams covers all of the key areas of Descartes' thought, including God, the will, the possibility of knowledge, and the mind and its place in nature. He also makes profound contributions to the theory of knowledge, metaphysics and philosophy generally. With a new foreword by John Cottingham. (shrink)

In Morality Bernard Williams confronts the problems of writing moral philosophy, and offers a stimulating alternative to more systematic accounts which seem nevertheless to have left all the important issues somewhere off the page.

This book presents the thought of the Kyoto School in comparison with continental philosophers better known in the West and addresses the affiliation of some of its members with the militarism of the 1930s and 1940s.

This book contributes to current bioethical debates by providing a critical analysis of the philosophy of human death. Bernard N. Schumacher discusses contemporary philosophical perspectives on death, creating a dialogue between phenomenology, existentialism, and analytic philosophy. He also examines the ancient philosophies that have shaped our current ideas about death. His analysis focuses on three fundamental problems: (1) the definition of human death, (2) the knowledge of mortality and of human death as such, and (3) the question of whether (...) death is nothing to us or, on the contrary, whether it can be regarded as an absolute or relative evil. Drawing on scholarship published in four languages and from three distinct currents of thought, this volume represents a comprehensive and systematic study of the philosophy of death, one that provides a provocative basis for discussions of the bioethics of human mortality. (shrink)

Peu de philosophes contemporains choisissent de faire vivre leurs outils critiques grâce au terreau d'une association, d'un collectif. C'est le cas de Bernard Stiegler, qui a fondé Ars Industrialis en 2005. Le manifeste de l'association, Réenchanter le monde (Flammarion, 2005 ; 7400 ventes en Champs), devait connaître un grand retentissement. Depuis, les travaux et contributions fleurissent (de l'économiste André Gréau au comédien Robin Renucci, en passant par les spécialistes des digital studies), et Ars Industrialis franchit un cap en s'associant (...) à des collectivités locales (Nantes) ou en nouant des partenariats internationaux (Grande-Bretagne, Allemagne). Cet ouvrage fournit une synthèse de tous ces travaux en proposant un vocabulaire philosophique à la fois ambitieux et accessible. Qu'est-ce le marketing - le psychopouvoir - et pourquoi est-il un des dangers majeurs de notre époque? En quoi la technique influence-t-elle des fonctions aussi capitales que la mémoire ou l'écriture? Quelle nouvelle vision de l'éducation devons-nous mettre à jour depuis l'avènement du numérique? Que sont la bêtise et l'intelligence? Comment aider la transformation de citoyens passifs et débordés en amateurs, acteurs et membres d'une communauté de goûts et de savoirs? Faire attention propose, dans ces courts essais-définitions, le manifeste d'une époque charnière qui voit définitivement s'éloigner le monde ancien, tout en souhaitant mettre les outils de l'extrême contemporain au service d'un nouvel humanisme. (shrink)

Paris, 1943. In a flash, a book is published that will shape post-war Europe like none other. Jean-Paul Sartre’s Being and Nothingness discloses utterly new insights about human freedom, about feelings such as shame and desire, and about death. The new edition of the renowned book of commentary on the magnum opus of French existentialism opens access to the work through the latest state of research.

How I became a philosopher -- To love, to love me, to love us.

Aujourd'hui nous vivons un nouveau stade de la longue histoire de l'évolution technique de l'humanité : le stade du capitalisme hyperindustriel. Depuis le XXe siècle, l'homme n'a cessé de vivre les bouleversements des conditions de la temporalité, c'est-à-dire aussi bien de son individuation. Ce nouveau stade induit déjà une profonde transformation de nos existences. Loin de disparaître, l'industrialisation se poursuit et se renforce, elle investit de nouveaux champs, invisibles, qui vont des nanostructures jusqu'aux fondements neurologiques de l'insconscient, en passant par (...) les biotechnologies : les champs de l'hypermatériel, où la matière est toujours déjà une forme, où la forme est toujours déjà une information et où l'" immatériel " apparaît pour ce qu'il est : une fable qui enfume les esprits. Bernard Stiegler formule à nouveaux frais les enjeux des technologies culturelles et cognitives, mais aussi des biotechnologies et des nanotechnologies. Elles ne vont pas sans péril pour l'humanité, pour le " devenir non inhumain " de l'espèce humaine, comme il l'écrit. Demain, l'homme sera-t-il désemparé de lui-même, de sa conscience et de sa libido, ou saura-t-il exister avec les technologies de l'hypermatériel? S'il se laisse subsumer, s'il laisse son désir être capté par les puissantes machines et réseaux qui cherchent déjà à instaurer un psychopouvoir, l'une des conséquences pourrait bien être l'auto-destruction du capitalisme, déjà bien engagé sur cette pente. Bernard Stiegler n'est pas un technophobe. Il n'en est que plus autorisé à nous alerter. (shrink)

In Ethics and the Autonomy of Philosophy, Bernard Walker sets out with two objectives. First, Walker argues that ethics is autonomous as a discipline. Oftentimes ethics books, from a Christian perspective, lean toward grounding ethics in theology or in biblical proof texting. Walker departs from this tradition. Ethics grounded in theology entails a limited scope for those doing ethics in that the Christian God must be assumed for both Christian and non-Christian when at the table of ethical dialogue. For (...) the non-Christian, this loads the dice and shuts down ethical consensus and dialogue, if not ethical truth. With that said, this book does not depart from Christian ethical views on such issues as the sanctity of life, antiracism, the death penalty, the objectivity of ethics, and the importance of integrating faith into ethics; however, Walker does so from a common denominator of philosophy rather than theology. Second, Walker ventures into the streets and engages the man/woman on the streets approach to ethics and ethical decision-making. He points out the shortcomings of the ubiquitous views of the man/woman on the streets, viz., cultural relativism, skepticism, and the attitude that ethics is merely a matter of personal choice. (shrink)

