A geometrical model is proposed that describes the emergence of a primordium at the shoot apex in Dicotyledons. It is based on recent fundamental results on plant morphogenesis, viz.: – the emergence is preceded by the reorganization of the microtubules of the cortical cytoskeleton, leading to a new orientation of the synthesis of the cell wall microfibrils; – the resulting global stress is related to the general orientation of the cell growth.

Plant morphogenesis exhibits numerous bifurcations with particular angle values such as 41°, 53°, which, in lower plants, can be measured in the thallus, and, in higher plants, in the ribs of the leaves. An interpretation of these angles is attempted. Since they characterize the functioning of a morphogenetic field, a formalism was constructed suitable for the study of living systems. The mathematical tool devised here, named the Arithmetical Relator, combines Geometry and Arithmetic, and assumes that a general system results from (...) the interaction between an internal cyclic structure and an environment to which this structure is adapted. The formalism described therefore takes into account partial self-reference and changes in the level of organization. Within this framework, the particular values of the ramification angles are extreme for slight shifts in the internal structure. A pattern of the relations between the genome, the cell and the organ is suggested. (shrink)

A geometrical model of the emergence of a primordium at the shoot apex in dicotyledons is proposed. It is based on recent fundamental results on plant morphogenesis, i.e.:- the emergence is preceded by the reorganization of the microtubules of the cortical cytoskeleton, leading to a new orientation of the synthesis of the cell wall microfibrils; - the resulting global stress is related to the general orientation of the cell growth. So the model sums up the continuous interactions linking the microtubules, (...) the microfibrils and the cell growth axis. (shrink)

Understanding the mechanisms and the time and spatial evolution of penumbra following an ischemic stroke is crucially important for developing therapeutics aimed at preventing this area from evolving towards infarction. To help in integrating the available data, we decided to build a formal model. We first collected and categorised the major available evidence from animal models and human observations and summarized this knowledge in a flow-chart with the potential key components of an evolving stroke. Components were grouped in ten sub-models (...) that could be modelled and tested independently: the sub-models of tissue reactions, ionic movements, oedema development, glutamate excitotoxicity, spreading depression, NO synthesis, inflammation, necrosis, apoptosis, and reperfusion. Then, we figured out markers, identified mediators and chose the level of complexity to model these sub-models. We first applied this integrative approach to build a model based on cytotoxic oedema development following a stroke. Although this model includes only three sub-models and would need to integrate more mechanisms in each of these sub-models, the characteristics and the time and spatial evolution of penumbra obtained by simulation are qualitatively and, to some extent, quantitatively consistent with those observed using medical imaging after a permanent occlusion or after an occlusion followed by a reperfusion. (shrink)

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type 1 is a genetic neuromuscular disease in children that leads to degeneration of spinal cord motor neurons. This sometimes results in severe muscular paralysis requiring mechanical ventilation to sustain the child’s life. The onset of SMA type 1, the most severe form of the disease, is during the first year of life. These children become severely paralysed, but retain their intellectual capacity. Ethical concerns arise when mechanical ventilation becomes necessary for survival. When professionals assess the (...) resulting life for the child and family, they sometimes fear it will result in unreasonably excessive care. The aim of this article is to present an analysis of ethical arguments that could support or oppose the provision of invasive ventilation in this population. This examination is particularly relevant as France is one of the few countries performing tracheotomies and mechanical ventilation for this condition. (shrink)

Role distribution is a central issue for parents in the transition to parenthood, but little is known about the motivations in fathers to assume a specific role. Differences in work-family balance in each parent may be motivated by an individual choice mutually shared by both partners; however, in many couples, the parents may feel forced to adopt a traditional role distribution, either for financial reasons, or to comply with social expectations about what men and women should do when they are (...) parents. This feeling of being socially constrained to adopt a role distribution that is not congruent with intrinsic motivations can generate dissatisfaction and may jeopardize the development of the interparental relationship. Coparenting refers to the emotional and instrumental support parents bring to each other in their parental tasks. It has been shown to be central in family functioning and a powerful predictor of children’s emotional and cognitive development. In this study, we aimed to assess the extent to which different motivations for role distribution in fathers are predictive of the quality of the coparental relationship. A convenience sample of 144 fathers from the French-speaking part of Switzerland completed online questionnaires about their motivations, coparental relationship, and sociodemographic characteristics. Results showed that the reasons for role distribution were mainly economical, practical, and in order to meet personal expectations. Multivariate general linear modeling showed that role distribution that is constrained to meet social expectations and age were predictive of a less cohesive coparental relationship, whereas a deliberate choice in role distribution was linked to a more cohesive coparental relationship. (shrink)

