Deux innovations caractérisent la philosophie de Berkeley : il met la perception au centre de sa théorie de l'être (esse est percipi out percipere) et il lie étroitement vision et langage, en affirmant que les idées de la vue constituent un " langage universel de l'Auteur de la nature ". Ces deux innovations continuent à nourrir la philosophie contemporaine, en particulier certains aspects de la philosophie analytique. C'est pourquoi, il est essentiel d'examiner à nouveaux frais les questions concernant l'hétérogénéité des (...) champs sensoriels, la nature de la suggestion, le rôle de l'imagination et celui de l'idée médiate dans la construction de l'objet. Le présent ouvrage vise donc à éclairer le tournant philosophique et sémantique instauré par Berkeley dans l'étude de la perception et de la vision. Une comparaison avec Locke met en valeur la spécificité des thèses du philosophe irlandais. Un examen précis des textes concernés permet de réévaluer la place et le rôle des thèses sur la vision dans l'économie générale de l'œuvre. Textes de Margaret Atherton, Bertil Belfrage, Geneviève Brykman, Richard Glauser, Philippe Hamou, Jean-Michel Vienne. (shrink)

The paper is devoted to some Leibniz's works concerning formal calculus, which makes use of so-called real sum operator. The author tries to show that the calculus had been created to articulate certain metaphysical intuitions specific for Leibniz. The calculus made it possible to put forth and to solve some problems unknown to the scholastic tradition.

Berlioz et les philosophes -- Une philosophie pressentie -- La philosophie de Berlioz -- Philosophie de la musique -- Portée philosophique de l'œuvre de Berlioz.

pt. 1. Gaston Bachelard's historical epistemology.--pt. 2. For a critique of epistemology.

La notion lacanienne de Réel semble a priori constituer un point de rupture entre Lacan et Merleau-Ponty. On chercherait en vain l’angoisse traumatique où se noie le sujet en proie au Réel dans les pages où Merleau-Ponty développe sa philosophie de la chair. Pourtant le philosophe y exprime avec acuité l’absence de frontière entre le moi et l’autre. Cette non-altérité de l’autre entre en singulière résonance avec la confusion du moi et de l’autre dans l’expérience du Réel. L’article revient sur (...) ce paradoxe et tente de le déplier pour montrer en quoi l’ontologie de la chair peut éclairer l’expérience du Réel.The Lacanian notion of the Real seems a priori to constitute a point of rupture between Lacan and Merleau-Ponty. We search in vain for the traumatic anxiety where the subject drowns in the grips of the Real in the pages where Merleau-Ponty develops his philosophy of the flesh. Yet, he insightfully explains the absence of a boundary between the self and the other. This non-alterity of the other enters into a deep resonance with the confusion of the self and the other in the experience of the Real. This article focuses on this paradox and attempts to unfold it in order to show what the ontology of the flesh can illuminate in the experience of the Real.La nozione lacaniana di Reale sembra a priori costituire un punto di rottura tra Lacan e Merleau-Ponty. Cercheremmo invano l’angoscia traumatica del soggetto in preda al Reale nelle pagine in cui Merleau-Ponty sviluppa la sua filosofia della carne. Tuttavia il filosofo arriva a esprimere in maniera penetrante l’assenza di frontiere tra l’io e l’altro. E questa non-alterità dell’altro entra in singolare risonanza con la confusione dell’io e dell’altro propria dell’esperienza del Reale. L’articolo affronta questo paradosso e tenta di dispiegarlo per mostrare in che modo l’esperienza della carne può illuminare l’esperienza del Reale. (shrink)

