From 1919 to 1929, the great Hungarian Marxist philosopher Georg Lukács was one of the leaders of the Hungarian Communist Party, immersed not simply in theorising but also in significant practical-political work. Along with labour leader Jenö Landler, he led a faction opposing an ultra-left sectarian orientation represented by Béla Kun. If seen in connection with this factional struggle, key works of Lukács in this period – History and Class Consciousness, Lenin: A Study in the Unity of His Thought, Tailism (...) and the Dialectic and ‘The Blum Theses’ – can be seen as forming a consistent, coherent, sophisticated variant of Leninism. Influential readings of these works interpret them as being ultra-leftist or proto-Stalinist. Such readings distort the reality. Lukács’s orientation and outlook of 1923–9 are, rather, more consistent with the orientation advanced by Lenin and Trotsky in the Third and Fourth Congresses of the Communist International. After his decisive political defeat, Lukács concluded that it was necessary to renounce his distinctive political orientation, and completely abandon the terrain of practical revolutionary politics, if he hoped to remain inside the Communist movement. This he did, adapting to Stalinism and shifting his efforts to literary criticism and philosophy. But the theorisations connected to his revolutionary politics of the 1920s continue to have relevance for revolutionary activists of the twenty-first century. (shrink)

The readings collected here—of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Rosa Luxemburg, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, Leon Trotsky, and Antonio Gramsci— reflect the experience of the labor, socialist, and communist movements that did so much to shape modern history. A dedication to working-class revolution gives coherence to the influential philosophical, economic, sociological, and historical works of these writers. Paul Le Blanc's introductory essay probes the structure and dynamics of Marxism as a political orientation, tracing connections among components that can be found (...) in the readings: the theory of capitalist development, the theory of the labor movement, the strategy of revolution, the conception of the transition to socialism. Others identified with the Marxist tradition—such as Plekhanov, Kautsky, Stalin, Mao—are also discussed, and attention is given to perspectives of such varied critics of Marxism as Sidney Hook, Bertram D. Wolfe, James Burnham, Daniel Bell, Robert Heilbroner, and C. Wright Mills. Historical reflections are blended with discussion of the durability of capitalism, the disappointment of hopes for workers' revolution, the "collapse of communism," issues of race and gender, the environment, and challenges of the twenty-first century. (shrink)

The growing field of Lenin Studies has been nurtured by the growth of crises and struggles in our own time and may contribute to present-day activists’ efforts at developing revolutionary strategy, organisation and struggle. Surveying this field, it is worth focusing on three recent studies by Antonio Negri, Tamás Krausz and Alan Shandro which give attention to the methodological core of what can be called ‘Leninism’. All three distinguish Lenin’s approach to Marxism from that of such prominent Marxists as Kautsky. (...) The result, highlighted by aspects of Lenin’s functioning in the early Communist International, provides a more consistent activist- and revolutionary edge that might have relevance for future struggles, particularly in relation to the question of organisation. (shrink)

An advocate of radical democracy and individual responsibility, Rosa Luxemburg remains the most eminent representative of the libertarian socialist tradition. A reevaluation and renewal within the Left has allowed the ideas of Luxemburg to assume greater vitality and relevance today than ever before. This volume provides an essential representative sampling of Luxemburg's writings that have generally not been among those commonly anthologized. That she had a powerful impact on every generation of the 20th century is documented in the accompanying essays, (...) which include scholarly reflections, comradely arguments, and even a loving reminiscence. Paul Le Blanc, who has been active in labor and social movements for many years, explains that the socialism that animated Luxemburg as a thinker and revolutionary activist involved a vision of society in which our economic resources would be socially owned, democratically controlled, and utilized for the benefit of all people. Luxemburg was convinced this goal could only be realized through the struggles of the working-class majority. The goals Luxemburg sought-popular sovereignty, rule by the people, democracy-were lost in the decades following her 1919 martyrdom. Among the selections from Luxemburg are "Martinique," "The Problem of the Nationality Question and Autonomy," "Rebuilding the International," "The Accumulation of Capital," "Letters from Prison," and "What Are the Leaders Doing?" Included are essays by Lelio Basso, Claire Cohen, Raya Dunayevskaya, Luise Kautsky, and Andrea Nye. (shrink)

Dans cet entretien, Henry Bernstein revient sur la fondation des études agraires critiques et les principaux concepts qu’il a développés pour une étude marxiste de la sociologie rurale. Il montre comment l’opposition entre léninisme et populisme se rejoue dans l’épistémologie de la structure de classe de la paysannerie.

