« Je considère ici le sens et le rôle de l'irrationnel dans certaines œuvres humaines, dans certaines créations majeures de l'esprit humain, et tout particulièrement dans les œuvres de la science. Dans cette perspective, je distinguerais trois types significatifs d'irrationnel. Le premier serait l'irrationnel comme obstacle, point de départ d'une reconquête de la rationalité. Le second, l'irrationnel comme recours, moyen de renouveler et de prolonger l'acte créateur. Le troisième, l'irrationnel par renoncement, ou si l'on veut par abandon, est au contraire (...) un véritable rejet du rationnel. C'est cette triple distinction qui servira de fil conducteur à nos réflexions sur l'irrationnel dans les œuvres, dans l'esprit d'un rationalisme ouvert et dynamique, en vue de reconnaître et de délimiter le rôle positif de l'irrationnel. » G. G. G. (shrink)

This article presents a gnostic division of truth and the world, or between theory and philosophy. In the course of the article the structure of decision is articulated in both political and theoretical senses. Against the agnosticism of philosophy, always an alibi given over to the functioning of the capitalist world where life is not worth living, this article presents a gnosis that requires creating and beginning with the proletarian subject akin to the way the French Maoist group Gauche prolétarienne (...) began by taking theory into the factories in the late 1960s. (shrink)

The aim of the present article is to examine the paradox that while Bourdieu appears to be highly favorable to Marx, there is a radical disagreement between their two theoretical systems. In Bourdieu’s writing, comments favorable to Marx outweigh criticism by a ratio of 4,5 to 1. Marxists, in contrast, come in for ten times more criticism than support. Bourdieu’s approval of Marx in fact concerns only what are secondary aspects, while the few critiques he addresses delineate a structural opposition (...) between the two authors. Bourdieu rejects the theory of surplus value, the Marxist theory of exploitation, and the communist project. Among other things, he draws up a critique of Marx’s analyses of the State, legitimation, social classes. Explanation for the paradox is to be sought in the strategy deployed by Bourdieu in the field of the social sciences. (shrink)

Let X be a non-reflexive Banach space such that X ∗ is separable. Let N be the set of all equivalent norms on X , equipped with the topology of uniform convergence on bounded subsets of X . We show that the subset Z of N consisting of Fréchet-differentiable norms whose dual norm is not strictly convex reduces any difference of analytic sets. It follows that Z is exactly a difference of analytic sets when N is equipped with the standard (...) Effros–Borel structure. Our main lemma elucidates the topological structure of the norm-attaining linear forms when the norm of X is locally uniformly rotund. (shrink)

La philosophie est-elle un savoir? Y a-t-il des vérités philosophiques? Peut-on démontrer en philosophie? Deux tentations opposées sont ici dénoncées. L'une porte à présenter la philosophie comme une sorte de science éminente et dogmatique ; l'autre à la confondre avec l'exposé poétique et passionné de quelques états d'âme. L'auteur, au contraire, essaie d'établir que la philosophie, à travers sa diversité, constitue une véritable connaissance, irréductible à celle que fournit la science et n'y suppléant en aucun cas : une connaissance capable (...) de rigueur, quoique non démonstrative, une connaissance paradoxalement sans objets. (shrink)

On May 11th a round table discussion was held on the subject "The Interactions of Science and Art under the Conditions of the Revolution in Science and Technology ," organized by the editorial boards of the journals Voprosy filosofii and Voprosy literatury.

Binding arbitration is generally less available in tort suits than in contract suits because most tort plaintiffs do not have a pre-dispute contract with the defendant, and are unlikely to consent to arbitration after the occurrence of an unforeseen injury. But the Federal Arbitration Act applies to all “contract[s] evincing a transaction involving commerce,” including contracts for healthcare and medical services. Given the broad trend towards arbitration in nearly every other business-to-consumer industry, coupled with some rollbacks in tort reform measures (...) that have traditionally favored medical professionals in the judicial system, it is very possible that we may witness in the near future more medical contracts containing arbitration provisions. As a consequence, all manner of tort claims might be hashed out in the sequestered universe of arbitration. (shrink)

