Recourse to intuition to tackle philosophical issues brought the charge of irrationalism on Bergson. The charge overlooks that Bergsonian intuition has nothing to do with a sudden and mysterious illumination. Rather, it is a methodic procedure resulting in an outcome that it is effectively produced, and not a spark that falls from the sky. This paper shows that the misconception has its source in the neglect of two interrelated factors: (1) philosophical intuition is a method specifically invented to get past (...) philosophical antinomies, as they are framed by Kant; and (2) the method is inseparable from the philosophy of duration, notably from the originality of a monism that generates differences in kind, thereby allowing the enactment of the various modes of being. So that, both the invented nature of philosophical intuition and the stratified attribute of duration combine to give intuition the character of a cognitive breakthrough that is not reducible to the old opposition between rationality and irrationality. -/- . (shrink)

This book discovers freedom in the colonial idea of African primitiveness.

In his philosophy of life, Bergson's aim is very clear: to determine, beyond mechanism and finalism, the essence of change and of evolution according to the order of duration in opposition to the order of space or juxtaposition. His intention is to penetrate the specificity of the order of duration. Regarding time, the analyses of the previous philosophers are proved to be deceiving, since all of them, according to him, ended up in reducing time to a succession of simultaneities. Founded (...) on the order of magnitude, mechanism lines up succession as a series of numbers, finalism adds to succession the law of the better: in both cases all is already given and time is reduced to a mere appearance. Nowhere do we find a process in depth; as time is conceived as the realization of a programme previously arranged, everything is simply spread out in space. (shrink)

Underdevelopment is the most controversial issue of our time. In a world which apparently exhibits so much power and yet does so little to drive it back, it represents the challenge par excellence. However, concerning this most pressing and controversial issue of underdevelopment, of all the disciplines which study man, philosophy is the one which until now said the least. At first sight, to mark off in the topic of underdevelopment an area of real philosophical concern does not seem feasible (...) indeed. Underdevelopment understood as a mere failure of development appears to be within the competence of the disciplines of the social sciences, especially of economics, rather than that of philosophy. Viewed as a technical problem, it could thereby be declared outside the sphere of direct philosophical inquiry.But this reason is no sooner accepted than it comes up against itself by the very nature of the conflicts in which the social sciences got bogged down in their attempt to understand underdevelopment. Although not directly spelt out, the conflicts are unmistakably pervaded throughout by philosophical questions. It suffices to point out the main cause of the theoretical split which divides scholars, in the general issue of tradition and modernity, to really bring out the eminently philosophical nature of the debate. We are obviously referring to the conflict between modernization theory and the neo-Marxist school. The purpose of this paper is precisely to show that the topic of underdevelopment, not only raises one of the basic and oldest problems of philosophy, namely the nature of the connection between the spiritual and the material, but also helps positively to reformulate it. (shrink)

The purpose of this essay is to show that the issue of "underdevelopment" not only raises one of the most basic and oldest problems of philosophy, namely the relationship between the spiritual and the material, but also helps positively to reformulate it. For, on closer examination, it will appear that the striking aspect of underdevelopment is that it constitutes a glaring symptom of a characteristic disturbance or maladjustment. By its strangeness and distortion, it displays a unique and unexpected tension between (...) the spiritual and the material. Indeed, we cannot discard the possibility that the link between the spiritual and the material is likely to be better exposed in a situation of maladjustment than in one of fusion. Besides, this method of studying tension in order to observe the connection between the mental and the physical is not something new in philosophy. (shrink)

Regardless of the metaphysics that inspires them, theories of perception invariably end up in the trap of subjectivism. Thus, idealism argues that the world can be nothing more than a representation of the mind. As to dualism and materialism, despite fundamental differences, they share the common assumption that perception is a subjective replica of external objects. Opposed to these theories is common sense with its tenacious belief that an external world exists and that things are perceived where they are and (...) as they are. This paper contends that Bergson’s theory of perception should be approached from the question of what the relationship between matter and mind must be for perception to retain an objective character. It shows that only its emergence from things themselves rather than from the subject can provide objectivity to perception. In thus grounding objectivity in the impersonal character of perception, whose implication is that it precedes the subject, which is then posteriorly formed, Bergson’s theory constitutes, so the paper argues, a radical reversal of the traditional position, including that of phenomenology. (shrink)

