It is usually supposed that the Dirac and radiation equations predict that the phase of a fermion will rotate through half the angle through which the fermion is rotated, which means, via the measured dynamical and geometrical phase factors, that the fermion must have a half-integral spin. We demonstrate that this is not the case and that the identical relativistic quantum mechanics can also be derived with the phase of the fermion rotating through the same angle as does the fermion (...) itself. Under spatial rotation and Lorentz transformation the bispinor transforms as a four-vector like the potential and Dirac current. Previous attempts to provide this form of transformational behavior have foundered because a satisfactory current could not be derived.(14). (shrink)

We have shown in a previous paper that the Dirac bispinor can vary like a four-vector and that Quantum Electrodynamics can be reproduced with this form of behaviour. In Part I of this paper, we show that QED with the same transformational behaviour also holds in an alternative space we call M-space. We use the four-vector behaviour to model the two-body interaction in M and show that this has similar physical properties to the usual model in L which it predicts. (...) In Part II of this paper we use M-space to show that QED can be reduced to two simple rules for a two-body interaction. (shrink)

We complete our previous(1, 2) demonstration that there is a family of new solutions to the photon and Dirac equations using spatial and temporal circles and four-vector behaviour of the Dirac bispinor. We analyse one solution for a bound state, which is equivalent to the attractive two-body interaction between a charged point particle and a second, which remains at rest. We show this yields energy and angular momentum eigenvalues that are identical to those found by the usual method of solving (...) of the Dirac equation,(4) including fine structure. We complete our previous derivation(2) of QED from a set of rules for the two-body interaction and generalise these. We show that QED may be decomposed into a two-body interaction at every point in spacetime. (shrink)

W. E. B. Du Bois was one of the most profound and influential African-American intellectuals of the twentieth century. This volume addresses the complexities of Du Bois' legacy, showing how his work gets to the heart of today's theorizing about the color line.

Un raccord réalisé dernièrement entre un poitrail d'animal ailé découvert à Thasos en 1987 et une tête archaïque de la Glyptothèque Ny Carlsberg de Copenhague, connue sous le nom de «tête Wix», généralement considérée comme appartenant à un couros créé au milieu du vr siècle, permet de reconstituer une sphinge dont la tête est très légèrement tournée vers sa gauche. Cette belle sculpture thasienne, qu'on peut maintenant dater plus précisément de 570-560 av. J.-C, confirme l'influence du style paro-chiote sur Thasos, (...) colonie de Paros. De plus, le type même du monument auquel elle appartenait semble avoir son origine dans les Cyclades : à Naxos et à Paros. Conformément à leur nature de démon chthonien les sphinges dressées dans les sanctuaires au sommet d'une colonne ionique gardaient la tombe d'un héros. C'est du moins ce qui semble avoir été le cas dans les sanctuaires d'Apollon de Délos et de Delphes, à l'Acropole d'Athènes, au sanctuaire d'Archiloque à Paros. (shrink)

L'homme des droits de l'homme eut une belle vie, pleine de bruit et de fureur, mais aujourd'hui, il n'est plus. En lieu et place a surgi un nouvel homme, égoïste, hédoniste, à la recherche de son seul plaisir ; sa préoccupation première, essentielle, c'est l'amour de soi, l'émerveillement de soi, la satisfaction de soi, et l'Etat est sommé d'y satisfaire. Car l'Etat n'est plus ce tyran féroce, avide de pouvoir, ce despote aux aguets qui attend l'occasion pour soumettre ces sujets (...) ; il ne fait plus vraiment peur ; il a été assagi, apprivoisé et sa fonction est de gérer un nouveau pacte social : non plus de faire respecter la liberté de tous mais celle de chacun ; non plus d'établir l'égalité pour tous mais pour chacun ; non plus de protéger un «moi commun», une nation, une collectivité, mais un moi individuel ; les hommes ne se sont pas réunis pour leur sécurité et leur conservation, mais pour mieux jouir les uns des autres. (shrink)

Historians of technology have provided important accounts of technological innovation, but they rarely employ concepts which permit a rigorous analysis ofinvention as a mental or cognitive process. This article seeks to address this theoretical lacuna by using concepts adapted from cognitive psychology to compare the mental processes of two telephone inventors, Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison. Specifically, we suggest that invention may be seen as a process in which inventors combine ideas with objects, or what we call mental (...) models and mechanical representations. The strategies by which inventors generate and manipulate these mental models and mechanical representations are what we refer to as heuristics. Using these concepts to narrate the development of the telephone, this article shows how invention can be interpreted as being much more than simply a mysterious act of individual genius. (shrink)