Fromental Halévy was thirty-six when his masterpiece, La Juive, a grand opera in five acts, was triumphantly produced at the Opéra , and at once secured for its author a European reputation. The opera was presented with unprecedented scenic splendor, the stage-setting alone having cost, it was said, 150,000 francs. La Juive , with Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots , marked the defining expression of French Grand Opera. Both operas used highly controversial and sensitive historical material as the very fabric of their (...) artistic medium. The explosive themes of religious and racial bigotry, leading to execution and massacre, were devised and sustained impressively by the playwright and librettist Eugène Scribe , whose fables of intolerance and death seized the public imagination. They presented parables for reflection on contemporary times and the dangers posed to humanity by politics and religion, woven into themes such as Orthodoxy and Purity, Justice and Mercy, the Fire of Truth. In terms of historical background, theological implication, and purely human tragedy, the scenario of La Juive provides a depth and richness of semiotic discourse, a sustained exploration of a complex and many-faceted subject, whose caveats on social intolerance become only ever more topical and pertinent. (shrink)

A three-variable biochemical prototype involving two enzymes with autocatalytic regulation proposed by Decroly and Goldbeter (1987) is analyzed using a topological approach. A two-branched manifold, a so-called template, is thus identified. For certain control parameter values, this template is a horseshoe template with a global torsion of two half-turns. This implies that the bifurcation diagram can be described using the usual sequences associated with a unimodal map with a differentiable maximum as well as exemplified by the logistic map. Moreover, a (...) type-I intermittency associated with a saddle-node bifurcation is exhibited. The dynamics from a single time series are also investigated to determine whether it is possible to investigate the dynamics of this biochemical model from the measure of a single concentration. (shrink)

The integrity of the human being made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26) has been a challenge confronting not just the theologian, but great rulers, politicians, reformers, scientists, poets, artists, composers and novelists over centuries. The Orthodox Tradition might note that our human condition in time and space is shaped and challenged by this journey from likeness to image. Biblically we journey to see the face of God. Less theologically, the human condition is shaped by the tensions (...) and contradictions as we journey to seek 'freedom'. Paradigms of Freedom explores, in the context of the unfolding of modern history, how this challenge has been compounded and enriched by the people and institutions who have sought to find and promote the concept of freedom (and issues of personal liberty) in the face of contrary or oppressive circumstances and systems. Importantly, it will examine the contribution of the artist to various models of freedom, some of which may be identified as vectors of transcendence; when image becomes likeness. The nature of human society, the sense of social harmony and paternalistic control that characterized society for centuries, and especially the emergence of Western culture, began to crumble in the fourteenth century with the cataclysmic onslaught of the Black Death; the challenge to the monolithic power of the Church and the nature of feudalism; the growth of new philosophical and political theories; and overall crumbling of authority. In the fifteenth century new developments like the invention of printing; the standardization of modern languages; and the global expansion of exploration, mercantilism and colonization presented unprecedented horizons of growth and challenges to the place and meaning of humanity in the world. These challenges are embodied in the Renaissance and Reformation, where the very foundations of belief and knowledge were questioned in new processes of discovery in both the world and the cosmos. The nature of freedom to search, to question and to discover new things brought about political and intellectual developments in an ever-expanding series of movements and interrogations. Moved by the annals of the times, individuals have sought to understand and perpetuate the heroic struggles through their own creative power. This in turn can draw us to share in those lost or sorrowful times, and reflect on the sacrifice and vision of those who have been prepared to witness fearlessly to the indomitable spirit of mankind, and his slow but inexorable movement or journey into the light. This exposition will examine various types/paradigms that have proposed and embodied concepts of freedom. These have tried, and often succeeded, in serving as vectors of transcendence, meditating on and mediating human aspiration. Such reflective movements of mind and heart are embodied both contemporaneously and retrospectively in various historical movements, political gestures and artistic creativity that have provoked thoughts on human liberty: political actions, decrees, philosophy, books, pictorial art, novels, poetry, theatre, opera and film. Representatives and examples (in words and imagery) of all these modes are exemplified in the chapters that explore certain iconic movements and personalities in some of the key historical and social events of the past six centuries. The process is of necessity selective. Religious conflict, freedom of thought and denomination, the wars fought over faith and control of the land, the desire for liberty of choice, challenging new discoveries in science and geography, cosmology, colonialism and slavery, Enlightenment, revolution and the search for national identity and independence-these are all areas that have absorbed human thought, knowledge and aspiration, and resulted in inevitable artistic reflection. This is not a history but a consideration of mankind's search to be free, and how this striving is embodied in the poetry of liberation. (shrink)

