IntroductionHearing loss in adults has a pervasive impact on health and well-being. Its effects on everyday listening and communication can directly influence participation across multiple spheres of life. These impacts, however, remain poorly assessed within clinical settings. Whilst various tests and questionnaires that measure listening and communication abilities are available, there is a lack of consensus about which measures assess the factors that are most relevant to optimising auditory rehabilitation. This study aimed to map current measures used in published studies (...) to evaluate listening skills needed for oral communication in adults with hearing loss.MethodsA scoping review was conducted using systematic searches in Medline, EMBASE, Web of Science and Google Scholar to retrieve peer-reviewed articles that used one or more linguistic-based measure necessary to oral communication in adults with hearing loss. The range of measures identified and their frequency where charted in relation to auditory hierarchies, linguistic domains, health status domains, and associated neuropsychological and cognitive domains.Results9121 articles were identified and 2579 articles that reported on 6714 discrete measures were included for further analysis. The predominant linguistic-based measure reported was word or sentence identification in quiet. In contrast, discourse-based measures were used in 2.7% of the articles included. Of the included studies, 36.6% used a self-reported instrument purporting to measures of listening for communication. Consistent with previous studies, a large number of self-reported measures were identified, but 60.4% of these measures were used in only one study and 80.7% were cited five times or fewer.DiscussionCurrent measures used in published studies to assess listening abilities relevant to oral communication target a narrow set of domains. Concepts of communicative interaction have limited representation in current measurement. The lack of measurement consensus and heterogeneity amongst the assessments limit comparisons across studies. Furthermore, extracted measures rarely consider the broader linguistic, cognitive and interactive elements of communication. Consequently, existing measures may have limited clinical application if assessing the listening-related skills required for communication in daily life, as experienced by adults with hearing loss. (shrink)

An innovative, multifaceted approach to scientific experiments as designed by and shaped through interaction with the modeling process The role of scientific modeling in mediation between theories and phenomena is a critical topic within the philosophy of science, touching on issues from climate modeling to synthetic models in biology, high energy particle physics, and cognitive sciences. Offering a radically new conception of the role of data in the scientific modeling process as well as a new awareness of the problematic aspects (...) of data, this cutting-edge volume offers a multifaceted view on experiments as designed and shaped in interaction with the modeling process. Contributors address such issues as the construction of models in conjunction with scientific experimentation; the status of measurement and the function of experiment in the identification of relevant parameters; how the phenomena under study are reconceived when accounted for by a model; and the interplay between experimenting, modeling, and simulation when results do not mesh. Highlighting the mediating role of models and the model-dependence of data measurement, this volume proposes a normative and conceptual innovation in scientific modeling--that the phenomena to be investigated and modeled must not be precisely identified at the start but specified during the course of the interactions arising between experimental and modeling activities. Contributors: Nancy D. Cartwright, U of California, San Diego; Anthony Chemero, U of Cincinnati; Ronald N. Giere, U of Minnesota; Jenann Ismael, U of Arizona; Tarja Knuuttila, U of South Carolina; Andrea Loettgers, U of Bern, Switzerland; Deborah Mayo, Virginia Tech; Joseph Rouse, Wesleyan U; Paul Teller, U of California, Davis; Michael Weisberg, U of Pennsylvania; Eric Winsberg, U of South Florida. (shrink)

Recent years have seen a notable increase in the production of scientific expertise by large multidisciplinary groups. The issue we address is how reports may be written by such groups in spite of their size and of formidable obstacles: complexity of subject matter, uncertainty, and scientific disagreement. Our focus is on the International Panel on Climate Change, unquestionably the best-known case of such collective scientific expertise. What we show is that the organization of work within the IPCC aims to make (...) it possible to produce documents that are indeed expert reports. To do so, we first put forward the epistemic norms that apply to expert reports in general, that is, the properties that reports should have in order to be useful and to help decision-making. Section 2 claims that these properties are: intelligibility, relevance and accuracy. Based on this analysis, section 3 points to the difficulties of having IPCC reports indeed satisfying these norms. We then show how the organization of work within the IPCC aims at and to a large extent secures intelligibility, relevance and accuracy, with the result that IPCC reports can be relied on for decision-making. Section 4 focuses on the fundamentals of IPCC’s work organization--that is, division of labour within the IPCC--while section 5 investigates three frameworks that were introduced over the course of the functioning of the IPCC: the reviewing procedure of IPCC reports, the language that IPCC authors use to express uncertainty and the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project. Concluding remarks are offered in section 6. (shrink)

