Schelling est le moins connu des " grands " philosophes : c'est que, sans doute, dans l'œuvre qu'il nous propose, il n'y a rien justement à connaître, aucun sens ultime et autonome qui puisse désormais se représenter, se résumer pour lui-même, se diffuser dans une quelconque postérité - rien d'autre que l'œuvre elle-même et le travail toujours recommencé de son impossible perfection. Pendant soixante années, de 1794 à 1854, qui sont les plus riches peut-être (parce que les dernières) de l'histoire (...) de la philosophie, une pensée a cherché à se clore, à se comprendre, à s'arrêter, sans cesser de se voir rouverte par l'effondrement (le retournement) des structures où elle avait cru s'équilibrer. Il a semblé à l'auteur de cette étude que ces ruines successives finissaient par présenter un tracé signifiant, comme si le véritable " système " de Schelling s'écrivait peu à peu, hors de la vue du philosophe, dans un autre espace qui est celui de l'histoire même de son œuvre, jusqu'au moment où, dans sa " dernière philosophie ", tout le passé contradictoire se récapitule et redevient contemporain au sein d'une construction qui se présente elle-même comme dédoublée et interminable. On trouvera ici l'histoire de cette formation, de ce destin que Schelling a patiemment enduré sans jamais chercher à l'interrompre de manière prématurée, et qui fait de lui une figure proprement exemplaire. Grâce à cette œuvre en effet, où la pensée apparaît perpétuellement replongée dans la profondeur parfois désespérante de son travail, il devient possible d'approcher d'un peu plus près " l'acte et le lieu " de la philosophie, partout ailleurs masqués par la perfection superficielle de son résultat ; par là même, au-delà de l'individu Schelling, c'est une question plus vaste qui se trouve posée - la question : Qu'est-ce qu'une œuvre philosophique? (shrink)

Schelling est le moins connu des " grands " philosophes : c'est que, sans doute, dans l'œuvre qu'il nous propose, il n'y a rien justement à connaître, aucun sens ultime et autonome qui puisse désormais se représenter, se résumer pour lui-même, se diffuser dans une quelconque postérité - rien d'autre que l'œuvre elle-même et le travail toujours recommencé de son impossible perfection. Pendant soixante années, de 1794 à 1854, qui sont les plus riches peut-être (parce que les dernières) de l'histoire (...) de la philosophie, une pensée a cherché à se clore, à se comprendre, à s'arrêter, sans cesser de se voir rouverte par l'effondrement (le retournement) des structures où elle avait cru s'équilibrer. Il a semblé à l'auteur de cette étude que ces ruines successives finissaient par présenter un tracé signifiant, comme si le véritable " système " de Schelling s'écrivait peu à peu, hors de la vue du philosophe, dans un autre espace qui est celui de l'histoire même de son œuvre, jusqu'au moment où, dans sa " dernière philosophie ", tout le passé contradictoire se récapitule et redevient contemporain au sein d'une construction qui se présente elle-même comme dédoublée et interminable. On trouvera ici l'histoire de cette formation, de ce destin que Schelling a patiemment enduré sans jamais chercher à l'interrompre de manière prématurée, et qui fait de lui une figure proprement exemplaire. Grâce à cette œuvre en effet, où la pensée apparaît perpétuellement replongée dans la profondeur parfois désespérante de son travail, il devient possible d'approcher d'un peu plus près " l'acte et le lieu " de la philosophie, partout ailleurs masqués par la perfection superficielle de son résultat ; par là même, au-delà de l'individu Schelling, c'est une question plus vaste qui se trouve posée - la question : Qu'est-ce qu'une œuvre philosophique? (shrink)

