By creating new ventures and new job opportunities venture capital is essential to a dynamic economy. But it should also be fair and ethical at every stage. Professor Fassin explores the various ethical issues which arise between venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and investors. He teaches at the University of Mons and has written widely on management. From 1988‐1991 he was Secretary General of the European Venture Capital Association. He is partner of the Veerick School of Management of the University of (...) Ghent. (shrink)

The popularity of the stakeholder model has been achieved thanks to its powerful visual scheme and its very simplicity. Stakeholder management has become an important tool to transfer ethics to management practice and strategy. Nevertheless, legitimate criticism continues to insist on clarification and emphasises on the perfectible nature of the model. Here, rather than building on the discussion from a philosophical or theoretical point of view, a different and innovative approach has been chosen: the analysis will return to the origin (...) of stakeholder theory and will keep the graphical framework firmly in perspective. It will confront the stakeholder model’s graphical representation to the discussion on stakeholder definition, stakeholder identification and categorisation, to re-centre the debate to the strategic origin of the stakeholder model. The ambiguity and the vagueness of the stakeholder concept are discussed from managerial and legal approaches. The impacts of two major shortcomings of the popular stakeholder framework are examined: the boundaries and the level of the firm’s environment, and the ambivalent position of pressure groups and regulators. Working pragmatically, with a focus on the managerial and organisational perspective, an attempt is made to clarify the categorisations and classifications by introducing new terminology with a distinction between stakeholders, stakewatchers and stakekeepers. The analysis will finally lead to a proposed upgraded and refined version of the stakeholder model, with incremental ameliorations close to Freeman’s original model and a return of focus to its essence, the managerial implications in a strategic approach. (shrink)

Recent academic articles point to an increased vagueness and overlap in concepts related to business ethics and corporate responsibility. Further, the perception of these notions can differ in the smallbusiness world from the original academic definitions. This article focuses on the cognition of small-business owner-managers. Given the impact of small-business owner-managers on their ventures, corporate responsibility and ethical issues can take a different route in SMEs. The small-business owner-manager is able to shape the corporate culture and to enact values other (...) than profit. Adopting a cognitive perspective, we have identified how the small-business owner-manager makes sense of notions linked to corporate social responsibility (CSR) and business ethics. The concept of sensemaking has recently been applied to CSR (Basu and Pallazzo, 2008; Cramer et al., 2006). Applying a cognitive perspective to small-business owners may help in explaining specific phenomena found within smallbusiness ownership. For this research, the Repertory Grid Technique (RGT) is used, a method that has not previously been widely applied in the business and society field. Our findings to an extent invalidate the confusion in terminology found in the academic literature. Smallbusiness owner-managers, pragmatically and rather clearly, differentiate among the various concepts related to corporate responsibility and business ethics but, at the same time, they recognise the interrelationships and interdependencies of these concepts. These findings contribute to a better understanding of how small-business owners think and integrate corporate responsibility and ethical issues into their decisionmaking. (shrink)

Stakeholder theory advocates that firms bear responsibility for the implications of their actions. However, while a firm affects or can affect stakeholders, stakeholders can also affect the corporation. Previous stakeholder theorising has neglected the reciprocal nature of responsibility. The question can be asked whether—in a spirit of reciprocity, loyalty and fairness—stakeholders should treat the corporation in a fair and responsible way. This study based on different definitions of stakeholders argues that various stakeholder attributes differ for different categories of stakeholders. This (...) analysis presumes that the attribute of stakeholder reciprocity can probably be restricted to real stakeholders, labelled stakeowners: genuine stakeholders with a legitimate stake, the loyal partners who strive for mutual benefits. Stakeowners own and deserve a stake in the firm. Stakeholder reciprocity could be an innovative criterion in the corporate governance debate as to who should be accorded representation on the board. Corporate social responsibility should imply corporate stakeholder responsibility. (shrink)

