This classic work in the philosophy of physical science is an incisive and readable account of the scientific method. Pierre Duhem was one of the great figures in French science, a devoted teacher, and a distinguished scholar of the history and philosophy of science. This book represents his most mature thought on a wide range of topics.

Comment devient-on philosophe? Par quel sursaut un Aristoclès se fait-il Platon, jusqu'à s'imposer dans la liste des " auteurs philo " Il faut enquêter, non pas sur la vie privée, mais sur la vie intime : rumination intellectuelle, ton sur lequel on parle, motivations amoureuses... Ce qui fait un philosophe, c'est un immense travail sur soi, et la rencontre d'autres philosophes, vivants, de leurs problématiques. Mémoire sémantique + obsession métaphysique, voilà le code génétique du philosophe. Il débute par un attentat (...) religieux, puisqu'il commence sa carrière en niant tel ou tel sacré. Bien sûr, il vaut mieux être mâle, communiquer par les livres adopter la langue dominante, écrire quand on est célibataire. Comment gagner sa vie? Pas forcément en étant enseignant, comme c'est le cas aujourd'hui. Le profil du philosophe nous le révèle orphelin, vivant à l'étranger, souvent laid, jamais fou, et serial thinker, prêt à changer de philosophie pourvu qu'il reste, lui, à menacer le monde donnera ou donnera pas du sens à notre vie? Le philosophe est l'être inquiet qui pense inquiéter l'Être par deux trois mots bien aiguisés. (shrink)

Synthesizing forty years' work by France's leading sociologist, this book exemplifies Bourdieu's unique ability to link sociological theory, historical information, and philosophical thought. It makes explicit the presuppositions of a state of 'scholasticism', a certain leisure liberated from the urgencies of the world. Philosophers have brought these presuppositions into the order of discourse, more to legitimate than analyze them, and this is the primary systematic, epistemological, ethical, and aesthetic error that Bourdieu subjects to methodological critique. Pascalian because he, too, was (...) concerned with symbolic power, he refused the temptation of foundationalist thinking, attended to 'ordinary people', and was determined to seek the reason for seemingly illogical behavior rather than simply condemning it. Bourdieu charts a negative philosophy, whose intellectual debt to such other 'heretical' philosophers as Wittgenstein, Austin, Dewey, and Peirce, renews traditional questioning of concepts of violence, power, time, history, the universal, and the purpose and direction of existence. (shrink)

Fairness of Artificial Intelligence decisions has become a big challenge for governments, companies, and societies. We offer a theoretical contribution to consider AI ethics outside of high-level and top-down approaches, based on the distinction between “reality” and “world” from Luc Boltanski. To do so, we provide a new perspective on the debate on AI fairness and show that criticism of ML unfairness is “realist”, in other words, grounded in an already instituted reality based on demographic categories produced by institutions. Second, (...) we show that the limits of “realist” fairness corrections lead to the elaboration of “radical responses” to fairness, that is, responses that radically change the format of data. Third, we show that fairness correction is shifting to a “domination regime” that absorbs criticism, and we provide some theoretical and practical avenues for further development in AI ethics. Using an ad hoc critical space stabilized by reality tests alongside the algorithm, we build a shared responsibility model which is compatible with the radical response to fairness issues. Finally, this paper shows the fundamental contribution of pragmatic sociology theories, insofar as they afford a social and political perspective on AI ethics by giving an active role to material actors such as database formats on ethical debates. In a context where data are increasingly numerous, granular, and behavioral, it is essential to renew our conception of AI ethics on algorithms in order to establish new models of responsibility for companies that take into account changes in the computing paradigm. (shrink)

Over the last four decades, the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu produced one of the most imaginative and subtle bodies of social theory of the postwar era. When he died two years ago, he was considered to be a thinker on a par with Foucault, Barthes, and Lacan--a public intellectual as influential to his generation as Sartre was to his. Science of Science and Reflexivity will be welcomed as a companion volume to Bourdieu's now seminal An Invitation to Reflexive Sociology (...) . In this posthumous work, Bourdieu declares that science is in danger of becoming a handmaiden to biotechnology, medicine, genetic engineering, and military research--that it risks falling under the control of industrial corporations that seek to exploit it for monopolies and profit. Science thus endangered can become detrimental to mankind. The line between pure and applied science, therefore, must be subjected to intense theoretical scrutiny. Bourdieu's goals in Science of Science and Reflexivity are to identify the social conditions in which science develops in order to reclaim its objectivity and to rescue it from relativism and the forces that might exploit it. In the grand tradition of scientific reflections on science, Bourdieu provides a sociological analysis of the discipline as something capable of producing transhistorical truths he presents an incisive critique of the main currents in the study of science throughout the past half century and he offers a spirited defense of science against encroaching political and economic forces. A masterful summation of the principles underlying Bourdieu's oeuvre and a memoir of his own scientific journey, Science of Science and Reflexivity is a capstone to one of the most important and prodigious careers in the field of sociology. (shrink)