Telling tales and reading have been a part of human activity for a very long time. We review in brief the anthropological evidence, then the emergence of the 'modern novel'. This explores in narratives the psychological reflections of the characters concerned with life circumstances including loss, abandonment, despair, illness, dying, and death. We report findings that the response of crying to a novel occurs as often as to music, not reported before: both 'move us'. We note what several critics and (...) authors imply about the imagined world of 'novel space' which emphasizes the active not passive nature of reading dramatic action, the latter being embedded and embodied within us. This touches on the mind–brain problem. We provide a brief introduction to neuroscientific work with brain imaging revealing how cerebral networks to do with theory of mind and brain structures that are the basis of our movements are involved with the very act of reading words and narratives. Emotional tearing is an exclusive attribute of Homo sapiens, and crying can have positive benefits for mental health. We argue that bibliotherapy needs greater attention than has been the case at present. We also suggest that telling tales and the 'modern novel' are closely allied to the development of the consciousness of Homo sapiens. (shrink)

Qu'un interet renouvele se manifeste aujourd'hui pour la versant epistemologique de l'oeuvre de Gaston Bachelard peut se comprendre au regard de l'histoire contemporaine de la philosophie des sciences. Cette histoire a ete dominee durant la plus grande partie du XXe siecle par une doctrine - celle de l'empirisme (ou positivisme) logique - promue a Vienne a la fin des annees 1920 par une institution originale, le Cercle de Vienne qui publie son manifeste en 1929, et s'organise comme un mouvement a (...) visee universelle et progressiste - celui de la conception scientifique du monde. La tradition francaise de la philosophie des sciences a pris d'entree de jeu un tout autre chemin. Si elle ne les a pas ignorees, elle a refuse de souscrire aux theses majeures du positivisme logique lorsqu'il s'est presente a elle. Elle a toujours lie etroitement philosophie et histoire des sciences. Dans le titre de ce petit livre ecrit durant l'annee universitaire 1967-1968 sous la direction de Georges Canquilhem, Dominique Lecourt a avance l'expression d'epistemologie historique pour signaler, a propos de Gaston Bachelard, cette particularite. (shrink)

Public surveys conducted in many countries report widespread willingness of individuals to donate a kidney while alive to a family member or close friend, yet thousands suffer and many die each year while waiting for a kidney transplant. Advocates of financial incentive programs or “regulated markets” in kidneys present the problem of the kidney shortage as one of insufficient public motivation to donate, arguing that incentives will increase the number of donors. Others believe the solutions lie—at least in part—in facilitating (...) so-called “altruistic donation;” harnessing the willingness of relatives and friends to donate by addressing the many barriers which serve as disincentives to living donation. Strategies designed to minimize financial barriers to donation and the use of paired kidney exchange programs are increasingly enabling donation, and now, an innovative program designed to address what has been termed “chronologically incompatible donation” is being piloted at the University of California, Los Angeles, and elsewhere in the United States. In this program, a person whose kidney is not currently required for transplantation in a specific recipient may instead donate to the paired exchange program; in return, a commitment is made to the specified recipient that priority access for a living-donor transplant in a paired exchange program will be offered when or if the need arises in the future. We address here potential ethical concerns related to this form of organ “banking” from living donors, and argue that it offers significant benefits without undermining the well-established ethical principles and values currently underpinning living donation programs. (shrink)