La médecine personnalisée expérimente dans le cadre du cancer, ou thérapies ciblées, ou encore médecine prédictive, voire médecine de précision. toutes ces appellations sous-entendent un domaine qui s'ébauche tant au niveau de la recherche qu'à celui de la clinique. Ce domaine se constitue de pratiques, de normes qui s'élaborent et de règles qui établissent de véritables limites. Ce volume présente ce que les disciplines du droit, de la biologie, de la médecine et de la philosophie ont à dire conjointement sur (...) ce nouvel objet qui déjà intéresse au-delà du cancer toutes les maladies chroniques. Ce volume rassemble ainsi les réflexions de tous les pionniers de ce domaine sous la coordination de Michèle Jean-Stanton du Centre de Recherche de Droit Public (CRDP) de l'Université de Montréal et de Christian Hervé de l'Université Sorbonne Paris Cité. Leurs expressions, ainsi exposées à la suite d'un séminaire qu'ils ont tous suivi consciencieusement, affirment ainsi une certaine idée, une éthique même de ces nouvelles pratiques non encore totalement réglementées. (shrink)

English summary: Nicolas Cusanus' position on Islam is not easily discerned. While in De Pace Fidei he seems to present an Irenic vision of the different religions and the dialog that could be established amongst them, in the Cribratio Alkorani, according to numerous interpretations, he seems more rigid, precluding any constructive dialog between Christianity and Islam. However, as this volume shows, matters are not quite that black and white: the contributions allow us to form a better idea of the coherence (...) of Cusanus' position on dialog and the relationship between the Cribratio Alkorani and his general theological views. French description: La position de Nicolas de Cues sur l'islam n'est pas facile... cerner. Dans le De Pace Fidei, il semble presenter une vision irenique des differentes religions et du dialogue qui pourrait s'etablir entre elles et ce discours general vaut en particulier pour l'islam, tandis que dans la Cribratio Alkorani, Nicolas, aux dire de nombreux interpretes, se montrerait beaucoup plus incisif, au point que ce livre ne pourrait absolument pas constituer le fondement d'un dialogue constructif entre le christianisme et l'islam. Mais un certain nombre de travaux du present volume, montre que les choses ne sont pas si tranchees. Certes, Nicolas de Cues ignorait pas mal de choses sur l'Islam et les documents qu'il utilise l'induisent dans un certain nombre de cas en erreur. Mais, par de l... la lettre, il ressort qu'il a remarquablement compris l'esprit coranique et que ces textes meritent... cet egard plus d'attention qu'ils n'en ont generalement recue. Le present recueil permet de se faire une idee plus precise de la coherence de la position de Nicolas de Cues sur le dialogue entre christianisme et islam et des liens entre les theses de la Cribatio Alkorani et la pensee globale du grand cardinal. Le livre est issu d'un Colloque tenu sur ce theme... l'Universite de Rennes le 9 avril et rassemble des contributions de Walter Andreas Euler, Tom Kerger, Genevieve Gobillot (deux textes), Susan Gottlober, Graziella Federici Vescovini Herve Pasqua.et Jean-Michel Counet. (shrink)

Le présent ouvrage vise à présenter des approches non-duales de la réalité issues d'aires géographiques et d'horizons disciplinaires différents: Advaita Vedanta, bouddhisme Chan et Dzogchen, soufisme, philosophie occidentale, sciences, arts et spiritualités contemporaines. Si le thème de la non-dualité est fréquent aujourd'hui dans divers types d'approches spirituelles, force est de constater qu'il n'a été que peu traité à un niveau académique. Les différents chapitres s'efforcent de cerner avec rigueur ces approches dans leur spécificité, préalable à toute véritable recherche transdisciplinaire. Ce (...) volume est le fruit d'un séminaire de métaphysique organisé à l'Université de Louvain au cours de l'année académique 2017-2018. Contributions de Michel Hulin, Viktoria Lyssenko, Philippe Cornu, Dylan Esler, Grégory Vandamme, Daniel Proulx, Hervé Pasqua, Jean-Michel Counet, Marc Maesschalck, Manoé Reynaerts, Alexis Filippucci, Bertrand Hespel, Olivier Sartenaer, Philippe Filliot, José Le Roy et Christophe Vielle. (shrink)