La theorie physique? Ce titre, qui fut au debut de notre siecle celui d'un ouvrage controverse, suggere bien une question, celle de savoir si en matiere de science la theorie doit se qualifier en fonction d'un domaine plus particulier d'application. L'auteur, Pierre Duhem, n'aurait pas hesite, semble-t-il, a repondre par l'affirmative en ce qui concerne le vaste champ de la recherche que l'on peut signifier sous le nom de physique. Son ouvrage est en fait construit comme une preparation rigoureuse (...) a une telle reponse et bien que les annees aient modifie considerablement le contexte du champ sus-dit, les analyses proposees ont ete jugees suggestives par de nombreux epistemologues d'aujourd'hui. (shrink)

During the last two decades, sociologist Pierre Bourdieu has become a dominant force in cultural activity ranging from taste in music and art to choices in food and lifestyles. _The Field of Cultural Production_ brings together Bourdieu's major essays on art and literature and provides the first introduction to Bourdieu's writings and theory of a cultural field that situates artistic works within the social conditions of their production, circulation, and consumption. Bourdieu develops a highly original approach to the study (...) of literary and artistic works, addressing many of the key issues that have preoccupied literary art and cultural criticism in the last twentieth century: aesthetic value and canonicity, intertextuality, the institutional frameworks of cultural practice, the social role of intellectuals and artists, and structures of literary and artistic authority. Bourdieu elaborates a theory of the cultural field which situates artistic works within the social conditions of their production, circulation, and consumption. He examines the individuals and institutions involved in making cultural products what they are: not only the writers and artists, but also the publishers, critics, dealers, galleries, and academies. He analyzes the structure of the cultural field itself as well as its position within the broader social structures of power. The essays in his volume examine such diverse topics as Flaubert's point of view, Manet's aesthetic revolution, the historical creation of the pure gaze, and the relationship between art and power. The Field of Cultural Porduction will be of interest to students and scholars from a wide range of disciplines: sociology and social theory, literature, art, and cultural studies. (shrink)

Written with verve and intensity (and a good bit of wordplay), this is the long-awaited study of Flaubert and the modern literary field that constitutes the ...

Examining in detail the work of consecration carried out by elite education systems, Bourdieu analyzes the distinctive forms of power—political, intellectual, bureaucratic, and economic—by means of which contemporary societies are governed.

This article proposes a reflection on the meaning of the crisis event that is the war in Ukraine, based on the modes of representation through which it was constituted as an image. Starting from a short essay by Merleau-Ponty written at the end of the Second World War, in which the French philosopher reaffirms that the war took place, I intend to critically juxtapose Merleau-Ponty’s attempt to inherit the crisis as a political task and, above all, a philosophical one, with (...) the processes of hyper-representation highlighted by Jean Baudrillard which, on the contrary, operates a subtraction of the event and the real. The proposal is therefore to analyze the non-taking place of events as the impossibility of inheriting a task and a meaning, by showing how such an impossibility manifests itself precisely in the phenomenal space of our contemporary screens. (shrink)

An experiment aimed at detecting a DC voltage across a conductor induced by the steady magnetic field of a coil, carried out in 1998, provided a positive (although preliminary) evidence for such an effect, which might be interpreted as a breakdown of local Lorentz invariance. We repeated in 1999 the same experiment with a different experimental apparatus and a sensitivity improved by two orders of magnitude. The results obtained are discussed here in detail. They confirm the findings of the previous (...) experiment, and show, among the others, that the effect is independent of the direction of the current. A possible interpretation of the results is given in terms of a geometric description of the gravitational and the electromagnetic interactions by means of phenomenological, energy-dependent metrics. (shrink)

Replete with madwomen, murderers, musicians, and mystics, "Lonely Woman" dramatically interweaves the lives of five women. It remains Takako Takahashi's most sustained and multifaceted fictional realization of her concept of "loneliness.".

