The paper examines Simplicius's doctrine of propensities in his commentary on Aristotle's Categories and follows its application by the late thirteenth century theologian and philosopher James of Viterbo to problems relating to the causes of volition, intellection and natural change. Although he uses Aristotelian terminology and means his doctrine to conflict minimally with those of Aristotle, James's doctrine of propensities really constitutes an attempt to provide a technically rigorous dressing to his Augustinian and Boethian convictions. Central to James's procedure is (...) his rejection, following Henry of Ghent, of the principle that “everything that is moved is moved by another”. James uses Simplicius' doctrine of propensities as a means of extending the rejection of that principle, which Henry had limited to the case of the will, to cognitive operations and natural change. The result is a theory of cognition and volition that sees the soul as the principal cause of its own acts, and a theory of natural change that minimizes the causal impact of external agents. (shrink)

The paper examines Simplicius's doctrine of propensities in his commentary on Aristotle's Categories and follows its application by the late thirteenth century theologian and philosopher James of Viterbo to problems relating to the causes of volition, intellection and natural change. Although he uses Aristotelian terminology and means his doctrine to conflict minimally with those of Aristotle, James's doctrine of propensities really constitutes an attempt to provide a technically rigorous dressing to his Augustinian and Boethian convictions. Central to James's procedure is (...) his rejection, following Henry of Ghent, of the principle that “everything that is moved is moved by another”. James uses Simplicius' doctrine of propensities as a means of extending the rejection of that principle, which Henry had limited to the case of the will, to cognitive operations and natural change. The result is a theory of cognition and volition that sees the soul as the principal cause of its own acts, and a theory of natural change that minimizes the causal impact of external agents. (shrink)

This is the first book-length treatment of the philosophical thought of one of the major thinkers at the University of Paris in the late thirteenth century. The book examines all major areas of James’s philosophical thought, exploring his connections with other important masters of the time and highlighting his originality in the context of late medieval philosophy.

Au cours de la première moitié du XIIIe siècle commence à progresser le concept de l'infinité divine dans la théologie chrétienne, une évolution illustrée par des documents originaux.

The following paper offers a brief discussion of Simplicius’ intriguing concept of “propensity” (epitedeiotes), an attempt to account for particularized qualities in terms congenial to a Neoplatonist. For although claiming to follow Aristotle, Simplicius ultimately explains the existence of particularized qualities in termsof a metaphysic of participation. Although his doctrine does not seem not have enjoyed much popularity in Late Antiquity, it will be adopted and expanded upon both late 13th century scholastic authors such as James of Viterbo who see (...) Simplicius’ theory as offering a philosophically rigorous equivalent to Augustinian seminal reasons. (shrink)

The short anonymous work known as the Constitution of the Athenians has long since fascinated scholars. Written sometime in the 5th century, during or just before the Peloponnesian War, it offers a scathing attack on Athenian democratic institutions. Its author is unknown but has traditionally been called the "Old Oligarch" in reference to his obvious political convictions. But the pamphlet's interest lies not so much in its critique of Athenian democracy as in the connection the author sees between these institutions (...) and Athens' imperialist policies in the Aegean. (shrink)

On trouvera ici la présentation et l’édition de deux brèves questions de l’Ermite de saint Augustin, Jacques de Viterbe. Dans la première question, Jacques s’attache à montrer en quel sens il est légitime de dire que les habitus moraux sont innés. Dans la seconde question, il défend la thèse que les habitus des principes moraux appartiennent de façon plus intime à l’âme que les habitus intellectuels. Comme le Viterbien oppose sa position à celle de Thomas d’Aquin, on tente dans la (...) dernière partie de l’article de cerner les raisons philosophiques du désaccord entre les deux auteurs. (shrink)

