We study the sets of the infinite sentences constructible with a dictionary over a finite alphabet, from the viewpoint of descriptive set theory. Among others, this gives some true co-analytic sets. The case where the dictionary is finite is studied and gives a natural example of a set at level ω of the Wadge hierarchy.

We show that there is an antichain basis for neither the class of non-potentially closed Borel subsets of the plane under Borel rectangular reducibility nor the class of analytic graphs of uncountable Borel chromatic number under Borel reducibility.

The contribution of inherited non‐genetic factors to complex diseases is of great current interest. The ways in which mothers and fathers can affect their offspring's health clearly differ as a result of the intimate interactions between mother and offspring during pre‐ and postnatal life. There is, however, potential for some overlap in mechanisms, particularly epigenetic mechanisms. A small number of epidemiological studies and animal models have investigated the non‐genetic contribution of the parents to offspring health. Discovering new mechanisms of disease (...) inheritance is technically difficult, especially in genetically, socially and environmentally heterogeneous human populations. Therefore, rigorous experimental design, appropriate sample numbers and the use of high‐throughput technologies are necessary to provide convincing evidence. Based on recent examples from the literature, here we propose several ways to improve human studies that aim to identify the underlying mechanisms of transgenerational inheritance of metabolic disease. (shrink)

This book analyses the impact computerization has had on contemporary science and explains the origins, technical nature and epistemological consequences of the current decisive interplay between technology and science: an intertwining of formalism, computation, data acquisition, data and visualization and how these factors have led to the spread of simulation models since the 1950s. -/- Using historical, comparative and interpretative case studies from a range of disciplines, with a particular emphasis on the case of plant studies, the author shows how (...) and why computers, data treatment devices and programming languages have occasioned a gradual but irresistible and massive shift from mathematical models to computer simulations. -/- . (shrink)

Quantum mechanics is a very successful theory that has impacted on many areas of physics, from pure theory to applications. However, it is difficult to interpret, and philosophical contradictions and counterintuitive results are apparent at a fundamental level. In this book, Laloë presents our current understanding of the theory. The book explores the basic questions and difficulties that arise with the theory of quantum mechanics. It examines the various interpretations that have been proposed, describing and comparing them and discussing their (...) success and difficulties. The book is ideal for researchers in physics and mathematics who want to know more about the problems faced in quantum mechanics but who do not have specialist knowledge in the subject. It will also interest philosophers of science specializing in quantum physics. (shrink)

The military conquest of the Magarant, the Magar land, took place during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when the Thakuri petty kings and their dependents (priests, artisans, soldiers) fled India to settle there. The Magar resistance appears to have been weak, due to their lack of unity and the alliances the conquerors formed with some of them. The Magar people quickly opted for assimilation into the royal caste of the Thakuri, adopting most of their cultural traits, notably their language and (...) religion. Nevertheless they retained or developed particularisms in their relationship to the earth, as we can see in the rites they devote to Bhume. We should emphasize first and foremost that the name Bhume is itself Nepalese, derived from the sanskrit bhû, bhûmî. This goddess is neglected by the Hindi of high caste, whereas she is central to the Magar. This paradox has two possible sources: the Magar might have identified one of their principal goddesses with a minor Hindu deity by virtue of a common relation to the earth, conferring an unusual importance on the latter. Or they might have constructed a divine being on the basis of Hindu concepts, as the result of a new-found need to defend their rights to the earth in the face of the Hindu invaders. The second hypothesis seems more likely, since there is no trace of a Magar earth goddess before Bhume. Even in the regions where the Magar retained the use of their original language (such as in Palpa, Syangja, or in the Kham country) and where, consequently, some of the gods have Magar names, the earth goddess is called by Nepalese terms, such as Bhume, Bhuyar, or Bhayar. Furthermore, even if the Magar themselves once had an earth goddess of their own, the renaming of this deity would indicate a change of identity, given the importance of a divinity's name. (shrink)

This book is based on Professor Franck's highly acclaimed Hague Academy General Course. In it he offers a compelling view of the future of international legal reasoning and legal theory. The author offers a critical analysis of the prescriptive norms and institutions of modern international law and argues that international law has the capacity to advance, in practice, the abstract social values shared by the community of states and persons. This book is both thought-provoking and original and as such (...) is essential reading for students of international law and legal theory. (shrink)

It is known that in differentially closed fields of characteristic zero, the ranks of stability $RU$, $RM$ and the topological rank $RH$ need not to be equal. Pillay and Pong have just shown however that the ranks $RU$ and $RM$ coincide in a group definable in this theory. At the opposite, we will show in this paper that the ranks $RM$ and $RH$ of a definable group can also be different, and even lead to non-equivalent notions of generic type.