Tied to the apron strings of the church -- Researcher, teacher, philosopher -- Philosophical discourse -- Interpretation, objectivity and nonsense -- Unitary experience and philosophical life -- Philosophical discourse as spiritual exercise -- Philosophy as life and as a quest for wisdom -- From Socrates to Foucault : a long tradition -- Inacceptable? -- The present alone is our happiness.

L’articolo intende mettere in luce i rapporti tra le fonti storiche del Medioevo russo e la resa cinematografica della narrazione medievale nelle poetiche di Ejzenštejn e Tarkovskij. Congelando le filmografie dei due autori sulle due rispettive pellicole che hanno raccontato il Medioevo russo, l’_Alexandr Nevskij_ di Ejzenštejn e l’_Andrej Rublёv_ di Tarkovskij, l’articolo propone un’indagine critica sulle modalità d’approccio divergenti dei due registi rispetto al materiale storiografico e l’analisi della portata storica che la narrazione del Medioevo assume in un prodotto (...) artistico cinematografico. Partendo dal pensiero di H. White sulla necessità di affiancare la forma narrativa al contenuto del lavoro storico, l’obiettivo dell’articolo è anzitutto la messa in discussione della presunta oggettività della verità storiografica, spostando l’attenzione, in un’ottica cinematografica, sui precisi processi che portano a compimento una narrazione storica _tout court_ in relazione al presente della narrazione e allo sguardo dello spettatore. _This contribution aims to highlight the relationship between the historical sources of the Russian Middle Ages and the cinematic rendering of the medieval narrative in Ejzenštejn and Tarkovskij’poetics. Focusing on two respective films that recounted the Russian Middle Ages, the _Alexandr Nevsky_ by Ejzenštejn and the _Andrej Rublёv_ by Tarkovskij, the article proposes a critical investigation into the divergent approaches of the two directors with respect to historiographical material and the analysis of the historical significance that the medieval narrative assumes in a cinematographic product. Starting from the thought of the philosophy of history’s expert H. White on the need to combine the narrative form with the content of the historical work, the objective of the contribution is primarily to question the alleged objectivity of the historiographical truth. Afterwards the focus will be on the precise processes that bring to completion an historical narrative _tout court_ in relation to the present of the narrative and the viewer’s gaze in a cinematographic perspective._. (shrink)

La réussite des plates-formes relationnelles du Web 2.0 doit beaucoup au fait que les personnes prennent des risques avec leur identité en rendant publiques des informations sur elles-mêmes. Aussi, est-il nécessaire de comprendre les ressorts sociaux, culturels et psychologiques de ce phénomène. Car l'exposition de soi ne signifie pas un renoncement au contrôle de son image. Elle témoigne, au contraire, d'une volonté que l'on pourrait presque dire stratégique de gérer et d'agir sur les autres en affichant et en masquant certains (...) traits de son identité. C'est ce paradoxe qui se trouve au coeur des débats sur la privacy dans le Web 2.0 et dont cet article cherche à éclairer quelques aspects à travers la lecture de travaux de recherche récents.The success of Web 2.0 relational platforms owes a lot to people who take risks with their personal identities by making information about themselves public. There is therefore a need to understand the social, cultural and psychological mainsprings of this phenomenon. The exhibition of the self on the Internet does not mean that people are losing control over their image. Rather, it reflects a strategic attempt to manage and influence others. This paradox lies at the heart of Web 2.0 privacy debates, which this paper seeks to shed light on through a reading of recent research work. (shrink)

Cet article se propose de caractériser le style délibératif qui s'instaure dans la « nouvelle blogosphère citoyenne ». L'ouverture des formats d'énonciation du blog favorise la mobilisation de compétences expressives jusqu'alors refoulées dans les dispositifs de prise de parole publique . Mais les formes de la discussion qui s'opèrent dans les commentaires de blogs contribuent à faire réapparaître les contraintes de la discussion publique et à organiser une forme élargie et enrichie de débat public.This paper proposes to characterize the deliberative (...) style that creates the "new citizen blogosphere." The opening statement of the formats blog promotes the mobilization of previously repressed expressive skills in existing public speaking . But the forms of the discussion taking place in the comments of blogs contribute to reappear the constraints of public discussion and to organize an expanded form and enriched public debate. (shrink)