There is an old but still unresolved debate pertaining to the question of Bergsonian monism or dualism. Scholars who think that Bergson is ultimately monist clash with those who claim that he has consistently maintained a dualist position. Others speak of contradiction and point out his failure to reconcile dualism with monism. What feeds on the debate is Bergson’s undeniable change of direction: while his first book is flagrantly dualist, his second book takes a sharp turn toward monism. Without denying (...) the intricacy generated by the change of direction, this paper argues that the originality of his position is overlooked every time that the problem is presented in terms of Bergson being dualist or monist. Notably, it contends that Bergson’s third book, Creative Evolution, overcomes both dualism and monism by removing their contradiction through a durational or slanted approach to Being. (shrink)

This paper is about the Bergsonian synchronization of the perpetual present or memory with the passing present or the body. It shows how forgetting narrows and focuses consciousness on the needs of action and how motor memory allows the imagining of the useful side of memory. The paper highlights the strength of Bergson’s analysis by respectively confronting classical theories of memory, the highly regarded perspective of the phenomenological school, Deleuze’s interpretation of Bergsonism, and Sartre’s theory of mental imagery.

Bergson imputes the generation of false problems in philosophy to the idea of nothingness and negative concepts. Yet, all his books are fraught with oppositional thinking, such as the oppositions between space and time, quantity and quality, life and matter. Understandably, this apparent discrepancy has led a philosopher like Merleau-Ponty to speak of inconsistency, while Jankélévitch and others counter the charge of inconsistency by arguing that Bergsonism embraces operational opposition as opposed to substantial opposition. This article disagrees with both interpretations (...) and proposes a solution based on the need to distinguish between the level of intuitive vision of the unity of nature and the level of representative analysis whose defining feature is that it operates by means of opposing concepts. The progression from representation to intuition transcends opposition and unites life and matter in the vision of a self-surpassing effort or élan. (shrink)

This book proposes a new reading of Bergsonism based on the admission that time, conceived as duration, stretches instead of passes. This swelling time is full and so excludes the negative. Yet, swelling requires some resistance, but such that it is more of a stimulant than a contrariety. The notion of élan vital fulfills this requirement: it states the immanence of life to matter, thereby deriving the swelling from an internal effort and allowing its conceptualization as self-overcoming. With self-overcoming as (...) the inner dynamics of reality, Bergson dismisses all forms of dualism and reductionist monism because both the absence of negativity and the swelling nature of time posit a creative process yielding a qualitatively diverse world. This graded oneness is how the lower level activates intensification by turning into limitation, making possible higher levels of achievement, in particular through the union of mind and body and the integration of openness and closed sociability. (shrink)

According to most scholars, what defines modernity is the prevalence of change and mobility in all aspects of life, as opposed to traditionality in which immobility of beliefs and statuses is said to be the dominant trait. One major implication of this definition is the conclusion that the occurrence of modernity involves generational conflicts on the grounds that older people are less open to innovation and change. This paradigm of modernity has led to the exclusion of elders from political life (...) in Third World countries, especially in those countries that opted for a revolutionary course. In light of traditional views of old age and recent gerontological findings, this paper examines the validity of the assumption according to which younger leadership is best equipped to achieve modernity in developing countries. It finds out that both factual and theoretical considerations underline that integration as much as deviation defines positive change and that the failure of generational interaction results in detrimental outcomes. (shrink)

D’aucuns pensent que la critique bergsonienne de l’idée du néant et des concepts négatifs ne va pas de pair avec la présentation de la matière comme l’opposé de la vie. Cet article est en désaccord avec cette interprétation et propose une solution basée sur la nécessité de distinguer entre la vision intuitive de l’unité de la nature et celle de l’analyse intellectuelle, dont la caractéristique est d’appréhender la même unité au moyen de concepts opposés. Le résultat est que l’intuition transcende (...) l’opposition et unit la vie et la matière dans la vision d’un effort d’autodépassement. -/- According to some critics, Bergson’s critique of the idea of nothingness and negative concepts does not fit with his presentation of matter as the opposite of life. This article disagrees with this interpretation and proposes a solution based on the distinction between the intuitive vision of the unity of nature and its intellectual analysis, whose function is to grasp the same unity by means of opposing concepts. This means that intuition transcends the opposition and unites life and matter in the vision of self-overcoming life. (shrink)

