Des premiers rites baptismaux à la confession moderne, les références au christianisme sont constantes dans l'œuvre de Michel Foucault. Cette constance s'inscrit dans un questionnement philosophique plus large sur notre actualité : comprendre le rapport que nous avons aujourd'hui à nous-mêmes demande de s'interroger sur les actes de vérité que l'Occident a instaurés depuis les premiers siècles chrétiens. Que faut-il dire et manifester de soi pour être transformé dans son être, pardonné, sauvé, jugé ou guéri)? Ce livre propose une étude (...) critique de l'ensemble des lectures chrétiennes de Foucault, avec une attention particulière portée au cours Du gouvernement des vivants. Ni chronologique ni thématique, le parcours suivi espère retrouver la logique d'un travail à la fois philosophique et historique : quand et comment le christianisme a-t-il été constitué par Foucault en objet de recherche, avec quelles pratiques de lecture et quelles conséquences sur l'interprétation)? (shrink)

Its first paradigms are in the writings of Marx and Freud. In this book Raymond Geuss sets out these fundamental claims and asks whether they can be made good.

This completely self-contained study, widely considered the best book in the field, is intended to serve both as an introduction to quantification theory and as ...

De A comme ADN à Z comme Zéro (risque), en passant par Cyborg, Evolution, Junk Science, mais aussi Experts, Lire à l'ère numérique ou Réalité virtuelle, cet abécédaire est une invitation à la rêverie comme à la réflexion : notre monde est pétri de sciences. Où l'on réalisera que penser notre avenir collectivement, à la lumière des progrès techniques, est aujourd'hui plus nécessaire que jamais. L'IHEST, l'Institut des hautes études pour la science et la technologie, milite depuis de nombreuses années (...) pour (re)mettre les sciences au coeur de nos sociétés, et avec elles les utopies dont elles sont porteuses. Pour la première fois, un livre rassemble plus de dix ans de travaux menés à son initiative : philosophes, scientifiques et journalistes abordent autant de questions techniques, éthiques, juridiques, économiques ou sociologiques, qui se posent à nous et à notre avenir... qui sera scientifique ou ne sera pas. (shrink)

L'affirmation selon laquelle le pouvoir, pour Michel Foucault, serait "sans dehors", n'est pas aussi évidente qu'il y paraît. Le pouvoir a en effet un fort degré d'élaboration : il requiert pour s'exercer un minimum de continuité, de stabilité, de prévisibilité. Il laisse donc hors champ un domaine des relations humaines où la continuité est brisée, la stabilité défaite, la prévisibilité impossible. En parcourant les dits et écrits de Foucault de 1969 à 1984, cet ouvrage approche de cet autre domaine, ici (...) nommé "bataille". Cette scission entre deux objets de l'étude historique nous renvoie à une autre scission qui concerne l'écriture même de l'histoire, toujours prise entre la recherche de continuités et l'affrontement au discontinu, entre l'intelligibilité de l'événement et son irréductible singularité. Il y a là non seulement une certaine manière d'écrire l'histoire, mais également une certaine manière de se tenir devant l'histoire. (shrink)

Parce que ses applications concernent la plupart des dimensions de l'action humaine, que son organisation et sa dynamique ne sont plus dissociables de celles de la cité, la science rencontre naturellement les normes qui régissent le comportement humain, celles de la morale ou du droit. Nombre de controverses et de débats concernant les sciences et les technologies en témoignent : s'y invitent tour à tour des normes sociales, éthiques, scientifiques et techniques, et l'on évoque même des "normes du vivant". Ces (...) différentes normes renvoient-elles à des phénomènes comparables? Sont-elles réellement de même nature? La science bouscule les régimes de normes, mais elle est elle-même questionnée quant à sa responsabilité, son éthique ou sa déontologie. Comment science, éthique et droit interagissent-ils et selon quelle dynamique? Comment de nouvelles normes émergent-elles? Les normes juridiques et éthiques sont-elles toujours en retard par rapport aux sciences? Si les sciences et les technologies entretiennent une perpétuelle et stimulante incertitude, cette même incertitude rend parfois difficile l'entente sur les usages. Sciences et société n'évoluent pas nécessairement au même rythme, tandis que le champ des normes, qui ne cesse de s'accroître et de se complexifier, est, pour le droit, source d'indétermination. Penser le progrès comme la capacité à partager des normativités et des normes, telle est l'ambition de cet ouvrage, issu de la quatrième université d'été de l'IHEST qui a exploré sous cet angle les relations entre science, éthique et droit. (shrink)

