Este texto investiga o artigo “L´Hypothèse du Retour Éternel devant la science moderne” do filósofo suíço Georges Batault, publicado em 1904 na Revue philosophique de la France et de l´Étranger. Pretendemos mostrar que uma abordagem científica da noção nietzschiana de eterno retorno sem considerar seu contexto filosófico transforma-a em uma concepção metafísica. Não podemos entender o eterno retorno desvinculado da proposta de transvaloração de todos os valores. O eterno retorno nietzschiano não é uma teoria científica, mas uma experiência do pensamento, (...) cuja meta é superar a interpretação dominante, ou seja, a interpretação metafísico-cristã. (shrink)

Transhumanism is a challenging movement that invites us to rethink what defines humanity, including what we value and regret the most about our existence. Vulnerability is a key concept that require thorough philosophical scrutiny concerning transhumanist proposals. Vulnerability can refer to a universal condition of human life or, rather, to the specific exposure to certain harms due to particular situations. Even if we are all vulnerable in the first sense, there are also different sources and levels of vulnerability depending on (...) concrete social circumstances. Recently, Michael Hauskeller argued about a fundamental incompatibility between transhumanism and vulnerability. He understands vulnerability as an existential category, linked to woundability and mortality. This idea is akin to ontological vulnerability, but it does not notice some important features of social vulnerability. On the other side, transhumanism is a complex and non-homogeneous movement. Here we distinguish between a strong and a weak version of transhumanism. We will propose that the salience of vulnerability is only diminished in the radical one, while a moderate version can reconcile vulnerability with human enhancement. Thus, vulnerability, a concept that has recently gained much importance as an anthropological category in contemporary ethics, is not necessarily at odds with any transhumanist project. (shrink)

Commentaires sur le débat nativisme-empirisme au XIXe siècle et la théorie des signes locaux de Lotze.

The protagonist of Thomas Mann’s short story "The Clown" cannot became an artist because he hasn’t got enough talent. He is also unable to live among people as an ordinary citizen because his social competencies haven’t been completely developed. That is why he can be regarded as a literary figure who tries to leave the real world and to penetrate the literary world. The devil who appears in Charles Gounod’s opera "Faust" based on Johann Wolfgang Goethe’s drama "Faust" and who (...) is watching the protagonist from the stage during the opera performance seems to be the only person who can help him to find his existential space. (shrink)