The author’s purpose is to understand the role divine ideas play as causal principles in Aquinas’s philosophy. His contention is that, although Thomas’s doctrine of ideas is perhaps not the key to an understanding of his metaphysics, it is certainly “ a key to such an understanding” .The book is divided into six chapters. The first chapter seeks to provide a general definition of divine ideas according to Aquinas. Divine ideas are exemplar causes in the likeness of which God produces (...) creatures. Ideas in the strict sense belong to God’s practical or actually practical knowledge. The causality exercised by exemplars is that of formal causality, but because they are productive of things, they entail efficient and final causality, as well. In chapter 2, Doolan examines Thomas’s arguments in favor of the existence of divine ideas. Chapter 3 deals with the question of the multiplicity of divine ideas. Doolan first establishes, against Gilson and others, that Aquinas did indeed hold that there was a multiplicity of divine ideas. He then shows how Aquinas was able to reconcile the diversity of ideas with God’s simplicity. The gist of the solution involves viewing ideas as nonbeings relative to God, who is, of course, ipsum esse. Now the only way non-beings can enter into God is in. (shrink)

This paper examines Claude Tresmontant's attempt to provide a philosophical argument in favour of God's existence using the results of modern science. Like many contemporary theists, Tresmontant believes that discoveries in the field of astrophysics, rightly interpreted, lead to the postulation of a deity. This paper challenges the philosophical presuppositions of Tresmontant's argument and the thesis that current cosmological theories can be used to construct a valid proof of the existence of God.

This paper examines Claude Tresmontant's attempt to provide a philosophical argument in favour of God's existence using the results of modern science. Like many contemporary theists, Tresmontant believes that discoveries in the field of astrophysics, rightly interpreted, lead to the postulation of a deity. This paper challenges the philosophical presuppositions of Tresmontant's argument and the thesis that current cosmological theories can be used to construct a valid proof of the existence of God.

Vers la fin des années cinquante, un jeune érudit jésuite publia un article intitulé «Are Apeiria and Aoristia Synonyms?» qui allait être le premier d'une longue série de travaux portant sur une problématique à laquelle il s'attaquait en véritable pionnier: la doctrine de l'infinité divine dans l'Antiquité et au Moyen Âge. Certes, les historiens s'étaient déjà intéressés quelque peu à cette question, mais ils l'avaient fait sans une conscience claire de sa complexité. Force était donc de reprendre la problématique à (...) nouveaux frais. C'est ce que fit Leo Sweeney, qui publiera, sur une carrière de plus de trentecinq ans, une quantité impressionnante d'articles étudiant les conditions de l'émergence de l'infinité divine au Moyen Âge, ainsi que la conception de l'infíni chez les grandes fígures de l'Antiquité et du christianisme médiéval. Ce sont ces articles, dont certains ont fait l'objet de profonds remaniements, et auxquels viennent s'ajouter deux travaux inédits, qu'a réunis l'éditeur Peter Lang dans un ouvrage de près de six cents pages, dont il faut bien dire qu'il constitue une manière d'événement dans le monde des études anciennes et médiévales. (shrink)

Résumé — Alors que, pour Thomas d’Aquin et Gilles de Rome, Dieu peut ajouter à la création une série infinie d’espèces de perfection croissante sans compromettre sa transcendance et sans contrevenir aux lois de la logique, Henri de Gand et Godefroid de Fontaines développent des arguments puissants contre cette même idée, arguant notamment que la production d’une telle série impliquerait une infinité en acte d’idées en Dieu. L’article montre comment, dans son Quodlibet I, q. 2 où il expose et critique (...) systématiquement les arguments de Godefroid et d’Henri, Jacques de Viterbe renoue avec une position proche de celle de Thomas et Gilles.— While Thomas Aquinas and Giles of Rome believed that God could produce an infinite number of increasingly more perfect creatures without threatening his transcendence or breaching the laws of logic, Henry of Ghent and Godfrey of Fontaines argued against that belief, holding that such an ability on God’s part would entail the existence of an actual infinity of ideas in the divine intellect. One author who was to be influenced by Henry’s arguments was Godfrey of Fontaines whose views James of Viterbo refutes in Quodlibet I, q. 2. The article examines the detail of James’s arguments against Godfrey and in favor of the view, much like Thomas’ and Giles’, that God can add to the total amount of perfection in creation. (shrink)

This contribution consists of an edition, and an introductory study, of the questio “Utrum sit necesse ponere intellectum agentem”, dated to 1315-1320, by the Italian Averroist Maino of Milan. The study shows that while Maino defended the existence of the agent intellect in the face of the criticisms of Durand of Saint-Pourçain, he also subscribed to central features of Durand’s noetics, which he struggled to reconcile with his Aristotelian and Averroist convictions.

