Charles-Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu, mentions Niccolò Machiavelli by name in his extant works just a handful of times. That, however, he read him carefully and thoroughly time and again there can be no doubt, and it is also clear that he couches his argument both in his Considerations on the Causes of the Greatness of the Romans and their Decline and in his Spirit of Laws as an appropriation and critique of the work (...) of the predecessor whom he termed ‘this great man’. In this paper I explore the manner in which the Frenchman redeployed the arguments advanced by the Florentine for the purpose of refuting the latter's conclusions. ☆ In citing Machiavelli, I employ N. Machiavelli, Tutte le opere, ed. M. Martelli (Florence, 1971), and I refer to the divisions within each work provided by the author. To make my references to Machiavelli's Discorsi sopra la prima deca di Tito Livio more precise, I sometimes also employ the paragraph enumeration added by the editors of N. Machiavelli, Discourses on Livy, tr. H. C. Mansfield and N. Tarcov (Chicago, 1996). In citing Montesquieu, wherever possible, I have employed the splendid new critical edition being produced by the Société Montesquieu: Charles-Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu, Œuvres complètes de Montesquieu, ed. J. Ehrard, C. Volpilhac-Auger, et al., 22 vols. (Oxford, 1998-), which I cite as VF. I cite Montesquieu, Considérations sur les causes de la grandeur des Romains et de leur décadence (1734), ed. F. Weil and C. Courtney, as CR by chapter and, where appropriate, line from VF, ii, 89–285. I cite Montesquieu, De l’Esprit des lois (1757), as EL by part, book, chapter, and, where appropriate, page from Montesquieu, Œuvres complètes de Montesquieu, ed. R. Caillois, 2 vols. (Paris, 1949–51), ii, 225–995, and Charles-Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu, Mes pensées as MP by number from Montesquieu, Œuvres complètes de Montesquieu, ed. A. Masson, 3 vols. (Paris, 1950–5), ii, 1–677. (shrink)

The present edition provides a detailed and accessible discussion ofhis theories and adds an account of the immediate responses to the book on publication.

First Published in 1999. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Behind the superficial obscurity of what fragments we have of Heraclitus' thought, Professor Kahn claims that it is possible to detect a systematic view of human existence, a theory of language which sees ambiguity as a device for the expression of multiple meaning, and a vision of human life and death within the larger order of nature. The fragments are presented here in a readable order; translation and commentary aim to make accessible the power and originality of a systematic thinker (...) and a great master of artistic prose. The commentary locates Heraclitus within the tradition of early Greek thought, but stresses the importance of his ideas for topical theories of language, literature and philosophy. (shrink)

Toute oeuvre d’art est une construction de matériaux sensibles stylisés selon les lois de contre-points spéciaux. Sa seule valeur caractéristique est l’harmonie de ses combinaisons, non leur vérité ou leur moralité. Tout système philosophique est de même une combinaison polyphonique d'idées. Sa valeur scientifique ou de vérité est invérifiable. Sa valeur morale ou sociale n’est que celle des moeurs qui l’inspirent. Seule sa valeur esthétique est fondamentale et se suffit. Elle ne réside pas dans les ornements littéraires de son exposition, (...) mais dans le contre-point de sa structure même. — Vérification par le rapprochement de certaines courbes qui paraissent être communes aux évolutions artistiques et philosophiques dans l’individu et dans la société. (shrink)

The Fine Arts Reduced to a Single Principle (1746) by Charles Batteux was arguably the most influential work on aesthetics published in the 18th century. James O. Young presents the first complete English translation of the work, with full annotations and a comprehensive introduction, which illuminate Batteux's continuing philosophical interest.

In The Assisted Reproduction of Race, Camisha Russell states: "My central aim here is to explore how notions of race and racial identity function within assisted reproductive technologies ". The way she does this may surprise some bioethicists. Moving beyond principles and traditional ethical theories, Russell instead draws on the work of critical race theory and the philosophy of technology. By showing the usefulness of these theories, she encourages bioethicists to expand our theoretical toolbox.After giving an overview of the main (...) responses critical race theorists give to what race is, Russell ultimately wants to focus more on what race does. For example, one of the points Russell makes over and over... (shrink)