The present study emphasizes Chapter Six of Huai-nan Tzu in expounding the theory of kan-ying STIMULUS-RESPONSE; RESONANCE, which postulates that all things in the universe are interrelated and influence each other according to pre-set patterns.

The main theme that pervades this Festschrift, written by fellow-scholars and students of Bodde for his seventy-fifth birthday, is that of the proper ordering of the universe as it obtains in the Chinese tradition.

Texte écrit sous la Ve dynastie chinoise, celle des Han (202 av. J.-C.-220 apr. J.-C.), qui présente sous un angle nouveau des connaissances déjà anciennes, montre que tout savoir se place sous le signe du tao et que l'interrogation sur le tao est préalable à tout autre. Les différents savoirs sont donc utilisés dans le cadre de cette démonstration, et non comme une fin en soi.

Eduardo Arroyo, Armelle Auris, François Boissonnet, Paul HENRY, Pierre-Jean LABARRIERE, MATIEU, Gilles AILLAUD, Gérad THALMANN, Nicole MATHIEU, Jacques VIMARD, Michel QUAREZ, Leonardo CREMONINI, L'atelier d'Eduardo Arryo: Le carré blanc du ring, Rue Descartes, No. 7, Logiques de l'éthique (Juin 1993), pp. 149-168.

Critique de la violence éthique et possibilité de l’hospitalitéDans les Métamorphoses d’Ovide, Zeus et Hermès sont descendus sur la terre pour tester l’hospitalité des humains : déguisés en vagabonds misérables, ils demandent, partout où ils vont, le gîte et le couvert, et se le voient à chaque fois refusés, à l’exception de Philémon...

Il peut être tentant de désigner, sous l’étiquette « peuple », une longue structure immémoriale de la vie sociale, laquelle persisterait inentamée sous les rumeurs bruyantes mais éphémères des mouvements sociaux, des transformations sociales, de tout le cortège des bruits et fureurs qui font corps avec la vie sociale, lui confèrent une opacité inégalée. Le peuple serait cette...

Pendant longtemps, les événements de Mai 68 ont pu se loger sous une certaine idée de l’imagination au pouvoir largement résumée par des phrases improbables comme « soyez réaliste, demandez l’impossible ». De telles phrases non seulement étaient révélatrices d’un désir radical de changer la vie, politique, psychique, affective, sociale, etc., mais elles soulignaient également...

Je voudrais circonscrire plusieurs lignes de réflexion dont je vais m’efforcer de tisser les fils. 1/ Tout d’abord, je souhaite faire apparaître que la question de l’homme chez Foucault ne se laisse pas réduire au « pli anthropologique » qui le précipite dans une nouvelle modernité épistémique dont Foucault ne cesse de se demander comment en sortir. La naissance de la figure de l’homme que Foucault...

La réflexion de Canguilhem est précieuse car elle nous rend attentif au fait qu’il n’existe pas de science de la santé mais seulement un savoir des patho­logies. La santé relève d’abord d’une évaluation existentielle qui vient de l’épreuve de la maladie. Si tel est le cas, elle ne saurait s’identifier avec un sens univoque de la normalité mais doit toujours être rapportée à la perception d’un individu, y compris quand elle est l’objet d’une rationalité économique ou politique exogène. Deux sens (...) de la santé entrent dès lors en conflit qui traversent les différentes analyses de l’Essai sur quelques problèmes concernant le normal et le pathologique, la santé comme abus et la santé comme régulation. Il semble bien que l’enjeu d’une philosophie de la vie soit de parvenir à les articuler. (shrink)