The many well-publicized food scandals in recent years have resulted in a general state of vulnerable trust. As a result, building consumer trust has become an important goal in agri-food policy. In their efforts to protect trust in the agricultural and food sector, governments and industries have tended to consider the problem of trust as merely a matter of informing consumers on risks. In this article, we argue that the food sector better addresses the problem of trust from the perspective (...) of the trustworthiness of the food sector itself. This broad idea for changing the focus of trust is the assumption that if you want to be trusted, you should be trustworthy. To provide a clear understanding of what being trustworthy means within the food sector, we elaborate on both the concept of trust and of responsibility. In this way we show that policy focused on enhancing transparency and providing information to consumers is crucial, but not sufficient for dealing with the problem of consumer trust in the current agri-food context. (shrink)

The impact of socially responsible corporate behavior on economic performance is a major preoccupation of managers today. This article explores the links between narrowly defined constructs: stakeholder orientation, environmental proactivity and profitability, from the perspectives of stakeholder theory and resource-based theory. We collected data on the food and beverage, and household and personal products industries. Using structural equation modeling, this paper makes two contributions. We found a negative link between companies simply having a higher stakeholder orientation and profitability. Importantly, however, (...) environmental proactivity not only had a positive impact on profitability, but also appeared to mediate the relationship between stakeholder orientation and profitability. In other words, if a company is more environmentally proactive, it will be more attentive to a broad array of stakeholders, and this will in turn contribute positively to profitability. (shrink)

Intention was seen traditionally as a philosophical concept, before being debated more recently from psychological and social perspectives. Today the cognitive sciences approach intention empirically, at the level of its underlying mechanisms. This naturalization of intention makes it more concrete and graspable by empirical sciences. This volume offers an interdisciplinary integration of current research on intentional processes naturalized through action, drawing on the theoretical and empirical approaches of cognitive neuroscience, psychology, philosophy, and sociology. Each chapter integrates several disciplinary perspectives. Taken (...) together, the chapters show that the reunification of the different dimensions of intentional processes may constitute an adequate basis for a general model of intentional processes and their links to action. This can be applied at various levels, from neuronal activity to self-constitution, from the expression of intentional actions at the individual level to their expression in social contexts, and to the recognition of intention in actions executed by others.ContributorsColin Allen, Mireille Bonnard, Vittorio Gallese, Jozina B. de Graaf, Franck Grammont, Patrick Haggard, Marco Iacoboni, Dorothée Legrand, Pierre Livet, Albert Ogien, Jean Pailhous, Jean-Luc Petit, Jean-Michel Roy, Jessica A. Sommerville, Manos Tsakiris, Amanda L. Woodward. (shrink)

Panpsychism is the doctrine that mind is a fundamental feature of the world existing throughout the universe. One problem with panpsychism is that it is a purely theoretical concept so far. For progress towards an operationalization of the idea, this paper suggests to make use of an ontological difference involved in the mind-matter distinction. The mode in which mental phenomena exist is called presence. The mode in which matter and radiation exist is called reality Physical theory disregards presence in both (...) the form of mental presence and the form of the temporal present In contrast to mental presence the temporal present is objective in the perspective of the third person. This relative kind of objectivity waits to be utilized for a hypothesis of how the mental and the physical are interrelated In order to do so this paper translates the mind-matter distinction into the distinction between mental and physical time and addresses the problem that panpsychism tries to attack head-on in these temporal terms. There are in particular , two issues thus getting involved: discussions about a time observable and the quantum Zeno effect. (shrink)

We present a self-organizing approach to sentence processing that sheds new light on notional plurality effects in agreement attraction, using pseudopartitive subject noun phrases. We first show that notional plurality ratings predict verb agreement choices in pseudopartitives, in line with the “Marking” component of the Marking and Morphing theory of agreement processing. However, no account to date has derived notional plurality values from independently needed principles of language processing. We argue on the basis of new experimental evidence and a dynamical (...) systems model that the theoretical black box of notional plurality can be unpacked into objectively measurable semantic features. With these semantic features driving structure formation, our model reproduces the human verb production patterns as a byproduct of normal processing. Finally, we discuss how the self-organizing approach might be extended to other agreement attraction phenomena. (shrink)