The assimilation of the architectural sign to the linguistic one, is the way that allow us to analyze the architectural element of the city, according to the symbolic and conventional way, but giving to the architectural sign an iconic value that we could read through reconstruction of city in films. It is possible if we consider city as artwork seen according to the definition of Lynch. There is a temporal and special dimension, the urban dimension, which would otherwise not be (...) ‘visible’ to the naked eye or perceivable with hearing. City as an artwork can be read for more reasons, through the cinema in the translation of an architectural semiotics that finds a double correspondence of Urbs and Civitas, in the real building of the city and in its re-construction. In this contest, some Italian movies of Rossellini, De Sica, Antonioni, for example, beyond the traditional interpretations, can give us indications about the moments and ‘points’ of collapse that we can find in ‘signs’ and ‘singular points’. It’s in these points that we found the signs of evolution, breakdown and collapse of relationship between Urbs and Civitas. (shrink)

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)

Martin Heidegger's overt alliance with the Nazis and the specific relation between this alliance and his philosophical thought - the degree to which his concepts are linked to a thoroughly disreputable set of political beliefs - have been the topic of a storm of recent debate. Written ten years before this debate, this study by France's leading sociologist and cultural theorist is both a precursor of that debate and an analysis of the institutional mechanisms involved in the production of philosophical (...) discourse. Though Heidegger is aware of and acknowledges the legitimacy of purely philosophical issues (in his references to canonic authors, traditional problems, and respect for academic taboos), Bourdieu points out that the complexity and abstraction of Heidegger's philosophical discourse stems from its situation in the cultural field, where two social and intellentual dimensions - political thought and academic thought - intersect. Bourdieu concludes by suggesting that Heidegger should not be considered as a Nazi ideologist, that there is no place in Heidegger's philosophical ideas for a racist conception of the human being. Rather, he sees Heidegger's thought as a structural equivalent in the field of philosophy of the 'conservative revolution', of which nazism is but one manifestation. (shrink)

Cet article porte sur le modèle d'innovation qui préside à la conception des plateformes relationnelles sur Internet. Sous l'étiquette de « Web 2.0 » s'est développé récemment un ensemble de pratiques de conception qui associe étroitement les usagers innovateurs et les petites entreprises présentes sur Internet. On montre notamment comment cette tendance prolonge et transforme la dynamique des innovations ascendantes et le mouvement du logiciel libre. L'article s'attache à décrire deux espaces d'innovation particuliers qui permettent de réunir un réseau hétérogène (...) de concepteurs: les barcamps et les coworking places.This paper focuses on the innovation model that governs the design of relational platforms on the Internet. Under the label of "Web 2.0" has recently developed a set of design practices that closely innovative users and small businesses with an Internet presence. We show how this trend extends and transforms the dynamics of bottom-up innovations and the free software movement. The article aims to describe two areas of innovation individuals who bring together a heterogeneous network of designers: the barcamps and coworking spaces. (shrink)

In a short section on the semantics of programs within his discussion of program correctness, Primiero seems to endorse the received view on the Scott-Strachey approach to denotational semantics as directly related to correctness. While this is true to some extent, I argue that the mathematical entities associated with programs play a lesser role in reasoning on program correctness, while the mathematical foundations of denotational semantics, namely the theory of domains, have contributed significantly to the conceptual understanding of programming and (...) of computation in general. (shrink)

The notion of gender, introduced into France by queens and drags in the late 20th century (the glorious period of the "drag-queens") and revitalized by American "queer", follows a traditionally feminist path where homosexual and particularly male issues are once again being hidden away. Having played a big part in popularizing that first version, Patrick Cardon proposes, in order to avoid any misunderstanding and escape once for all from any attempts at reification, to use the term and the universal (...) notion of transgender, which would cover the deconstructivist notions of queer, post-colonial and cultural studies, in order to give a place intelligently to ALL diversities beyond any binarism and with a foresight of future hybridity. (shrink)

