Confronted with problems or situations that do not yield toknown theories and world views, scientists and students are alike. Theyare rarely able to directly build a model or a theory thereof. Rather,they must find ways to make sense of the circumstances using theircurrent knowledge and adjusting what is recognized in the process. Thisway of thinking, using past ways of perceiving the physical world tobuild new ones does not follow a logical path and cannot be described astheory revision. Likewise, in many (...) situations it is awkward, indeedoften impossible, to resort to analogical reasoning to account for it.This paper presents a new mechanism, called `tunnel effect', that mayexplain, in part, how scientists and students reason while constructinga new conceptual domain. `Tunnel effect' is also contrasted withanalogical reasoning. (shrink)

This book is devoted to a thorough analysis of the role that models play in the practise of physical theory. The authors, a mathematical physicist and a philosopher of science, appeal to the logicians’ notion of model theory as well as to the concepts of physicists.

« Qui veut s’entremettre entre deux penseurs résolus est marqué de médiocrité : il n’a pas l’œil pour discerner ce qui ne se produit qu’une fois : le fait de ne voir que ressemblances et de tout égaliser est caractéristique d’une faible vue », écrivait Nietzsche dans le Gai savoir, à l’aphorisme 228. C’est cette gageure qu’il nous faut tenter d’affronter. Faire le point sur l’improbable relation de Proust à Schelling oblige d’abord à ne jamais perdre de vue « ce (...) qui ne se produit qu’une fois... (shrink)

La philosophie politique, dans sa tradition dominante, prend essentiellement en vue la possibilité d’une continuité plus ou moins harmonieuse entre personne et société, entre individu et communauté – que ce soit dans la figure du contrat, de l’association, du transfert de forces ou dans celle de l’universalité concrète de l’État. La pensée du politique autorisée par l’éthique de Levinas frappe de discontinuité les formes et les instances d’homogénéisation ou de dialectisation qui découlent de ce modèle. Elle propose une pensée de (...) l’altérité comme interruption radicale mais fragile des totalisations et des autonomisations de la politique. Dans le contraste entre visage et personne, entre proximité duelle et multiplicité des tiers, dans l’équivoque même de la personne, dans l’inspiration de la société et de la politique par ce qui vient avant elles, une pensée de la Justice s’esquisse, originale et profonde. (shrink)

This work challenges the textbook assessment of Schopenhauer as militant atheist and absolute pessimist. In examining Schopenhauer's grappling with religion, theology and Kant's moral philosophy, Mannion suggests we can actually discern a 'religious' humility in method in Schopenhauer's work, seen most clearly in his ethics of compassion and his doctrine of salvation. Given current debates between theologians and philosophers in relation to 'postmodernity' and 'postmodern thought', this book illustrates that Schopenhauer should be a key figure in such debates.

Patrice Bergeron,Fabrice Blée,Marc Dumas,Raymond Lemieux,Jean Richard,Gérard Siegwalt.

This book will appeal to second- and third-year undergraduates, and graduates and academics in sociology and social theory, politics, cultural studies and other ...

This paper elaborates on conceptual, empirical and practical arguments why corporations need to focus on their social dimensions, in order to further enhance organizational performance. The paper starts with an introduction on the general trend towards inclusiveness and connectedness. It then elaborates on the phase-wise development of cultures and organizational structures. Managing corporate improvement by building cultures of trust is the central focus of this contribution. By showing the cultural dimensions of Great Places to Work and their workplace practices, worthwhile (...) experiences leading to organizational improvement and superior financial performance are demonstrated. (shrink)

ome Remarks on the Crisis of Capitalism What are the causes and consequences of the crisis of capitalism ? What are the plausible scenarios forthe outcome of the crisis ? To what extent is the current crisis comparable to that of 1929, and to whatextent does it differ from the crisis of the 1970s ? To what extent can one speak of a crisis of neoliberalism ? These are some of the questions which the authors of The Crisis of Neoliberalism (...) address here. (shrink)

Cosmopolitanism has been understood as a postnational identity. This conflates the distinction between nation and nationalism. Most accounts of cosmopolitanism emphasise its legal form or its cultural dimension or its political. This paper argues for a civic dimension to cosmopolitanism, conceived of in terms of discourses of self, other and world. This is tied to a notion of nations without nationalism.

Theologians have long appealed to Newman’s Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine as a source for criteria to determine the genuineness of doctrinal developments. After pointing out that Newman changed his terminology from “tests” in the original edition to “notes” in the third edition, this article examines their current criteriological usefulness both in retrospect and in prospect.

The blood oxygen level dependent effect that provides the contrast in functional magnetic resonance imaging has been demonstrated to affect the linewidth of spectral peaks as measured with magnetic resonance spectroscopy and through this, may be used as an indirect measure of cerebral blood flow related to neural activity. By acquiring MR-spectra interleaved with frames without water suppression, it may be possible to image the BOLD effect and associated metabolic changes simultaneously through changes in the linewidth of the unsuppressed water (...) peak. The purpose of this study was to implement this approach with the MEGA-PRESS sequence, widely considered to be the standard sequence for quantitative measurement of GABA at field strengths of 3 T and lower, to observe how changes in both glutamate and GABA levels may relate to changes due to the BOLD effect. MR-spectra and fMRI were acquired from the occipital cortex of 20 healthy participants whilst undergoing intrascanner visual stimulation in the form of a red and black radial checkerboard, alternating at 8 Hz, in 90 s blocks comprising 30 s of visual stimulation followed by 60 s of rest. Results show very strong agreement between the changes in the linewidth of the unsuppressed water signal and the canonical haemodynamic response function as well as a strong, negative, but not statistically significant, correlation with the Glx signal as measured from the OFF spectra in MEGA-PRESS pairs. Findings from this experiment suggest that the unsuppressed water signal provides a reliable measure of the BOLD effect and that correlations with associated changes in GABA and Glx levels may also be measured. However, discrepancies between metabolite levels as measured from the difference and OFF spectra raise questions regarding the reliability of the respective methods. (shrink)

(1998). Rethinking the university: The autonomy, contestation and reflexivity of knowledge. Social Epistemology: Vol. 12, Sites of Knowledge Production: The University, pp. 103-113. doi: 10.1080/02691729808578868.