This essay analyzes the historical development of otology in relation to music. It illustrates the integral role of music perception and appreciation in the study of hearing, where hearing operates not simply as a scientific phenomenon but signifies particular meaningful experiences in society. The four historical moments considered—Helmholtz’s piano-keyed cochlea, the ear phonautograph, the hearing aid, and the cochlear implant—show how the sounds, perceptions, and instruments of music have mediated and continue to mediate our relationships with hearing. To have an (...) ear, one does not just bear a physiological hearing mechanism; one experiences the aesthetics of musical sound. (shrink)

I will suggest, in this article, a possible explanation of the fact that legal language appears incoherent to the general public. I will present one legal text (an indictment), explaining why it appears incoherent to legal laypersons. I will argue that the traits making this particular text appear incoherent are, first, that a specialized legal meaning is conveyed implicitly and, second, that there are no key-words that could direct laypersons to the knowledge making this meaning obvious to legalists. I will (...) conclude that any legal text having these traits is likely to appear incoherent to the general public and suggest that the traits making my example appear incoherent might be rather common among the various texts of the various legal systems. On this suggestion there is no need to assume any causal relation between lawyers’ social interests and the apparent incoherence of legal language as it entails that this incoherence is inevitable. (I will argue that it is a result of the facts that legal language is ordinary language used, in the ordinary way, in the special context of the legal discourse.). (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Semiotica Jahrgang: 2016 Heft: 209 Seiten: 99-123.

Que savent les juristes? Que choisissent-ils d'ignorer? Travaillant avec le droit, ou sur lui, ils se dotent de connaissances qu'ils "vérifient" en tentant de se prémunir contre le risque d'erreur : quelles sont leurs sources d'information? Des théories sont accueillies avec enthousiasme ou avec réserve ; d'autres sont rejetées. Tels sont les phénomènes étudiés en épistémologie juridique. Le savoir des juristes, avocats, avoués, universitaires et autres enseignants du droit, greffiers, conseil d'entreprises... a ses lois et ses tendances, ses mouvements, ses (...) crises. (shrink)

Le particulier qui s'adresse à un avocat, ou qui lit la décision de justice rendue pour ou contre lui, éprouve un étrange sentiment : les " vraies " questions qu'il avait posées semblent avoir été escamotées. Elles n'ont pas reçu de réponse. Le juriste semble détenir les réponses aux questions que se pose le justiciable ; c'est ce qui le définit en quelque sorte et justifie son intervention. Il les puise notamment dans la loi et dans les décisions judiciaires. La (...) réalité est moins simple. Entre questions et réponses en droit s'instaure un jeu complexe et subtil. Les questions risquent fort de s'y perdre tant elles sont préparées, codées, dirigées par les " réponses " supposées en attente. La qualité du savoir des juristes dépend de leur aptitude à sauvegarder les questions, à ne pas les laisser s'émousser et disparaître sous l'emprise de notions, de catégories et de qualifications qui les recouvrent. Le retour aux questions de droit passe par la redécouverte du temps propre au savoir juridique et à sa sédimentation. Loin de la dogmatique juridique, il y a lieu de penser le droit et les lois comme des réponses. Les questions sont à poser en situation. (shrink)

This work studies manipulative use of language that can be called “deliberate failure of communication”; I characterize this kind of manipulation and show that it can be found in the discourse of marketing experts and legal professionals. Relying on relevance theory, I show that manipulation of this kind takes advantage of what van Dijk calls the “context model” of the addressees. I exemplify two ways in which the context models of some of the discourse’s participants might be misused in order (...) to manipulate them. One way is exemplified by a text from an advertisement, the other by a text from a criminal court file. I propose, finally, that the analysis supports van Dijk’s view that social, discursive, and epistemic inequalities reproduce one another in a kind of vicious circle. It suggests, in van Dijk’s terms, that manipulation by deliberate failure of communication is a discriminatory use of language employed by elite groups in order to reproduce their social power. (shrink)

According to Dascal, controversy is characterised by a special kind of rationality, one result thereof being the unique contribution of this kind of polemics to the growth of knowledge. This, in turn, implies that complete cooperation may be detrimental for the efficiency of communication. In this article I discuss the kind of rationality that characterises controversy in legal discourse, in order to provide additional support to Dascal’s thesis about the uniqueness of the rationality of this kind of polemic exchange. I (...) present empirical evidence supporting the conclusion that we may characterise the rationality inherent in controversy by its tolerance to inconsistency; I elucidate the tolerance to inconsistency of the rationality of legal polemic by showing that the norms recommended by the Israeli Supreme Court in the domain of conjugal relationships between men and women verge on inconsistency: On the one hand, the legal system defends the right of women over their bodies, including a woman’s right to establish a romantic relationship, regardless of the nature of the relationship she has with other men; on the other hand, the court acknowledges a man’s uncontrolled tendency to impose monogamous behaviour on his female partner. (shrink)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a driving force in modern research, industry and public administration and the European Union (EU) is embracing this technology with a view to creating societal, as well as economic, value. This effort has been shared by EU Member States which were all encouraged to develop their own national AI strategies outlining policies and investment levels. This study focuses on how EU Member States are approaching the promise to develop and use AI for the good of (...) society through the lens of their national AI strategies. In particular, we aim to investigate how European countries are investing in AI and to what extent the stated plans contribute to the good of people and society as a whole. Our contribution consists of three parts: (i) a conceptualization of AI for social good highlighting the role of AI policy, in particular, the one put forward by the European Commission (EC); (ii) a qualitative analysis of 15 European national strategies mapping investment plans and suggesting their relation to the social good (iii) a reflection on the current status of investments in socially good AI and possible steps to move forward. Our study suggests that while European national strategies incorporate money allocations in the sphere of AI for social good (e.g. education), there is a broader variety of underestimated actions (e.g. multidisciplinary approach in STEM curricula and dialogue among stakeholders) that can boost the European commitment to sustainable and responsible AI innovation. (shrink)