In view of the aging and dejuvenation of the working population and the expected shortages in employees’ skills in the future, it is of utmost importance to focus on older workers’ employability in order to prolong their working life until, or even beyond, their official retirement age. The primary aim of the current study was to examine the relationship between elderly workers’ employability (self-)perceptions and their intention to continue working until their official retirement age. In addition, we studied the role (...) of potential antecedents of their perceived employability at three different levels: training and education in current expertise area as well as in an adjacent expertise area (individual level factor), learning value of the job (job level factor), and organizational career management practices (organizational level factor). Data were collected by means of e-questionnaires that were distributed among two groups of Dutch older (45-plus) white collar workers. The samples consisted of 223 employees of an insurance company, and 325 university workers, respectively. Our research model was tested separately in each sample using Structural Equation Modelling; in our analyses, we controlled for the effects of respondents’ (self-)perceived health and (self-)perceived financial situation. Similar results were found for both samples. First, the relationship of perceived employability with the intention to continue working until one’s retirement age was positive, whereas the relationship between a perceived good financial situation with the intention to continue working until one’s retirement age was negative. Secondly, as regards the potential antecedents, results showed that the learning value of the job was positively related to perceived employability. In addition, an employee’s perception of good health is a relevant correlate of perceived employability. So, whereas perceived employability contributes to the intention to continue working until one’s retirement age, a perceived good financial situation is a push factor to retire early. In order to promote the labour participation of older workers, this study indicates that organizations should focus on the learning possibilities that are inherent to one’s job rather than on providing additional training or career management. Further research is needed to test the generalizability of our results to other samples. (shrink)

En s'attachant à dégager l'unité des premiers textes de Merleau-Ponty, l'article s'efforce de faire apparaître une source corporelle de la culture. Ceci n'implique pas cependant que l'anthropologie des formes culturelles qui en résulte soit biologique. Il s'agit plutôt de mieux évaluer la portée réelle d'une expressivité du corps et d'envisager alors à nouveaux frais la question de l'histoire.

Artificial intelligence-driven technology increasingly shapes work practices and, accordingly, employees’ opportunities for meaningful work (MW). In our paper, we identify five dimensions of MW: pursuing a purpose, social relationships, exercising skills and self-development, autonomy, self-esteem and recognition. Because MW is an important good, lacking opportunities for MW is a serious disadvantage. Therefore, we need to know to what extent employers have a duty to provide this good to their employees. We hold that employers have a duty of beneficence to design (...) for opportunities for MW when implementing AI-technology in the workplace. We argue that this duty of beneficence is supported by the three major ethical theories, namely, Kantian ethics, consequentialism, and virtue ethics. We defend this duty against two objections, including the view that it is incompatible with the shareholder theory of the firm. We then employ the five dimensions of MW as our analytical lens to investigate how AI-based technological innovation in logistic warehouses has an impact, both positively and negatively, on MW, and illustrate that design for MW is feasible. We further support this practical feasibility with the help of insights from organizational psychology. We end by discussing how AI-based technology has an impact both on meaningful work (often seen as an aspirational goal) and decent work (generally seen as a matter of justice). Accordingly, ethical reflection on meaningful and decent work should become more integrated to do justice to how AI-technology inevitably shapes both simultaneously. (shrink)

Le sens du mot « culture » a changé. En 1938, Marrou formule ce qui lui semble être une évidence. « Culture... se limite au domaine intellectuel, spirituel ; elle laisse en dehors d’elle la vie économique, matérielle, la technique. » Cette évidence restera longtemps non interrogée. L’article « Culturalisme et culture » du Dictionnaire..