This essay attempts to reconfigure our understanding of the relationship between Michel Foucault and the French photographer and writer Hervé Guibert. It contends that this relationship has been mi...

Testimony to Muzil: Hervé Guibert, Michel Foucault, and the “Medical Gaze” examines the fictional/autobiographical AIDS writings of the French writer Hervé Guibert. Locating Guibert's writings alongside the work of his friend Michel Foucault, the article explores how they echo Foucault's evolving notions of the “medical gaze.” The article also explores how Guilbert's narrators and Guibert himself resist and challenge the medical gaze; a gaze which particularly in the era of AIDS has subjected, objectified, and even sometimes (...) punished the body of the gay man. It is argued that these resistances to the gaze offer a literary extension to Foucault's later work on power and resistance strategies. (shrink)

There is a tendency to take mounted dinosaur skeletons at face value, as the raw data on which the science of paleontology is founded. But the truth is that mounted dinosaur skeletons are substantially intention-dependent—they are artifacts. More importantly, I argue, they are also substantially imagination-dependent: their production is substantially causally reliant on preparators’ creative imaginations, and their proper reception is predicated on audiences’ recreative imaginations. My main goal here is to show that dinosaur skeletal mounts are plausible candidates for (...) art-status. But, what is more, I think they are artworks—specifically, sculptures. (shrink)

The problem of measurement is often considered an inconsistency inside the quantum formalism. Many attempts to solve it have been made since the inception of quantum mechanics. The form of these attempts depends on the philosophical position that their authors endorse. I will review some of them and analyze their relevance. The phenomenon of decoherence is often presented as a solution lying inside the pure quantum formalism and not demanding any particular philosophical assumption. Nevertheless, a widely debated question is to (...) decide between two different interpretations. The first one is to consider that the decoherence process has the effect to actually project a superposed state into one of its classically interpretable component, hence doing the same job as the reduction postulate. For the second one, decoherence is only a way to show why no macroscopic superposed state can be observed, so explaining the classical appearance of the macroscopic world, while the quantum entanglement between the system, the apparatus and the environment never disappears. In this case, explaining why only one single definite outcome is observed remains to do. In this paper, I examine the arguments that have been given for and against both interpretations and defend a new position, the “Convivial Solipsism”, according to which the outcome that is observed is relative to the observer, different but in close parallel to the Everett’s interpretation and sharing also some similarities with Rovelli’s relational interpretation and Quantum Bayesianism. I also show how “Convivial Solipsism” can help getting a new standpoint about the EPR paradox providing a way out of the seemingly unavoidable non-locality of quantum mechanics. (shrink)

Examinant la pertinence des travaux d’Edgar Morin dans la gestion des organisations productives et, plus particulièrement pour l’accroissement de l’efficacité collective, cet article propose des outils de réflexion opérationnels aux responsables d’organisations, s’appuyant sur six notions de la pensée complexe exposée dans La Méthode : les principes hologrammatique, d’auto-organisation, de la variété requise, de co-évolution, dialogique et de récursivité.Examining the relevance of the work of Edgar Morin in the management of productive organizations, and in particular for increasing collective efficacy, this (...) article proposes tools for reflection operational managers of organizations, based on six concepts complex thinking outlined in Method: hologrammatic principles, self-organization, requisite variety, co-evolution, dialogic and recursion. (shrink)

In this provocative analysis of historical narrative, Michel-Rolph Trouillot demonstrates how power operates, often invisibly, at all stages in the making of history to silence certain voices. From the West's failure to acknowledge the Haitian Revolution, the most successful slave revolt in history, to the continued debate over denials of the Holocaust, and the meaning of Columbus's arrival in the Americas, Trouillot shows us that history is not simply the recording of facts and events, but a process of actively (...) enforced silences, some unconscious, others quite deliberate. (shrink)