This book promotes the research of present-day women working in ancient and medieval philosophy, with more than 60 women having contributed in some way to the volume in a fruitful collaboration. It contains 22 papers organized into ten distinct parts spanning the sixth century BCE to the fifteenth century CE. Each part has the same structure: it features, first, a paper which sets up the discussion, and then, one or two responses that open new perspectives and engage in further reflections. (...) Our authors’ contributions address pivotal moments and players in the history of philosophy: women philosophers in antiquity, Cleobulina of Rhodes, Plato, Lucretius, Bardaisan of Edessa, Alexander of Aphrodisias, Plotinus, Porphyry, Peter Abelard, Robert Kilwardby, William Ockham, John Buridan, and Isotta Nogarola. The result is a thought-provoking collection of papers that will be of interest to historians of philosophy from all horizons. Far from being an isolated effort, this book is a contribution to the ever-growing number of initiatives which endeavour to showcase the work of women in philosophy. (shrink)

Providing a compelling scholarly statement about the interrelation and pliability of values in the life sciences, medicine and health care, this volume aims to aid our understanding of the roles of power, knowledge production and economic action in the heavily scientised and economised areas of life science and medicine.

Les derniers travaux de Michel Foucault peuvent être appréhendés comme une nouvelle grille de lecture pour l'analyse des pratiques d'écriture personnelle dont peut se saisir la théorie littéraire. Dans ses cours au Collège de France sur les pratiques de soi antiques, Michel Foucault ébauche une généalogie de l'écriture de soi : celle-ci ne vise pas à découvrir ce qui est "intus et in cute" comme l'annonçait Rousseau en exergue des Confessions, mais à élaborer un sujet éthique par l'ascèse, par l'exercice (...) de l'écriture. La pratique de l'écriture personnelle, dès lors qu'elle renonce au psychologique, à une "histoire de la personnalité" (Philippe Lejeune) et s'ouvre à une altérité, devient une "pratique de liberté" (Michel Foucault). Face à une épreuve existentielle (le deuil, la maladie), face aux agressions de l'histoire, face à un contexte sociopolitique répressif, le récit de soi en tant que pratique éthique de subjectivation offre un cheminement vers une émancipation que la littérature peut aussi aider à interpréter. Le récit de soi requiert dès lors une lecture éthique et convoque, nécessairement, pour son analyse, la littérature et la philosophie. (shrink)

Le scepticisme de Montaigne -- Perturbations dans le genre -- Bouleversement des catégories du masculin et du féminin dans "Par divers moyens on arrive à pareille fin" -- L'identité en question -- L'homme insoluble -- Les Indiennes, les Indiens et nous -- Le sexe indécis -- Renversement -- Critique sceptique de la rhétorique adressée aux femmes -- Féminité et savoir du corps -- Parodie de la discipline conjugale -- Au sujet de la femme insatiable -- Déplacement et/ou réhabilitation inattendue -- (...) Malheur et bonheur du mariage ou la vie selon son mouvement -- Solitude ou mariage -- Grandeur de la relation conjugale -- Examen sceptique de la gynécocratie -- Satire du patriarcat -- Abandon et transmission du pouvoir -- Restauration de la légitimité du gouvernement féminin -- Réduction à l'absurde -- Réquisitoire contre la chasse aux sorcières -- Vanité de la recherche des causes -- Justice sceptique et clémence -- Vénus, les boiteux et les boiteuses -- Apologie paradoxale -- L'amour de préférence à la guerre -- Trivialité et danger de l'amour -- Éloge de l'amour -- Dernières accolades -- Construction d'une communauté autre -- Un lectorat féminin estimé -- Les femmes dédicataires dans les Essais -- Marie de Gournay, une philosophe féministe autonome, mais fidèle. (shrink)