We discuss the possible breakdown of Lorentz invariance—at distances greater than the Planck length—from both the theoretical and the phenomenological point of view. The theoretical tool to deal with such a problem is provided by a “deformation” of the Minkowski metric, with parameters dependent on the energy of the physical system considered. Such a deformed metric realizes, for any interaction, the “solidarity principle” between interactions and spacetime geometry (usually assumed for gravitation), according to which the peculiar features of every interaction (...) determine—locally—its own spacetinie structure. The generalized theory of relativity, based on the locally deformed Minkowski spacetime, is called “deformed special relativity” (DSR). In the first part of the paper, we give the foundations and the basic laws of DSR. In the second part, we analyze some experimental data, which admit an interpretation in terms of the DSR formalism and are, therefore, candidates for displaying a breakdown of the Lorentz symmetry. They are (i) the superluminal propagation of evanescent electromagnetic waves in waveguides, (ii) the meanlife of the KS 0, (iii) the Bose-Einstein correlation in pion production and (iv) the comparison of clock rates in the gravitational field of Earth. Such analysis provides us with the explicit forms of the related deformed metrics as functions of the energy, thus putting in evidence, in all four cases (and therefore for all four fundamental interactions), departures from the usual Minkowski metric. This preliminary evidence for a broken Lorentz invariance may be regarded as the signature of possible nonlocal effects involved in the processes examined. Moreover, the corresponding deformed metrics obtained by our analysis provide an effective dynamical description of the interactions (at least in the energy range considered). (shrink)

Continuity is perhaps the most familiar characterization of the finitary character of the operations performed in computation. We sketch the historical and conceptual development of this notion by interpreting it as a unifying theme across three main varieties of semantical theories of programming: denotational, axiomatic and event-based. Our exploration spans the development of this notion from its origins in recursion theory to the forms it takes in the context of the more recent event-based analyses of sequential and concurrent computations, touching (...) upon the relations of continuity with non-determinism. (shrink)

We present a type inference system for pure λ-calculus which includes, in addition to arrow types, also universal and existential type quantifiers, intersection and union types, and type recursion. The interest of this system lies in the fact that it offers a possibility to study in a unified framework a wide range of type constructors. We investigate the main syntactical properties of the system, including an analysis of the preservation of types under parallel reduction strategies, leading to a form of (...) the subject-reduction property. We describe a model for this system where types are special subsets of a D∞ model for λ-calculus, without imposing any formal contractiveness constraint on types of the kind considered for a closely related system by MacQueen, Plotkin and Sethi. (shrink)

We expose some basic elements of a style of programming supported by functional languages like Haskell by relating them to a coherent set of notions and techniques from Curry’s work in combinatory logic and formal systems, and their algebraic and categorical interpretations. Our account takes the form of a commentary to a simple fragment of Haskell code attempting to isolate the conceptual sources of the linguistic abstractions involved.

In this paper, we introduce the concept of N-dimensional generalized Minkowski space, i.e., a space endowed with a metric tensor, whose coefficients do depend on a set of non-metrical coordinates. This is the first of a series of papers devoted to the investigation of the Killing symmetries of generalized Minkowski spaces. In particular, we discuss here the infinitesimal-algebraic structure of the space-time rotations in such spaces. It is shown that the maximal Killing group of these spaces is the direct product (...) of a generalized Lorentz group and a generalized translation group. We derive the explicit form of the generators of the generalized Lorentz group in the self-representation and their related, generalized Lorentz algebra. The results obtained are specialized to the case of a 4-dimensional, “deformed” Minkowski space \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document} $${\widetilde M}$$ \end{document}4, i.e., a pseudoeuclidean space with metric coefficients depending on energy. (shrink)

In this paper, we continue the study of the Killing symmetries of an N-dimensional generalized Minkowski space, i.e., a space endowed with a metric tensor, whose coefficients do depend on a set of non-metrical coordinates. We discuss here the finite structure of the space–time rotations in such spaces, by confining ourselves to the four-dimensional case. In particular, the results obtained are specialized to the case of a “deformed” Minkowski space M_4, for which we derive the explicit general form of the (...) finite rotations and boosts in different parametric bases. (shrink)

In this paper, we continue the study of the Killing symmetries of a N-dimensional generalized Minkowski space, i.e., a space endowed with a metric tensor, whose coefficients do depend on a set of non-metrical coordinates. We discuss here the translations in such spaces, by confining ourselves to the four-dimensional case. In particular, the results obtained are specialized to the case of a “deformed” Minkowski space \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document} $$\widetilde M_4 $$ \end{document}.