This book traces the development of theories of the self and personal identity from the ancient Greeks to the present day. From Plato and Aristotle to Freud and Foucault, Raymond Martin and John Barresi explore the works of a wide range of thinkers and reveal the larger intellectual trends, controversies, and ideas that have revolutionized the way we think about ourselves. The authors open with ancient Greece, where the ideas of Plato, Aristotle, and the materialistic atomists laid the groundwork (...) for future theories. They then discuss the ideas of the church fathers and medieval and Renaissance philosophers, including St. Paul, Philo, Augustine, Aquinas, and Montaigne. In their coverage of the emergence of a new mechanistic conception of nature in the seventeenth century, Martin and Barresi note a shift away from religious and purely philosophical notions of self and personal identity to more scientific and social conceptions, a trend that has continued to the present day. They explore modern philosophy and psychology, including the origins of different traditions within each discipline, and explain both the theoretical relevance of feminism and gender and ethnic studies and also the ways that Derrida and other recent thinkers have challenged the very idea that a unified self or personal identity even exists. Martin and Barresi cover a number of issues broached by philosophers and psychologists, such as the existence of a fixed and unchanging self and whether the concept of the soul has a use outside of religious contexts. They address the question of whether notions of the soul and the self are still viable in today's world. Together, they reveal the fascinating ways in which great thinkers have grappled with these and other questions and the astounding impact their ideas have had on the development of self-understanding in the west. (shrink)

In a devastating critique Raymond Tallis exposes the exaggerated claims made for the ability of neuroscience and evolutionary theory to explain human consciousness, behaviour, culture and society. While readily acknowledging the astounding progress neuroscience has made in helping us understand how the brain works, Tallis directs his guns at neuroscience’s dark companion – "Neuromania" as he describes it – the belief that brain activity is not merely a necessary but a sufficient condition for human consciousness and that consequently our (...) everyday behaviour can be entirely understood in neural terms. With the formidable acuity and precision of both clinician and philosopher, Tallis dismantles the idea that "we are our brains", which has given rise to a plethora of neuro-prefixed pseudo-disciplines laying claim to explain everything from art and literature to criminality and religious belief, and shows it to be confused and fallacious, and an abuse of the prestige of science, one that sidesteps a whole range of mind–body problems. The belief that human beings can be understood essentially in biological terms is a serious obstacle, argues Tallis, to clear thinking about what human beings are and what they might become. To explain everyday behaviour in Darwinian terms and to identify human consciousness with the activity of the evolved brain denies human uniqueness, and by minimising the differences between us and our nearest animal kin, misrepresents what we are, offering a grotesquely simplified and degrading account of humanity. We are, shows Tallis, infinitely more interesting and complex than we appear in the mirror of biologism. Combative, fearless and always thought-provoking, _Aping Mankind _is an important book, one that scientists, cultural commentators and policy-makers cannot ignore. (shrink)

What are the origins of human difference? The Hand, which is the first part of a bold philosophical inquiry into the nature of the difference between human beings and other animals, argues that it is the result of a complex sequence of events which began several million years ago with the evolution of the human hand.Possession of a fully developed hand profoundly transformed the relationship of the human being to its own body, thus altering the relationship between humans and the (...) natural world. The interaction of the hand with the rest of the body brought about self-consciousness and laid the foundations for the unique sense of agency that is experienced by humans. Crucially, the hand inspired the tool-use that has come to dominate human life and which has led to the emergence of the complex symbolic systems - most importantly language - that underpin civilisation.The book also celebrates the hand in human life: the almost miraculous complexity of its manipulative, exploratory and communicative functions. Raymond Tallis combines philosophical reflection with a light-hearted look at gestures, the role of each finger, the origins of numbers - and the case for and against what he names 'handkind'.The Hand is the first of three volumes. The other titles are I Am: A Philosophical Inquiry into First-Person Being and The Knowing Animal: A Philosophical Inquiry into Truth and Knowledge. (shrink)