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La musique a exercé depuis les temps les plus reculés une telle fascination sur l’esprit humain que l’homme n’a eu de cesse de créer des instruments nouveaux, de les perfectionner, de travailler sa voix pour lui donner la plus parfaite expression, de rechercher de nouvelles harmonies, de se laisser guider par son inspiration afin de concevoir les plus belles oeuvres. Mais d’où vient cette inspiration qui permit à certains êtres de léguer à l’humanité des chefs-d'oeuvre qui, plusieurs siècles après leur (...) naissance, continuent à élever notre âme? Et quel est, ou quel devrait être, le rôle véritable de la musique? C’est ce que nous découvrirons en lisant ces lignes. Les articles de cette oeuvre collégiale, conçue dans le cadre de l’Université Rose-Croix Internationale, apportent un éclairage original et vécu sur le rôle de la musique dans le domaine spécifique de la spiritualité. Ils explorent l’apport de musiciens de génie et se penchent également sur le comportement de l’auditeur, qui ne peut être purement passif s’il veut bénéficier pleinement des influences les plus subtiles de la musique. Par ailleurs, ces articles analysent l’importance de l’interprétation, qui est essentielle, tant pour la transmission que pour la réception de l’oeuvre musicale. (shrink)

Metaphysics as a human enterprise is for ever called upon to vindicate its claim to be entitled “knowledge.” Sometimes the challenge is issued in the name of irritated common sense. Sometimes metaphysics is relegated into insignificance by a supercilious estheticism. Sometimes metaphysics is excommunicated for daring to trespass on the holy domain of religion. Here its death sentence is pronounced by an all-embracing scepticism, and there by the confident faith in the universal adequacy and exclusive validity of the methods of (...) science. The attacks on metaphysics throughout the ages have been so numerous and so severe that one would expect the victim to have expired long ago. Yet the inextinguishable will-to-live exhibited by metaphysics has been as remarkable a phenomenon as the perennial tenacity of her would-be executioners. And although the bells have been tolled many times for metaphysics, she is still able to announce with Mark Twain that the rumours of her demise have been slightly exaggerated. In the long run, history seems to reveal a singular indocility with respect to the arguments of the enemies of metaphysics, and as Gilson has pointed out, one of the lessons to be derived from the study of the history of philosophy is that metaphysics always buries its undertakers. (shrink)

In this article the Reformer Martin Luther is to be situated against the backdrop of his medieval theological context – considering especially Bernard of Clairvaux. It is well-known that he held in great esteem Bernard and the theology he represented. First of all, Luther's relationship to Bernard is to be investigated by way of a historiographic review of the research that was done in the past 150 years. How did one consider Luther’s attitude toward Bernard, and (...) how did Luther research specifically value this attitude? In this research, denominational positions appear to have played a important role. Secondly, the attempt is made here to sketch Bernard’s place in Luther’s own tradition. Next to the medieval scholastic theology, there were diverse other influences that became important for the young Luther. Bernard’s specific place within the complexity of medieval traditions is to be determined. This is being explained by presenting seven significant texts mainly from Luther’s works, which are added to this article. Finally, the attempt is made to determine more closely Bernard’s place in Luther’s theology between Scholasticism and Mysticism. If one wants to do justice to Bernard in Luther's works, one must take into consideration the way in which Luther has perceived him, namely as a theologian of the Scriptures, a theologian of experience and a preacher of Christ par excellence along the lines of monastic theology. (shrink)

Bernard Bolzano , one of the leading figures of the Bohemian Enlightenment, made important contributions both to mathematics and philosophy which were virtually unknown in his lifetime and are still largely unacknowledged today. As a mathematician, he was a pioneer in the clarification and rigorization of mathematical analysis; as a philosopher, he may be considered a forerunner of the analytic movement later to emerge with Frege and Russell.Rusnock's account of Bolzano's work is laid out in five chapters and two (...) appendices. The introductory first chapter consists of an overview of Bolzano's philosophy and his account of scientific theories. For Bolzano, the importance of such theories—as in mathematics—is their formal structure. Unlike his philosophical predecessors, Bolzano held that the goal of scientific presentation is not to maximize certainty, but rather to set out the objective order of truth.Chapter 2 is an analysis of Bolzano's early work, Contributions to a Better Founded Presentation of Mathematics, in which a number of his characteristic doctrines concerning mathematics are adumbrated. In sharp contradistinction to Kant, Bolzano thought that the methodology of mathematics is logic, and that mathematics should be founded independently of epistemology. In the Contributions Bolzano formulates a ‘thoroughgoing refutation of Kant's account of mathematical knowledge’, repudiating in particular …. (shrink)