Cet article étudie la question du fanatisme dans la philosophie de Hegel en examinant successivement : 1 / la genèse du concept de « fanatisme » de Luther à l’époque des Lumières ; 2 / la place initiale du fanatisme dans la dialectique hégélienne de la volonté libre ; 3 / ses figures religieuses et politiques ; 4 / les solutions hégéliennes au problème du fanatisme. Contrairement aux Lumières qui voyaient dans le fanatisme une pathologie de la raison et un (...) phénomène exclusivement religieux, Hegel le conçoit comme une forme possible de la liberté humaine ayant une signification autant politique que religieuse : la liberté du vide, la négativité abstraite qui ne s’affirme que par la destruction de l’ordre éthique.This paper address the issue of the fanaticism in Hegel’s philosophy, by examining successively : 1 / the genesis of the concept of « fanaticism » from Luther to the Age of Enlightenment ; 2 / the initial situation of the fanaticism in the Hegelian dialectic of free will ; 3 / its religious and political forms ; 4 /Hegel solution to the problem of fanaticism. Unlike the Enlightenment philosophers, who conceived fanaticism as a pathology of reason that could only arise in religion, Hegel considers it as a possible form of human freedom, loaded with a religious and political meaning : the fanaticism is the empty freedom, the abstract negativity that may only be assessed through the destruction of the ethical world. (shrink)

English summary: Schelling's Die Weltalter was frequently announced as ready for publication, but little of the book was ever written. Schelling planned Die Weltalter as a volume in three parts, describing the past, present, and future of the world; however, he began only the first part, rewriting it several times and at last keeping it unpublished. The other two parts were left only in planning. French text.French description: « Commencé seulement les Ages du monde ». Cette note que Schelling consigne (...) dans son Tagebuch à la date du 27 décembre 1810 donne le coup d'envoi d'un des projets les plus grandioses qu'un philosophe se soit proposé, retracer sur la base de concepts philosophiques les étapes de la vie divine et de la création. S'il est vrai, comme le disait Novalis, que « vouloir écrire une Bible est un penchant à la folie que tout homme doit avoir pour être complet », cette grande fresque cosmique et théologique représente la tentative la plus magistrale qu'ait menée l'idéalisme allemand pour rendre compte de la totalité de la manifestation divine et en proposer une présentation effective et complète. Or, dans la dernière version de l'ouvrage, celle-là même que Schelling fit introduire dans ses Sammtliche Werke et dont nous donnons ici une nouvelle traduction dans la continuité de celle des brouillons de 1811 et 1813, le récit et la construction spéculative cherchent encore à atteindre un point d'équilibre. Un double effort pour implanter la succession au coeur même de l'Absolu tout en équilibrant en Dieu les rapports de l'idéal et du réel prépare l'avènement d'une philosophie historique sans ue l'on débouche jamais tout à fait sur une hétérogénéité radicale de l'être et du penser. Ainsi, à travers cette description du passé le plus archaïque, Schelling met pour la première fois effectivement la philosophie en possession de ce qu'elle recherche depuis toujours : « la science, c'est-à-dire l'histoire ». (shrink)

Jean-François Marquet est Professeur de philosophie émérite à l'université de Paris-Sorbonne. Eminent historien de la métaphysique, de Parménide à Heidegger, il a aussi consacré ses recherches à la relation de la philosophie avec l'art et la littérature, la mystique et la gnose chrétienne. Il invite ici le lecteur à jouer le jeu de la parole, en considérant certaines questions décisives d'un cheminement dont le sens le plus profond est sans doute celui d'une méditation de la singularité, où (...) se noue le dialogue des voix ou des personnes (Je-Tu-Il), triade constitutive de toute vie singulière. Si la pensée s'origine dans une parole en énigme et si l'achèvement de la philosophie la conduit à se déployer dans un espace où oeuvres et visions du monde se correspondent en étant contemporaines, comme en un vitrail, c'est à la récapitulation de cette histoire que l'interprète convie enfin son lecteur. (shrink)

Etudie les aspects, les moyens et les précédents de l'interprétation que fait Plotin (205-270) de l'idée platonicienne de participation. L'auteur met en avant l'importance de la notion d'imitation dans l'hypothèse d'un processus d'engendrement des existences à partir des trois réalités véritables (l'Un, l'Intellect et l'Ame).

