Based on a reading of the opening of The Animal That Therefore I Am, this essay exposes the genealogy and structure of the articulation of two motifs of Jacques Derrida’s thought: the promise and animality. Following a confrontation between Heidegger’s and Nietzsche’s conceptions of the human, we will show that, for deconstruction, the possibility to promise, or the possibility of having an “avenir,” is characteristic of an “animal” structure of experience. The anthropological specificity is not pertinent in this context: if (...) animality names the structure of experience in general, and if humanity is reinscribed into it, then this reconfiguration is not a matter of classes, but of structure. Therefore, the promise of deconstruction is an implication of the structure of experience of finite living beings: experience is open, historic, insofar as it is animal. Finally, we will show why the affirmation of this articulation coincides with that of deconstruction’s “categorical imperative.”. (shrink)

The appearance, in 1967, of the name of Jacques Derrida on the scene of contemporary thought was indeed plural; given the number of books published under his signature in that year, but also, more intrinsically, because this appearance was declined under a contradictory aegis: since the beginning, the problem of writing had to struggle between ‘two interpretations of interpretation’, one affirmative, the other nostalgic, between a Nietzschean affirmation and a Rousseauist reverie. This internal debate carried on its labour, remarking itself (...) much later at the surface of the page, according to more or less conscious protocols. This contribution retraces the terms of this conflict starting from two problems, if not words, where this conflict finds a very economical condensation: ‘pity’ and ‘weak force’, the problems of compassion for the living and of the hyperbole of political interpellation, in the short-circuit that takes shape between the ‘economy of pity’ and the ‘question of the animal’. (shrink)

La contribution de Michel Troper à la théorie générale du droit et à la théorie constitutionnelle est aujourd'hui reconnue et célébrée un peu partout dans le monde. Un talent d'architecte se tient à l'origine de cette audience rarement égalée dans la sphère francophone : celui qu'il faut pour accommoder toutes les exigences, quel que soit l'ordre de valeur dans lequel on les trouve : originalité, rigueur, souci de la fonction, esthétisme, solidité, adaptation, intelligence, inquiétude, esprit critique, renoncement, réalisme... A ces (...) mérites, on ajoutera une curiosité insatiable, un goût prononcé pour l'échange et le débat, un refus distingué de l'académisme, un sens exigeant de l'amitié et une méfiance profônde pour les adjectifs... C'est cet édifice de qualités que les élèves, collègues et amis de Michel Troper sont heureux de célébrer en lui offrant ces Mélanges. (shrink)

In this incisive book, Michel de Certeau considers the uses to which social representation and modes of social behavior are put by individuals and groups, describing the tactics available to the common man for reclaiming his own autonomy from the all-pervasive forces of commerce, politics, and culture. In exploring the public meaning of ingeniously defended private meanings, de Certeau draws brilliantly on an immense theoretical literature to speak of an apposite use of imaginative literature.

This study explores the association between different types of morally challenging interactions during military deployment and response strategies, as well as the mediating role of moral emotions. Interviews with Dutch servicemen who participated in military operations were content coded. We found a relationship between local-cultural and team-related interactions and moral justification; these effects were mediated by other-condemning emotions. Similarly, other-condemning emotions mediated the relationship between local-cultural interactions and relativism. This study points at the importance of other-condemning emotions in shaping military (...) reactions to frequently occurring morally challenging interactions. (shrink)

Diderot escreve, na Enciclopédia, um longo verbete, “Tear de meias”, no qual compara o tear a um raciocínio cuja conclusão seria o têxtil. Ele retoma esta comparação na Refutação de Helvétius: ali, é o próprio Leibniz que se torna uma máquina de reflexão, similar ao “tear de meias”. A opção materialista do homem máquina retoma uma tradição que assimila o texto ao tecido. Encontramos a mesma imagem no Fausto de Goethe, que é citado por Freud em A interpretação dos sonhos, (...) e na novela de Henry James O motivo no tapete. A invenção é sempre cruzamento, tecelagem e mestiçagem, numa interação entre criação técnica e representação da atividade intelectual. O sistema de programação dos teares foi posteriormente adaptado às primeiras máquinas analíticas, ancestrais de nossos computadores atuais. A Enciclopédia teorizou esta interação, reabilitando os teares e concebendo o pensamento como um trabalho. (shrink)