The moral philosophy of Levinas offers a stark prospectus of impossibility for corporate ethics. It differs from most traditional ethical theories in that, for Levinas, the ethical develops in a personal meeting of one with the Other, rather than residing in some internal deliberation of the moral subject. Levinasian ethics emphasises an infinite personal responsibility arising for each of us in the face of the Other and in the presence of the Third. It stresses the imperious demand we experience to (...) be open to, prepared for and impassioned with that which we may not know, or recognise, about ourselves or about the Other. Such a demand transcends our intellectual and/or rational potential; it involves us in a carnal and somatic bodily experience of otherness. If we are to speak of Levinasian ethics in a business context, it cannot be a matter of corporate ethics but only a matter of individual managerial ethics. What such an ethics would be like is yet to be outlined. This paper proposes a series of questions and suggestions that will explicate some key terms of a practice organised around a Levinasian vocabulary of otherness, responsibility, proximity, diachrony and justice. (shrink)

Parce qu’elle s’est élaborée à partir d’un héritage antique, l’avocature dispose d’une culture commune dès la fin du Moyen Âge. Dans la France des XVII e et XVIII e siècles, ces caractères partagés se renforcent par la professionnalisation, l’harmonisation institutionnelle des ordres et le renforcement d’un droit commun du barreau, qui n’est pas le fruit du seul travail des avocats et de leurs structures professionnelles ; l’émergence d’un « barreau français » a également été favorisée par l’État et les tribunaux. (...) Avec l’Empire et la Restauration, la construction nationale du barreau connaît un deuxième temps fort ; dans un premier temps, c’est l’État qui s’impose comme son acteur essentiel. (shrink)

On a pu croire ou espérer, un temps, que les monstruosités de la Seconde Guerre mondiale étaient derrière nous. Définitivement. Or partout, à nouveau, on massacre, on torture, on extermine. Comment comprendre cette facilité des hommes entrer dans le mal? La réponse à cette question devient chaque jour plus urgente. Michel Terestchenko rouvre ici le débat. D'abord, en complétant la démonstration de Hannah Arendt : de même que ce ne sont pas seulement des monstres qui basculent dans l'horreur mais (...) des hommes ordinaires, trop ordinaires, de même, montre-t-il, il n'est pas besoin d'être un saint pour accomplir le juste et secourir des victimes au risque de sa vie. Héros ou salaud? C'est toujours une petite décision initiale, à peine perceptible, qui décide du côté dans lequel, une fois engagé, on se retrouvera in fine. Mais qu'est-ce qui explique cette décision? C'est là où l'enquête de M. Terestchenko prend toute son ampleur. En procédant à une reconstitution critique du débat central de la philosophie morale depuis le XVIIe siècle, aujourd'hui relayé par la majorité des sociologues et des économistes, elle montre combien est stérile l'opposition entre tenants de la thèse de l'égoïsme psychologique et défenseurs de l'hypothèse d'un altruisme sacrificiel. Ce n'est pas par " intérêt " qu'on tue ou qu'on torture. Ni par pur altruisme qu'on se refuse à l'abjection. Les travaux qui analysent les phénomènes de soumission à l'autorité, de conformisme de groupe ou de passivité face à des situations de détresse, invitent à comprendre tout autrement les conduites de destructivité. Tirant les conclusions philosophiques de recherches récentes entreprises en psychologie sociale et s'appuyant sur certains exemples historiques particulièrement éclairants - tel le cas de Franz Stangl, le commandant de Treblinka, ou, à l'opposé, les actions héroïques du pasteur André Trocmé et de sa femme Magda au Chambon-sur-Lignon -, l'auteur propose de penser les conduites humaines face au mal selon un nouveau paradigme celui de l'absence ou de la présence à soi. (shrink)

A large number of physicists now admit that quantum mechanics is a non-local theory. The EPR argument and the many experiments showing the violation of Bell’s inequalities seem to have confirmed convincingly that quantum mechanics cannot be local. Nevertheless, this conclusion can only be drawn inside a standard realist framework assuming an ontic interpretation of the wave function and viewing the collapse of the wave function as a real change of the physical state of the system. We show that this (...) standpoint is not mandatory and that if the collapse is not considered an actual physical change it is possible to recover locality. (shrink)