Recent studies have shown that an organization must adapt to change to succeed in a constantly changing market. However, most change efforts fail due to employee resistance to change. It is critical to address employee readiness for change to avoid employee resistance. Employees’ perceptions of fair treatment by their organizations have positively predicted their Readiness for organizational change. This research aims to investigate the influence of organizational justice on employee readiness for change using perceived organizational support as a mediator. This (...) study was carried out on the Ethiopian Revenue and Customs Authority and conducted with 359 employees. The study used a structural equation model and multiple regression analysis to analyze the data. The model developed explains how POS mediates the positive relationship between organizational justice and employee readiness for change. The result shows that organizational justice is a significant influencing factor on employee readiness for change. Furthermore, POS mediates the positive influence of organizational justice on employee readiness for change. This study can assist public and private organizations, as well as policymakers and practitioners, in improving and encouraging different organizational change practices in Ethiopia. Moreover, this study can also contribute to the literature on organizational change by filling the gaps in the relationship between organizational justice and employees’ Readiness for organizational change. Overall, this study concludes that organizations in Ethiopia, including ERCA, should investigate the influence of organizational justice on employee readiness for change to have successful organizational change. (shrink)

This paper discusses the ideas of Asres Yenesew, who was a leading clerical scholar during Haile Selassie’s reign. Frustrated by the marginalization of Ethiopia despite the preservation of its independence, Asres identifies the introduction of Western education as the main culprit and derives the economic satellization of Ethiopia from the cultural ascendancy of the West. As a remedy, he proposes a return to the source by which alone Ethiopia can again recenter itself and make choices in accordance to its interests. (...) He supports his proposal by expounding the empowering forces of some important components of the traditional system of social organization and cultural beliefs. The paper underlines the revolutionary message of Asres’s discourse, but also shows how the timidity of his political stand singularly diminished its resonance. (shrink)

Autism spectrum disorder is an inherited long-living and neurological disorder that starts in the early age of childhood with complicated causes. Autism spectrum disorder can lead to mental disorders such as anxiety, miscommunication, and limited repetitive interest. If the autism spectrum disorder is detected in the early childhood, it will be very beneficial for children to enhance their mental health level. In this study, different machine and deep learning algorithms were applied to classify the severity of autism spectrum disorder. Moreover, (...) different optimization techniques were employed to enhance the performance. The deep neural network performed better when compared with other approaches. (shrink)

„Literature is Freedom“, so endet Susan Sontags Dankrede zur Verleihung des Friedenspreises des Deutschen Buchhandels 2003. Worin gründet die Wirkmacht der Poesie, Freiräume des Denkens zu eröffnen, Lesern Grenzüberschreitungen der eigenen Zeit, der eigenen Identität, der eigenen Kultur zu ermöglichen und damit das Bewusstsein für gänzlich andere Vermessungen der Welt? Wie können Literaturwissenschaftler die Freiheit der Kunst und damit die Komplexität ästhetischer Erfahrungen verteidigen, angesichts der Reduzierung von Freiheitsgraden in den aktuellen Kulturkämpfen? Wie gelingt es zeitgenössischer politischer Dichtung, denen Gehör (...) zu verschaffen, deren Unfreiheit nur die Konsequenz des rücksichtslosen Freiheitsanspruchs privilegierter Individuen und Nationen ist? Antworten darauf versucht der folgende Artikel in offener, aphoristischer Form – mit Hilfe poetologischer Überlegungen und exemplarischen Hinweisen zur Gegenwartslyrik, u.a. zu Gedichten von Don Mee Choi, Kateryna Kalytko, Mihret Kebede, Fiston Mwanza Mujila, Aleš Šteger, Carlos Soto-Román, Anja Utler, Uljana Wolf und Serhji Zhadan. (shrink)