This article is devoted to the analysis of the remarks of Gödel's Maxims and Philosophical remarks (Max Phil) that present a solution to the paradoxes of set theory, and to the analysis of the context. It is divided in two parts. The first part contains two remarks from the notebook IX, (pp. 48b, 51) on the question of the strategies for the solution of paradoxes. They clearly show Gödel’s preference for the strategy of limited ranges of significance. The reasons why (...) Gödel was also interested in the other strategies suggested by Russell is explained through two remarks of Max Phil IX (pp.69 and 72b) The second part presents a remark from Max Phil X (p. 28-29), and explains it from the perspective of Gödel analysis of concepts in the early 1943. (shrink)

Phosphatidylinositol 5‐phosphate (PtdIns5P), the least characterized among the three phosphatidylinositol monophosphates, is emerging as a bioactive lipid involved in the control of several cellular functions. Similar to PtdIns3P, it is present in low amounts in mammalian cells, and can be detected at the plasma membrane and endomembranes as well as in the nucleus. Changes in PtdIns5P levels are observed in mammalian cells following specific stimuli or stresses, and in human diseases. Recently, the contribution of several enzymes such as PIKfyve, myotubularins, (...) and type II PtdInsP‐kinases to PtdIns5P metabolism has gained a strong experimental support. Here, we provide a picture emerging from recent studies showing how this lipid can be generated and act as a regulator of membrane and cytoskeleton dynamics, and as a modulator of gene expression. We briefly summarize the current methods and tools for studying PtdIns5P, and discuss how PtdIns5P can integrate and coordinate different functions in a spatiotemporal manner. (shrink)

Dans le Continu, Hermann Weyl donne une nouvelle assise aux notions d’ensemble et de fonction, pour assurer aux mathématiques leur applicabilité à la physique, et résoudre ainsi le problème du continu. Les notions introduites, éloignées de la théorie des ensembles, prêtent à confusion et à multiples interprétations.Nous nous proposons d’éclairer le sens du déplacement que Weyl opère dans ces notions. Nous présentons une synthèse des thèses épistémologiques soutenues dans Le Continu et résolvons certains problèmes interprétatifs. Par une approche comparative, nous (...) soulignons l’écart entre les principes logico-mathématiques du Continu et ceux de la théorie des ensembles. Nous nous centrons sur la distinction entre intension et extension, et sur la place attribuée aux entiers naturels pour le fondement des mathématiques. (shrink)

Dans le Continu, Hermann Weyl donne une nouvelle assise aux notions d’ensemble et de fonction, pour assurer aux mathématiques leur applicabilité à la physique, et résoudre ainsi le problème du continu. Les notions introduites, éloignées de la théorie des ensembles, prêtent à confusion et à multiples interprétations.Nous nous proposons d’éclairer le sens du déplacement que Weyl opère dans ces notions. Nous présentons une synthèse des thèses épistémologiques soutenues dans Le Continu et résolvons certains problèmes interprétatifs. Par une approche comparative, nous (...) soulignons l’écart entre les principes logico-mathématiques du Continu et ceux de la théorie des ensembles. Nous nous centrons sur la distinction entre intension et extension, et sur la place attribuée aux entiers naturels pour le fondement des mathématiques. (shrink)

This book investigates Hermann Weyl’s work on the problem of space from the early 1920s onwards. It presents new material and opens the philosophical problem of space anew, crossing the disciplines of mathematics, history of science and philosophy. With a Kantian starting point Weyl asks: among all the infinitely many conceivable metrical spaces, which one applies to the physical world? In agreement with general relativity, Weyl acknowledges that the metric can quantitatively vary with the physical situation. Despite this freedom, Weyl (...) “deduces”, with group-theoretical technicalities, that there is only one “kind” of legitimate metric. This construction was then decisive for the development of gauge theories. Nevertheless, the question of the foundations of the metric of physical theories is only a piece of a wider epistemological problem. Contributing authors mark out the double trajectory that goes through Weyl’s texts, from natural science to philosophy and conversely, always through the mediation of mathematics. Readers may trace the philosophical tradition to which Weyl refers and by which he is inspired, and explore the mathematical tradition that permitted Weyl to elaborate and solve his mathematical problem of space. Furthermore, this volume analyzes the role of the interlocutors with whom Weyl discussed the nature of physical space. This volume features the work of top specialists and will appeal to postgraduates and scholars in philosophy, the history of science, mathematics, or physics. (shrink)