Der Beitrag fragt danach, was einem Subjekt durch ein psychisches Trauma angetan wird. In diesem Zusammenhang setzt er sich mit Tendenzen auseinander, die derzeit in der Psychoanalyse im Umgang mit Traumata zu beobachten sind: Steht ein Trauma im Zentrum ihrer Aufmerksamkeit, tendierten Psychoanalytiker dazu, darin ein für ihre klinische Arbeit spezielles oder gar außergewöhnliches Problem zu sehen, das nach »etwas Anderem« als der grundlegenden Methode der Psychoanalyse verlangt. Demgegenüber wird die Auffassung vertreten, dass ein Trauma untrennbar mit dem Seelenleben verwoben (...) ist. So etwas wie eine nichttraumatische Psychopathologie, so der Autor, gibt es nicht. Jede traumatisierte Psyche, unabhängig von der Intensität des Traumas, stehe darum im Grunde vor demselben Problem: Wie lässt sich der grundsätzliche Mechanismus der Wiederholung überwinden und eine ergebnisoffene Symbolisierung erreichen? Um diese Prozesse beschreiben zu können – die auch anhand einer Vignette illustriert werden –, schlägt der Autor die Unterscheidung zwischen »Subjektivität« und »Subjektalität« vor. (shrink)

The analysis of identity in cases of memory loss, particularly in Alzheimer’s disease, sheds light on relevant philosophical and practical concerns, such as decision-making processes, autonomy, and the improvement of interaction with patients. Literature on psychological continuity recognizes identity when there are no disruptions in memory, which is certainly not the case in Alzheimer´s disease. Narrative identity, particularly in its relational and non-relational versions, delivers tools which are not exempt from difficulties. Either the caregivers’ narrative or the patient’s narrative is (...) dismissed. Furthermore, if there is a contradiction of narratives in relational theories, we are advised to either find the best narrative or seek agreement. However, one option rejects one narrative, while the other is unattainable in practice for the case in question. Hence, we propose drawing from ironism (Rorty, 1989), which suggests duality of dialogues when dealing with problems. This will be used to defend that the narratives of both, a person with Alzheimer and those close to them, are valid when constituting identity of the former. In this case, we will articulate and defend relational ironism, which allows us to embrace inconsistent narratives without seeking agreements. According to this, personal identity in this case is in constant tension between the narratives of those who suffer Alzheimer’s disease and the narratives of those close to them. We close illustrating possible benefits for how best to interact with patients. (shrink)

Understanding how meaning mechanisms are unleashed in film has been at the center of numerous theoretical surveys of the last few years. Emphasis has especially fallen on seeing as a constructive, meaningful activity and on the diegetic implications of vision. This book is an attempt to extend film theorizing into a new realm, where hearing proves as important as seeing and where the relevance of filmic narrative is differently explored. New paths for future research are suggested by means of associations (...) with the works of linguists or philosophers who have never addressed film theory directly in their writings. Nonetheless, several concepts posited by them (relevance, natural versus non-natural meaning or the notion of Mental spaces) find their application in the present survey. A wide range of examples starting with point-of-view and editing occurrences, passing through the use of music and sound and culminating with the study of whole filmic ensembles, enables the reader to re-examine code-bound or, on the contrary, deviational structures. These are often drawn from familiar sources, proving that not only art films of the Eisenstein or Godard type enhance innovative meaning spaces. Finally, the viewer is seen as a «silly little kitty», an active not passive receiver of textual structures who relies on patterns of known visual or aural backgrounds open to an unlimited field of perspectives. (shrink)

Alors que la guerre était associée au masculin, quelques femmes en France ont combattu au cours des guerres civiles des XVIe-XVIIe siècles ou ont servi dans les armées royales, qu’accompagnaient de plus de nombreuses civiles. Avec la Révolution française, le service dans la garde nationale et, moins directement, dans l’armée est lié à la citoyenneté. En réclamant le port des armes au sein de la garde nationale, des militantes révolutionnaires revendiquaient ainsi un des droits politiques du citoyen, ce qui provoqua (...) un ferme refus. Mues par le désir de défendre la République et de partager avec les hommes la gloire de se battre pour elle, des citoyennes s’engagèrent par ailleurs individuellement dans les armées, où elles continuèrent à servir après le décret du 30 avril 1793 qui les en chassait. Les demandes d’armement des militantes et les réponses qui leur sont apportées, ainsi que les histoires, les propos des soldates et les réactions qu’elles ont suscitées permettent d’analyser l’association entre masculin, armes et citoyenneté et d’étudier les mécanismes de l’exclusion des femmes des armées. (shrink)