The flames of Alexandria continue to rage. After twenty centuries, they still dazzle us, as though the Mouseion were the only massacred library. One would believe that Julius Caesar, Theophilus of Antioch and Omar (the three pyromaniacs, the pagan, the Christian and the Moslem) had had no predecessors or imitators. But the race of incendiaries is as numerous as the waves of the sea. It is monotonous, it is indestructible, it is equal to that of the ants. It was born (...) at the same time as the first Babylonian tablets. In 1988, it continues its work. All over the world and in all times, the incendiaries were there with their torches. They burned parchments, wood or clay tablets, leather manuscripts, papyrus or folios. The same warriors who profaned temples set fire to incunabula. The same ones who slaughtered the Aztecs threw their firebrands into the collection of codices. What is it, this unleashed fury of prince and priest, judge and soldier against these small monuments of clay or paper, against these sepulchres in which the dead say that they have lived and loved, suffered and hoped? (shrink)

Proactively including the ethical and societal issues of new technologies could have a positive effect on their acceptance. These issues could be captured in terms of values. In the literature, the values stakeholders deem important for the development of technology have often been identified. However, the relative ranking of these values in relation to each other have not been studied often. The best worst method is proposed as a possible method to determine the weights of values, hence it is used (...) in an evaluative fashion. The applicability of the method is tested by applying it to the case of smart meters, one of the main components of the smart grid. The importance of values is examined for three dimensions of acceptance namely sociopolitical, market, and household acceptance. (shrink)

Tous deux résistants, Cavaillès et Lautmann ont été fusillés par les Allemands.Ils étaient l’un et l’autre « philosophes des mathématiques », mais leur réflexion proprement philosophique porte sur les rapports des mathématiques et de la logique, et, plus généralement, sur la pensée formelle.À la notion lautmanienne de « dialectique » mathématique, s’oppose – ou du moins se juxtapose –, du côté de Cavaillès, l’idée de la nécessité interne d’une histoire des concepts.Both resisting during WWII, Cavaillès et Lautmann were shot by (...) the Germans.Both were « philosophers of maths » but their true philosophical thoughts deal with the relationships between mathematics and logics and, more specifically, with formal thought.To the Lautmanian reflection on mathematical « dialectics », Cavaillès opposes – or rather, juxtaposes – the idea of an internal necessity of a history of concepts. (shrink)

RésuméLe problème de l'irrationnel tel qu'il a été abordé au cours du Colloque n'a peut‐ětre pas suffisamment souligné l'idée que la rationalité ne s'applique fondamentalement qu'à une connaissance; si elle s'applique secondairement à une action, c'est en tant que représentée. On tente de déterminer les conditions de rationalité d'une représentation de phénomène ou d'action. On est alors amené à distinguer deux niveaux de rationalité, l'un proprement logique, l'autre topique, réflexif et méta‐critique.Summary There is a feature of rationality that does not (...) seem to have been sufficiently brought out during the Symposium: fundamentally, rationality only applies to knowledge, not to action. It can secondarily refer to actions, but in so far as they are represented actions. The author tries to determine the conditions required for the representation of phenomena or actions to be said rational or irrational. He is led to distinguish two levels of rationality, the one logical, proprio sensu, the other topical, reflexive and meta‐critical.ZusammenfassungDas Problem der Irrationalität, wie es während des Kolloquiums angegangen wurde, berücksichtigt zu wenig den Punkt, dass Rationalität grundlegend nur auf Wissen angewendet wird; wenn der Begriff sich sekundär auf eine Handlung bezieht, so handelt es sich um diese als eine vorgestellte. Man versucht, die Bedingungen der Rationalität für die Vorstellung eines Phänomens oder einer Handlung zu bestimmen. Entsprechend muss man zwei Stufen der Rationalität unterscheiden, nämlich eine eigentlich logische und die topische, reflexive oder metaktritische. (shrink)