A leading critic of the disruptive force of technology in education, Bernard Stiegler saw the counter-effects of artificial intelligence in undermining human agency, autonomy and individuality, rendering the role of education ever more critical. Stiegler believes that our goal is not to abandon technology but to focus our attention on its power and direction in a hypercapitalist economy. While he did not foresee the emergence of generative artificial intelligence (GAI), its rapid acceleration raises important issues for his notion of (...) digital writing as a pharmakon. In this essay, we examine Stiegler’s view on intelligence, digital writing, technological memory, and neuropower, focusing specifically on his Shanghai lecture and Nanjing Lectures. We compare Stiegler with Catherine Malabou, who examines the nature of intelligence primarily through the lens of neuroscience. We argue that Malabou’s view of neuroplasticity in human and artificial brains, and her critique of techno-narcissism in the control over technology, add an important dimension to Stiegler’s political critique of education. Finally, we examine how best to construe AI as part of a hyper-materialist epistemology that Stiegler espouses in the conclusion of his Nanjing Lectures, to bring about neganthropic knowledge through a therapeutics of care. (shrink)

"Repartir d'une lecture à nouveaux frais de la Métaphysique d'Aristote en essayant de prêter l'oreille à la manière dont elle parle en grec, tel est le projet de ce livre. Cela veut dire d'abord oublier ce qui nous a été transmis si longtemps dans le latin de la scolastique médiévale. C'est se donner la chance de rencontrer une pensée à même la langue. On comprend alors que le mot eidos ne peut pas se traduire par "idée" : il désigne avant (...) tout le "visage" que quelque chose ou quelqu'un tourne vers nous, de même le mot theoria renvoie, lui aussi, à la vue d'un spectacle qui s'offre à nous. Si les fameuses "catégories" d'Aristote sont dépendantes des structures de la langue grecque, ce n'est pas une limite : c'est une chance dont Aristote se saisit pour avancer dans la pensée de l'être. Ce parcours au plus près de la langue ne se réduit pas à un monologue au sein de la seule parole occidentale mais s'ouvre à une confrontation entre la Grèce et la Chine sur les pas de François Julien : comment entendre sans conflictualité un tel vis-à-vis entre une pensée non métaphysique du Grand Procès (Tao) ou de la "propension des choses", et une histoire de la métaphysique dont Aristote est une prestigieuse entame et dont le philosophe sinologue voudrait nous délivrer?"--Page 4 of cover. (shrink)

A new volume of philosophical essays by Bernard Williams. The book is a successor to Problems of the Self, but whereas that volume dealt mainly with questions of personal identity, Moral Luck centres on questions of moral philosophy and the theory of rational action. That whole area has of course been strikingly reinvigorated over the last deacde, and philosophers have both broadened and deepened their concerns in a way that now makes much earlier moral and political philosophy look sterile (...) and trivial. Moral Luck contains a number of essays that have contributed influentially to this development. Among the recurring themes are the moral and philosophical limitations of utilitarianism, the notion of integrity, relativism, and problems of moral conflict and rational choice. The work presented here is marked by a high degree of imagination and acuity, and also conveys a strong sense of psychological reality. The volume will be a stimulating source of ideas and arguments for all philosophers and a wide range of other readers. (shrink)

A volume of philosophical studies, centred on problems of personal identity and extending to related topics in the philosophy of mind and moral philosophy.