La métamorphose numérique des savoirs et de l'enseignement constitue un enjeu majeur du 21e siècle et se place au premier rang des priorités des universités et des organismes de recherche. De nouvelles conditions de publication, de certification et d'éditorialisation se mettent en place. Des règles et des méthodes pédagogiques inédites forment un processus dynamique qui doit pousser les institutions académiques, l'industrie et le monde économique à coopérer au-delà de la modernisation de la pédagogie ou du développement de compétences nouvelles. Mais (...) beaucoup d'initiatives apparaissent comme des tendances en vogue sujettes à tous les vents et contrevents médiatiques, et vite dépassées par la dernière nouveauté, à l'exemple des MOOC déjà remplacés par les SPOC. Bernard Steigler a fait appel aux meilleurs spécialistes mondiaux pour démontrer que ce n'est pas seulement la pédagogie qui est bouleversée mais ce sont les savoirs eux-mêmes, depuis la recherche de pointe jusqu'aux formes les plus élémentaires de l'enseignement. L'ouvrage dresse un panorama complet des technologies réflexives et contributives, analyse en profondeur le principe de gouvernementalité algorithmique considéré désormais comme "régime de vérité" et "tournant computationnel" de la société hyperindustrielle. Il propose une méthodologie novatrice de gestion de débats et de communautés, construite sur un autre modèle que celui des réseaux sociaux actuels. Cet ouvrage de référence pose les bases d'une nouvelle industrie éditoriale numérique et audiovisuelle. (shrink)

In this important new book, the leading cultural theorist and philosopher Bernard Stiegler re-examines the relationship between politics and aesthetics in our contemporary hyperindustrial age. Stiegler argues that our epoch is characterized by the seizure of the symbolic by industrial technology, where aesthetics has become both theatre and weapon in an economic war. This has resulted in a ‘symbolic misery’ where conditioning substitutes for experience. In today’s control societies, aesthetic weapons play an essential role: audiovisual and digital technologies have (...) become a means of controlling the conscious and unconscious rhythms of bodies and souls, of modulating the rhythms of consciousness and life. The notion of an aesthetic engagement, capable of founding a new communal sensibility and a genuine aesthetic community, has largely collapsed today. This is because the overwhelming majority of the population is now totally subjected to the aesthetic conditioning of marketing and therefore estranged from any experience of aesthetic inquiry. That part of the population that continues to experiment aesthetically has turned its back on those who live in the misery of this conditioning. Stiegler appeals to the art world to develop a political understanding of its role. In this volume he pays particular attention to cinema which occupies a unique position in the temporal war that is the cause of symbolic misery: at once industrial technology and art, cinema is the aesthetic experience that can combat conditioning on its own territory. This highly original work - the first in Stiegler’s Symbolic Misery series - will be of particular interest to students in film studies, media and cultural studies, literature and philosophy and will consolidate Stiegler’s reputation as one of the most original cultural theorists of our time. (shrink)

Parmi les grands intellectuels japonais du XXe siècle, Maruyama Masao (1914-1996), historien des idées, sociologue et philosophe, est l'un des plus significatifs. Homme lucide et engagé, il n'a cessé de se battre contre toute forme d'autoritarisme ou de nationalisme. 1945 est sans doute le point de départ de sa réflexion tant la guerre a été vécue comme un traumatisme. A partir de là, il a cherché à développer une conscience politique susceptible de faire face aux malheurs successifs de son pays (...) : l'accession au pouvoir des militaires, le bombardement atomique d'Hiroshima, les luttes pour le rétablissement de la liberté face à un occupant américain. C'est dans cet esprit qu'il s'attelle à la fondation d'une véritable science politique japonaise, et qu'il entreprendra ses grands travaux sur l'histoire des idées au Japon : l'époque d'Edo et les prémisses d'une modernité autochtone, la crise identitaire de l'époque Meiji, le militarisme du XXe siècle, puis l'ambiguïté et les promesses de l'époque contemporaine. Ses analyses de l'ultranationalisme japonais se révéleront ainsi être un parfait complément aux études d'Hannah Arendt sur les totalitarismes européens. Avec lui, nous comprenons que les notions de démocratie, de modernité et d'autonomie politique ne sont pas des idéologies d'importation mais bien des valeurs universelles que le Japon a intériorisé à sa manière. (shrink)

"Quelles sont les origines de l'esthétique contemporaine, les raisons qui l'ont installée si durablement dans le paysage artistique et celles qui l'ont amenée à séduire un public toujours plus nombreux? Après avoir souligné l'incompréhension initiale du public, nous montrerons que le surgissement de mouvements artistiques comme Fluxus et, surtout, l'adoption par l'avant-garde artistique américaine de concepts de la philosophie analytique, ont été déterminants dans son avènement. L'insistance de cette nouvelle esthétique sur les objets et le langage a rencontré les fondamentaux (...) de notre "société du spectacle". Ainsi les intérêts industriels et artistiques ont-ils fusionné en un marché global de l'esthétique qui consolide leurs intérêts communs. Enfin, notre société individualiste a dénié toute autorité aux institutions pour juger de l'art. L'individu est maintenant souverain juge. C'est en cédant son privilège d'unique représentant de l'esthétique postmoderne que l'art contemporain a trouvé sa rédemption aux yeux du public.". (shrink)