This article discusses plant-closing decisions by multinational enterprises applying a stakeholder theory approach. In particular, we focus on the emergence of “intra-stakeholder alliances,” that is, alliances among the various stakeholder groups of a specific corporation. We analyze the emergence of stakeholder alliances in reaction to MNEs' decisions to terminate production locally and discuss their influence on the outcomes of such decisions. Our research is inspired by two exceptional case studies of two multinational breweries that announced their decisions to close niche (...) breweries in small towns in Italy and Belgium. In both cases, the initial decision was ultimately reversed through the actions of intra-stakeholder alliances. We combine insights from stakeholder theory and the social movement literature to analyze the action and influence of intra-stakeholder alliances in seven cases of plant-closing decisions. We conclude by formulating four general propositions that can provide guidance to MNE management in plant-closing decisions. Our findings extend managerial stakeholder theory, show how this approach can improve strategic management analysis, emphasize the importance of the relationships among stakeholders in the value-creation process, and shed light on the collective action and influence of intra-stakeholder alliances. (shrink)

Recent academic articles point to an increased vagueness and overlap in concepts related to business ethics and corporate responsibility. Further, the perception of these notions can differ in the small-business world from the original academic definitions. This article focuses on the cognition of small-business owner-managers. Given the impact of small-business owner–managers on their ventures, corporate responsibility and ethical issues can take a different route in SMEs. The small-business owner–manager is able to shape the corporate culture and to enact values other (...) than profit. Adopting a cognitive perspective, we have identified how the small-business owner–manager makes sense of notions linked to corporate social responsibility (CSR) and business ethics. The concept of sensemaking has recently been applied to CSR (Basu and Pallazzo, 2008; Cramer et al., 2006). Applying a cognitive perspective to small-business owners may help in explaining specific phenomena found within small-business ownership. For this research, the Repertory Grid Technique (RGT) is used, a method that has not previously been widely applied in the business and society field.Our findings to an extent invalidate the confusion in terminology found in the academic literature. Small-business owner–managers, pragmatically and rather clearly, differentiate among the various concepts related to corporate responsibility and business ethics but, at the same time, they recognise the interrelationships and interdependencies of these concepts. These findings contribute to a better understanding of how small-business owners think and integrate corporate responsibility and ethical issues into their decision-making. (shrink)

Despite the recent increase in interest in corporate social responsibility and the propagation of corporate governance in both business and academic literature, from observations of actual practice, the author has seen at all company levels, in everyday operations, instances of non-ethical behaviour vis-à-vis the whole gamut of stakeholders. This state of affairs is linked with: pressure from stakeholders, short-term tactics, hegemony of financial considerations, ‘juridisation’ of business, the tyranny of communications and the media and the difficulties in translating strategy into (...) practical implementation. The paper scrutinises the motivation and the psychology of entrepreneurs and business people, and their behaviour is compared to other professional groups and confronted with the decline in ethics in society as described by some important observers. The conclusion drawn is that the recent positive evolutions do not provide sufficient ethical guidelines for the day-to-day activities of middle managers and entrepreneurs in the present competitive environment. Managers will always be confronted by difficult choices with ethical dilemmas. There will always be a tension between theory and pragmatism, but progress can be made with the effective implementation of the ethical discourse in companies. To achieve this, ethical management should not be confined to the large strategic issues but also applied to the small practical matters of everyday business life. Ethics in business and entrepreneurship requires more than corporate governance and corporate social responsibility (CSR). (shrink)

The success of the stakeholder theory in management literature as well as in current business practices is largely due to the inherent simplicity of the stakeholder model––and to the clarity of Freeman’s powerful synthesised visual conceptualisation. However, over the years, critics have attacked the vagueness and ambiguity of stakeholder theory. In this article, rather than building on the discussion from a theoretical point of view, a radically different and innovative approach is chosen: the graphical framework is used as the central (...) perspective. The major shortcomings of the popular stakeholder framework are systematically confronted with the graphical scheme to illustrate their visual impact. The graphical illustrations of the imperfections help explain the sometimes-oversimplified generalisation inherent to every graphical model. They also make some interrelationships easier to understand. The analysis demonstrates that, with the tacit but implicit acceptance of simplification of the discussed explanatory elements, Freeman’s framework remains a rather good approximation of reality. Only a few minor changes to the stakeholder model are consequently proposed. (shrink)