Les vingt dernières années ont vu l’apparition d’une convergence forte entre une démarche appliquée se consacrant à la création de corpus de grande taille, à leur codage et à leur étiquetage, et diverses théories linguistiques dont les analyses reposent sur de tels corpus. Pour l’analyse de conversation (ou linguistique interactionnelle) une telle convergence ne semble pas possible, car son approche est qualitative et s’appuie sur de « petits » corpus. De plus, un examen approfondi du contexte social des interactions recueillies (...) est nécessaire, qui ne peut donc se réduire à la collecte de métadonnées. Une question surgit immédiatement : la notion de « petit » corpus a une validité sur le plan épistémologique? Le présent article montre qu’une réponse positive peut être apportée à cette question et qu’il est possible de fonder en raison une pratique qui, le plus souvent, se drape sous les oripeaux de l’évidence. (shrink)

According to Kuhn's speciation analogy, scientific specialisation is fundamentally analogous to biological speciation. In this paper, we extend Kuhn's original language-centred formulation of the speciation analogy, to account for episodes of scientific specialisation centred around methodological differences. Building upon recent views in evolutionary biology about the process of speciation by genetic divergence, we will show how these methodology-centred episodes of scientific specialisation can be understood as cases of specialisation driven by value divergence. We will apply our model of specialisation by (...) value divergence to an episode of methodology-centred scientific specialisation: the emergence of molecular biology. (shrink)

Researchers have emphasized the value of authenticity, but not much is known about what makes a person authentic in the eyes of others. Our research takes an interpersonal perspective to examine the determinants of followers’ perceptions of leader authenticity. Building on social identity theory, we propose that two fundamental self-identifications–a leader’s sense of uniqueness and sense of belongingness–interact to influence followers’ perceptions of a leader’s authenticity via perceptions of a leader’s self-concept consistency. In a field study conducted among leader–follower dyads (...) and in a controlled laboratory experiment, we find that when a leader feels a low sense of belongingness, there is a positive relationship between a leader’s sense of uniqueness and perceptions of leader authenticity. When a leader feels a low sense of uniqueness, there is a positive relationship between a leader’s sense of belongingness and perceptions of leader authenticity. This is because followers perceive this leader as having high self-concept consistency. (shrink)

Michelle Bella & Giovanni Maddalena – Many Peirce scholars wonder about what is going on with the publication of the Writings? André De Tienne – The answer is at once, almost nothing, but a lot! We are in a state of quasi-limbo, and so people do notice that we have not been publishing any volume for the last 10 years and the universal question is, what is happening to the Peirce Edition Project? It is a question that I keep asking (...) myself! But I am glad to share this more publicly, so that peo... (shrink)

Key legislations in many countries emphasize the importance of involving children in decisions regarding their own health at a level commensurate with their age and capacities. Research is engaged in developing tools to assess capacity in children in order to facilitate their responsible involvement. These instruments, however, are usually based on the cognitive criteria for capacity assessment as defined by Appelbaum and Grisso and thus ill adapted to address the life-situation of children. The aim of this paper is to revisit (...) and critically reflect upon the current definitions of decision-making capacity. For this purpose, we propose to see capacity through the lens of essential contestability as it warns us against any reification of what it means to have capacity. Currently, capacity is often perceived of as a mental or cognitive ability which somehow resides within the person, obscuring the fact that capacity is not just an objective property which can be assessed, but always operates within a dominant cultural framework that “creates” that same capacity and defines the threshold between capable and incapable in a specific situation. Defining capacity as an essentially contested concept means using it in a questioning mode and giving space to alternative interpretations that might inform and advance the debate surrounding decision-making. (shrink)