Until recently, the work of Jean-Paul Sartre seemed to have faded out of fashion. Existentialism was replaced by structuralism and poststructuralism, and Sartrean philosophy was relegated to anthologies. In France and the United States, real confrontation with his work has been virtually missing. This collection of essays addresses this absence by shedding light on Sartre's contribution to critical trends that have been developing over the last twenty years, including feminism, gender studies and post-colonial studies. In addition, the essays combine (...) to reassess Sartre's importance in such traditional fields as literature, philosophy and psychoanalysis. An essential, comprehensive volume of work, Situating Sartre in Twentieth-Century Thought and Culture updates and expands the scope of Sartrean studies. (shrink)

In this book it explores science and technology, makes connections between these epistemic, cultural, and political trends, and develops profound insights into the nature of our postmodernity.

Alors qu’il était précepteur en Suisse, le jeune Hegel traduisit minutieusement un libelle révolutionnaire dénonçant l’oppression que les autorités bernoises exerçaient sur le Pays de Vaud. Il publia ces Lettres de Jean-Jacques Cart à son retour en Allemagne, en 1798, sous le couvert d’un anonymat qu’il ne leva jamais. Derrière le caractère anecdotique de cette première publication, on peut déceler des enjeux qui conduisirent à l’instauration de l’idéalisme spéculatif. Le motif de la lutte pour la reconnaissance, en particulier, semble (...) y trouver sa première apparition. Plus fondamentalement cette première publication éclaire le travail d’élaboration stylistique conduisant progressivement au système, avec, à l’horizon, la question de la portée pratique de la philosophie. (shrink)

During the Second Industrial revolution, consulting professor bridged higher education institutions with industry and government. A concept like the utilitarian research regime by Terry Shinn can explain their material and intellectual production by allowing for a reconstruction of their social networks. Pierre‐Paul LeCointe and Louis Bourgoin , associates in an engineering consultancy office, institutionalised a consultation service at the Laboratory of Industrial Chemistry of the École Polytechnique of Montreal . The two industrial chemists were thereby able to obtain financial, material (...) and human resources through exchanges with industrialists, business men and civil servants; consequently, their material and intellectual production is marked by the preoccupations of the industries and government with whom they exchanged. Industrial development in Canada was, in part, based on the work of these consultants who helped private companies analyse primary resources, standardize fabrication procedures and adapt the production to regulations. The government also offered technological assistance to businesses thanks to consultants, while regulating the markets and producing industrial standards. The inception of a utilitarian research regime results from the conjunction of these different factors. Finally, on Bourgoin's initiative, the École Polytechnique created a research centre based on the model of consulting laboratories. (shrink)

During the Second Industrial revolution, consulting professor bridged higher education institutions with industry and government. A concept like the utilitarian research regime by Terry Shinn can explain their material and intellectual production by allowing for a reconstruction of their social networks. Pierre‐Paul LeCointe (d. 1948) and Louis Bourgoin (1891–1951), associates in an engineering consultancy office, institutionalised a consultation service at the Laboratory of Industrial Chemistry of the École Polytechnique of Montreal (1917). The two industrial chemists were thereby able to obtain (...) financial, material and human resources through exchanges with industrialists, business men and civil servants; consequently, their material and intellectual production is marked by the preoccupations of the industries and government with whom they exchanged. Industrial development in Canada was, in part, based on the work of these consultants who helped private companies analyse primary resources, standardize fabrication procedures and adapt the production to regulations. The government also offered technological assistance to businesses thanks to consultants, while regulating the markets and producing industrial standards. The inception of a utilitarian research regime results from the conjunction of these different factors. Finally, on Bourgoin's initiative, the École Polytechnique created a research centre (1946) based on the model of consulting laboratories. (shrink)