La théorie du Contróle du Métabolisme décrit comment un réseau métabolique répond à de petites perturbations au voisinage d'un état stationnaire. Deux types de coefficients sont définis: les coefficients d'élaslicité qui quantifient les variations des vitesses des étapes isolées et les coefficients de contrôle qui expriment la réponse globale du réseau aux perturbations d'une étape donnée. Des relations entre ces coefficients existent ).On ne fait pas toujours la distinction entre Contrôle et Régulation. En fait, il apparait que la notion de (...) régulation, si elle est trés claire lorsqu'il s'agit de la régulation de l'activité d'un enzyme, West plus du tout définie lorsqu'il s'agit d'un réseau métabolique dans son ensemble.Le but de l'exposé est de proposer une définition de la régulation d'un réseau métabolique et de montrer quelles relations peuvent exister entre lee phénomènes de régulation et la théorie du contrôle du métabolisme.Quelques exemples seront donnés pour illustration. (shrink)

Les femmes ont des yeux, des cheveux, une peau, des idées, des jambes, un sexe, une date de naissance, des hommes dans la tête, un problème avec Isaac Newton, de petits poudriers qu'elles sortent de leur sac, et le pouvoir d'arrêter les voitures... Il fallait sans doute le regard d'un homme pour s'en rendre compte. Dominique Quessada est philosophe et écrivain. Il regarde ce qu'il y a pour lui de plus mystérieux et de plus proche à la fois : (...) les femmes. Ce livre s'adresse à elles, mais il peut aussi servir de guide à l'usage des aveugles, sourds et malentendants : les hommes. (shrink)

Dans Les Tragiques (1616, « Les feux »), Agrippa d’Aubigné raconte que, alors que dans sa prison le célèbre martyr du Bourg était prêt de flancher : Ce cœur tremblant revint à la voix d’une Caille :Pauvre femme, mais riche, et si riche que lorsUn plus riche trouva l’aumône en ses trésors.O combien d’efficace est la voix qui console,Quand le conseiller joint l’exemple à sa parole,Comme fit celle-là qui, pour ainsi prêcher,Fit en ces mêmes jours sa chaire d’un bûcher. Cette (...) Caille célébrée par... (shrink)

This paper investigates the literal, metaphorical and ideological implications of ‘hybrid’ texts/genres for criticism in general, and for the workshopping of creative work in particular. The question underlying this investigation concerns the place of poetic discourse in fictocriticism. This is consonant with my understanding of genre as ‘index and mark’ representing ‘the site of the nonsubstitutable positioning of the I and the you and of their modalities of expression’ and of poetic discourse as ‘an unsettling process … of identity of (...) meaning and speaking subject’. (shrink)

This paper investigates the literal, metaphorical and ideological implications of ‘hybrid’ texts/genres for criticism in general, and for the workshopping of creative work in particular. The question underlying this investigation concerns the place of poetic discourse in fictocriticism. This is consonant with my understanding of genre as ‘index and mark’ representing ‘the site of the nonsubstitutable positioning of the I and the you and of their modalities of expression’ and of poetic discourse as ‘an unsettling process … of identity of (...) meaning and speaking subject’. (shrink)

lack.” Lacan’s conception of Eros revolves around “a presentification of 1 It is my contention that King Lear invites a theoretical reading of kinship as such “presentification of lack.” Indeed, the dialectic of desire in the text derives from King Lear’s discovering that his own kingly signifier signifies nothing. This error of judgment, which stems from a confusion between desire and jouissance, leads him to misappropriate the rules of bothkingship and kinship. Interestingly enough, it is Cordelia, the daughter andsubject with (...) whom he is erotically involved, who brings home to him thetruth of his error. As an incestuous drama of signification, then, King Learnot only relates to the Phallus as master signifier, but also to the Name-ofthe-Father as referent of the law. Moreover, the truth Cordelia speaks is “a half-said” that leads to the “abolition of discourse”: muteness, madness anddeath. 2 Thus, if the violence implicit in the erotics of the play strikes at “the self-contained character of the participators,” it strikes first at the core of language. 3. (shrink)