The emerging field of responsible leadership holds various possibilities for business and society. The wide range of conceptualizations, definitions, and theorizations of RL as a distinctive or unique leadership construct has not previously been investigated through a systematic review. To conceptualize the intrinsic meaning of responsible leadership as a distinct leadership construct, and to bring coherence to the expanding body of literature on responsible leadership, evidence from 162 peer‐reviewed journal articles on responsible leadership, ethical leadership, servant leadership, authentic leadership, transformational (...) leadership, and values‐based leadership have been analyzed through a systematic review. The aim was to synthesize a coherent and intrinsic meaning of responsible leadership in order to identify the place of responsible leadership in the leadership domain. The findings suggest that responsible leadership is not an independent leadership construct, but largely builds on and leverages other leadership theories and approaches. However, the findings indicate that the core meaning of responsible leadership is distinctive in its relational focus on, and accountability for, the active engagement of stakeholders; the balancing of stakeholder interests; the building of social capital; and the assurance of long‐term sustainability of society and the natural environment, beyond responsibilities to internal stakeholders. (shrink)

This study was conducted in 1985 in Asuncion, Paraguay, 6 years after the closure of the state supported family planning services. Data from national surveys in 1977 and 1987 permit a comparison of sources of contraceptive supplies before and after the elimination of government support for family planning. The purchase of pseudo-abortifacients from private pharmacies was used as an indication of induced abortion. After the loss of government clinics, it is suggested that some women turned to pharmacists to obtain pseudo-abortifacients (...) when faced with unwanted pregnancy. There is an indication of increased pseudo-abortifacient use, particularly among unmarried women and those from poorer neighbourhoods. (shrink)

Pain is modulated by cognitive factors, including attention and emotions. In this study we evaluated the distractive effect of aesthetic appreciation on subjectively rated pain and multi-channel evoked potentials induced by CO2 laser stimulation of the left hand in twelve healthy volunteers. Subjects were stimulated by laser in the absence of other external stimulation and while looking at different paintings they had previously rated as beautiful, neutral or ugly. The view of paintings previously appreciated as beautiful produced lower pain scores (...) and a clear inhibition of the P2 wave amplitude, localized in the anterior cingulate cortex; the inhibition of P2 wave amplitude was lesser or not significant during the presentation of the ugly or neutral paintings, respectively. Dipole source localization analysis of the LEP peaks showed significant changes during different conditions, with a shift from the posterior to the anterior right cingulated cortex while looking at paintings previously rated as beautiful. (shrink)

Under the pretense of defending an obscure treatise by a Catalan theologian, Sebond, Montaigne attacks the philosophers who attempt rational explanations of the universe and argues for a skeptical Christianity based squarely on faith rather than reason. The result is the _Apology for Raymond Sebond_, a classic of Counter-Reformation thought and a masterpiece of Renaissance literature. This new translation by Roger Ariew and Marjorie Grene achieves both accuracy and fluency, conveying at once the nuances of Montaigne’s arguments and his distinctive (...) literary style. (shrink)

The neural systems underlying face processing must be able to rapidly and reliably register and react to complex and dynamic facial displays and be amenable to cognitive control. Developmental studies suggest that the emergence of face processing in infancy through adolescence may in part be characterized by shifts in the interplay between the subcortical and cortical systems. This article demonstrates the evidence supporting this view by beginning with a brief description of the brain bases of face processing in adults, and (...) then turning to studies of humans and non-human primates which investigate the structural or functional development of these regions. The brain structures involved in face processing and their interconnections mature along different timelines and become increasingly integrated during infancy and adolescence to support more complex and controlled use of facial social information. (shrink)