The success of the stakeholder theory in management literature as well as in current business practices is largely due to the inherent simplicity of the stakeholder model-and to the clarity of Freeman's powerful synthesised visual conceptualisation. However, over the years, critics have attacked the vagueness and ambiguity of stakeholder theory. In this article, rather than building on the discussion from a theoretical point of view, a radically different and innovative approach is chosen: the graphical framework is used as the central (...) perspective. The major shortcomings of the popular stakeholder framework are systematically confronted with the graphical scheme to illustrate their visual impact. The graphical illustrations of the imperfections help explain the sometimes-oversimplified generalisation inherent to every graphical model. They also make some interrelationships easier to understand. The analysis demonstrates that, with the tacit but implicit acceptance of simplification of the discussed explanatory elements, Freeman's framework remains a rather good approximation of reality. Only a few minor changes to the stakeholder model are consequently proposed. (shrink)

There exists increasing pressure for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to engage in corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices, including social reporting. Curiously in this promotional programme of CSR reporting, the only group whose ideas are not sought in this debate are the SME leaders themselves. The present ethnographic field analysis, based on discussions within entrepreneurs' circles, tends to suggest that the argument for expanding formalisation of CSR to SMEs rests upon several fallacies. It implicitly assumes that an apparent solution for (...) large multinationals can be transposed to SMEs, and it underestimates the drawbacks of bureaucracy. Moreover, many SMEs experience inconsistency between the idealistic CSR communication of some large companies and their actions, especially in the supply chain. The author concludes that reports do not constitute the validation for real CSR, nor the proof of superior ethical behaviour. Formalisation can even be counterproductive. Conversely, the absence of social reporting does not imply that SMEs do not behave responsible. CSR in SMEs needs a specific approach, adapted to the informal nature and entrepreneurial character of the small business. The essence of CSR lies in the implementation of responsible business practices. It lies in the right attitudes, in the corporate culture, not in formalisation. (shrink)

There exists increasing pressure for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to engage in corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices, including social reporting. Curiously in this promotional programme of CSR reporting, the only group whose ideas are not sought in this debate are the SME leaders themselves. The present ethnographic field analysis, based on discussions within entrepreneurs' circles, tends to suggest that the argument for expanding formalisation of CSR to SMEs rests upon several fallacies. It implicitly assumes that an apparent solution for (...) large multinationals can be transposed to SMEs, and it underestimates the drawbacks of bureaucracy. Moreover, many SMEs experience inconsistency between the idealistic CSR communication of some large companies and their actions, especially in the supply chain. The author concludes that reports do not constitute the validation for real CSR, nor the proof of superior ethical behaviour. Formalisation can even be counterproductive. Conversely, the absence of social reporting does not imply that SMEs do not behave responsible. CSR in SMEs needs a specific approach, adapted to the informal nature and entrepreneurial character of the small business. The essence of CSR lies in the implementation of responsible business practices. It lies in the right attitudes, in the corporate culture, not in formalisation. (shrink)

This research advances our understanding of the manifestation of tensions and ethical issues in entrepreneurial finance. In doing so, we offer an overview of ethics in entrepreneurship and finance, delineating the curious paucity of research at their intersection. Using twelve vignettes, we put forward the asymmetries between entrepreneurs and investors and discuss a set of ethical problems that arise among key actors centring on the dynamics of venture partner entry and exit, applying the multiple-lens ethical perspective to analyse these issues. (...) This analysis culminates in the introduction of a general classification scheme for ethical problems across venture partners. Our analysis highlights the moral dimension inherent in the entry and exit of venture partners and the importance of considering moral judgement, as well as intention in future analysis of any decision-making. Our study also points to the moral responsibility in finance, especially to the mutual moral responsibilities of investors and entrepreneurs. By integrating ethics into finance, this research also demonstrates that in the case of venture partner exit, an ethical approach and decent governance go beyond compliance to the law. We conclude with implications for practitioners, specifically with some proposals for a solution to the problem of blocked and forced exit. Together, we make several contributions to the literature by integrating ethics, finance and entrepreneurship, and we call for future research to stimulate a growing body of research within this presently overlooked area. (shrink)

Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility, Volume 31, Issue 2, Page 474-494, April 2022.