The short anonymous work known as the Constitution of the Athenians has long since fascinated scholars. Written sometime in the 5th century, during or just before the Peloponnesian War, it offers a scathing attack on Athenian democratic institutions. Its author is unknown but has traditionally been called the "Old Oligarch" in reference to his obvious political convictions. But the pamphlet's interest lies not so much in its critique of Athenian democracy as in the connection the author sees between these institutions (...) and Athens' imperialist policies in the Aegean. (shrink)

This paper examines Siger of Brabant’s doctrine of universals in light of Siger’s critical discussion of two highly influential philosophers on the issue of universals in the Middle Ages, Avicenna and Albert the Great. Although Siger unequivocally rejects Albert ’s views on universals – rightly so, given Albert ’s commitment to a rather robust form of realism –, he is far less hostile to Avicenna’s ideas on the subject than he is to Albert ’s. The paper examines Siger’s contrasting attitudes (...) to both authors, highlights Siger’s perspicuity as a reader and interpreter of the works of other philosophers, and shows how Siger uses the doctrines of Albert and Avicenna to sharpen his own position. (shrink)

Este artigo analisa diversos textos da obra de Tomás de Aquino relativos aostemas do conhecimento divino e das ideias divinas com o intuito de mostrar como duasinterpretações sustentadas por comentadores recentes da obra tomásica não se mantêmdiante da análise rigorosa dos textos. Uma primeira e menos radical interpretaçãosustenta haver ideias práticas distintas de cada coisa particular, enquanto que, deacordo com uma interpretação ainda mais forte, ideias em sentido estrito pertencemprimordialmente a coisas singulares. O objetivo deste artigo é mostrar que, emboraTomás (...) sustente que Deus conhece todas as coisas, inclusive os particulares, a doutrinadas ideias, tal como Tomás a concebe, tem limites muito estreitos, não permitindo opleno desenvolvimento de suas convicções de cunho aristotélico concernentes àcognoscibilidade dos particulares. (shrink)

Édition d’un quodlibet anonyme du ms. 667 de l’Université de Prague, portant sur l’immortalité de l’âme, le moment de la création, l’infinité de la substance divine et le péché originel, qui constitue un intéressant témoin des discussions dans les milieux théologiques de l’Université de Paris dans les années 1240.

Macrocephaly is present in about 2–5% of the general population. It can be found as an isolated benign trait or as part of a syndromic condition. Brain overgrowth has been associated with neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism during the first year of life, however, evidence remains inconclusive. Furthermore, most of the studies have involved pathological or high-risk populations, but little is known about the effects of brain overgrowth on neurodevelopment in otherwise neurotypical infants. We investigated the impact of brain overgrowth (...) on basic perceptual learning processes during the first year of life. We recorded high density electroencephalograms in 116 full-term healthy infants aged between 3 and 11 months, 35 macrocephalic and 81 normocephalic classified according to the WHO head circumference norms. We used an adapted oddball paradigm, time-frequency analyses, and auditory event-related brain potentials to investigate differences between groups. We show that brain overgrowth has a significant impact on repetition effects and change detection response in the 10–20 Hz frequency band, and in N450 latency, suggesting that these correlates of sensorial learning processes are sensitive to brain overgrowth during the first year of life. (shrink)

La reception du christianisme byzantin par l'Eglise catholique presente une sorte d'anomalie. Invoquant l'autorite de Thomas d'Aquin, les theologiens occidentaux rejettent generalement l'idee d'une distinction reelle entre l'essence et les energies divines, tout comme la notion de grace increee, laquelle joue un role essentiel dans la vision de Gregoire Palamas (XIVe siecle). D'un autre cote, ces memes theologiens ont ete nombreux a redecouvrir, durant la periode recente, la pensee de Maxime le Confesseur (VIIe siecle), voyant en celui-ci un genial precurseur (...) de Thomas d'Aquin. Or que resterait-il de la doctrine de Gregoire Palamas sans le patronage de Maxime le Confesseur? Comment meconnaitre l'un et reconnaitre l'autre au nom du meme Thomas d'Aquin? Ce qui vient ici au jour a travers l'etude des contextes et des enjeux doctrinaux, c'est la coexistence, jusqu'alors insoupconnee, de deux representations distinctes du rapport entre le cree et l'incree. L'Occident latin et l'Orient byzantin n'en finissent pas de comprendre differemment cette foi qui leur est pourtant indiscutablement commune. (shrink)