What can--and what can't--philosophy do? What are its ethical risks--and its possible rewards? How does it differ from science? In Philosophy as a Humanistic Discipline, Bernard Williams addresses these questions and presents a striking vision of philosophy as fundamentally different from science in its aims and methods even though there is still in philosophy "something that counts as getting it right." Written with his distinctive combination of rigor, imagination, depth, and humanism, the book amply demonstrates why Williams was one (...) of the greatest philosophers of the twentieth century. Spanning his career from his first publication to one of his last lectures, the book's previously unpublished or uncollected essays address metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics, as well as the scope and limits of philosophy itself. The essays are unified by Williams's constant concern that philosophy maintain contact with the human problems that animate it in the first place. As the book's editor, A. W. Moore, writes in his introduction, the title essay is "a kind of manifesto for Williams's conception of his own life's work." It is where he most directly asks "what philosophy can and cannot contribute to the project of making sense of things"--answering that what philosophy can best help make sense of is "being human." Philosophy as a Humanistic Discipline is one of three posthumous books by Williams to be published by Princeton University Press. In the Beginning Was the Deed: Realism and Moralism in Political Argument was published in the fall of 2005. The Sense of the Past: Essays in the History of Philosophy is being published shortly after the present volume. (shrink)

We tend to suppose that the ancient Greeks had primitive ideas of the self, of responsibility, freedom, and shame, and that now humanity has advanced from these to a more refined moral consciousness. Bernard Williams's original and radical book questions this picture of Western history. While we are in many ways different from the Greeks, Williams claims that the differences are not to be traced to a shift in these basic conceptions of ethical life. We are more like the (...) ancients than we are prepared to acknowledge, and only when this is understood can we properly grasp our most important differences from them, such as our rejection of slavery. The author is a philosopher, but much of his book is directed to writers such as Homer and the tragedians, whom he discusses as poets and not just as materials for philosophy. At the center of his study is the question of how we can understand Greek tragedy at all, when its world is so far from ours. Williams explains how it is that when the ancients speak, they do not merely tell us about themselves, but about ourselves. _Shame and Necessity_ gives a new account of our relations to the Greeks, and helps us to see what ethical ideas we need in order to live in the modern world. (shrink)

We tend to suppose that the ancient Greeks had primitive ideas of the self, of responsibility, freedom, and shame, and that now humanity has advanced from these to a more refined moral consciousness. Bernard Williams's original and radical book questions this picture of Western history. While we are in many ways different from the Greeks, Williams claims that the differences are not to be traced to a shift in these basic conceptions of ethical life. We are more like the (...) ancients than we are prepared to acknowledge, and only when this is understood can we properly grasp our most important differences from them, such as our rejection of slavery. The author is a philosopher, but much of his book is directed to writers such as Homer and the tragedians, whom he discusses as poets and not just as materials for philosophy. At the center of his study is the question of how we can understand Greek tragedy at all, when its world is so far from ours. Williams explains how it is that when the ancients speak, they do not merely tell us about themselves, but about ourselves. _Shame and Necessity_ gives a new account of our relations to the Greeks, and helps us to see what ethical ideas we need in order to live in the modern world. (shrink)

This is a volume of philosophical studies, centred on problems of personal identity and extending to related topics in the philosophy of mind and moral philosophy.

In his dialogue with Blanchot (The Disavowed Community vs. The Unavowable Community), Jean-Luc Nancy intended to denounce, but without opposing another figure, the idea according to which the community of lovers, as exemplified by Marguerite Duras in The Disease of Death, would be the accomplishment of the community as a work of death. On the basis of a reading of Richard Dehmel’s poem, Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night), we would like here to outline the schema of a couple in which the (...) unspeakable is transfigured into the power of the advent of a shared community. (shrink)

An updated and expanded successor to Culver and Gert's Philosophy in Medicine, this book integrates moral philosophy with clinical medicine to present a comprehensive summary of the theory, concepts, and lines of reasoning underlying the ...

Reflections on the life and works of Scotus -- The early works of Scotus -- Duns Scotus at Oxford -- A Scotistic approach to the ultimate why-question -- God's knowledge : a study in Scotistic methodology -- William of Alnwick on Scotus and divine concurrence -- Scotus on the origin of possibility -- Scotus's lectures on the Immaculate Conception -- Scotus's ethics -- Scotus's eschatology : some reflections -- Scotism -- An Oxford dialogue on language and metaphysics -- Ockham and (...) the textbooks -- Ockham's conception of matter. (shrink)