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and pressure groups have taken up the mission of counterbalancing the huge power of the multinational corporations. Curiously, while most NGOs have a sincere ethical background and a genuine ethical motivation, the way some activist groups and NGOs themselves act does not always live up to the principles they advocate. Research using a multiple case study methodology is used to provide an illustration of various questionable practices followed by pressure groups revealing a range of tactics. The concerns, (...) the objectives and the legitimacy of NGOs and activist groups will be discussed, along with their strategies and tactics. A framework will be developed as a basis for analysing the ethical aspects of the various NGO actions. The analysis of the cases will reveal some worrisome inconsistencies between the demands and the practices of NGOs and activist groups. Should not the means employed by activists and NGOs be consistent with their own espoused or implied values? As power gives responsibility, NGOs should be seen as having corporate stakeholder responsibility. (shrink)

In our global economy knowledge-based industry is takingmore importance. Recent years have seen the success of anincreasing number of start-up companies, most technology-basedenterprises financed by private persons or companies, or through venture capital funds and public offering. In manyyears, those companies are faced at certain critical momentswith matters involving intellectual property rights, insiderinformation and raising money. These facts all have an ethicaldimension. There is an increasing need for ethical behaviourfrom all parties involved. A code of conduct of all partiesshould be (...) applied. This paper describes the growth processof a company and the valuation of an innovation project. Itwill overview a number of ethical issues, at different stagesin the innovation business, and in the lifetime of a start-upcompany, such as the problems of intellectual property, theconfidentiality of information, the negotiation processbetween the entrepreneur and the financier, the marketingof raising funds and of an IPO, and finally the informationand insider trading. The paper concludes with aplea for increased ethical ethical behaviour and the needfor rules of best practice for all parties: the inventor,the entrepreneur, the financial investor, and other stakeholders. (shrink)

Non-governmental organizations and pressure groups have taken up the mission of counterbalancing the huge power of the multinational corporations. Curiously, while most NGOs have a sincere ethical background and a genuine ethical motivation, the way some activist groups and NGOs themselves act does not always live up to the principles they advocate. Research using a multiple case study methodology is used to provide an illustration of various questionable practices followed by pressure groups revealing a range of tactics. The concerns, the (...) objectives and the legitimacy of NGOs and activist groups will be discussed, along with their strategies and tactics. A framework will be developed as a basis for analysing the ethical aspects of the various NGO actions. The analysis of the cases will reveal some worrisome inconsistencies between the demands and the practices of NGOs and activist groups. Should not the means employed by activists and NGOs be consistent with their own espoused or implied values? As power gives responsibility, NGOs should be seen as having corporate stakeholder responsibility. (shrink)

Stakeholder literature has acknowledged the need to complement the extant theory on stakeholder management by more dynamic perspectives. This article makes use of the recent terminology of stakewatcher and stakeseeker to illustrate the dynamic aspect of stakeholder theory transposed in the graphical representation of Freeman’s stakeholder model. Presenting a few selected case studies, it applies the scheme on the concept of value responsibility chain; it exemplifies the role of stakeseekers in various forms of activism, from shareholders, NGOs and government, in (...) the stakeholder mobilisation process. This article clarifies how stakewatchers and stakeseekers can profoundly affect stakeholder salience, especially in crises. The transposition and integration of the dynamic aspect of stakeholder theory into the graphical representation strengthen the forceful pedagogical value of the Freeman’s stakeholder graphical model. (shrink)

As a contribution to the emerging field of corporate social responsibility cognition, this article reports on the findings of an exploratory study that compares SME owner–managers’ mental models with regard to CSR and related concepts across six European countries. Utilising Repertory Grid Technique, we found that the SME owner–managers’ mental models show a few commonalities as well as a number of differences across the different country samples. We interpret those differences by linking individual cognition to macro-environmental variables, such as language, (...) national traditions and dissemination mechanisms. The results of our exploratory study show that nationality matters but that classifications of countries as found in the comparative capitalism literature do not exactly mirror national differences in CSR cognition and that these classifications need further differentiation. The findings from our study raise questions on the universality of cognition of academic management concepts and warn that promotion of responsible business practice should not rely on the use of unmediated US American management terminology. (shrink)

By creating new ventures and new job opportunities venture capital is essential to a dynamic economy. But it should also be fair and ethical at every stage. Professor Fassin explores the various ethical issues which arise between venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and investors. He teaches at the University of Mons and has written widely on management. From 1988‐1991 he was Secretary General of the European Venture Capital Association. He is partner of the Veerick School of Management of the University of (...) Ghent. (shrink)