La 4e de couv. indique : "Explorer la dimension calculatoire du langage chez Hobbes et analyser la théorie de la science et de la raison qu'elle implique en dégageant sa spécificité dans le paysage du XVIIe siècle constitue l'objet de ce livre qui s'articule en trois parties : le langage chez Hobbes, la science chez Hobbes, langage et science civile chez Thomas Hobbes. De fait, le système linguistique hobbesien implique l'explication du langage comme condition de possibilité de la raison et (...) l'usage de celle-ci comme faculté de calcul. Ainsi, la relation entre le calcul et la raison devient un objet d'investigation. En effet, la raison fonde le langage et la science. Par l'argumentation, elle garantit la véracité des mots pour signifier le réel et permet par voie de conséquence l'extension du calcul et l'inauguration d'une nouvelle épistémè. Cette épistémè engendre la science, notamment la science civile. Ainsi, la conception hobbesienne de la science civile se construit en se fondant sur la logique des mathématiques et de la physique. Ce livre sur Thomas Hobbes, tout en dévoilant le rôle opératoire des mathématiques et leur implication pour signifier le réel, révèle comment la théorie de la science s'articule à la politique et projette un éclairage nouveau sur la science civile.". (shrink)

Les auteurs analysent l'absence du sentiment d'injustice dans la musique populaire, que ce soit dans les chansons traditionnelles, les chansons d'amour, le rap ou encore les chansons politiquement engagées. Electre 2018.

Interest in the study of domesticated plants increased near the end of the 18th century, mainly because of their economic potential. In the 19th century, there was a new focus on the historical understanding of species, their origin, changes in their distribution, and their evolutionary history. Charles Darwin developed an extended interpretation of species domestication, considering variations, reproduction, inheritance, and modification as standard processes between wild and domesticated organisms. In this context, one relatively neglected aspect was the geographical distribution (...) of domesticated species. Alphonse de Candolle addressed and developed in detail the question of the geographical origin of cultivated plants. Since 1836 Alphonse de Candolle had been studying the topic and obtained evidence that contributed to understanding aspects such as the center of origin, dispersion, competition, selection, and time of domestication. Although Darwin himself admitted that _Géographie botanique raisonnée_ (de Candolle, Alphonse,de. Géographie botanique raisonnée; ou, exposition des faits principaux et des lois concernant la distribution géographique des plantes de l’epoque actuelle, 2ème tome. Paris: Masson.) was of great help to him in the development of his evolutionary theory, the importance of de Candolle’s contribution is seldom recognized. Our purpose is to detail the dialogue between Alphonse de Candolle and Darwin on the geography of domesticated plants, to understand some of the most critical discussions that contributed to the reinterpretation of domestication under the Darwinian proposal of modified descent. (shrink)

Subsequent chapters discuss Vives's ideas on the soul, especially his analysis of the emotions, his contribution to rhetoric and dialectic and a posthumous defense of the Christian religion in dialogue form."--BOOK JACKET.

God and morality -- Jewish ethics -- Christian ethics -- Islamic ethics -- Friendship -- Sexuality -- Marriage and family -- Lying -- Forgiveness -- Love and justice -- Duty, law, conscience -- Capital punishment -- War (I) : towards war -- War (II) : in war -- Religion and the environment -- Pursuits of happiness : labor, leisure, and life -- Good and evil.

The current controversy as to the proper role of the placebo control in the evaluation of new treatments for schizophrenia requires an analysis that is sensitive to both ethical and scientific issues. Clinical equipoise, widely regarded as the moral foundation of the randomized controlled trial (RCT), requires the use of best available treatment as the control in RCT. Scientific criticisms of the use of an active control are examined and none present an insuperable barrier to the use of an active (...) control. Indeed, scrutiny of the most recent argument for the use of placebo controls, 'assay sensitivity', suggests that the use of placebo may be the cause of the problem pointed to. Scientific, regulatory, ethical and legal advantages of the use of an active control are described. While the use of a placebo control may be acceptable in carefully defined circumstances, in most cases the use of an active control in schizophrenia research is ethically and scientifically preferable. (shrink)

t. 1. Puteshestvie naturalista vokrug sveta.--t. 2. Zoologicheskie raboty. Dozhdevye chervi. Geologicheskie raboty.--t. 3. Proiskhozhdenie vidov putem estestvennogo otbora.--t. 4. Izmenenii︠a︡ domashnikh zhivotnykh i kulʹturnykh rasteniĭ.-- t. 6. Opylenie orkhideĭ nasekomymi. Perekrestnoe opylenie i samoopylenie.--t. 7. Razlichnye formy t︠s︡vetov. Nasekomoi︠a︡dnye rastenii︠a︡.-- t. 9. Zapisnye knizhki. Dnevniki. Vospominanii︠a︡. Zhiznʹ Ėrazma Darvina.