A large number of physicists now admit that quantum mechanics is a non-local theory. The EPR argument and the many experiments showing the violation of Bell’s inequalities seem to have confirmed convincingly that quantum mechanics cannot be local. Nevertheless, this conclusion can only be drawn inside a standard realist framework assuming an ontic interpretation of the wave function and viewing the collapse of the wave function as a real change of the physical state of the system. We show that this (...) standpoint is not mandatory and that if the collapse is not considered an actual physical change it is possible to recover locality. (shrink)

A large number of physicists now admit that quantum mechanics is a non-local theory. The EPR argument and the many experiments showing the violation of Bell’s inequalities seem to have confirmed convincingly that quantum mechanics cannot be local. Nevertheless, this conclusion can only be drawn inside a standard realist framework assuming an ontic interpretation of the wave function and viewing the collapse of the wave function as a real change of the physical state of the system. We show that this (...) standpoint is not mandatory and that if the collapse is not considered an actual physical change it is possible to recover locality. (shrink)

A large number of physicists now admit that quantum mechanics is a non-local theory. The EPR argument and the many experiments showing the violation of Bell’s inequalities seem to have confirmed convincingly that quantum mechanics cannot be local. Nevertheless, this conclusion can only be drawn inside a standard realist framework assuming an ontic interpretation of the wave function and viewing the collapse of the wave function as a real change of the physical state of the system. We show that this (...) standpoint is not mandatory and that if the collapse is not considered an actual physical change it is possible to recover locality. (shrink)

BackgroundAt the start of 2021, oncologists lacked the necessary scientific knowledge to adapt their clinical practices optimally when faced with cancer patients refusing or reluctant to be vaccinated against COVID-19, despite the marked vulnerability of these patients to severe, and even fatal forms of this new viral infectious disease. Oncologists at Foch Hospital were confronted with this phenomenon, which was observed worldwide, in both the general population and the population of cancer patients.MethodsBetween April and November 2021, the Ethics and Oncology (...) Departments of Foch Hospital decided to investigate this subject, through an empirical and interdisciplinary study in bioethics. Our scientific objective was to try to identify and resolve the principal bio-ethical issues, with a view to improving clinical practices in oncology during future major pandemics of this kind, from a highly specific bio-ethical standpoint. We used a mainly qualitative methodological approach based on questionnaires and interviews.ResultsIn April 2021, 29 cancer patients refused or were reluctant to be vaccinated. Seventeen of these patients said that making vaccination mandatory would have helped them to accept vaccination. In October 2021, only 10 cancer patients continued to maintain their refusal. One of the main reasons for the decrease in refusals was probably the introduction of the “pass sanitaire” in July 2021, which rendered vaccination indispensable for many activities. However, even this was not sufficient to convince these 10 cancer patients.ConclusionWe identified a key bio-ethical issue, which we then tried to resolve: vaccination policy. We characterized a major tension between “the recommendation of anti-COVID-19 vaccination” and “free will”, and the duty to “protect each other”. Mandatory vaccination, at least in France, could resolve this tension, with positive effects on quality of life, or survival, in cancer patients initially refusing or reluctant to be vaccinated, but only if collective and individual scales are clearly distinguished. (shrink)

This article aims to establish that literature is an ideal laboratory for undertaking some phenomenological experimentations, even when not explicitly intended by the author. By considering three works that all tell the story of one man gone far away from his country and isolated in a mysterious, fascinating and closed place, we propose to study the complex relations that weave between space and time and between landscape and consciousness, and to deduce from it their phenomenological impact. We attempt to show (...) that space localization and organisation influence and even modify the behaviour and the personality of humans, and induce a new relation to temporality: the mountain arouses boredom, the desert prepares the expectation and the shore brings the facing of one’s fate. (shrink)