A torsional-antenna and a log-periodic antenna are used as a source and an analyzer, respectively, to investigate the possible anomalies of an electro-magnetic field. An unexpected isotropic signal has been detected using those torsion angles, which correspond to a breakdown of the Local Lorentz Invariance, which was found in the past. This coincidence is interpreted as the recovery of a lost symmetry by torqueing the antenna, thus putting in evidence that this Lorentz violation is of angular nature. Introducing a new (...) physical dimension—not only a mathematical dimension as a way to rearrange some equations—is here proposed as a general rule to recover the lost symmetry. (shrink)

Résumé Les machines numériques sculptent désormais des objets en référant leurs formes aux flux de données qui jaillissent de l’incessante activité des bases de données du web. Pendant que s’affole le débat sur les risques et les opportunités des big data, d’autres s’affairent à régler les algorithmes destinées à faire « parler » les données. On assiste à un renversement d’une importance énorme dans le champ des sciences sociales, laissant croire que « les chiffres parlent d’eux-mêmes ». Ce que la (...) visualisation des nouvelles traces digitales fait alors voir, c’est que les catégories d’interprétation traditionnelles ne tiennent plus d’elles-mêmes et qu’il faut commencer par regarder avant d’interpréter. (shrink)

The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius are treasured today--as they have been over the centuries--as an inexhaustible source of wisdom. And as one of the three most important expressions of Stoicism, this is an essential text for everyone interested in ancient religion and philosophy. Yet the clarity and ease of the work's style are deceptive. Pierre Hadot, eminent historian of ancient thought, uncovers new levels of meaning and expands our understanding of its underlying philosophy. Written by the Roman emperor for (...) his own private guidance and self-admonition, the Meditations set forth principles for living a good and just life. Hadot probes Marcus Aurelius's guidelines and convictions and discerns the hitherto unperceived conceptual system that grounds them. Abundantly quoting the Meditations to illustrate his analysis, the author allows Marcus Aurelius to speak directly to the reader. And Hadot unfolds for us the philosophical context of the Meditations, commenting on the philosophers Marcus Aurelius read and giving special attention to the teachings of Epictetus, whose disciple he was. The soul, the guiding principle within us, is in Marcus Aurelius's Stoic philosophy an inviolable stronghold of freedom, the "inner citadel." This spirited and engaging study of his thought offers a fresh picture of the fascinating philosopher-emperor, a fuller understanding of the tradition and doctrines of Stoicism, and rich insight on the culture of the Roman empire in the second century. Pierre Hadot has been working on Marcus Aurelius for more than twenty years; in this book he distills his analysis and conclusions with extraordinary lucidity for the general reader. (shrink)

Developing earlier studies of the system of numbers in Mundurucu, this paper argues that the Mundurucu numeral system is far more complex than usually assumed. The Mundurucu numeral system provides indirect but insightful arguments for a modular approach to numbers and numerals. It is argued that distinct components must be distinguished, such as a system of representation of numbers in the format of internal magnitudes, a system of representation for individuals and sets, and one-to-one correspondences between the numerosity expressed by (...) the number and its metrics. It is shown that while many-number systems involve a compositionality of units, sets and sets composed of units, few-number languages, such as Mundurucu, do not have access to sets composed of units in the usual way. The nonconfigurational character of the Mundurucu language, which is related to a property for which we coin the term 'low compositionality power', accounts for this and explains the curious fact that Mundurucus make use of marked one-to-one correspondence strategies in order to overcome the limitations of the core system at the perceptual/motor interface of the language faculty. We develop an analysis of a particular construction, parallel numbers, which has not been studied before, elucidating the whole system. This analysis, we argue, sheds new light on classical philosophical, psychological and linguistic debates about numbers and numerals and their relation to language, and more particularly, sheds light on few-number languages. (shrink)

avec de nombreux textes inédits Pierre Dugac. APPENDICE XVII Wilhelm WEBER : Brie)'e an Richard Dedekind (Cod. Ms. Richard Dedekind 14, II; Niedersàchsische Staats- und Universitàts- bibliothek Gôttingen) Gôttingen 10. Aug.

(From Liberty Fund:) The topics of church and state, religious toleration, the legal enforcement of religious practices, and religiously motivated violence on the part of individuals have once again become burning issues. Pierre Bayle’s Philosophical Commentary was a major attempt to deal with very similar problems three centuries ago. His argument is that if the orthodox have the right and duty to persecute, then every sect will persecute, since every sect considers itself orthodox. The result will be mutual slaughter, (...) something God cannot have intended. -/- The Philosophical Commentary takes its starting point from the words attributed to Jesus Christ in Luke 14:23, “And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be full.” Bayle contends that the word compel cannot mean “force.” From this perspective, he constructs his doctrine of toleration based on the singular importance of conscience. His point is not that coercion usually is ineffective in matters of faith but that, even when effective, it is wrong because it ignores the indispensability of the free conscience. (shrink)