Comment penser l'effort aujourd'hui? Le thème peut sembler à la fois banal et faussement suranné. Banal, d'une part, parce que l'effort est, pour paraphraser Descartes, "la chose du monde la mieux partagée". Depuis toujours, nous sommes enjoints à "faire des efforts", dans des domaines très variés de l'existence, pour apprendre à marcher ou faire du vélo, à l'école, dans nos relations avec autrui puis, plus tard, pour mener à bien des études et une vie professionnelle, trouver le bonheur dans notre (...) vie privée et surmonter les "coups durs" qui sont le lot de chacun. Banal aussi, parce que, tel un marronnier des propos de comptoir, le thème est dans l'actualité, lorsqu'il s'agit de déplorer le "manque d'efforts" des "jeunes générations" ou la perte du "goût de l'effort", à l'école notamment. Ainsi, l'effort serait requis partout, et pourtant perdu, omniprésent dans les discours et si difficile à définir, si difficile à saisir aussi dans les actes. De quoi parle-t-on, de l'effort physique, démonstratif, ou de l'effort intellectuel, intériorisé, impalpable, mais dont les neurosciences visent à montrer la teneur somatique? (shrink)

"The Invention of Modern Science proposes a fruitful way of going beyond the apparently irreconcilable positions, that science is either "objective" or "socially constructed." Instead, suggests Isabelle Stengers, one of the most important and influential philosophers of science in Europe, we might understand the tension between scientific objectivity and belief as a necessary part of science, central to the practices invented and reinvented by scientists."--pub. desc.

La citation récurrente de Sg 9, 15 : « Le corps qui se corrompt appesantit l’âme et sa demeure de terre accable l’esprit aux multiples pensées », dans le corpus augustinien, semble être l’indice d’un mépris du corps, hérité de la tradition platonicienne du corps-prison. De fait, dans ses premières œuvres, Augustin cite Sg 9, 15 pour affirmer que le corps est un obstacle à la contemplation de la vérité. Mais, dans ses œuvres ultérieures, il utilise Sg 9, 15 pour (...) établir, contre les platoni­ciens, que le corps n’est pas la prison de l’âme et que le poids du corps est à imputer, non au corps lui-même, mais à sa corruptibilité : il n’y a donc pas à « fuir tout corps », comme le veut Porphyre. Face à Julien d’Éclane, enfin, il souligne, en citant Sg 9, 15, que la condition peineuse de l’homme aujourd’hui n’est pas le propre de la nature primitive de l’homme, mais la peine du péché qui a vicié la nature. (shrink)

Three experiments were conducted in order to validate 56 musical excerpts that conveyed four intended emotions (happiness, sadness, threat and peacefulness). In Experiment 1, the musical clips were rated in terms of how clearly the intended emotion was portrayed, and for valence and arousal. In Experiment 2, a gating paradigm was used to evaluate the course for emotion recognition. In Experiment 3, a dissimilarity judgement task and multidimensional scaling analysis were used to probe emotional content with no emotional labels. The (...) results showed that emotions are easily recognised and discriminated on the basis of valence and arousal and with relative immediacy. Happy and sad excerpts were identified after the presentation of fewer than three musical events. With no labelling, emotion discrimination remained highly accurate and could be mapped on energetic and tense dimensions. The present study provides suitable musical material for research on emotions.Keywords. (shrink)

Si l'analyse augustinienne du temps, dans le livre 11 des Confessions, ne cesse d'être revisitée par nos contemporains, il devient légitime de s'in­terroger sur la pertinence de ces relectures, ne serait-ce qu'en raison de ce que le philosophe ou le théologien peut y déceler comme indice de la pertinence et de la fécondité de la réflexion d'Augustin sur le temps. Trois « relectures » philosophiques, de Paul Ricoeur, de Jean-Toussaint Desanti et de Claude Romano, et une « variation théologique », (...) de Hans Urs von Balthasar, servent de base de réflexion à l'auteur, au terme de laquelle se dessinent des variations assez difficilement conciliables dans la mesure d'abord où elles témoignent de différences de degrés dans la fidélité à l'inspiration d'Augustin. Du moins y a-t-il là témoignage de la force du propos augustinien, passage obligé quand on s'interroge sur le temps.If the Augustinian analysis of time, in the eleventh book of the Confessions, does not cease to be revisited by our contemporaries, it becomes legitimate to ask about the pertinence of these rereadings, if only for the reason that the philosopher or theologian could discern an indication of the importance and fecundity of Augus­tin's reflection on time. Three philosophical « rereadings », of Paul Ricoeur, Jean-Toussaint Desanti, and Claude Romano, and a « theological variation », of Hans Urs von Balthasar, serve the author as a basis for reflection. At the end there appear some variations somewhat difficult to reconcile, in so far as they point out the differences of degree in the fidelity to Augustin's inspiration. At the least, this is a testimony to the power of the Augustinian position, a necessary passage when one questions time. (shrink)