The author tries to specify a philosophical attitude which could be considered a form of Positivism, but this does not necessarily mean that it coincides with the doctrine of Auguste Comte or with that of the Vienna Circle.In order to facilitate the exposition the author formulates eight theses whose abrupt character is merely a consequence of the manner of presentation and by no means a manifestation of dogmatism.Eachdatum presents itself as finite experience (1) which is organized with the help ofsymbols, (...) either on the level of perception or on the level of language (2). Inside the perception itself a reduction of experience which is essentially pragmatic first constitutes thephenomena (3). Theobject which is constituted by science on the basis of the phenomena is merely structural and always delimited (4). Its constitution is unceasingly revisable and it never corresponds to an alleged essence of reality.What is here called ‘dialectic’ never consists in a set of rules governing a movement of phenomena, objects, or ideas; it is a general, historical movement of experience itself, taken as a whole, and the specific movement of the symbolic statements which inform it. One should not confuse it with a kind of general logic, nor with a so-called science of totalities (5).Logic explains the rules of the symbolic systems (6), andscience is the mediate determination of objects by means of the symbolism, and is not an immediate determination of reality (7). It constructs coherent and effective models of phenomena.As far asphilosophy is concerned, it wishes to interpret experience as a totality, not-withstanding experience's finitude as datum (8). Thus it is radically distinguished from science in that philosophy does not intend to construct models, but to explain the meanings of the phenomena and, in general, of experience. That is why the category of truth taken in a rigorous sense does not apply to philosophy's statements. (shrink)

When we compare the genealogical strategies of the Ptolemies, Seleukids, and Hasmoneans, those of the Ptolemies and the Hasmoneans display striking parallels, while the Seleukids followed a different policy. This article explores one facet of the parallels, the combined use of funerary monuments, festivals, and narratives to create prestigious dynastic ancestors. We commence with Alexander the Great and Nectanebo II, the last native king to rule before the Persian conquest of Egypt, who became putative ancestors of the Ptolemies by way (...) of Alexander’s Sema in Alexandria, the Ptolemaic ruler cult, and four texts—the Demotic Chronicle, Nectanebo’s Dream and its “sequel”, and the Alexander Romance. The comparison between the Ptolemies and the Hasmoneans focuses on Alexander’s Sema and the Hasmonean funerary monument erected by Simon in Modi’in. Alongside their physical similarities, we show how the Modi’in monument was instrumental in turning the Hasmonean John Hyrkanos into the heir of all the tomb dwellers, particularly Judas Maccabee. (shrink)

Les Salons de Diderot figurent sans conteste parmi les plus fameux écrits sur l’art. Bien plus, on a longtemps répété que l’encyclopédiste avait initié la « critique d’art », entendue comme un genre littéraire clairement défini et appelé à une postérité féconde. Or, non seulement Diderot n’est pas l’inventeur du genre, mais le philosophe ne se percevait pas lui-même comme critique d’art. Les Salons, en effet, ne constituent pas une production en marge du corpus philosophique de Diderot ; au contraire, (...) ils s’inscrivent au cœur de l’œuvre générale de ce penseur atypique, en même temps qu’ils en restituent l’image, en prolongent les questionnements, en dévoilent les ambitions et en révèlent la méthode. Pourtant, il n’est pas faux d’affir­mer que les écrits de Diderot sur l’art sont conçus comme une critique des œuvres d’art, singulièrement de celles des peintres, à la double condition d’entendre conve­nablement le sens philosophique que Diderot donne au mot « critique » et de conserver en mémoire qu’écrire, pour le salonnier, ne consiste jamais à parler de la peinture mais, bien plutôt, de s’astreindre à parler peinture. (shrink)

Tratamos neste artigo de algumas questões concernentes aos aspectos do pensamento nas obras científicas e à relação entre ciência e filosofia.