Ce recueil se veut un instrument de travail à l'intention de ceux qui s'interrogent sur les idéologies, ce qu'elles sont, d'où elles viennent et à quoi elles servent. Michel Simon y a réuni un certain nombre de textes qui ont marqué l'histoire et la réflexion sur l'idéologie et les idéologies et qui sont proposés comme autant de points de repères : Marx, Engels, Lénine, Lukacs, Mannheim, Korsch, Gramsci, Althusser chez les marxistes, mais aussi Jean Baechler et Pierre Ansart. Un (...) commentaire d'accompagnement situe ces textes dans leur contexte et fournit les explications nécessaires tandis que des tableaux récapitulatifs donnent une vue d'ensemble de chaque auteur. (shrink)

Means–ends decoupling, the institutionally induced implementation of ineffective practices, has become increasingly common. Extant theory suggests that means–ends decoupling has real consequences, which makes it unstable and difficult for organizations to sustain. Yet little is known of how, and with what outcomes, firms organize such means–ends decoupling. We examine organizing via multiple qualitative and longitudinal case studies of how Swedish fast fashion retailers implement and manage the collection of used garments. We find that firms combine two organizational arrangements: structural and (...) temporal core–compartment separations, which mitigate consequences of means–ends decoupling by obscuring and justifying efficiency gaps. Thereby we provide a theoretical explanation for how means–ends decoupling can persist over time. (shrink)

There is one question that any potential reader who suspects that Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947) might be important for past, contemporary, and future philosophy inevitably raises: how should I read Whitehead? How can I make sense of this incredibly dense tissue of imaginative systematizing, spread over decades of work in disciplines so different and specialized as algebra, geometry, logic, relativistic physics and philosophy of science? Accordingly, this monograph has two main complementary objectives. The first one is to propose a set (...) of efficient hermeneutical tools to get the reader started. These straightforward tools provide answers that are highly coherent and probably the most applicable to Whitehead's entire corpus. The second objective is to illustrate how the several parts of Process and Reality are interconnected, something that all commentators have either failed to recognise or only incompletely acknowledged. (shrink)

Eigenfeatures are created by the principal component approach (PCA) used on objects described by a low-level code (i.e., pixels, Gabor jets). We suggest that eigenfeatures act like the flexible features described by Schyns et al. They are particularly suited for face processing and give rise to class-specific effects such as the other-race effect. The PCA approach can be modified to accommodate top-down constraints.

This article proposes a new reading of transformative learning theory (TAT), proceeding from an examination of three concepts: the function of habit in the processes of constructing experience, the notion of trial and its potential, and the biographical dimensions of Transformative Learning Theory. This approach leads us to question the theories of experience that tacitly underlie the learning models proposed by Mezirow. The discussion thus opened is part of the controversy and dialogue between the currents of pragmatism, critical hermeneutics and (...) biographical research. (shrink)

The book on Adler is one of the key works in Kierkegaard's thought. By writing it the Danish philosopher was able to verify for himself the religious content of his vocation and the accuracy of his critique against the modern church and society. It presents a profound investigation into the fundamental Christian concepts of "revelation", of "divine authority", and of "apostle". The inquiry shows that Kierkegaard is more of an objectivist than a subjectivist because he pronounced qualitative distinction between what (...) belongs to the immanent order, i.e. to men, and what belongs to the transcendal order, i.e. to God. But The book on Adler is also the result of a profound dialectical and psychological study performed on a certain Adler who pactatively gratified himself whith a revelation. The book, then, gives in details the most obvious proofs of his confusion and gives an account of its real causes : an emotionnal shock, a lack in both a Christian conceptual formation and an ethico-religious education, and the negative influence of Hegelian philosophy. While it sees in Adler the epitome of his era, it makes us understand the continual danger of missing what is essential in religious phenomena. (shrink)

Dans le contexte de laïcisation des espaces publics, les émissions de « libre antenne » radiophonique pour adolescents témoignent d'une dissolution de la parole experte au profit d'une parole commune ou doxique et de ce que l'on appellera un « programme communicationnel ». Ce dernier s'avère bien plus consistant que ce que l'on veut bien souvent accorder au monde des médias, puisqu'il est porteur sinon d'un ordre moral, au moins de « valeurs » sur la sexualité et les relations amoureuses.In (...) the context of secularization of public spaces, issues of "free air" radio show for teenagers dissolution of the word expert in favor of a common word or doxic and that the we call a "communicational program." This is much more substantial than what we often want to give the media world, since otherwise carries a moral, at least "values" on sexuality and relationships. (shrink)