The nomenclature of the Anthropocene for this geological epoch marks in a novel way the global impact of human activity on the world. Consequently, it creatively raises the alarm bell of global environmental devastation. However, the narrative implicit in the Anthropocene presents challenges to use it as a departure point for developing an ethics of responsibility, as it contains morally relevant but ambiguous etiologies, phenomenological challenges to discrete human agency, and the potential erasure of both causes and victims of global (...) environmental degradation. This challenge compounds the challenges to traditional models of responsibility‐as‐imputation by global forms of environmental degradation signaled in the Anthropocene. Our new epoch demands new models of responsibility. This article draws upon neglected work by Paul Ricoeur to reconstruct a twofold model of responsibility: (1) responsibility‐as‐imputation and (2) responsibility for the fragile other and the domains that amplify fragility. It shows that a twofold model can more completely respond to harms elicited by anthropogenic environmental degradation by maintaining the benefits of traditional models of responsibility‐as‐accountability while dramatically expanding the subject and objects of responsibility through attention to the fragile and thus better serving us as we navigate responsibility in the Anthropocene. (shrink)

Acknowledged as perhaps _the_ masterpiece of materialist criticism in the English language, this omnibus ranges over British literary history from George Eliot to George Orwell to inquire about the complex ways economic reality shapes the imagination.

Raymond Geuss has been a distinctive contributor to the analysis and evaluation of German philosophy and to recent debates in ethics. In this new collection he treats a variety of topics in ethics, aesthetics, and the philosophy of history with special reference to the work of Hegel, Nietzsche, and Adorno. Two of the essays in the volume deal with central aspects of the philosophy of Nietzsche. The collection also contains an essay on the history of conceptions of 'culture' and (...) one on the ethics of Ernst Tugendhat. The remaining three essays focus on questions in aesthetics. The volume will be of interest to students of modern philosophy, German intellectual and cultural history, and literary theory. (shrink)

Distinguished French sociologist Raymond Boudon presents here a critical theory history of the concept of ideology. His highly original and lucidly argued study addresses the core question of any account of ideology. How do individuals come to adhere to false or apparently irrational beliefs, and how do such beliefs become collectively accepted as true? Boudon begins by providing an exhaustive and subtle critique of sociological explanations of ideology from early conceptions to its current usage in the works of Barthes, (...) Foucault, Habermas, Sartre, and others. He then offers his own interpretation of the origins and emergence of ideological beliefs. In opposition to those views which associate ideology with irrationalism, Boudon shows that ideologies are a natural ingredient of social life; he develops a rationalist theory that helps to explain why certain ideas are believed by individuals and thereby effective in the social world. Finally, he examines case studies of two modern-day ideologies--developmentalism and Third Worldism. Moving easily across disciplinary boundaries, Boudon's provocative contribution to a subject of growing significance will be of great interest to scholars in sociology and social theory, as well as philosophy, political science, and development studies. (shrink)

This book explores how people's subjective, felt experiences of their bodies in action provide part of the fundamental grounding for human cognition and language. Cognition is what occurs when the body engages the physical and cultural world and must be studied in terms of the dynamical interactions between people and the environment. Human language and thought emerge from recurring patterns of embodied activity that constrain ongoing intelligent behavior. We must not assume cognition to be purely internal, symbolic, computational, and disembodied, (...) but seek out the gross and detailed ways that language and thought are inextricably shaped by embodied action. Embodiment and Cognitive Science describes the abundance of empirical evidence from many disciplines, including work on perception, concepts, imagery and reasoning, language and communication, cognitive development, and emotions and consciousness, that support the idea that the mind is embodied. (shrink)

Neuroscience has made astounding progress in the understanding of the brain. What should we make of its claims to go beyond the brain and explain consciousness, behaviour and culture? Where should we draw the line? In this brilliant critique Raymond Tallis dismantles "Neuromania", arising out of the idea that we are reducible to our brains and "Darwinitis" according to which, since the brain is an evolved organ, we are entirely explicable within an evolutionary framework. With precision and acuity he (...) argues that the belief that human beings can be understood in biological terms is a serious obstacle to clear thinking about what we are and what we might become. Neuromania and Darwinitis deny human uniqueness, minimise the differences between us and our nearest animal kin and offer a grotesquely simplified account of humanity. We are, argues Tallis, infinitely more interesting and complex than we appear in the mirror of biology. Combative, fearless and thought-provoking, _Aping Mankind_ is an important book and one that scientists, cultural commentators and policy-makers cannot ignore. This Routledge Classics edition includes a new preface by the Author. (shrink)

When designing public policies, decision makers often rely on their own behavioral preferences. Pepper & Nettle's theory suggests that these preferences are unlikely to be appropriate when applied to a different environment. This theory has profound implications for the design and ethics of public policies.