The paper builds on the stakeholder salience framework and applies a social identity approach to explain family firm dynamics and how these could impact on family firm governance and ethics. In particular, we consider the family as the main stakeholder for family firms and we refer to the recent approaches to stakeholder theory based on ‘names-and-faces’ and on social identity to focus on family members at the individual and organizational level. Family businesses offer an opportunity to study stakeholder salience in (...) settings with multiple logics. Our paper acknowledges how the attributes of legitimacy, power and status, for family business members, can derive from three different institutional settings (family, business and local community) and how these attributes are assigned and gained by family members on the basis of the stakes they put (or could put) on the business. From the analysis of these dynamics specific ethical considerations emerge. (shrink)

Recent academic articles point to an increased vagueness and overlapping of the concepts around business ethics and corporate responsibility. However, the perception of these notions in the entrepreneurial world can differ from the original academic definitions. The aim of this exploratory study is to uncover how the small business entrepreneur understands these various concepts. For this analysis, the Repertory Grid Technique (RGT) is used, a method with limited applications in the business and society field. Our findings partially reject the confusion (...) in terminology in academic literature. Entrepreneurs, pragmatically and rather clearly differentiate the various corporate responsibility and business ethics related concepts. (shrink)

Recent communication and discussion concerning corporate governance, CSR, codes of conduct and other ethical policies have restored the tarnished reputation of the business world which followed a spate of financial scandals. However, one also notices an increased dissonance between the attractive messages emanating from business leaders and the reality. This disconnection between the ‘CSR rhetoric and corporate governance ethics’ and the practical reality experienced within companies leads to hypocrisy. The reality seems too often in contradiction with the idealistic character of (...) corporate communication.In our paper, we analyse the impact of communication and perception on the image and reputation of the company. We survey the characteristics of the media, which include lack of nuance and the tendency to generalization, amplification and reduction. We confront the hypocrisy in the contradiction between words and deeds, and briefly analyse the reasons for this disconnection between message and reality. The continuum from idealism to hypocrisy to position a company in function of the degree of congruence or dissonance between communication and reality forms the basis for a sincerity index. (shrink)

This paper makes an analysis of the recent collapse of Fortis, a major European bank, from the perspective of shareholder activism and social movement theory to illustrate the limits of corporate governance. Some specific issues of the Fortis affair – and more especially the chaotic events at the general assembly - illustrate the application of social movement theory to shareholder activism, besides agency theory problems and conflicts of interests. Paradoxes between legal constraints and principles of good corporate governance are presented. (...) The Fortis case illustrates the limits of the juridical bureaucracy in situations of urgency. The case illustrates the limits of corporate governance. Governance systems need to find appropriate mechanisms to align the voting rights with the long-term interests of the company. We argue for new criteria that will restrict representation to loyal shareholders with a long-term commitment. Good governance mechanisms should prevent opportunistic behaviour and encourage a responsible attitude. (shrink)

Fortis, the leading Benelux financial group, had been a success story of successive mergers of bank and insurance companies, with leadership in corporate social responsibility (CSR). One year after the acquisition of the major Dutch financial conglomerate ABN AMRO, the global financial crisis caused the collapse of the Fortis group. The purpose of this article is to use the case study of Fortis’s recent fall as a basis for reflective considerations on the financial crisis, from stakeholder and ethical perspectives. A (...) selected number of key events of the history of the dramatic crisis at Fortis will be analysed from different ethical frameworks. Special consideration will be given to fairness of communication, shareholder activism and conflicts of interests of CEO’s mergers opportunities. A confrontation between the CSR policy and the reality raises the fundamental questions why the powerful CSR guidelines and ethical principles did not help in the assessment of the risks. (shrink)

The vast majority of empirical research on stakeholder management has traditionally focused on multinational corporations. Only in recent years, scholars have begun to pay attention to the stakeholder management concept in relation to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The few existing studies in this area, however, discuss SMEs as a context free category or remain focused on single country analysis. This cross-national empirical research investigates SME owner–managers’ perceptions of stakeholder management in six European countries. The comparative analysis is followed by (...) a discussion of how institutional, cultural and linguistic contexts can influence owner–managers’ sensemaking of stakeholder management. Our study questions the universality of specific management terms and proposes that more attention should be paid to the institutional, cultural and linguistic environments that shape economic activity in different parts of Europe. (shrink)