The essays collected in this volume are all concerned with the connection between fiction and truth. This question is of utmost importance to metaphysics, philosophy of language, philosophical logic and epistemology, raising in each of these areas and at their intersections a large number of issues related to creation, existence, reference, identity, modality, belief, assertion, imagination, pretense, etc. All these topics and many more are addressed in this collection, which brings together original essays written from various points of view by (...) philosophers of diverse trends. These essays constitute major contributions to the current debates that the connection between truth and fiction continually enlivens, and give a sense of the directions in which research on this question is heading. Contributors: Fred Adams, Frederick Kroon, Robert Howell, Brendan Murday, Terence Parsons, Graham Priest, Erich Rast, Manuel Rebuschi, Marion Renauld, R.M. Sainsbury, Grant Tavinor, Alberto Voltolini. (shrink)

A la source de ce livre il y a la conviction que certaines des evolutions les plus negatives des societes contemporaines conferent une actualite nouvelle au concept d'alienation selon la comprehension qu'en ont proposee des penseurs aussi apparemment eloignes l'un de l'autre que Marx et Heidegger: l'alienation comprise comme privation de monde. Nos societes mondialisees sont paradoxalement celles ou s'impose l'experience d'une privation de monde sans precedent. Plusieurs dimensions de cette privation sont analysees ici, notamment l'experience temporelle d'un present eternel, (...) l'epuisement de l'historicite et l'acceleration frenetique des maintenant successifs. Quant au lieu ou se joue originairement la privation de monde, Franck Fischbach soutient la these qu'il s'agit du travail dans la forme salariale qui est la sienne sous le capital et dont le caractere mutilant n'a cesse d'etre amplifie par les plus recentes evolutions. C'est donc aussi d'une transformation du travail que depend la possibilite d'un advenir historique de l'etre de l'homme dans le monde. (shrink)

Face à la diversité et à la complexification des modes de formalisation, une épistémologie des méthodes scientifiques doit confronter directement ses analyses à une pluralité d’études de cas comparatives. C’est l’objectif de cet ouvrage. -/- Aussi, dans une première partie, propose-t-il d’abord une classification large et raisonnée des différentes fonctions de connaissance des théories, des modèles et des simulations (de fait, cette partie constitue un panorama d’épistémologie générale particulièrement poussé). C’est ensuite à la lumière de cette classification que les deux (...) parties centrales analysent et distinguent les assises conceptuelles et épistémologiques des principaux types de formalisation en géographie avant et après l’ordinateur (théories des localisations, modèles gravitaires, loi rang-taille). En employant toujours la même méthode analytique et comparative, la dernière partie se concentre sur l’explication épistémologique des trois révolutions computationnelles récentes : l’analyse des données, la présentation des données et enfin l’analyse par simulation computationnelle. -/- Au travers de cette enquête approfondie, la géographie apparaît non seulement comme une discipline carrefour, ayant pour cela donné des exemples de presque tous les types de modèles scientifiques, mais aussi comme une science innovante en termes épistémologiques. Car ce qui a d’abord été pour elle un frein à la formalisation -– sa sensibilité au caractère multifactoriel comme à la dimension irréductiblement spatiale des phénomènes sociaux – et qui l’obligea longtemps à inféoder ses théories et modèles à des disciplines plus aisément formalisables comme la géomorphologie, l’économie, la sociologie, la démographie, ou bien encore la thermodynamique et la théorie des systèmes, devient aujourd’hui un atout dès lors que, parmi les sciences humaines et sociales, elle peut développer une épistémologie non seulement pluraliste mais aussi combinatoire et intégrative. -/- Préface de Denise Pumain (Université Paris 1). (shrink)

Cet article ne se veut pas un commentaire suivi de la réflexion de Wittgenstein sur les règles. Ce ne sera pas non plus un commentaire de l’interprétation que Kripke fait du « suivi de la règle » chez Wittgenstein. Il ne sera pas davantage une application des thèses de Wittgenstein ni une tentative d’application directe d’une interprétation de ces thèses à l’épistémologie de la simulation du vivant ; ce qui serait, en soi, d’ailleurs contestable. Ce travail vise seulement à approfondir (...) la réflexion sur le statut cognitif de la simulation informatique du vivant. À ce titre, qui est donc essentiellement épistémologique et ciblé, il se veut une suggestion d’interprétation conceptuelle de certaines formes de simulation informatique du vivant, suggestion elle-même adossée à une prolongation de certaines distinctions déjà effectuées par Wittgenstein et ses commentateurs au sujet des règles et de leur suivi. L’objectif est de chercher à voir si, par ce moyen, la simulation informatique du vivant, par contraste avec les pratiques plus traditionnelles de modélisation, ne pourrait pas être plus précisément expliquée et légitimée, dans ses apports épistémologiques, comme dans ses limites aussi. (shrink)