Partant d'une critique d'Adorno sur la conception kierkegaardienne de l'amour d'après Les oeuvres de l'amour , reflet d'un « idéalisme bourgeois, indifférent aux réalités concrètes », cet article s'interroge sur la « doctrine » du maître danois. En fait, il y a là bien d'autres voix que celle d'une subjectivité solitaire. Il y a celle d'une virulente critique de la société du temps qui a perdu toute notion de gratuité où l'individu est abandonné à la masse et où la relation (...) n'est plus qu'information. Si Kierkegaard se fait juge implacable des mouvements révolutionnaires qui agitent alors le Danemark, ce n'est pas seulement en témoin plus ou moins aigri de son époque, mais c'est au nom d'une lucidité à laquelle Adorno ne déniait nullement la pertinence d'une positive modernité.Beginning with Adorno's critic on the Kierkegaardian idea of love, based on Les oeuvres de l'amour , the reflection of a « bourgeois idealism, indifferent to concrete realities », this article investigates the « doctrine » of the Danish master Indeed, there are other voices here than that of a solitary subjectivity. There is the voice of a virulent critic of the society of that time, which lost all notions of gratuity, where the individual was abandoned to the masses, and where relation was no more than information. If Kierkegaard was an unrelenting judge of the revolutionary movements that agitated Denmark at that time, it was not only as a more or less sour witness of his epoch, but was in the name of a lucidity of which Adorno saw the pertinence of a positive modernity. (shrink)

Belliotti unravels the paradoxes of human existence to reveal paths for crafting meaningful, significant, valuable, even important lives. He argues that human life is not inherently absurd; examines the implications of mortality; contrasts subjective and objective meaning, and evaluates contemporary renderings of meaningful human lives.

What is law? Does it have a purpose? What is its relationship with justice? Do we have a moral duty to obey the law? These sorts of questions lie at the heart of jurisprudence. Moreover, every substantive or 'black letter' branch of the law raises questions about its own meaning and function. The law of contract cannot be properly understood without an appreciation of the concepts of rights and duties. The law of tort is directly related to several economic theories (...) of compensation. The criminal law is inextricably linked to philosophies of punishment? Understanding Jurisprudence explores these problems and provides an engaging introduction to the central issues of legal theory. The book navigates the reader through legal philosophy's fundamental concepts, concerns, and controversies. An experienced teacher of jurisprudence and distinguished writer in the field, Professor Wacks adopts an approach that is easy to follow and understand without avoiding the complexities and subtleties of the subject. Students of law, politics, philosophy, and other social sciences will find this an ideal guide to the essential themes of contemporary jurisprudence. Online Resource Centre A free online resource accompanies the book and provides the following resources: Analysis of current controversies of a jurisprudential nature such as current legal and moral controversies and political debates An additional chapter providing guidance and advice on the study of jurisprudence An interactive glossary of key terms relating to legal theory Further reading, including links to full text journal articles Questions and answers Useful Web links to support learning. (shrink)

Collects a variety of mathematics and logic puzzles, some based on the theorems of the mathematician Kurt Godel.

A stimulating introduction to central issues of political theory, including liberty, rights and the state, and the claims of need and politics.

Reevaluates the ideas of the German general, shows how his writings have been misinterpreted, and applies Clausewitzian theory to twentieth century political history.

Philosophy is one of the most intimidating and difficult of disciplines, as any of its students can attest. This book is an important entry in a distinctive new series from Routledge: "The Great Philosophers." Breaking down obstacles to understanding the ideas of history's greatest thinkers, these brief, accessible, and affordable volumes offer essential introductions to the great philosophers of the Western tradition from Plato to Wittgenstein.In just 64 pages, each author, a specialist on his subject, places the philosopher and his (...) ideas into historical perspective. Each volume explains, in simple terms, the basic concepts, enriching the narrative through the effective use of biographical detail. And instead of attempting to explain the philosopher's entire intellectual history, which can be daunting, this series takes one central theme in each philosopher's work, using it to unfold the philosopher's thoughts. (shrink)

This book presents a systematic, unified treatment of fixed points as they occur in Godels incompleteness proofs, recursion theory, combinatory logic, semantics, and metamathematics. Packed with instructive problems and solutions, the book offers an excellent introduction to the subject and highlights recent research.