The paper examines Nietzsche’s claim that valuations born out of a psychological condition he calls “ressentiment” are objectionable. It argues for a philosophically sound construal of this type of criticism, according to which the criticism is directed at the agent who holds values out of ressentiment, rather than at those values themselves. After presenting an analysis of ressentiment, the paper examines its impact on valuation and concludes with an inquiry into Nietzsche’s reasons for claiming that ressentiment valuation is “corrupt.” Specifically, (...) the paper proposes that ressentiment valuation involves a form of self-deception, that such self-deception is objectionable because it undermines the integrity of the self, and that the lack of such integrity ensnares the agent in a peculiar kind of practical inconsistency. The paper ends with a brief review of the problems and prospects of this interpretation. (shrink)

Writing in the wake of the breakup of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, the moral philosopher Bernard Williams considers the opposing claims of Rawlsian liberalism, with its emphasis on pluralism and procedural fairness, and communitarianism, which instead promotes more or less culturally homogeneous societies formed around shared values. Williams shares the communitarians’ critique of Rawls’s theory as excessively abstract, questioning whether a rational commitment to pluralism as the most just social arrangement can serve as a sufficiently binding social force. (...) He simultaneously resists, however, the conservative tendencies of the communitarians, particularly their dismissal of ethically motivated social critique. Grounded in the late philosophy of Wittgenstein, communitarians reject foundationalism, the notion that beliefs can be philosophically justified, instead regarding ideologically driven social arrangements as the result of inherently particular historical and environmental conditions. This perspective precludes rational reevaluation of a society’s status quo; if a society’s adoption of values does not depend on philosophically grounded principles, neither can those values be altered through a process of collective moral reasoning. For Williams, however, because pluralism is a condition of modern life with which even culturally homogenous communities must contend, members of modern societies are aware of alternatives to their own social model, leaving a space for self-critical reassessment. Finally, Williams suggests that the desire of cultural minorities for separate states in the post-Soviet geopolitical landscape underscores the limits of both pluralism and communitarianism, limits that all of us will need to grapple with as we confront the immediate social and political realities of modernity. (shrink)

Bernard Mayo; VIII—Belief and Constraint, Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Volume 64, Issue 1, 1 June 1964, Pages 139–156, https://doi.org/10.1093/arist.

Les photos de ce portfolio ont été prises par Philippe Carta, Julien Goetz, Francis Guermann, Bernard Muscat et Michel Noirez. Projecteur et enrouleur 35 mm mobiles installés dans le vestibule de l’Opéra-Théâtre pour la projection de Moïse et Aaron – 24 mars 2011. Avant la projection de Moïse et Aaron, Jean-Marie Straub, debout face à l’écran de l’Opéra-Théâtre, vérifie la qualité de l’image et du son. François Narboni et Régine Palucci présentent Moïse et Aaron. A...

This is the text of The Lindley Lecture for 1985, given by Bernard Williams, a British philosopher.

Many of our sources of knowledge only afford us knowledge that is inexact. When trying to see how tall something is, or to hear how far away something is, or to remember how long something lasted, we may come to know some facts about the approximate size, distance or duration of the thing in question but we don’t come to know exactly what its size, distance or duration is. In some such situations we also have some pointed knowledge of how (...) inexact our knowledge is. That is, we can knowledgeably pinpoint some exact claims that we do not know. We show that standard models of inexact knowledge leave little or no room for such pointed knowledge. We devise alternative models that are not afflicted by this shortcoming. (shrink)

This study of the concept of orbit is intended to throw light on the nature of revolutionary concepts in science. We observe that Kepler transformed theoretical astronomy that was understood in terms of orbs [Latin: orbes] and models , by introducing a single term, orbit [Latin: orbita], that is, the path of a planet in space resulting from the action of physical causes expressed in laws of nature. To demonstrate the claim that orbit is a revolutionary concept we pursue three (...) lines of argument. First we trace the origin of the term; second, we document its development and specify the meaning of the novel term as it was introduced into astronomy by Kepler in his Astronomia nova . Finally, in order to establish in what sense the concept is revolutionary, we pay attention to the enduring impact that the concept has had on the relevant sciences, in this case astronomy and indeed physics. We claim that orbit is an instance of a revolutionary concept whose provenance and use can provide the insights we are seeking. (shrink)