L’auteur a déjà introduit les concepts de “contenu formel” et “dualité” dans des publications antérieures, avec l’intention d’éclairer les problèmes suscités par la fécondité de la pensée formelle. Cet article a pour objectif d’établir leur relation et articulation. Le terme “dualité” est emprunté aux mathématiques. Il désigne une catégorie fondamentale de la pensée objective, dans la mesure où il est défini comme un principe de détermination réciproque pour n’importe quel système d’objets et le système d’opérations auquel il est nécessairement associé. (...) Son caractère fundamental en tant que catégorie tient essentiellement au fait d’être une condition transcendentale pour n’importe quelle espèce de pensée symbolique objective. Par le principe de dualité, on peut établir de façon générale la signification de l’opposition du contenu et de la forme, et celle de la détermination des contenus par de simples formes, indépendemment de leur origine empirique. La forme logique est alors définie comme le “degré zéro” d’une telle opposition. Des exemples de production de contenus formels dans les processus scientifiques sont examinés et considérés comme des preuves d’une dialectique interne des concepts, principalement dans le domaine des mathématiques. Dans la conclusion, nous proposons l’examen de deux questions : 1) Est-il approprié de concevoir un niveau de pensée formelle plus profond que celui de la Logique, et comment pourrions-nous y accéder? 2) Comment des contenus purement formels peuvent-ils produire des connaissances applicables au monde empirique ? Ce problème n’est qu’une nouvelle formulation de la vieille énigme de la déduction transcendentale.The author has introduced the concepts of “formal content” and “duality” in previous papers, with a view to shedding light on the problems posed by the fecundity of formal thought. The present work is an attempt to show their relationship and articulation. The term “duality” has been borrowed from mathematics. It designates a fundamental category of objective thinking, in so far as it is defined as a principle of reciprocal determination for every system of objects and the system of operations to which it is necessarily associated. The fundamental character of duality as a category essentially lies in its being a transcendental condition for every symbolic kind of objective thought. Through the principle of duality, one can give its more general meaning to the opposition of content to form, and to the determination of contents by mere forms, independent of empirical import. Logical form is then defined as the “zero degree” of such an opposition. Examples of the production of formal contents in scientific processes are examined, and considered as evidence of an internal dialectics of concepts, principally in the field of mathematics. In the conclusion, two questions are proposed: 1) Is it appropriate to conceive of a level of formal thought, deeper than the level of Logics, and how could we try to approach it? 2) How do pure formal contents come to generate knowledge applicable to the empirical world? This problem is, under new guise, the old transcendental deduction enigma. (shrink)

Neste artigo, apresentamos o intuicionismo como uma atitude epistêmica geral, caracterizada pelo rigor de suas exigências de verificação não apenas na matemática e na lógica, mas em todo conhecimento cientifico.

Peut-on formuler des conditions non empiriques pour qu'un objet ou un fait soit reconnu comme ayant fonction de symbole ? Si oui, il conviendrait de les nommer conditions proto-logiques, car elles concernent des formes, comme la logique, mais sont plus primitives que les déterminations logiques mêmes. L'objet de cet article est de discuter cinq notions qui peuvent être présentées comme candidates à cette fonction d'universels proto- logiques pour les langues naturelles : la pluralité des niveaux d'« articu- lation», l'énoncé complet, (...) la notion d'« ancrage» de l'énoncé à renonciation, le nom propre, la corrélation rhème-thème. De tels universaux ne sont pas présentés comme des classes de symboles, mais des types de fonctions diversement réalisées dans des structures grammaticales. Les mettre en évidence - ou en découvrir d'autres - devrait être l'une des tâches de la philosophie du langage dans sa relation à la science linguistique.Is it possible to state non-empirical requisites for an object, fact or artefact, to obtain symbolical functioning ? If so, their status could be named proto-logical, in so far as they bear upon forms, like logic, but ought to be more primitive than logical determinations. The purpose of this paper is to discuss five notions which may be considered candidates for the functional role of proto-logical universals of natural languages : plurality of the levels of " articulations ", the concept of full-fledged sentence, " anchorage " of enunciated sentences to enunciation, proper names, the correlation rheme-theme. Such universals are not meant to correspond to classes of symbols, but to typical functions, diversely embodied in grammatical structures. To trace them - or others - should be one of the tasks of philosophy of language, in its relationship with linguistic investigations. (shrink)