Dans un contexte de crise du systeme capitaliste - une crise qui n'est sans doute qu'une etape de plus dans une fuite en avant qui dure depuis 30 ans, par laquelle ledit systeme tente desesperement de dissimuler la contradiction fondamentale qui l'habite (chercher a maintenir a tout prix la forme de la valeur alors meme que tout la denonce comme une forme fondamentalement depassee, perimee et anachronique de la richesse sociale) - ce livre part de notre impuissance pratique et de (...) l'impossibilite ou nous sommes actuellement de penser un autre monde. Et il rapporte cette impossibilite au fait de la privation de monde (et de la privatisation du monde) comme au fait majeur resultant du dispositif capitaliste. Ce dispositif a fait de nous ce que les philosophes modernes ont pense que nous etions: des sujets separes de l'objectivite, des sujets sans monde, retires du monde, spectateurs desinvoltes d'un monde qui n'est plus le leur. La perte du monde et la separation d'avec l'objectivite sont deux manieres d'exprimer un meme phenomene: celui de l'alienation. Ce dispositif a produit l'illusion du sujet souverain et la realite d'une masse d'individus depossedes de leur puissance. Au coeur de ce diagnostic, on trouvera une relecture de Marx, une tentative de mise en dialogue de Heidegger avec Marx et une confrontation critique avec des representants contemporains (Althusser, Deleuze, Foucault) ou actuels (J. Butler, S. Zizek, A. Honneth) de la critique sociale. La perspective est celle d'une objectivation des sujets qui en fasse des individus sociaux capables d'un usage commun de leur monde. (shrink)

Le développement considérable des simulations informatiques dans les sciences contemporaines impose une remise à plat des épistémologies des modèles. Franck Varenne propose de revenir sur les limites des notions de métaphore et d'analogie pour penser les modèles, en particulier quand il s'agit des modèles composés, des pluri-modèles et des modèles de simulation (à objets ou à agents), tels qu'ils se développent depuis une dizaine d'années. Il suggère que le paradigme linguistique, à l'oeuvre aussi bien dans la pensée analytique anglo-saxonne (...) que dans la pensée dialectique et pragmatique continentale, trouve ses limites manifestes devant les nouveaux usages épistémiques de telles simulations. Il propose que l'histoire et la philosophie des sciences contemporaines en prennent désormais toute la mesure. Sa conférence est suivie de la retranscription d'un débat fourni, d'abord oral, puis écrit, tel qu'il s'est prolongé, dans les mois qui ont suivi, avec plusieurs personnalités qui réfléchissent sur les modèles, sur les formalisations et sur la science contemporaine. On y verra quelques objections mais aussi beaucoup de points d'accord. Ce débat est l'occasion pour l'auteur d'expliquer davantage son approche et d'ouvrir encore la réflexion, aussi bien avec les scientifiques, les historiens qu'avec les philosophes. (shrink)

Since the 1990’s, social sciences are living their computational turn. This paper aims to clarify the epistemological meaning of this turn. To do this, we have to discriminate between different epistemic functions of computation among the diverse uses of computers for modeling and simulating in the social sciences. Because of the introduction of a new – and often more user-friendly – way of formalizing and computing, the question of realism of formalisms and of proof value of computational treatments reemerges. Facing (...) the spreading of computational simulations in all disciplines, some enthusiastic observers are claiming that we are entering a new era of unity for social sciences. Finally, the article shows that the conceptual and epistemological distinctions presented in the first sections lead to a more mitigated position: the transdisciplinary computational turn is a great one, but it is of a methodological nature. (shrink)

Thanks to developments in genomics,dietary recommendations adapted to genetic riskprofiles of individual persons are no longerscience fiction. But what are the consequencesof these diets? An examination of possibleimpacts of genetically tailor-made diets raisesmorally relevant concerns that are analogous to(medical-ethical) considerations aboutscreening and testing. These concerns oftengive rise to applying norms for informedconsent and for the weighing of burdens andbenefits. These diets also have a broaderimpact, especially because food patterns arefull of personal, social and cultural meanings.Diets will change one's food patterns (...) and one'sattitude towards food, and this may implychanges in one's identity. We argue that suchan impact does not necessarily raise moralproblems. Moral concerns are, however, relevantif collective values and shared meanings infood practices are at issue. Therefore, thedevelopment of genetically tailor-made dietsdoes not merely require emphasis on weighingpersonal benefits and burdens and on informedconsent. It also asks for attention to andmoral reflection on the collective valuesinvolved in food practices. (shrink)