À la suite des États-Unis, où le don a été façonné par les milliardaires comme produit financier de rêve et acte de satisfaction morale, les classes moyennes françaises donnent de plus en plus à des associations d’intérêt général. Le financement privé par le mécénat populaire connaît un véritable succès de marketing, que l’on peut qualifier de « marketing social ». Mais, parallèlement au développement du mouvement associatif, on assiste, depuis les années 90, à l’émergence de nouveaux samaritains, véritables despotes éclairés (...) : les fondations. À côté des donateurs charitables de la société civile, le donateur philanthropique se positionne entre l’action de l’État-providence et les organismes paritaires chargés de porter l’intérêt général. Leur puissance leur permet de redéfinir cet intérêt général à leur profit. Le boum de la philanthropie est donc lié à une certaine incapacité de l’État-providence, grand redistributeur central, à étendre sa couverture à tous les citoyens, et surtout, aux causes lointaines. Un avenir radieux est donc promis à la philanthropie. (shrink)

Under the provisional title “Towards a Leibnizian History of Philosophy,” edited by Graeme Hunter, a number of Leibniz scholars will look at different aspects of the history of philosophy Leibniz would have written, had he written one. Contributors are Antoine Côté, Graeme Hunter, Yuen-Ting Lai, Michael Latzer, Tom Lennon, Robert McRae.

Ce livre est la relation d'un parcours - celui de Benny Lévy - à travers la voix de sa femme Léo, un itinéraire où les exigences de la pensée et les gestes quotidiens s'ajustent au plus près, alliant à l'extrême rigueur un généreux amour de la vie.« Dans la lumière sans complaisance des matins de Jérusalem, trois stations?: la maison, la maison de prière, la maison d'étude. Le soir, une fois par semaine, détour par le lieu d'enseignement où un public (...) bariolé, passionné, vient écouter le petit homme en noir. Simplicité des rythmes, transparence des jours, soi rassemblé. À Jérusalem, aucun mystère, pas de recoins obscurs grouillant de projections fantasmatiques. Mais ailleurs?? En d'autres temps??Le chef révolutionnaire sans nom, à l'existence improbable, en tout cas invisible, pouvait-il vraiment du chaos des faits et des discours faire émerger une vision et une visée claires??Il eut des maîtres. Côté philosophie, il se réfère à Sartre, Althusser et Lévinas. Côté sagesse d'Israël, il a été enseigné par un cabaliste ashkénaze, un rav français d'origine marocaine, un Yérouchalmi d'ascendance lituanienne. Enfin, au cour de l'énigme, quel lien entre ce tout jeune Juif arrivé d'Égypte, pathétique et ardent, en quête acharnée d'assimilation, et la fille du faubourg Saint-Antoine, placide, rigolote par parti pris, qui portait encore vivaces les traces des villes juives de Pologne?? Étrange rencontre. Plus étrange encore, la constance malgré les turbulences. ». (shrink)

A formalism is introduced to represent the connective organization of an evolving neuronal network and the effects of environment on this organization by stabilization or degeneration of labile synapses associated with functioning. Learning, or the acquisition of an associative property, is related to a characteristic variability of the connective organization: the interaction of the environment with the genetic program is printed as a particular pattern of such organization through neuronal functioning. An application of the theory to the development of the (...) neuromuscular junction is proposed and the basic selective aspect of learning emphasized. (shrink)