Facing up to the head -- The secreting head -- Being my head -- The head comes to -- Airhead : breathing and its variations -- Communicating with air -- Enjoying and suffering my head -- Communicating without air -- Notes on the red-cheeked animal : the geology of a blush -- The watchtower -- The sensory room -- Having and using my head -- Head traffic : eating, vomiting and smoking -- Head on head : notes on kissing -- (...) Headgear -- Caretaking my head -- In the wars -- The dwindles -- Knowing (and not knowing) my head -- Head and world -- The thinking head -- Epilogue: Heading off. (shrink)

La place qu’occupe le christianisme dans l’œuvre de Michel Foucault est souvent réduite par les commentateurs à la question de l’aveu. Renouvelant les hypothèses formulées dans Les anormaux (1975) et La volonté de savoir (1976), le cours au Collège de France Du gouvernement des vivants (1980) contourne cette question pour remonter à un problème plus fondamental que le christianisme a dû affronter aux premiers siècles de notre ère : celui du rapport entre le salut et la perfection. L’effort du christianisme (...) ancien pour dissocier le salut de la perfection a des conséquences majeures sur sa définition du soi, qui ne peut être conçu comme un principe d’identité. Ainsi posée, l’inconstance essentielle du soi chrétien, qui le rend irréductible au soi moderne, met en question les continuités historiques trop simples. (shrink)

This book examines core concerns of human life. What is the relationship between a meaningful life and theism? Why are some human beings radically adrift, without radical foundations, and struggling with hopelessness? Is the cosmos meaningless? Is human life akin to the ancient Myth of Sisyphus? What is the role of struggle and suffering in creating meaning? How do we discover or create value? Is happiness overrated as a goal of life? How, if at all, can we learn to die (...) meaningfully? (shrink)

Treating mathematical science as a distinct cultural entity subject to environmental factors which influence its evolution, the author examines the creation and development of its major concepts since early times.

Le stade religieux se caractérise chez Kierkegaard par un appel divin qui semble délivrer l’individu des obligations communes. Cet appel singulier est cependant inséparable de la reconnaissance de l’autre homme comme prochain à aimer. L’article se propose de définir les conditions de cette éthique de l’amour, considérée par Adorno comme vide de tout contenu. Dans un second temps, l’article explicite comment cet appel à aimer peut demander à Abraham – même à titre d’épreuve – de sacrifier son fils. Crainte et (...) tremblement éclaire le scandale de la requête divine en nous invitant à distinguer le renoncement à autrui du renoncement au désir d’autrui. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Reviewed by:Love and Christian Ethics: Tradition, Theory, and Society eds. by Frederick V. Simmons and Brian C. SorrelsMichael Le ChevallierLove and Christian Ethics: Tradition, Theory, and Society Edited by Frederick V. Simmons and Brian C. Sorrels WASHINGTON, DC: GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2016. 400 pp. $119.00 / $39.95Fredrick Simmons and Brian Sorrels present an impressive, cohesive volume of essays by twenty-two leading scholars who engage different facets of love and (...) theological ethics. although dedicated to gene outka—thus setting the broad theme and establishing his work as a privileged point of reference throughout the volume—Love and Christian Ethics should not be confused with a Festschrift. it accomplishes far more in intellectual diversity and depth, making a significant contribution to scholarship.The volume is organized into three sections: tradition, theory, and society. across the first section, the authors address love within major sources and figures, treating scripture, greek philosophy, augustine, aquinas, Kant, and Kierkegaard. Far from a textbook presentation, each essay marks out its own argument regarding the place of love in the respective subject. The second section is devoted to major theoretical questions raised within scholarship on love and ethics, addressing topics like the relation of eudaimonism to love (a running thread that emerges in the book), forgiveness, friendship, and evolution. The final section moves into the field of practice, application, and society, including an essay critically engaging implicit presentations of love found in the law, another treating love and international development, and one poignant essay by Mark D. Jordan calling for a moratorium on strong pronouncements in sexual ethics until ethicists can cultivate a loving knowledge of sex. This final section also includes reflections on love in the Jewish and Muslim traditions. Simmons's introduction and William Werpehowksi's afterword provide useful bookends. although no single thesis blandly governs this volume as a whole—incorporating complementary, divergent, and competing positions—in constructing this volume, Simmons and Sorrels argue that love is not eclipsed in Christian ethics but has a rich and variegated tradition. Werpehowski appraises [End Page 210] the volume as a whole, identifying key threads that emerge, like relations of love to eudaimonism and the theme of neighbor love.The volume is admirable in its breadth and depth. It offers a robust encounter with major figures and questions, providing historical recovery as well as critical and constructive engagement. That said, depth can work against breadth, with essays like Oliver O'Donovan's demanding a familiarity with Augustine Confessions that will send the reader back to his or her bookcases. Missing too are other notable figures and topics, such as the Protestant Reformers, Christian mystics, and feminist ethicists. Nevertheless, these gaps do not diminish the volume as a whole. I found myself again and again excited by the insights offered by the contributors, unsettling easy assumptions regarding the relation between eudaimonia and love, illustrating the depths of accounts of friendship for thinking about polity and mediating institutions, and cautioning against overconfidence in sexual ethics as its boundaries destabilize.Love and Christian Ethics would benefit scholars, teachers, and students alike. Its broad engagement with contemporary scholarship on love makes it a useful starting point for any researcher dipping or diving into this field. Introducing professors to key and sometimes obscured questions within figures and topics, it can round out lectures and help introduce students to the growing edge of scholarship on love. It would serve as a useful reference for any upper division or graduate course engaging with this significant, but often ignored, theme in Christian ethics.Rare is it to find a book that embodies the very theme it presents. These essays on love are a scholarly gift of the best sort—one not diminished but enhanced in its sharing.Michael Le ChevallierUniversity of ChicagoCopyright © 2018 Society of Christian Ethics... (shrink)