Telle est la sombre grandeur proposee desormais a l'historien contemporain : consacrer ses efforts a discrediter les auteurs anciens en montrant a quel point ils avaient ete tributaires de leurs aveuglements ; souligner les lacunes, la myopie, l'extravagance de leurs jugements ; debusquer prejuges de classe et stereotypes de genre ; dresser l'inventaire, la genealogie de leurs successives reinterpretations par chaque generation. Tenir en revanche leurs oeuvres pour un reservoir d'exemples, de modeles, de situations utiles pour guider notre reflexion, comme (...) le recommandait Plutarque, les considerer meme comme des chefs d'oeuvre d'une "inalterable actualite", parce qu'ils "savent dire ce que l'homme a d'humain" serait rester a la surface des choses, "dans l'ether de la culture classique". Se flatter de poursuivre avec ces vieux morts un dialogue que nos differences et notre eloignement releguent au rang de vain songe releverait de la naivete, de l'amateurisme et de l'outrecuidance. J'ai ecrit ce livre parce que je pense tout le contraire. Repudiant tout anachronisme simplificateur, mais refusant aussi de considerer le legs de l'Antiquite comme une beaute morte, infeconde, Michel De Jaeghere mobilise sa formation d'historien des idees, sa longue frequentation des auteurs antiques, et sa familiarite avec la politique contemporaine pour affronter une redoutable question : les Anciens sont-ils, en politique, encore de bon conseil? (shrink)

English summary: Now that it has managed to become a science, history must remain the symposium theatre which allows us to converse with the dead. Our "connected" world delivers us up, defenceless, to the tyranny of every instant. History could be the antidote, inasmuch as it is a depository of people's collective experience. It lifts shadows up from the depth of the ages to make us share what we have learned from being who we are. We have undertaken a boundless (...) dialogue with the living. This book proposes to restore the dialogue with the dead by revisiting, through a succession of brief texts in the form of short essays and short stories, a number of episodes of universal history in an attempt to cull some lessons from it. At a time when history's progress has led to an excessive specialisation which has caused many scholars to withdraw into their ivory towers to enjoy, among experts, the fruit of their research, Michel De Jaeghere wants us to resume meditating on examples that have nourished human thought since ancient times. French description: Ils ont ete pharaons, empereurs romains, rois de France, croises, missionnaires, conquerants, batisseurs de palais et de cathedrales, decouvreurs de mondes nouveaux. Ils ont connu l'ivresse de la gloire, l'amertume de la defaite, ils ont peine dans les travaux. Ils ont incarne l'aventure de l'Occident jusqu'aux extremites de la terre, ils ont du faire face a la barbarie, a la guerre, a la terreur et a la tyrannie totalitaires. De la profondeur de l'Egypte ancienne aux conflits qui ont ouvert le XXIe siecle, ils offrent la plus etonnante des galeries de portraits. Marc Aurele y croise Christophe Colomb, Louis XVI, Honore d'Estienne d'Orves ou Helie de Saint Marc. Ils forment la compagnie des ombres, surgie du passe pour nous offrir un tete a tete. Un dialogue singulier avec les morts.L'histoire est trop souvent traitee comme un cadavre par des medecins legistes si attentifs aux organes qu'ils prelevent sur le corps dont ils font l'autopsie que leur echappe son mystere, ce qui lui donnait sa vie meme. Elle est, ailleurs, consideree comme le divertissement d'un jour, l'occasion d'une promenade sans enjeu. Les textes reunis ici comme en un recueil de nouvelles voudraient s'inscrire dans une autre tradition, celle d'une histoire meditative: une histoire tournee vers la recherche de ce qu'elle a a nous dire d'essentiel, de vital sur nous-meme. Ils se proposent de convoquer les ombres du passe pour nous donner a contempler ce qui n'est pas mort avec elles. Nous doutons aujourd'hui que l'histoire puisse etre maitresse de vie: magistra vitae, disait Ciceron. Nous voulons croire que nous n'avons plus rien a apprendre d'elle. Il nous manque d'avoir les yeux ouverts sur ce qui fait echapper ses protagonistes a leur condition mortelle; ce qui leur donne leur part d'eternite. (shrink)

From the late Michel de Certeau comes an essential engagement with multiculturalism and identity politics.