The objective of this study is to analyze the measurability and interfirm comparability of sustainability performance through the qualitative content analysis of 12 sustainability reports of mining firms using the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines. The systematic comparison of information disclosed in 92 GRI indicators sheds light on the reasons underlying the impossibility of rigorously measuring and comparing the sustainability performance of firms from the same sector, which are supposed to be strictly following the same reporting guideline. These reasons include qualitative (...) aspects of sustainability, lack of compliance with GRI protocols, indicator contingency, ambiguous or incomplete information, data heterogeneity, and report opacity. The study makes it possible to return to the very notion of sustainability, its meaning, and flexible application by organizations. The results are discussed from three different theoretical perspectives, each of which proposes possible and complementary explanations of the main findings. (shrink)

The dual-process model of cognition but most especially its reflective component, system 2 processing, shows strong conceptual links with critical thinking. In fact, the salient characteristics of system 2 processing are so strikingly close to that of critical thinking, that it is tempting to claim that critical thinking is system 2 processing, no more and no less. In this article, I consider the two sides of that claim: Does critical thinking always require system 2 processing? And does system 2 processing (...) always result in critical thinking? I argue that it is plausible and helpful to consider that critical thinking requires system 2 processing. In particular, this assumption can provide interesting insights and benchmarks for critical thinking education. On the other hand, I show that system 2 processing can result in a range of outcomes which are either contradictory with critical thinking, or of debatable social desirability—which suggests that there is more to critical thinking than mere system 2 processing, and more to system 2 processing than just critical thinking. (shrink)

t. 1. De l'antiquité à la Renaissance, ou de la naissance de la philosophie à la naissance de la science (VIe siècle avant notre ère-1400. t. 2. La philosophie pendant la science (XVe, XVIe et XVIIe siècles).

In The Differend, Lyotard subjects to scrutiny- from the particular perspective of his notion of 'differend' - the turn of all Western philosophies toward language; the decline of metaphysics; the present intellectual retreat of Marxism; the hopes raised and mostly dashed, by theory; and the growing political despair. Taking his point of departure in an analysis of what Auschwitz meant philosophically, Lyotard attempts to sketch out modes of thought for our present.

The psychology of reasoning is increasingly considering agents' values and preferences, achieving greater integration with judgment and decision making, social cognition, and moral reasoning. Some of this research investigates utility conditionals, ‘‘if p then q’’ statements where the realization of p or q or both is valued by some agents. Various approaches to utility conditionals share the assumption that reasoners make inferences from utility conditionals based on the comparison between the utility of p and the expected utility of q. This (...) article introduces a new parameter in this analysis, the underlying causal structure of the conditional. Four experiments showed that causal structure moderated utility-informed conditional reasoning. These inferences were strongly invited when the underlying structure of the conditional was causal, and significantly less so when the underlying structure of the conditional was diagnostic. This asymmetry was only observed for conditionals in which the utility of q was clear, and disappeared when the utility of q was unclear. Thus, an adequate account of utility-informed inferences conditional reasoning requires three components: utility, probability, and causal structure. (shrink)

Combinant des méthodes employées en ethnoscience et en sociolinguistique, cet article formule une hypothèse destinée à expliquer pourquoi, dans certains types de situations, les membres de la société apache occidentale s’abstiennent de parler. En dépit de l’extrême insuffisance des données interculturelles sur le silence, certaines preuves recueillies suggèrent que cette hypothèse peut également s’appliquer à d’autres sociétés.

Research on reasoning about consequential arguments has been an active but piecemeal enterprise. Previous research considered in depth some subclasses ofconsequential arguments, but further understanding of consequential arguments requires that we address their greater variety, avoiding the risk of over-generalisation from specific examples. Ideally we ought to be able to systematically generate the set of consequential arguments, and then engage in random sampling of stimuli within that set. The current article aims at making steps in that direction, using the theory (...) of utility conditionals as a way to generate a large set of consequential arguments, and offering one study illustrating how the theory can be used for the random sampling of stimuli. Itis expected that further use of this method will bring more diversity to experimental research on consequential arguments, and more robustness to models of argumentation from consequences. (shrink)