BackgroundNew metrics have been developed to assess the impact of research and provide an indication of online media attention and data dissemination. We aimed to describe online media attention of articles evaluating cancer treatments and identify the factors associated with high online media attention.MethodsWe systematically searched MEDLINE via PubMed on March 1, 2015 for articles published during the first 6 months of 2014 in oncology and medical journals with a diverse range of impact factors, from 3.9 to 54.4, and selected (...) a sample of articles evaluating a cancer treatment regardless of study design. Altmetric Explorer was used to identify online media attention of selected articles. The primary outcome was media attention an article received online as measured by Altmetric score (i.e., number of mentions in online news outlets, science blogs and social media). Regression analysis was performed to investigate the factors associated with high media attention, and regression coefficients represent the logarithm of ratio of mean (RoM) values of Altmetric score per unit change in the covariate.ResultsAmong 792 articles, 218 (27.5%) received no online media attention (Altmetric score = 0). The median [Q1–Q3] Altmetric score was 2.0 [0.0–8.0], range 0.0–428.0. On multivariate analysis, factors associated with high Altmetric score were presence of a press release (RoM = 10.14, 95%CI [4.91–20.96]), open access to the article (RoM = 1.48, 95%CI [1.02–2.16]), and journal impact factor (RoM = 1.10, 95%CI [1.07–1.12]. As compared with observational studies, systematic reviews were not associated with high Altmetric score (RoM = 1.46, 95%CI [0.74–2.86]; P = 0.27), nor were RCTs (RoM = 0.65, 95%CI [0.41–1.02]; P = 0.059) and phase I/ii non-RCTs (RoM = 0.58, 95%CI [0.33–1.05]; P = 0.07). The articles with abstract conclusions favouring study treatments were not associated with high Altmetric score (RoM = 0.97, 95%CI [0.60–1.58]; P = 0.91).ConclusionsMost important factors associated with high online media attention were the presence of a press release and the journal impact factor. There was no evidence that study design with high level of evidence and type of abstract conclusion were associated with high online media attention. (shrink)

In the ethical fragments, Democritus presents old age as an age when moderation develops more easily than in youth (68B294 DK). The fact that he also describes old age as “a general mutilation” (πήρωσις ὁλόκληρος) (68B296 DK) suggests that his atomic theory may have been used to account for the phenomenon. Understood as a loss of atoms in all parts of the body, the πήρωσις in turn causes leaks of psychic atoms which can have an impact on the temperament of (...) old people. If this hypothesis is correct, it adds to the number of possible links between the atomic theory and the moral thoughts of Democritus. (shrink)

We examined liking for happy- and sad-sounding music as a function of exposure, which varied both in quantity (number of exposures) and in quality (focused or incidental listening). Liking ratings were higher for happy than for sad music after focused listening, but similar after incidental listening. In the incidental condition, liking ratings increased linearly as a function of exposure. In the focused condition, liking ratings were an inverted U-shaped function of exposure, with initial increases in liking (after 2 exposures) followed (...) by decreases (after 8 or 32 exposures). The results documented that: (1) sad music is liked as much as happy music in some instances; (2) frequency of exposure causes both familiarity (positive) and over-familiarity (negative) effects; and (3) effects of exposure on liking differ for focused and incidental listening. (shrink)

This article explains how the issue of inclusion is central to Habermas’s theory of democracy and how it is deeply rooted in his conception of a political public sphere. After recalling Habermas’s views on the public sphere, I present and discuss various objections raised by other critical theorists: Oskar Negt and Alexander Kluge, Nancy Fraser, Axel Honneth and Iris Marion Young. These criticisms insist on the paradoxically excluding effects of a conception of democracy that promotes civic participation in the public (...) debate. Negt, Kluge and Fraser develop a Marxist line of analysis that question who can participate in the public sphere. Honneth and Young criticize in various ways the excluding effect of argumentation: are unargumentative speeches excluded from the public debate? I show how Habermas’s model can provide some responses to these various objections by drawing inspiration from his treatment of the gap between religious and post-metaphysical world views. (shrink)