Où trouver la force de continuer à vivre quand des épreuves terribles privent de l'énergie ou du désir nécessaires pour perpétuer une existence devenue en apparence absurde? Les récits de résilience sont nombreux. Mais il aura fallu attendre Nietzsche pour que la philosophie s'empare avec acuité de cette question. ± [...] je fis de ma volonté de santé, de vivre, ma philosophie? : accablé d'une maladie terriblement douloureuse, l'auteur du Gai Savoir fait d'une expérience vécue un terrain d'expérimentation pour la (...) pensée. La force de vivre est exclusive chez lui de toute recherche d'un quelconque salut dans une foi ou dans une cause. Non pas fuir la maladie, mais se l'approprier en l'explorant par la pensée. En découlent une leçon et une question. Une leçon : la souffrance ne prive pas la vie de son sens, ni ne préjuge de sa valeur. Une question, celle du philosophe qui se fait ± médecin de la civilisation? : le nihilisme peut-il être surmonté? (shrink)

The credibility of digital computer simulations has always been a problem. Today, through the debate on verification and validation, it has become a key issue. I will review the existing theses on that question. I will show that, due to the role of epistemological beliefs in science, no general agreement can be found on this matter. Hence, the complexity of the construction of sciences must be acknowledged. I illustrate these claims with a recent historical example. Finally I temperate this diversity (...) by insisting on recent trends in environmental sciences and in industrial sciences. (shrink)

It is usually agreed that the Revelation Thesis about experience – the idea that the knowledge we gain by having an experience somehow “reveals” the essence, or nature, of this experience – only requires that we know the essence of the experience, not that we know, of this essence, that it is the essence of the experience. I contest this agreement. In the light of what I call the “Essentiality of Essence Principle”– the principle that whatever is in the essence (...) of something is also essentially so – I argue that the Revelation Thesis does require that we know, of the essence of an experience, that it is the essence of the experience, and draw some conclusions about the plausibility of that thesis. (shrink)

O isolamento social para a contenção da contaminação pela COVID-19 impactou o processo educacional, resultando em efeitos severos na precarização da aprendizagem escolar, principalmente em estudantes de famílias de baixa renda. E como alternativas para que a educação escolar não estagnasse, foi proposta a realização de aulas síncronas através da internet. Entretanto, essa modalidade de ensino não proporciona a universalização do ensino e muito menos o acesso por todos, uma vez que muitos estudantes não possuem acesso à internet. Nas aulas (...) síncronas, o ensino híbrido possibilita que o processo de ensino tenha continuidade no período pandêmico, por utilizar diversas estratégias pedagógicas e também mitigar a aglomeração dos estudantes nas escolas. O professor e os alunos são inseridos em um processo educacional diferente em relação ao ensino tradicional, favorecendo o protagonismo dos alunos, para que possam trabalhar em grupos e compartilhar conhecimentos, e utilizando tecnologias digitais como aliadas nesse processo. (shrink)

The aim of this paper is to describe and analyze the epistemological justification of a proposal initially made by the bio-mathematician Robert Rosen in 1958. In this theoretical proposal, Rosen suggests using the mathematical concept of « category » and the correlative concept of « natural equivalence » in mathematical modeling applied to living beings. Our questions are the following: according to Rosen, to what extent does the mathematical notion of category give access to more « natural » formalisms in (...) the modeling of living beings? Is the so-called « naturalness » of some kinds of equivalences (which the mathematical notion of category makes it possible to generalize and to put at the forefront) analogous to the naturalness of living systems? Rosen appears to answer « yes » and to ground this transfer of the concept of « natural equivalence » in biology on such an analogy. But this hypothesis, although fertile, remains debatable. Finally, this paper makes a brief account of the later evolution of Rosen’s arguments about this topic. In particular, it sheds light on the new role played by the notion of « category » in his more recent objections against computational models that since the 1990’s are pervading almost every domain of biology. (shrink)

From the resurrection of body to eternal recurrence -- The shadow of God -- The guiding thread -- The logic of the body -- The system of identical cases -- From eternal recurrence to the resurrection of body.