Author of _The Conservative Mind_, Russell Kirk was a principal architect of the American intellectual conservative movement. This book takes a closer look at his works on such subjects as law, history, economics, and statesmanship to introduce a new generation of readers to the depth and range of his thought. Kirk probed the very meaning of conservatism for modern intellectuals, and in _The Postmodern Imagination of Russell Kirk, _Gerald Russello examines such key concepts of his thought as imagination, historical consciousness, (...) the interplay between the individual and tradition, and the role of narrative in constructing individual and societal identity. By stressing the importance of Kirk’s perception of imagination, he offers a new approach to understanding him, showing not only that Kirk laid the groundwork for the “new conservatism” of the 1950s and ’60s, but also that his work evolved into a sophisticated critique of modernity paralleled in the work of some postmodern critics of liberalism. In order to reconstruct Kirk’s attack on modernity, Russello examines his textbook on economics, his fiction, his work on Robert Taft and Orestes Brownson, his writings on the role of the statesman, and his neglected essays such as “The Age of Discussion” and “The Age of Sentiments.” Russello shows that Kirk welcomed the rise of some form of postmodernism, seeing in it a new opportunity for conservatism to engage the wider culture. Through this analysis, he situates Kirk within wider currents of contemporary thought, connecting him not only with such major thinkers as Lyotard, Boorstin, and Koestler but also with such lesser-known figures as Bernard Iddings Bell, Charles Baudouin, and Christopher Dawson. By examining Kirk’s development of the imagination as a tool of conservative discourse, Russello offers an alternative genealogy for conservative thought that melds its antimodernism with postmodern themes. He has forged a lively and provocative work that provides unusual perspectives on Kirk within the wider context of debate over the future of conservatism in a time of shifting alliances—a book that will be a valuable resource for anyone seeking to understand Kirk or conservative thought. (shrink)

BERNARD VOUILLOUX, L’oeuvre en souffrance. Belin 2004 BERNARD VOUILLOUX, Tableaux d’auteurs. P.U.V. 2004.

Le tableau vivant, Bernard Vouilloux; Publisher - Flammarion; ISBN - 978-2080126948Le geste, Bernard Vouilloux; Publisher - LETTRE VOLEE; ISBN - 978-2873171605.

Moral problems do not always come in the form of great social controversies. More often, the moral decisions we make are made quietly, constantly, and within the context of everyday activities and quotidian dilemmas. Indeed, these smaller decisions are based on a moral foundation that few of us ever stop to think about but which guides our every action. Here distinguished philosopher Bernard Gert presents a clear and concise introduction to what he calls "common morality" -- the moral system (...) that most thoughtful people implicitly use when making everyday, common sense moral decisions and judgments. Common Morality is useful in that -- while not resolving every disagreement on controversial issues -- it is able to distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable answers to moral problems. In the first part of the book Gert lays out the fundamental features of common morality: moral rules, moral ideals, and a two-step procedure for determining when a violation of a moral rule is justified. Written in a non-technical style, the ten general moral rules include rules on which everyone can agree, such as "do not kill," "do not deceive," and "keep your promises." The moral ideals include similarly uncontroversial precepts such as "Relieve pain" and "Aid the needy." In the second part of the book Gert examines the underlying concepts that justify common morality, such as the notions of rationality and impartiality. The distillation of over 40 years of scholarship, this book is the most accessible version of Gert's influential theory of morality as well as an eye-opening look at the moral foundations of our everyday actions. Throughout the discussion is clear enough for a reader with little or no philosophy background. (shrink)

By the time of his death in 2003, Bernard Williams was one of the greatest philosophers of his generation. Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy is not only widely acknowledged to be his most important book, but also hailed a contemporary classic of moral philosophy. Presenting a sustained critique of moral theory from Kant onwards, Williams reorients ethical theory towards ‘truth, truthfulness and the meaning of an individual life’. He explores and reflects upon the most difficult problems in contemporary (...) philosophy and identifies new ideas about central issues such as relativism, objectivity and the possibility of ethical knowledge. This edition also includes a new commentary on the text by A.W.Moore and a foreword by Jonathan Lear. (shrink)

By the time of his death in 2003, Bernard Williams was one of the greatest philosophers of his generation. Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy is not only widely acknowledged to be his most important book, but also hailed a contemporary classic of moral philosophy. Presenting a sustained critique of moral theory from Kant onwards, Williams reorients ethical theory towards ‘truth, truthfulness and the meaning of an individual life’. He explores and reflects upon the most difficult problems in contemporary (...) philosophy and identifies new ideas about central issues such as relativism, objectivity and the possibility of ethical knowledge. (shrink)

This edition includes, in addition to the most pertinent sections of The Fable's two volumes, a selection from Mandeville's An Enquiry into the Origin of Honor and selections from two of Mandeville's most important sources: Pierre Bayle and the Jansenist Pierre Nicole. Hundert's Introduction places Mandeville in a number of eighteenth-century debates--particularly that of the nature and morality of commercial modernity--and underscores the degree to which his work stood as a central problem, not only for his immediate English contemporaries, but (...) for such philosophers as Hume, Rousseau, and Kant. The selections are substantive enough to faithfully represent Mandeville the social theorist, and compact enough to be used in courses that can afford to spend no more than a week on his work. (shrink)