L'ouvrage défend la thèse d'une compréhension de la philosophie comme contre-culture, direction dans laquelle nous encouragent à aller les philosophies de langue française des années 1960. Il s'agit, d'une part, d'affirmer que la philosophie est une pratique de discours dépendante des contextes culturels dans lesquels elle est formulée, et, d'autre part, de localiser des scènes de la contre-culture philosophique et de les décrire. Encore cette description ne saurait-elle être menée pour elle-même. En révélant un style de philosophie, nous voilà projetés (...) dans des allures de vie considérées comme interdites, tant que nous en restons aux vieux schémas des universaux faisant la loi à toutes les vies, imposant leur légitimité aux dépens des expérimentations. Ce geste philosophique des années 1960 est encore aujourd'hui notre geste, qu'il importe plus que jamais de reprendre, d'expérimenter à notre tour. (shrink)

Ce livre peut être lu comme une réflexion sur le statut de l'anthropologie. Souvent l'analyse des actes humains se tourne vers l'investigation de formes symboliques et culturelles, largement dépouillées de tout ancrage naturel. Mais on peut adopter une autre démarche, dans la tradition inaugurée par Auguste Comte. On attribue alors au concept de vie un rôle majeur, et c'est en fonction des phénomènes organiques que les phénomènes humains sont appréhendés. Il s'ensuit une véritable réforme de l'anthropologie. Celle-ci a pour condition (...) une philosophie biologique et médicale qui fait apparaître la vie comme puissance d'individualisation et production de normes. Elle trouve son accomplissement dans une théorie de l'innovation sociale. Telle se présente la philosophie de la vie de Georges Canguilhem qui va du vital au social. Le centre de gravité de l'anthropologie se déplace d'une analyse linguistique ou artificialiste des faits sociaux vers une compréhension des types d'activité produits dans la vie. Une invitation à repenser les bases philosophiques de toutes les sciences humaines. (shrink)

Dans cet article, il s’agit de souligner que la volonté de Foucault de rompre avec la phénoménologie n’écarte pas pour autant le problème majeur de la phénoménologie concernant l’articulation de la description et du concept, du visible et de l’énoncé. Il n’est pas certain que la philososophie, en général, puisse s’affranchir de cette scène phénoménologique et l’on peut se demander si Foucault, en ce sens, n’est pas resté phénoménologue.

To Be Subjected, Althusser, Foucault, Butler. We need, if we want to understand the relations between Foucault and Marx to establish the proper link between Foucault and Althusser. This comparison can be made because of the tie of kinship which exists when we have a look on the norms of the discipline on one way and the functions of the ideology on the other way. The article can be regarded as a contribution to the figure of subjection which is an (...) effect of the norms. Judith Butler’s book, « The Psychic Life of Power » can be very useful to such a reading because it gives a new interpretation of the two French philosophers. In particular, the way the subjects are giving their assent to the subjection is really examined by Judith Butler and this argument is not directly contained in Foucault’ and Althusser’s programmes. (shrink)

Materialism can be defined both historically and philosophically as a type of thinking that began in 1745 with La Mettrie, Helvétius, Diderot, and d’Holbach. This type of materialism is characterized by three shared principles. The first principle relates to the establishment of an explicitly anti-religious and atheistic philosophical system. Such a topic is not a theme of Canguilhem’s philosophy. The second principle pertains to the material unity of the world; it is often termed ‘materialistic monism’. Canguilhem, however, does not grant (...) matter the status of a first principle; moreover, he does not treat the distinction between inanimate and animate matter as secondary. A natural history of life is not to be confused with a natural history of matter. The third principle addresses the autonomy of the mode of construction of the real with regard to thinking. This autonomy is such that intellectual faculties are themselves dependent on the properties of sensible matter. This latter point is also not retained by Canguilhem. Not only does the border between animate, living nature and material nature exclude the ability to understand animate, living nature solely in terms of matter, but furthermore, life itself cannot be explained by the organization of matter alone. (shrink)

Analyse de la philosophie de Michel Foucault.

The English translation of the winner of the Victor Barbeau Prizeand finalist of the Governor General's Literary Award.

Ce volume rassemble les textes majeurs du confucianisme : " Les entretiens " de Confucius, " La grande étude " de Daxue et " Le classique de la Piété filiale " de Xiaojing.

Review of Le Wen zi à la lumière de l'histoire et de l'archéologie (The Wenzi in the Light of History and Archaeology), by Charles Le Blanc.

Album photographique consacré au philosophe et écrivain français. Au total, 181 documents en noir et blanc assortis de commentaires assez brefs, répartis dans un ordre thématique (le professeur, l'écrivain, etc.) et en partie chronologique.