As a contribution to the emerging field of corporate social responsibility cognition, this article reports on the findings of an exploratory study that compares SME owner–managers’ mental models with regard to CSR and related concepts across six European countries. Utilising Repertory Grid Technique, we found that the SME owner–managers’ mental models show a few commonalities as well as a number of differences across the different country samples. We interpret those differences by linking individual cognition to macro-environmental variables, such as language, (...) national traditions and dissemination mechanisms. The results of our exploratory study show that nationality matters but that classifications of countries as found in the comparative capitalism literature do not exactly mirror national differences in CSR cognition and that these classifications need further differentiation. The findings from our study raise questions on the universality of cognition of academic management concepts and warn that promotion of responsible business practice should not rely on the use of unmediated US American management terminology. (shrink)

The vast majority of empirical research on stakeholder management has traditionally focused on multinational corporations. Only in recent years, scholars have begun to pay attention to the stakeholder management concept in relation to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The few existing studies in this area, however, discuss SMEs as a context free category or remain focused on single country analysis. This cross-national empirical research investigates SME owner–managers’ perceptions of stakeholder management in six European countries. The comparative analysis is followed by (...) a discussion of how institutional, cultural and linguistic contexts can influence owner–managers’ sensemaking of stakeholder management. Our study questions the universality of specific management terms and proposes that more attention should be paid to the institutional, cultural and linguistic environments that shape economic activity in different parts of Europe. (shrink)

The vast majority of empirical research on stakeholder management has traditionally focused on multinational corporations. Only in recent years, scholars have begun to pay attention to the stakeholder management concept in relation to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The few existing studies in this area, however, discuss SMEs as a context free category or remain focused on single country analysis. This cross-national empirical research investigates SME owner-managers' perceptions of stakeholder management in six European countries. The comparative analysis is followed by (...) a discussion of how institutional, cultural and linguistic contexts can influence owner-managers' sensemaking of stakeholder management. Our study questions the universality of specific management terms and proposes that more attention should be paid to the institutional, cultural and linguistic environments that shape economic activity in different parts of Europe. (shrink)

In A Time for Critique, Didier Fassin, Bernard E. Harcourt, and a group of eminent political theorists, anthropologists, sociologists, philosophers, literary and legal scholars reflect on the multiplying contexts and forms of critical discourses and on the social actors and social movements engaged in them.

In recent years, social scientists have turned their critical lens on the historical roots and contours of their disciplines, including their politics and practices, epistemologies and methods, institutionalization and professionalization, national development and colonial expansion, globalization and local contestations, and their public presence and role in society. The Social Sciences in the Looking Glass offers current social scientific perspectives on this reflexive moment in the social sciences. Examining sociology, anthropology, philosophy, political science, legal theory, and religious studies, the volume's contributors (...) outline the present transformations of the social sciences, explore their connections with critical humanities, analyze the challenges of alternate paradigms, and interrogate recent endeavors to move beyond the human. Throughout, the authors, who belong to half a dozen disciplines, trace how the social sciences are thoroughly entangled in the social facts they analyze, and are key to helping us understand the conditions of our world. Contributors. Chitralekha, Jean-Louis Fabiani, Didier Fassin, Johan Heilbron, Miriam Kingsberg Kadia, Kristoffer Kropp, Nicolas Langlitz, John Lardas Modern, Álvaro Morcillo Laiz, Amín Pérez, Carel Smith, George Steinmetz, Peter D. Thomas, Bregje van Eekelen, Agata Zysiak. (shrink)