Developing countries face numerous barriers to conducting effective and efficient ethics reviews of international collaborative research. In addition to potentially overlooking important scientific and ethical considerations, inadequate or insufficiently trained ethics committees may insist on unwarranted changes to protocols that can impair a study's scientific or ethical validity. Moreover, poorly functioning review systems can impose substantial delays on the commencement of research, which needlessly undermine the development of new interventions for urgent medical needs. In response to these concerns, the Drugs (...) for Neglected Diseases Initiative, an independent nonprofit organization founded by a coalition of public sector and international organizations, developed a mechanism to facilitate more effective and efficient host country ethics review for a study of the use of fexinidazole for the treatment of late stage African Trypanosomiasis. The project involved the implementation of a novel ‘pre-review’ process of ethical oversight, conducted by an ad hoc committee of ethics committee representatives from African and European countries, in collaboration with internationally recognized scientific experts. This article examines the process and outcomes of this collaborative process. (shrink)

RésuméL'objectif de cet article est de produire une étude complète et systématique de la doctrine avicennienne de la conscience de soi et de la connaissance chez les animaux. Dans la première partie, j'explique comment, selon Avicenne, la conscience de soi chez l'animal, contrairement à la conscience de soi chez l'homme, est considérée comme indirecte, mélangée et intermittente – la conscience animale étant, dans sa vision, issue de la faculté estimative. Aussi la seconde partie porte-t-elle sur la fonction cognitive de la (...) faculté estimative chez les animaux et sur la manière dont cette fonction se rapporte à la conscience de soi. Pour Avicenne, la faculté estimative sert à distinguer notre corps et ses parties des objets extérieurs, et a pour rôle de connecter le soi à ses activités perceptives. Il s'ensuit que la conscience de soi chez l'animal, contrairement à la conscience de soi chez l'homme, est essentiellement connectée au corps. Dans la troisième partie de l'article, je montre qu'Avicenne, tout en refusant aux animaux la conscience de leur conscience de soi, affirme expressément qu'ils sont capables de percevoir leur identité individuelle mais que, contrairement aux êtres humains, ils le font de façon accidentelle, cette conscience étant une partie de leur conscience perceptive. (shrink)

This volume of essays by scholars in ancient Greek, medieval, and Arabic philosophy examines the full range of Aristotle's influence upon the Arabic tradition. It explores central themes from Aristotle's corpus, including logic, rhetoric and poetics, physics and meteorology, psychology, metaphysics, ethics and politics, and examines how these themes are investigated and developed by Arabic philosophers including al-Kindî, al-Fârâbî, Avicenna, al-Ghazâlî, Ibn Bâjja and Averroes. The volume also includes essays which explicitly focus upon the historical reception of Aristotle, from the (...) time of the Greek and Syriac transmission of his texts into the Islamic world to the period of their integration and assimilation into Arabic philosophy. This rich and wide-ranging collection will appeal to all those who are interested in the themes, development and context of Aristotle's enduring legacy within the Arabic tradition. (shrink)

A epistemologia histórico-racionalista de Canguilhem, seu gosto pelo concreto, as áreas a que se refere - a medicina, o estudo da patologia, a fisiologia, a biologia - parecem longe dos grandes estudos metafísicos do "primeiro" Deleuze e de seu interesse pela sistematização conceitual abstrata. Mas nos situaremos aqui num outro nível: o dos problemas e projetos filosóficos. Sobre esse plano, apresentamos o entrecruzamento das leituras do Essai e de Nietzsche et la philosophie, para ver como é esclarecedor: enquanto um Canguilhem (...) menos exclusivamente racionalista aí aparece, vemos na pesquisa filosofia efetivada por Deleuze algo distinto de um gesto que eleva a reflexão a um grau suplementar de abstração. Mais profundamente, tal aproximação coloca sob novas perspectivas a tripla significação da refundação do criticismo kantiano como uma filosofia de valores, de sua relação com uma "filosofia de vida" e de seu ponto culminante na problematização da imagem do pensamento. (shrink)

We describe the earliest occurrences of the Liar Paradox in the Arabic tradition. e early Mutakallimūn claim the Liar Sentence is both true and false; they also associate the Liar with problems concerning plural subjects, which is somewhat puzzling. Abharī (1200-1265) ascribes an unsatisfiable truth condition to the Liar Sentence—as he puts it, its being true is the conjunction of its being true and false—and so concludes that the sentence is not true. Tūsī (1201-1274) argues that self-referential sentences, like the (...) Liar, are not truth-apt, and defends this claim by appealing to a correspondence theory of truth. Translations of the texts are provided as an appendix. (shrink)