Dans quels domaines peut-on se demander si Pierre Poiret a été un précurseur? Cet article se propose d’explorer trois thèmes majeurs de l’œuvre et de la pensée de cette figure atypique du protestantisme de la première modernité : le thème du désir, élément constitutif de l’être humain, qui d’après Poiret est tendu vers Dieu et ne peut trouver son apaisement et son accomplissement qu’en lui seul ; la place importante qu’il accorde aux femmes, en affirmant parfois leur supériorité sur les (...) hommes dans le domaine du spirituel ; son approche œcuménique avant la lettre, car le domaine dans lequel on ne se trompe certainement pas en tenant Poiret pour précurseur est celui que nous appelons à présent « œcuménisme » : il y est original dans un temps de douloureux conflits. (shrink)

Alexandre-Edouard Baudrimont est surtout connu des historiens des sciences pour avoir fait partie de cette lignées de chimistes français qui, de Haüy à Pasteur en passant par Ampère, Gaudin, Laurent, Delafosse, ont étroitement associé dans leurs spéculations les données cristallographiques et le comportement chimique.Dans son ouvrage de 1844 : Traité de chimie générale et expérimentale dont la structure est tout à fait originale pour l’époque, il consacre une première partie à l’étude statique des corps et une seconde partie à l’étude (...) cinématique des corps. Nous montrons que Baudrimont, à une époque où les chimistes sont presque uniquement occupés par la chimie organique qui connaît un développement explosif, pose des jalons dans des domaines qui annoncent la Chimie physique. (shrink)

Alexandre-Edouard Baudrimont est surtout connu des historiens des sciences pour avoir fait partie de cette lignées de chimistes français qui, de Haüy à Pasteur en passant par Ampère, Gaudin, Laurent, Delafosse, ont étroitement associé dans leurs spéculations les données cristallographiques et le comportement chimique.Dans son ouvrage de 1844 : Traité de chimie générale et expérimentale dont la structure est tout à fait originale pour l’époque, il consacre une première partie à l’étude statique des corps et une seconde partie à l’étude (...) cinématique des corps. Nous montrons que Baudrimont, à une époque où les chimistes sont presque uniquement occupés par la chimie organique qui connaît un développement explosif, pose des jalons dans des domaines qui annoncent la Chimie physique. (shrink)

En 1814, Ampère publie une théorie de la combinaison chimique des corps qu'il fonde sur la science des cristaux de Hauy, sur « les résultats de belles expériences » de Gay-Lussac et sur une hypothèse « sur la proportionnalité entre les volumes des gaz et leur nombre de particules ». A la même époque, il met en évidence, en philosophie, les rôles de l'abstraction et des « rapports » dans les connaissances humaines ; ces concepts éclairent la mathématisation mise en (...) œuvre dans cette théorie chimique. Bien que conçue tardivement, la classification des sciences d'Ampère nous aide à situer, rétrospectivement, la théorie des combinaisons chimiques dans les sciences mathématiques et physiques. (shrink)