How do we use our mental images of the present to reconstruct our past? Maurice Halbwachs addressed this question for the first time in his work on collective memory, which established him as a major figure in the history of sociology. This volume, the first comprehensive English-language translation of Halbwach's writings on the social construction of memory, fills a major gap in the literature on the sociology of knowledge. Halbwachs' primary thesis is that human memory can only function within (...) a collective context. Collective memory, Halbwachs asserts, is always selective; various groups of people have different collective memories, which in turn give rise to different modes of behavior. Halbwachs shows, for example, how pilgrims to the Holy Land over the centuries evoked very different images of the events of Jesus' life; how wealthy old families in France have a memory of the past that diverges sharply from that of the nouveaux riches; and how working class construction of reality differ from those of their middle-class counterparts. With a detailed introduction by Lewis A. Coser, this translation will be an indispensable source for new research in historical sociology and cultural memory. Lewis A. Coser is Distinguished Professor of Sociology Emeritus at the State University of New York and Adjunct Professor of Sociology at Boston College. (shrink)

Following an approach that is empirical but not psychological, and dialectical but not dialogical, in this book Maurice Finocchiaro defines concepts such as reasoning, argument, argument analysis, critical reasoning, methodological reflection, judgment, critical thinking, and informal logic. Including extended critiques of the views of many contemporary scholars, he also integrates into the discussion Arnauld's Port-Royal Logic, Gramsci's theory of intellectuals, and case studies from the history of science, particularly the work of Galileo, Newton, Huygens, and Lavoisier.

Winner of the 1974 National Book Award The product of many years of reflection on phenomenology, this book is a comprehensive and creative introduction to the philosophy of Edmund Husserl. Natanson uses Husserl's later work as a clue to the meaning of his entire intellectual career, showing how his earlier methodological work evolved into the search for transcendental roots and developed into a philosophy of the life-world. Phenomenology, for Natanson, emerges as a philosophy of origin, a transcendental discipline concerned with (...) consciousness, history, and world rather than with introspection and traditional metaphysical warfare. (shrink)

"This book tries to assess Galileo's work in its historical singularity. It is constructed around a precise question: How did Galileo create the modern science of motion? Starting from this question, I shall go on to determine as accurately as I can what concepts and methods helped classical mechanics to take shape." [Preface].

_Winner of the 1974 National Book Award_ The product of many years of reflection on phenomenology, this book is a comprehensive and creative introduction to the philosophy of Edmund Husserl. Natanson uses Husserl's later work as a clue to the meaning of his entire intellectual career, showing how his earlier methodological work evolved into the search for transcendental roots and developed into a philosophy of the life-world. Phenomenology, for Natanson, emerges as a philosophy of origin, a transcendental discipline concerned with (...) consciousness, history, and world rather than with introspection and traditional metaphysical warfare. (shrink)

He focuses on Hegel and Nietzche, perhaps to give Mallarme and Kafka a breathing spell. Paper edition (unseen), $10.95. No index or bibliography. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.

Featuring essays originally published in La Nouvelle Revue Française, this collection clearly demonstrates why Maurice Blanchot was a key figure in exploring the relation between literature and philosophy.

A commentary on the Case Study “Bad Words,” in the March‐April 2014 issue.

Pour un pédopsychiatre, le concept de médiation est indissociable de celui d’intérêt de l’enfant, ce terme étant défini comme la protection de la sécurité et du développement affectif et intellectuel de l’enfant. Dans les situations de divorce concernant des enfants petits, il est donc indispensable que les professionnels impliqués aient des connaissances précises concernant les besoins d’un nourrisson, et en particulier qu’ils soient familiers avec la théorie et la clinique de l’attachement. Quant aux visites médiatisées qui sont nécessaires dans certaines (...) situations complexes en protection de l’enfance, elles sont clairement hors du champ de la médiation familiale. (shrink)

Phenomenology of Civilization explores the philosophy of Edmund Husserl and R.G. Collingwood, two of the most influential philosophers of the twentieth century. Husserl founded phenomenology, which has had a direct effect on contemporary philosophy, and Collingwood, though less formally known, is still one of the most commonly read twentieth century philosophers. Maurice Eisenstein examines their work in relation to recent philosophy, particularly focusing on existentialism, Heideggerian phenomenology, and postmodernism. He brings these two philosophers together because they were contemporaries of (...) each other, addressed the same audience, and, therefore, had similar issues to influence them. This discussion of Husserl and Collingwood's work moves beyond Husserl's phenomenology, and Collingwood's typical association with Hegel or Kant, to a new understanding of their ideas through an association with each other in regard to contemporary philosophy and political theory. Eisenstein's discoveries place Husserl and Collingwood into the main Western liberal political tradition with Dewey and James, rather than the more radical critique of that tradition with Sartre and Heidegger. (shrink)

Un “philosophe des cultures” appelé Louis Gardet est devenu un “islamologue catholique” de renommée mondiale après avoir vécu, de 1933 à 1945, dans la “khalwa” des Petits Frères de Jésus à El-Abiodh Sidi Cheikh, en Algérie. Frère André “en religion”, disciple du bienheureux Charles de Foucauld et ami fidèle de Jacques Maritain, s'est employé, par ses ouvrages, à faire connaître l'islam aux chrétiens. En thomiste convaincu, il s'est interrogé sur les relations de la philosophie avec les diverses formes de la (...) mystique de l'Inde, du judaïsme, du christianisme et de l'islam : comment y apprécier la “mystique du Soi” et la “mystique de l'Autre”? Personnellement engagé dans le dialogue islamo-chrétien, il a ouvert la voie à une meilleure compréhension entre les disciples du Christ et les fidèles du Coran. Ardent défenseur d'un monothéisme personnaliste, commun aux uns et aux autres, il demeure, pour tous, un modèle d'humanisme œcuménique qui s'enracine dans la transcendance du Dieu d'Abraham. (shrink)