Summary. It is proposed to translate the mind-matter distinction into terms of mental and physical time. In the spirit of this idea, we hypothesize a relation between the intensity of mental presence and a crucial time scale (some seconds) often referred to as a measure for the duration of nowness. This duration is experimentally accessible and might, thus, offer a suitable way to characterize the intensity of mental presence. Interesting consequences with respect to the idea of a generalized notion of (...) mental presence, with human consciousness as a special case, are outlined. Our approach includes some features consistent with other, related ideas which are indicated. (shrink)

Much of the built world is designed around food; for storing, producing, transporting, selling, serving and eating. We recognise the regeneration of a neighbourhood through its new cafes, restaurants and grocery shops. This title features new restaurants in London, New York, Sydney and Tokyo; the design of markets; provocative essays by architects, historians, and social scientists; and interviews with designers and entrepreneurs.

Spinoza is a pantheist: he believes that everything that is, is God. Traditional Judaeo-Christian theologians dislike the idea, and Spinoza has always been unpopular for it. Nevertheless, I want here to suggest that, simply by following out the logic of omniscience and omnipotence—two attributes of God on which both Spinoza and his opponents are agreed—it is possible to arrive at a conception of God which is at least very close to Spinoza's own. I do not claim that any of the (...) arguments I use are to be found in Spinoza, but I do think that this way of thinking helps to explain the motives behind his ‘hideous hypothesis’. (shrink)

Bien des lézardes ont depuis quelques décennies fracturé le monde tel que nous l'habitions, structuré par nos représentations, organisé par nos projets, coloré par nos attentes et nos craintes. La contingence et l'événementialité ont resurgi en bien des domaines, appelant une pensée de l'aléatoire, qui s'accommode de la pluralité de systèmes instaurant leur ordre local et précaire dans un univers en expansion... ou déjà explosé. Dans un monde en perpétuelle recomposition, les hommes se découvrent pris entre la turbulence des flux (...) d'où naissent et en lesquels disparaissent des formes provisoires, et la stabilité de systèmes générateurs d'appuis comme de contraintes. La Nature révèle alors, en son improbable complexité, sa fragilité, tandis que l'Histoire s'écartèle entre la montée en puissance d'une technique planétarisée, associée à une économie sans frontières, et le retour de revendications identitaires opposant aux rêves d'universalité la persistance d'oppositions élémentaires, voire archaïques. A nous de choisir notre route vers un avenir riche en possibles - y compris celui de notre autodestruction - et pauvre en repères. Encore faut-il d'abord prendre conscience de cet horizon nouveau, trop souvent abordé à partir de concepts et de schèmes hérités d'un monde forclos. (shrink)

European animal disease policy seems to find its justification in a “harm to other” principle. Limiting the freedom of animal keepers—e.g., by culling their animals—is justified by the aim to prevent harm, i.e., the spreading of the disease. The picture, however, is more complicated. Both during the control of outbreaks and in the prevention of notifiable, animal diseases the government is confronted with conflicting claims of stakeholders who anticipate running a risk to be harmed by each other, and who ask (...) for government intervention. In this paper, we first argue that in a policy that aims to prevent animal diseases, the focus shifts from limiting “harm” to weighing conflicting claims with respect to “risks of harm.” Therefore, we claim that the harm principle is no longer a sufficient justification for governmental intervention in animal disease prevention. A policy that has to deal with and distribute conflicting risks of harm needs additional value assumptions that guide this process of assessment and distribution. We show that currently, policies are based on assumptions that are mainly economic considerations. In order to show the limitations of these considerations, we use the interests and position of keepers of backyard animals as an example. Based on the problems they faced during and after the recent outbreaks, we defend the thesis that in order to develop a sustainable animal disease policy other than economic assumptions need to be taken into account. (shrink)

A recent evolution of computer simulations has led to the emergence of complex computer simulations. In particular, the need to formalize composite objects (those objects that are composed of other objects) has led to what the author suggests to call pluriformalizations, i.e. formalizations that are based on distinct sub-models which are expressed in a variety of heterogeneous symbolic languages. With the help of four case-studies, he shows that such pluriformalizations enable to formalize distinctly but simultaneously either different aspects or different (...) parts or different scales of the same object or system. From an epistemological standpoint, he suggests that this kind of computer-aided complex formalization of composite objects renew the traditional relations between computer simulations, theoretical models and operational models. (shrink)