L’État est le plus souvent représenté comme une entité abstraite et neutre. Or il est fondamentalement une réalité concrète et située, qui s’incarne dans le travail de ses agents. Ceux-ci ne se contentent pas d’appliquer des directives et des procédures ; les jugements qu’ils formulent et les émotions qu’ils ressentent sont partie prenante de leurs décisions, dont la somme constitue l’action publique. Autrement dit, l’État est également une entité morale. C’est ce que montre cet ouvrage qui, au fil d’une enquête (...) ethnographique de cinq années, s’attache à comprendre l’ordinaire du fonctionnement de l’État à travers un ensemble d’institutions : la police, la justice, la prison, les services sociaux et la santé mentale, qui ont en commun d’avoir affaire, en large part, aux mêmes publics, composés d’individus de milieux populaires et précaires ou d’origine immigrée. Défini dans cette tension entre les politiques telles qu’elles se décident au sommet et les pratiques des agents dont les valeurs et les affects sont eux-mêmes nourris par les débats autour des problèmes sociaux qui font leur quotidien, l’État apparaît simultanément dans ses fonctions contradictoires d’État social en recul, d’État pénal en expansion et d’État libéral qui attend toujours plus de ses sujets. Cette attention à la manière dont la morale s’inscrit dans l’action publique participe ainsi de sa repolitisation. (shrink)

Les questions morales pénètrent nos représentations, nos pratiques, nos politiques. Qu'il s'agisse, dans le monde privé, d'interpréter les conduites des autres et de discipliner les siennes propres, ou bien, dans l'espace public, de sanctionner des déviances et de réguler des populations, nos sociétés mobilisent des normes, des valeurs et des affects, qu'illustrent notamment les tensions entre la raison humanitaire et l'ordre sécuritaire. Redonnant toute sa force critique au concept d'économies morales, les auteurs réunis ici par Didier Fassin et Jean-Sébastien (...) Eideliman en explorent les multiples facettes à travers une série d'enquêtes conduites sur quatre continents. Des lieux d'enfermement des étrangers en France aux prisons de haute sécurité aux Etats-Unis, de la stigmatisation des familles roms en Italie à la marginalisation des enfants de migrants en Chine, de la condamnation du tourisme sexuel en Thaïlande à l'évaluation des transactions amoureuses au Mali, des pratiques de charité en Inde aux politiques contre la pauvreté au Chili, les auteurs s'attachent à comprendre comment on gouverne et on juge, comment on assiste et on exclut. Mais ils montrent aussi que les professionnels et leurs publics n'adoptent pas de manière passive et uniforme ces modèles moraux : ils déploient des subjectivités éthiques pour résister ou " faire avec ", autour du handicap et de la toxicomanie, de l'asile et de la naturalisation, de la violence et de la finance. Cet ouvrage nous propose ainsi de penser la vie sociale et politique de la morale. (shrink)

This Reader is an essential resource for students and scholars interested in the anthropology of morality. The collection includes classical and more recent material, carefully chosen to provide a critical and historical overview of an important and developing field. The selections are contextualized with lucid editorial material, including a substantial introduction.

Présenter un aperçu de la « mystique chrétienne médiévale » n’est possible qu’en la situant brièvement dans l’histoire de la « mystique » en Occident. Le terme n’est pas dénué d’ambiguïté. Apparaissant dans le contexte des religions à mystères, la mystique évolue vers une expérience silencieuse que les mots ne peuvent capter, avant de désigner des phénomènes anormaux décrits dans une rhétorique de l’étrange. Par rapport à la littérature moderne, les textes médiévaux sont très sobres. Faisant à écho à la (...) théologie mystique de Denys l’Aréopagite (ve-vie s.), ils présentent une voie d’union à l’Un en deçà des mots et des concepts. Il ne suffit pas de connaître (mathein) Dieu par un savoir notionnel, il faut en faire l’expérience, « en pâtir » (pathein). Ce « pâtir Dieu » sera repris par Maître Eckhart (1260-1328), le chef de file de la mystique rhénane. (shrink)

Why does something please us? Is there right and wrong in aesthetics? What is the value of art? What do philosophical and aesthetic problems have in common? Wittgenstein worked intensively on these and other questions and wrote of the strange resemblance between aesthetics and philosophy. This study shows how Wittgenstein s arguments have substantially contributed to explaining systematic questions in aesthetics.".