ABSTRACT This paper questions the current construction of a 54 metres statue of Maitreya against a 108 metres stupa in the steppe south of Ulaanbaatar, that will stand at the edge of a new ‘eco-city,’ Maidar City. The Grand Maitreya Project was initiated in 2009 by H. Battulga, businessman and MP. The project aims to be ‘one of the largest Buddhist complex in the world,’ and now is a ‘National project for reviving traditional Buddhist education and culture.’ I propose to (...) use religious and art-historical approaches in order to document the ‘birth’ of a Buddhist project, with a special interest in the long process of conception, fundraising and promotional programme. Relying on recent studies on the entanglement of Buddhism, politics, culture, consumerization and tourism that gave rise to new cultual modalities, and on studies of colossal statues recently built in Asia, this article asks what the GMP tells us about modern Mongolian politics and public religious culture. What are the sources of inspiration and foreign references of the GMP? Is it a religious monument that will benefit from the tourist economy, a tourist attraction, or a unifying, nationalist symbol of 21st-century Mongolia? (shrink)

Nombreux sont les commentateurs des lettres de Paul, en monde latin, à la fin du IVe et au début du Ve siècle, ce qui s’explique sans doute par les controverses doctrinales sur la personne du Christ, mais aussi par le souci de proposer un idéal de vie chrétienne : Paul est alors présenté comme un modèle de conversion et un maître spirituel. C’est dans ce contexte qu’il faut situer l’intérêt d’Augustin pour Paul, lequel est effectivement pour Augustin un maître. Même (...) s’il n’est pas possible d’examiner systématiquement l’interprétation qu’Augustin donne des lettres de Paul, I. Bochet souligne ici le rôle de Paul dans la vie et la pensée d’Augustin, rôle qui a été déterminant : dans sa conversion tout d’abord, dans sa formation théologique également, mais aussi dans son herméneutique scropturaire et dans son enseignement sur la grâce.At the end of the fourth and beginning of the fifth century in the Latin world, there were numerous commentaries on the letters of Paul, which is undoubtedly explained by the doctrinal controversies about the person of Christ, but also by a concern to propose an ideal of the Christian life. Paul, then, is presented as a model of conversion and a spiritual master. It is in this context that one should situate Augustine’s interest for Paul, who is effectively a master for Augustine. Even if it is not possible to systematically examine the interpretation that Augustine gives of Paul’s letters, I. Bochet underlines here the role of Paul in the life and thought of Augustine, a role that was determining: first all as regards his conversion, but equally in his theological formation, and also in his scriptural hermeneutic and in his teaching on grace. (shrink)

L’article présente et discute le livre de Michael Cameron, Christ Meets Me Everywhere. Augustine’s Early Figurative Exegesis. Dans cet ouvrage, M. Cameron expose la manière dont Augustin a élaboré sa méthode d’interprétation figurative de l’Ancien Testament, depuis ses premières œuvres jusqu’en 400 environ, c’est-à-dire jusqu’à la rédaction des Confessions, du De catechizandis rudibus et du Contra Faustum manichaeum. La force du livre est d’articuler la christologie d’Augustin à sa lecture figurative des Écritures: la manière dont Augustin a peu à peu (...) compris la profondeur de la médiation du Christ, à la fois Dieu et homme, grâce à la lecture de Paul et des Psaumes, est à lier à l’importance qu’il donne, dans l’Écriture, aux signa translata. M. Cameron montre bien le rôle qu’a joué Ambroise en permettant à Augustin de rattacher la Bible au cadre rhétorique qui lui était familier; il serait fécond de compléter ses remarques en analysant aussi la pratique exégétique d’Ambroise sur quelques exemples et en précisant le rôle de Tyconius dans la formation de l’exégèse figurative d’Augustin. Le jugement que porte M. Cameron sur le De doctrina christiana qu’il juge “expérimental et incomplet à bien des titres” mérite sans doute d’être un peu nuancé. (shrink)

