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)

Dans cet essai de cosmologie sauvage, je ne me suis pas adressé aux marquises et aux abbesses, comme le fit Fontenelle, mon lointain prédécesseur, en son temps. Mon public est profane et il refuse d'emblée la docte ignorance (docta ignorantia) des métaphysiciens et des mystiques, femmes savantes ou esprits crédules. Il se méfie aussi bien des mystifications dont se parent parfois les savants et les scientifiques, aussi bien que des fabulations des auteurs de science-fiction, mais il tend l'oreille souvent aux (...) poètes, écrivains et philosophes inquiets. La cosmologie ou théorie de l'univers est-elle possible et n'est-elle pas limitée par un horizon, l'horizon du visible ou de l'observable? Imaginer un au-delà de l'horizon est la tâche de la cosmologie spéculative qui a remplacé la métaphysique et qui prend alors la relève de la mythologie pour inventer la scène primitive d'une mer originelle. Cette eau originaire, que l'on retrouve chez Thalès dans la philosophie grecque présocratique, n'est pas si éloignée des fluctuations du vide quantique et le mythe de l'océan primitif peut être perçu comme la matrice de toutes les cosmogonies. Mais qui n'abordera jamais les rives de l'origine? La limite antérieure de l'origine rejoint la limite de l'horizon : toutes deux sont récessives et l'on ne peut concevoir l'univers que comme une sphère, ce qu'un autre penseur présocratique, Parménide, avait bien vu. C'est dans cette sphère que l'observateur local se tient et tient ensemble l'origine et l'horizon pour mesurer l'empan de l'univers, avec la Terre en son centre. (shrink)

As a concept, affordance is integral to scholarly analysis across multiple fields—including media studies, science and technology studies, communication studies, ecological psychology, and design studies among others. Critics, however, rightly point to the following shortcomings: definitional confusion, a false binary in which artifacts either afford or do not, and failure to account for diverse subject-artifact relations. Addressing these critiques, this article demarcates the mechanisms of affordance—as artifacts request, demand, allow, encourage, discourage, and refuse—which take shape through interrelated conditions: perception, dexterity, (...) and cultural and institutional legitimacy. Together, the mechanisms and conditions constitute a dynamic and structurally situated model that addresses how artifacts afford, for whom and under what circumstances. (shrink)

Existe-t-il dans l’œuvre de Paul Ricœur, comme on l’a dit, une forme de dissymétrie entre le champ de la métaphore et celui du récit? Dès La métaphore vive, la référence à Northrop Frye et à Nelson Goodman va permettre de ressaisir pleinement l’unité de la sphère poétique. La métaphore vive et Temps et récit sont alors présentés comme deux ouvrages jumeaux. Paul Ricœur explique notamment que la poésie lyrique a, elle-même, le pouvoir de produire une “mise en intrigue,” et, qu’en (...) ce sens, “le sentiment articulé par le poème n’est pas moins heuristique que la fable tragique.”, 309.) En suivant certaines références faites dans ces deux livres jumeaux – où peut se lire la dialectique entre “découvrir et créer,” “trouver et projeter” –, il est alors possible de faire apparaître un fil conducteur des analyses où s’annonce, à titre de perspective, une pensée générale de l’acte créateur. L’œuvre d’art y devient expérience, épreuve d’une conception “tensionnelle” de la vérité, dialectique entre “expérience d’appartenance” et “pouvoir de distanciation.”. (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)

Bien qu’il paraisse difficile pour une société de se passer de religion, les Occidentaux du début du XXIe siècle, et en particulier les Français, semblent être majoritairement sans religion. En effet, si l’on exclut quelques manifestations collectives qui en seraient plutôt la caricature,...

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)

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.

Zeno of Citium, the founder of Stoicism, received part of his philosophical instruction from the Cynic Crates of Thebes. This connection left a lasting imprint on the Stoic school, which maintained strong ties with Cynicism. The first part of my dissertation contributes to our knowledge of these links by listing and analyzing all the references to Cynicism in Stoic writings, from Zeno to Marcus Aurelius. Each text is accompanied by a French translation and a philological and philosophical commentary. The complexity (...) of the Stoics’ perspective on Cynicism is made evident in Seneca and Epictetus, who admit some Cynics in their pantheon of sages while criticizing certain aspects of their philosophy. The second part of my dissertation analyzes the Stoic debate on the possibility for the sage to “cynicize”: some Stoics refuse it, others accept it under certain circumstances, and others, such as Apollodorus of Seleucia, consider Cynicism to be a quick yet difficult path to virtue. To shed light on this debate, I examine its connection with the doctrine of appropriate acts, the content of the Cynic doxography (D.L., VI 103-105), and the image of the path to virtue. These analyses highlight the posture of compromise adopted by pro-Cynic Stoics. Since features of Cynicism such as rejecting social duties, choosing poverty, and refusing long-term studies are contrary to customary Stoic advice, they must set narrow limits within which Cynicism becomes legitimate. (shrink)