Le constat est maintenant partout: la puissance du fondamentalisme religieux, la montee des populismes de droite comme de gauche, le discredit de la classe politique, le rejet de la construction europeenne, rendent caducs les schemas anciens. En particulier l'idee que la democratie, a force de bienveillance, peut tolerer toutes les differences, toutes les croyances. Oui! Il y a des croyances insupportables et intolerables. Non! Le populisme n'est pas une illusion qui se dissipera d'elle-meme avec un peu de pedagogie et de (...) bonne volonte. Non! La politique internationale n'obeit pas aux chartes du droit international. Il faut denoncer la tyrannie des bons sentiments, la politique de l'emotion et de la compassion. Non que la bienveillance soit un sentiment indigne, mais nous devons cesser de croire qu'on peut batir sur elle une communaute politique. (shrink)

« Déconstruire l’idée que l’animal serait sans intelligence, sans conscience, sans langage, etc., n’est qu’une étape vers une entreprise plus essentielle : la reconnaissance de la richesse des mondes animaux, dans leur diversité, sans céder à la tentation de les hiérarchiser. Tel est l’esprit qui m’anime dans cet ouvrage. Parce que les animaux, humains ou non humains, ne sont pas les jouets passifs du monde qui les entoure et qu’ils en sont au contraire les créateurs actifs, parce qu’ils sont porteurs (...) d’une vision du monde, je les considère comme des philosophes. Ils ne se contentent pas de percevoir passivement leur environnement, ils l’élaborent, ils l’anticipent. Ils donnent du sens aux choses. » Y. C. Biologiste et journaliste scientifique, Yves Christen préside la Fondation Ipsen. Il a notamment publié Le Peuple léopard, Les Surdoués du monde animal et L’animal est-il une personne?. (shrink)

Comment les scientifiques peuvent-ils participer aux controverses dont font l’objet certains développements techniques? En injectant une sensibilité littéraire dans cette participation. Telle est la thèse de cet ouvrage. Au travers d’illustrations telles qu’un poème d’Henri Michaux ou une déclaration de faucheur volontaire d’OGM, Yves Citton examine comment les scientifiques peuvent participer aux débats publics et civils et contribuer à sortir de la confrontation des disciplines, des domaines et des opinions.

Le monde qui nous est commun et connu disparaît face à l'accélération technologique et à l'immensité de ce qui reste à découvrir. Le présent quant à lui est devenu envahissant et s'abîme à chaque instant dans l'immédiateté. La société contemporaine cesse d'être un projet identifié et identifiable. Nous en sommes réduits à essayer d'apprendre le monde plutôt que d'imaginer demain. L'éthique est l'un des outils à notre disposition pour regarder et comprendre le monde nouveau, celui d'une modernité consciente. Malmené par (...) la crise, les angoisses, les références à un passé définitivement révolu, les discours à la mode et la pensée unique, le concept éthique requiert d'être dépoussiéré, repensé, actualisé. Cet essai est un appel à réfléchir et travailler pour, pierre après pierre, reconstruire un principe d'espérance pour demain. (shrink)

Que peut nous apporter aujourd’hui la lecture des Idéologues, ces penseurs qui ont reconfiguré le champ des savoirs au début du XIXe siècle? La mise au jour d’un moment idéologique. Ce moment est celui qui voit une radicalité des Lumières se scinder entre divers branchements disciplinaires, entre diverses conceptions de la subjectivité et de l’émancipation. Le moment idéologique est un moment de passage, mais surtout de décantation. On y voit émerger, quoiqu’encore entremêlés et solidaires, ce que nous sommes habitués à (...) distinguer : Lumières et romantisme, rationalisme et sentiment, radicalité et conservatisme, nécessité et volontarisme, colonialisme et soif d’altérité, science et littérature. Les dix chapitres de cet ouvrage ont en commun de visiter ce moment idéologique à partir de questions concrètes, analysées sur des objets textuels précisément circonscrits : une fausse polémique, un cours d’histoire, une analogie hydraulique, des théories de l’imagination, des épisodes de réminiscence involontaire, un voyage à Alexandrie, un projet d’alphabet universel, une explication de l’amitié, une réécriture romanesque de la folle « science des idées ». C’est à partir de ces cas particuliers que prend forme une image d’ensemble du moment idéologique, où se révèlent à la fois la reconfiguration des champs du savoir et ce que cette reconfiguration a occulté : l’inséparabilité de ce qui devient alors, d’un côté, « la littérature » et, de l’autre, « les sciences » (de l’homme) – le moment idéologique nous faisant voir que ce sont les deux faces d’une même pièce. (shrink)