Dans sa polémique contre Marcion, Tertullien définit à maintes reprises Dieu comme « la grandeur suprême ». Pour Tertullien, cette définition qui exprime la transcendance divine est celle que reconnaît « la conscience universelle », celle sur laquelle tous s'accordent. Le débat entre Tertullien et Marcion porte donc sur ce qui convient ou non à « la grandeur suprême » qu'est Dieu. Doit-on la penser, à la manière de Marcion, comme une transcendance telle qu'on ne peut la connaître et qui (...) exclut par principe tout contact réel avec le monde, a fortiori avec la chair ? Doit-on au contraire affirmer, avec Tertullien, que « c'est lorsque Dieu est tout petit au regard de l'homme qu'il est, au plus haut degré, grand. » Dans sa polémique contre Marcion, Tertullien fait appel à la raison : il dé¬nonce l'irrationalité du Dieu de Marcion. Pourtant, pour justifier l'incarnation, il n'hésite pas à utiliser à plusieurs reprises le paradoxe Pour dépasser ce qui paraît de prime abord contradictoire, il faudra s'interroger sur le statut du paradoxe, sur son rapport à la raison, mais aussi à la foi.In his polemic against Marcion, Tertullian frequently defines God as “the supreme greatness”. For Tertullian, this definition, which expresses divine transcendence, is the one that “the universal conscience” recognizes, the definition everyone agrees upon. Hence, the debate between Tertullian and Marcion is about what it is properly or not related to the “supreme greatness” that is God. Should this be thought of, as for Marcion, as a trancendence one cannot know and that excludes in principle all real contact with the world, a fortiori with the flesh? Or, on the contrary, must one say, with Tertullian, that it is “when God is quite small in the eyes of man that He is, in the highest degree, great”? In his polemic against Marcion, Tertullian appeals to reason: he denounces the irrationality of the God of Marcion. However, in order to justify the incarnation, Tertullian does not hesitate to use paradox several times. In order to surmount what may at first appear contradictory, we must question the status of paradox, its relation to reason and also to faith. (shrink)

This article sets out to show that Mary Wollstonecraft’s Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) was translated by Félicité Brissot de Warville, the wife of the prominent Girondin leader, Jacques-Pierre Brissot de Warville, and annotated by both. The demonstration is carried out through a study of the works translated by them, together or singly, before 1792: the annotation of those earlier works is echoed by the themes of the notes in the later chapters of the Vindication. These notes reflect (...) J.-P. Brissot’s admiration for Quakers and for British intellectual figures such as Richard Price and Joseph Priestley (whom he knew), dislike of clergy and interest in education. Two long notes also express Félicité’s frustration at being confined to the role of mother and housewife, and can be paralleled with statements in her correspondence. To some extent, she appears as an alter ego of Wollstonecraft. (shrink)

IntroductionCognitive impairment is a highly prevalent non-motor feature of Parkinson’s disease. A better understanding of the underlying pathophysiology may help in identifying therapeutic targets to prevent or treat dementia. This study sought to identify metabolic alterations in the prefrontal cortex, a key region for cognitive functioning that has been implicated in cognitive dysfunction in PD.MethodsProton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy was used to investigate metabolic changes in the PFC of a cohort of cognitively normal individuals without PD, as well as PD participants (...) with either normal cognition, mild cognitive impairment, or dementia. Ratios to Creatine resonance were obtained for glutamate, glutamine and glutamate combined, N-acetylaspartate, myoinositol, and total choline, and correlated with cognitive scores across multiple domains administered to the PD participants only.ResultsWhen individuals retain cognitive capabilities, the presence of Parkinson’s disease does not create metabolic disturbances in the PFC. However, when cognitive symptoms are present, PFC Glu/Cre ratios decrease with significant differences between the PD-NC and PPD groups. In addition, Glu/Cre ratios and memory scores were marginally associated, but not after Bonferroni correction.ConclusionThese preliminary findings indicate that fluctuations in prefrontal glutamate may constitute a biomarker for the progression of cognitive impairments in PD. We caution for larger MRS investigations of carefully defined PD groups. (shrink)

The famous story of Diogenes searching for a man (ánthrōpon zētō̂) with his lantern in broad daylight (D.L. VI 41) has been interpreted in two ways, according to the meaning assigned to the word ánthrôpos (« human »). Proponents of the nominalist interpretation, by giving it the sense of human as a concept, see in the quest of Diogenes an attack against Plato’s Ideas. Defenders of the moral interpretation rather give the word ánthrôpos a concrete meaning with meliorative value: Diogenes (...) is searching in vain for a virtuous human. After showing that both interpretations are equally valid, our paper argues for a middle way, called the « falsification of language », which reconciles the two positions through an analysis of the relationship between language and truth in the Cynics. (shrink)