Descartes has often been called the 'father of modern philosophy'. His attempts to find foundations for knowledge, and to reconcile the existence of the soul with the emerging science of his time, are among the most influential and widely studied in the history of philosophy. This is a classic and challenging introduction to Descartes by one of the most distinguished modern philosophers. Bernard Williams not only analyzes Descartes' project of founding knowledge on certainty, but uncovers the philosophical motives for (...) his search. With acute insight, he demonstrates how Descartes' _Meditations _are not merely a description but the very enactment of philosophical thought and discovery. Williams covers all of the key areas of Descartes' thought, including God, the will, the possibility of knowledge, and the mind and its place in nature. He also makes profound contributions to the theory of knowledge, metaphysics and philosophy generally. With a new foreword by John Cottingham. (shrink)

With a new foreword by Jonathan Lear 'Remarkably lively and enjoyable…It is a very rich book, containing excellent descriptions of a variety of moral theories, and innumerable and often witty observations on topics encountered on the way.' -_ Times Literary Supplement_ Bernard Williams was one of the greatest philosophers of his generation. Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy is not only widely acknowledged to be his most important book, but also hailed a contemporary classic of moral philosophy. Drawing on (...) the ideas of the Greek philosophers, Williams reorients ethics away from a preoccupation with universal moral theories towards ‘truth, truthfulness and the meaning of an individual life’. He explores and reflects upon the most difficult problems in contemporary philosophy and identifies new ideas about central issues such as relativism, objectivity and the possibility of ethical knowledge. This edition also includes a commentary on the text by A.W.Moore. At the time of his death in 2003, Bernard Williams was hailed by the Times as 'the outstanding moral philosopher of his age.' He taught at the Universities of Cambridge, Berkeley and Oxford and is the author of many influential books, including _Morality; Descartes: The Project of Pure Enquiry_ and _Truth and Truthfulness_. (shrink)

Le polythéisme polynésien était-il une forme métaphorique de panthéisme ?

How I became a philosopher -- To love, to love me, to love us.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain (...) in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant. (shrink)

We tend to suppose that the ancient Greeks had primitive ideas of the self, of responsibility, freedom, and shame, and that now humanity has advanced from these to a more refined moral consciousness. Bernard Williams's original and radical book questions this picture of Western history. While we are in many ways different from the Greeks, Williams claims that the differences are not to be traced to a shift in these basic conceptions of ethical life. We are more like the (...) ancients than we are prepared to acknowledge, and only when this is understood can we properly grasp our most important differences from them, such as our rejection of slavery. The author is a philosopher, but much of his book is directed to writers such as Homer and the tragedians, whom he discusses as poets and not just as materials for philosophy. At the center of his study is the question of how we can understand Greek tragedy at all, when its world is so far from ours. Williams explains how it is that when the ancients speak, they do not merely tell us about themselves, but about ourselves. _Shame and Necessity_ gives a new account of our relations to the Greeks, and helps us to see what ethical ideas we need in order to live in the modern world. (shrink)

In the mid twentieth century the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein famously asserted that games are indefinable; there are no common threads that link them all. "Nonsense," says the sensible Bernard Suits: "playing a game is a voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles." The short book Suits wrote demonstrating precisely that is as playful as it is insightful, as stimulating as it is delightful. Suits not only argues that games can be meaningfully defined; he also suggests that playing games is a (...) central part of the ideal of human existence, so games belong at the heart of any vision of Utopia. Originally published in 1978, The Grasshopper is now re-issued with a new introduction by Thomas Hurka and with additional material (much of it previously unpublished) by the author, in which he expands on the ideas put forward in The Grasshopper and answers some questions that have been raised by critics. (shrink)

An updated and expanded successor to Culver and Gert's Philosophy in Medicine, this book integrates moral philosophy with clinical medicine to present a comprehensive summary of the theory, concepts, and lines of reasoning underlying the ...

Bernard Williams's remarkable essay on morality confronts the problems of writing moral philosophy, and offers a stimulating alternative to more systematic accounts which seem nevertheless to have left all the important issues somewhere off the page. Williams explains, analyses and distinguishes a number of key positions, from the purely amoral to notions of subjective or relative morality, testing their coherence before going on to explore the nature of 'goodness' in relation to responsibilities and choice, roles, standards, and human nature. (...) The final chapters make a fascinating enquiry into what morality is about, looking beyond happiness to other human aims and ideals. This re-issue of a classic in moral philosophy includes a new foreword by the author. (shrink)