L’auteur cherche à identifier les particularités qui distinguent l’utilisation du concept de “comprendre” (Verstehen) chez Heideggeret Gadamer. Il soutient que celui-ci s’éloigne fondamentalenlent de celui-là dans sa compréhension de ce concept, voire même que les deux positions sont incompatibles. Cette thèse est défendue à I’aide d’une lecture de Vérité et Méthode, qu’il opposera aux intuitions fondamentales du premier comme du second Heidegger.The author seeks to identify the particularities which distinguish the use of the concept “understand” (Verstehen) in Heidegger and Gadamer. (...) He claims that the latter differentiates himself fundamentally from the former in his comprehension of the concept, indeed that the two positions are incompatible. The author defends this argument through a reading of Truth and Method, which he opposes to thefundamental insights of the first as well as the second Heidegger. (shrink)

L’auteur cherche à identifier les particularités qui distinguent l’utilisation du concept de “comprendre” (Verstehen) chez Heideggeret Gadamer. Il soutient que celui-ci s’éloigne fondamentalenlent de celui-là dans sa compréhension de ce concept, voire même que les deux positions sont incompatibles. Cette thèse est défendue à I’aide d’une lecture de Vérité et Méthode, qu’il opposera aux intuitions fondamentales du premier comme du second Heidegger.The author seeks to identify the particularities which distinguish the use of the concept “understand” (Verstehen) in Heidegger and Gadamer. (...) He claims that the latter differentiates himself fundamentally from the former in his comprehension of the concept, indeed that the two positions are incompatible. The author defends this argument through a reading of Truth and Method, which he opposes to thefundamental insights of the first as well as the second Heidegger. (shrink)

Tout chercheur, toute personne s’interrogeant sur un thème philosophique ou sur une période est un jour ou l’autre conduit à déplorer l’indisponibilité d’ouvrages publiés jadis et devenus introuvables, sauf dans quelques rares bibliothèques. Aussi faut-il louer les éditeurs qui les réimpriment, fût-ce sous la forme initiale, sans commentaires ni notes. C’est ce que firent, il...

In Book 3 of the Tusculans, Cicero reports that the Cyrenaics practised the premeditation of future evils. This article focuses on the philosophical consistency of this exercise with other Cyrenaic testimonies. It argues for the authenticity of Cicero’s report and provides a critical survey of previous attempts to reconstruct the theory underlying Cyrenaic premeditation, which addresses crucial questions about the management of future pleasures and pains, and the duration of affections. New evidence from Diogenes Laertius 2.94 is then used to (...) support an alternative interpretation of the Cyrenaic praemeditatio malorum. (shrink)

The tertiary industry development has increased researches on service relationship and professional skills needed in relational professions. Universities and education fields have also adapted their programs to ensure students acquire these new skills. However, knowledge on the topic is still incomplete. At the same time, professions are required to rationalize their outputs. To meet this requirement, the use of reflexive approaches has become common. Despite the increase of these approaches, few data are available on how they are conceived and used. (...) In order to identify the current perspectives, this article presents the results of a scientific literature analysis on reflexivity in four relational professions : social work, education, nursing and psychology. After presenting these perspectives, the results will be then discussed. (shrink)

In the following essay we shall try to show how a society uses the notion of “Foreigner,” how the image which it creates of something extraneous to it is only secondarily a means of conceiving the world, a would-be scientific approach to big problems, but is essentially an ideology for its own internal use and forms an integral part of a political play which takes place within the society itself. We thought that the example of ancient Greece, and particularly of (...) Athens, might present a particularly interesting field for analysis, since for two centuries it had the problem of the Persian Empire's vicinity—a problem which the Greek thinkers and politicians never stopped studying, each following his own point of view; the variations of which seem to us extremely instructive. (shrink)