In Book VI of the Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, Diogenes Laertius presents Cynicism as a philosophical school with origins in Socrates and prefiguring Stoicism, through the sequence: Socrates–Antisthenes–Diogenes–Crates–Zeno. However, the part of the sequence linking Diogenes to Crates is not unanimously accepted. Diogenes Laertius himself mentions that Crates had two other teachers: Bryson of Achaea and Stilpo. The first is unknown, but the sources tell us enough about the second to discern certain similarities between his philosophy and that (...) of Crates. When he wrote Book VI, Diogenes Laertius dismissed this parallel tradition connecting Crates to the Megarian school, preferring to link Stoicism to Socrates via Cynicism exclusively. Although Crates is unquestionably the philosophical heir of Diogenes, it is quite possible that he may have been influenced by both the Cynics and the Megarians. (shrink)

L’apparition de la figure du sage-mendiant au IVe av. J.-C. sous l’impulsion de Diogène de Sinope provoque la résistance d’autres philosophes. C’est à la fois parce qu’il est dépossédé et qu’il sollicite des dons pour assurer sa subsistance que les adversaires des cyniques, notamment les épicuriens, refusent d’adopter la vie du mendiant. Ses défenseurs doivent lutter sur plusieurs fronts afin de légitimer son mode de vie et établir sa supériorité morale.

Several versions of Diogenes of Sinope’s death are reported in Book VI of the Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers. The heirs of Diogenes have transmitted to posterity that of suicide by self-asphyxiation, a death they deem worthy of his philosophy. This study aims to identify the Cynic foundation of Diogenes’ suicide by reconstructing the Cynic outlook on voluntary death. Several fragments and testimonies show that the Cynics consider life and death indifferent: what matters above all is to lead a (...) good life. Suicide is only justified when the philosopher’s body suffers from extreme and lasting weakness. To reach and maintain his ideal of freedom, the Cynic must submit his body to a training that requires some physical strength. Therefore, as soon as he loses the capacity to practise the Cynic askesis because of the physical limitations brought on by old age or illness, the philosopher does not hesitate commit suicide. This justification is attested in the exhortations to suicide formulated by the Cynics and in the accounts of the self-inflicted deaths of Metrocles, Heracles, Demonax and Peregrinus. (shrink)

Lorsque je rêve que je commets un délit, dois-je être blâmée pour mon rêve, ou pour ce que je fais en rêve? Augustin, comme la plupart des Pères de l’Église occidentale, répond par la négative à cette question. Pourtant, il défend plusieurs thèses qui semblent difficiles à concilier avec celle de la neutralité éthique des songes. En particulier, il considère que les émotions ou les pensées oniriques sont de véritables affects, sont de vrais actes de connaissance, et que nous les (...) reconnaissons comme tels au réveil. En prenant en compte la phénoménologie très fine du rêve qu’offre Augustin, nous tenterons de comprendre pourquoi il tient pour évident qu’en rêve, il n’y a pas de péché. (shrink)

What is risk? How do we assess risk? What are the ethical implications of risk? The concept of risk is important – sometimes even crucial – for many philosophical domains, from philosophy of science and technology to ethics and sustainability. Philosophy and Science of Risk is a clear, wide-ranging introduction to this urgent and fast-growing subject. It covers the following key topics: -/- • The philosophical and historical background to understanding and interpreting risk -/- • The meaning of risk and (...) how it differs from closely related concepts, such as uncertainty or dangers -/- • The social construction of risk -/- • Risk perception and risk as an object of scientific study -/- • The measurement of risk, its probability and severity -/- • Risk and scientific modeling -/- • Risk, value judgments, and expertise -/- • Risk management, including cost-benefit analysis and the precautionary approach -/- • Risk communication, including deliberative models -/- • Ethics of risk, including duties toward nonhuman animals and future generations -/- • Risk and sustainability -/- • Decision-making under risk -/- Including helpful additional features such as text boxes, chapter summaries, review, and discussion questions, Philosophy and Science of Risk: An Introduction is an ideal textbook for students of the philosophy of risk. It is also suitable for students studying the conceptual questions surrounding risk in related subjects, such as sociology, psychology, economics, politics, geography, sustainability, and environmental studies. (shrink)

It may be that denouncing the ideals of objectivity or neutrality associated with the sciences leads us into a trap: that of accepting, in order to criticize it, that there would be a common identity for the many ways to produce science. Learning to laugh, we choose to laugh with and laugh at. But we accept the risk of being interested, that is, of giving up the position of a judge.