Most instantiations of the inference ‘y; so if x, y’ seem intuitively odd, a phenomenon known as one of the paradoxes of the material conditional. A common explanation of the oddity, endorsed by Mental Model theory, is based on the intuition that the conclusion of the inference throws away semantic information. We build on this explanation to identify two joint conditions under which the inference becomes acceptable: (a) the truth of x has bearings on the relevance of asserting y; and (...) (b) the speaker can reasonably be expected not to be in a position to assume that x is false. We show that this dual pragmatic criterion makes accurate predictions, and contrast it with the criterion defined by the mental model theory of conditionals, which we show to be inadequate. (shrink)

On the basis of a historical reconstruction of the stages through which the Christian notion of sin took shape in Protestantism, the significance of this term for modern bioethics is derived from its opposition to a holiness of God and his creatures, which in turn translates into the secular moral concept of dignity. This dignity imposes obligations to respect and to relationships that are sustained by faithfulness and trust. In being based on the gratuitousness of God’s grace, such relationships preclude (...) attempts at instrumentalization, denial of singularity, and subjection to market forces. Accordingly, reproductive cloning as well as exposing medicine to economical considerations can be classified as sinful. The difference between sinful acts and humans’ sinful state furthermore permits to address the problems of evil and misfortune in the world, and to acknowledge humans’ responsibility for the threats to humanity entailed by those ills. While the Christian faith relies on God’s mercy, it also imposes the task of following Christ by fighting against evil and misfortune. (shrink)

The suppression of the Modus Ponens inference is described as a loss of confidence in the conclusion C of an argument “If A1 then C; If A2 then C; A1” where A2 is a requirement for C to happen. It is hypothesised that this loss of confidence is due to the derivation of the conversational implicature “there is a chance that A2 might not be satisfied”, and that different syntactic introductions of the requirement A2 (e.g., “If C then A2”) will (...) lead to various frequencies in the derivation of this implicature, according to previous studies in the field of causal explanation. An experiment is conducted, whose results support those claims. Results are discussed in the light of the Mental Logic and Mental Model theories, as well as in the light of the pragmatic approach to uncertain reasoning. (shrink)

Nouvelle édition critique et traduction française annotée de la _Lettre à Marcella_ de Porphyre. Le philosophe néoplatonicien Porphyre (234-305) y adresse à sa femme un témoignage unique sur la manière dont une vie philosophique peut être conduite et se préserver. This book presents a new annotated and translated edition of neoplatonist 3rd-century Greek philosopher Porphyrius’ _Letter to Marcella_. This letter, adressed to his wife, gives a unique account on the ways and principles along which a philosophical life should be led (...) so as to perpetuate itself. (shrink)

Jean-François Lyotard (1924-1998) was one of the most important French philosophers of the Twentieth Century. His impact has been felt across many disciplines: sociology; cultural studies; art theory and politics. This volume presents a diverse selection of interviews, conversations and debates which relate to the five decades of his working life, both as a political militant, experimental philosopher and teacher. Including hard-to-find interviews and previously untranslated material, this is the first time that interviews with Lyotard have been presented (...) as a collection. Key concepts from Lyotard's thought – the differend, the postmodern, the immaterial – are debated and discussed across different time periods, prompted by specific contexts and provocations. In addition there are debates with other thinkers, including Emmanuel Levinas and Jacques Derrida, which may be less familiar to an Anglophone audience. These debates and interviews help to contextualise Lyotard, highlighting the importance of Marx, Freud, Kant and Wittgenstein, in addition to the Jewish thought which accompanies the questions of silence, justice and presence that pervades Lyotard's thinking. (shrink)

This article examines G.H. Mead’s critique of psychoanalysis, in order to show how it reflects the parallels with his own conception of social psychology. In showing that both Freud and Mead address the same issues of the redefinition of the psyche based on experimental psychology in their own theoretical entreprise, the analysis makes clear that Freud’s two topics (Conscious, Preconscious, Unconscious; Superego, Ego, Id) and Mead’s theory of the Self (I, Me, Self) are closely related but nevertheless kept apart by (...) fundamental oppositions. However, further explorations in Lacan’s reading of Freud help in seeing how close psychoanalysis and social psychology can be, by shifting attention to the distinction between unconscious and conscious communication. By addressing the issue of emotions in social life, a final look at the transformation of social norms shows how the confrontation between social psychology and psychoanalysis can be fruitful. (shrink)

The suppression of the Modus Ponens inference is described as a loss of confidence in the conclusion C of an argument ''If A1 then C; If A2 then C; A1'' where A2 is a requirement for C to happen. It is hypothesised that this loss of confidence is due to the derivation of the conversational implicature ''there is a chance that A2 might not be satisfied'', and that different syntactic introductions of the requirement A2 (e.g., ''If C then A2'') will (...) lead to various frequencies in the derivation of this implicature, according to previous studies in the field of causal explanation. An experiment is conducted, whose results support those claims. Results are discussed in the light of the Mental Logic and Mental Model theories, as well as in the light of the pragmatic approach to uncertain reasoning. (shrink)

Les sources augustiniennes du cogito cartésien – voilà assurément une question qui n’aura jamais sérieusement préoccupé Martin Heidegger! Nous voudrions cependant suggérer, dans notre étude, que les différentes lectures critiques que Heidegger entreprend de la métaphysique cartésienne, dès les années du premier enseignement de Fribourg, à travers le premier cours donné à Marburg notamment, et jusqu’à Sein und Zeit, sont singulièrement aimantées par une question augustinienne : la question que je suis devenu pour moi-même précisément, et que c’est d’abord à (...) partir de cette question et de la problématisation du mode d’être du sum et de l’ego qu’elle commande, que Heidegger déploie son débat ou son différend avec l’instauration cartésienne d’une métaphysique de la subjectivité.Les méditations cartésiennes de Martin HeideggerAuf den ersten Blick könnte man den Eindruck gewinnen, Heidegger habe den augustinischen Wurzeln des cartesianischen « cogito » nie ernsthafte Beachtung geschenkt. Diese weithin verbreitete Auffassung versucht der folgende Artikel durch eine eingehende Analyse bestimmter Kerntexte aus Heideggers früher Schaffensperiode zu revidieren, die von einer kritischen Auseinandersetzung mit der cartesianischen Metaphysik geprägt sind. Bei genauerer Betrachtung wird deutlich, da dieser wiederholte Rückgang auf Descartes – angefangen von den Jahren der ersten Freiburger Lehrtätigkeit über die Marburger Vorlesung Einführung in die phänomenologische Forschung bis hin zu Sein und Zeit – von einer eminent augustinischen Fragestellung motiviert ist, nämlich der Frage, zu der ich mir selbst geworden bin. Vor diesem Hintergrund erschliet sich erst die Art und Weise, in der Heidegger der Frage nach der Seinsart des « sum » und des « ego » nachgeht, um von diesem Ansatz her die cartesianische Begründung einer Metaphysik der Subjektivität einer eingehenden Kritik zu unterziehen. (shrink)

Balancing the pros and cons of two options is undoubtedly a very appealing decision procedure, but one that has received scarce scientific attention so far, either formally or empirically. We describe a formal framework for pros and cons decisions, where the arguments under consideration can be of varying importance, but whose importance cannot be precisely quantified. We then define eight heuristics for balancing these pros and cons, and compare the predictions of these to the choices made by 62 human participants (...) on a selection of 33 situations. The Levelwise Tallying heuristic clearly emerges as a winner in this competition. Further refinements of this heuristic are considered in the discussion, as well as its relation to Take the Best and Cumulative Prospect Theory. (shrink)

People can reason about the preferences of other agents, and predict their behavior based on these preferences. Surprisingly, the psychology of reasoning has long neglected this fact, and focused instead on disinterested inferences, of which preferences are neither an input nor an output. This exclusive focus is untenable, though, as there is mounting evidence that reasoners take into account the preferences of others, at the expense of logic when logic and preferences point to different conclusions. This article summarizes the most (...) recent account of how reasoners predict the behavior and attitude of other agents based on conditional rules describing actions and their consequences, and reports new experimental data about which assumptions reasoners retract when their predictions based on preferences turn out to be false. (shrink)