Den 27. november 1985 døde den franske historiker, Fernand Braudel, som af mange verden over regnes for en af de betydeligste historikere nogen sinde. Han var Annales-skolens førende skikkelse.

The most fundamental communication paradox is that of the society communicating with itself. Culture's paradox is that in establishing itself as a culture, society has to create an impossible distance to itself in order to be able to remain within itself. Thus, society finds its bearings by putting itself into perspective, by giving itself a project which naturally takes its starting point in the culture but which always considers what is outside society itself. It is not necessary to be aware (...) of the paradox in order to be able to work with it. Still it is paradoxical that the very society which declares itself ready to work with itself is not capable of doing so. (shrink)

Grounded in newer French socio-political philosophy, this text deals with the paradoxical situation in which the interpretation of society as well as the relation between the individual and the social remains ambiguous even though autonomy and interrogation of the social emerges: Autonomy remains trapped between transcendence and immanence. Modernity is when society claims to know that it has to produce its own myths. Traditional societies did not relate to their myths as if they were their own products. Nevertheless, as soon (...) as the traditional religious points of reference are disclosed and disappear, the community gives itself new points of reference in order to put the social at a distance. Thus the social creates a distance to itself and a mirror for itself in order to perceive itself and work upon itself. The article explores the questions of why this is so and the difference between heteronomous and autonomous autotranscendence. (shrink)

This article explains why intercultural communication always should be studied in context and how even though misunderstanding is normally at stake in intercultural communication, one can argue that the promotion of mutual understanding actually is of mutual interest for all of humanity. Studying in context means paying attention to circumstances around the uses of signs as well as to the roles and moods of the users of signs. Promoting mutual understanding means avoiding a state of mind that implies the depreciation (...) of the other. To be intercultural, a communication must not be infected by prejudices. Any real attempt at intercultural communication is a paradoxical procedure. It supposes that human beings who engage in it at one and the same time recognize the stranger as similar and as different. Also, it can lead to acceptance of the other and a better understanding of what communication is about as well as to rejection and obscurantism. In this paper, I argue that even though people always relate in various ways to common and different cultural backgrounds, they still have to relate to common issues that govern their ways, and that focusing on those common issues and studying the various communicative contexts and contents help promoting mutual understanding, as these activities highlight the implicit role of the value of respect in all interpersonal communication. Human beings cannot avoid evaluating situations, contexts, relations, peoples and cultures. How can we establish that mutual respect and open-mindedness are better than disdain and dogmatism? Well, precisely by affirming that human relations commonly build on the inevitability of communicating and contrasting values and norms. Meaning in interaction permanently transforms cultural elements and patterns into something new. Intercultural communication becomes more respectable when it acknowledges the variety of ways humans interact meaningfully and the plurality of their logic of action. It is good and reasonable to value understanding because this variety and this pluralism always have kept the social alive and more than ever in our modern globalized world contribute to the creativity and interactivity of modern life. The interest of pragmatics in user attitudes, its focus on practical rather than on alethic modalities, can contribute to a more nuanced approach to intercultural communication, where the different elements of meaning in interaction can be studied in various bundles rather than in a single strand. (shrink)

The modern physiological optics introduces the notions related to the conditions of fusion of bi- nocular images by the concept of correspondence, due to Christiaan Huygens (1704), and by an experiment attri- buted to Christoph Scheiner (1619). The conceptualization of this experiment dates, in fact, back to Ptolemy (90- 168) and Ibn al-Haytham (d. af. 1040). The present paper surveys Ibn al-Haytham's knowledge about the mecha- nisms of binocular vision. The article subsequently explains why Ibn al-Haytham, a mathematician, but here (...) an experimenter, did not give the circular figure of the theoretical horopter, construction due to Gerhard Vieth (1818) and Johannes Müller (1826). But, on the other hand, it is clear that Ibn al-Haytham's experimental study puts in place the notion of corresponding points, the cases of homonymous and cross diplopia, and even prepares the discovery of Panum area. L'optique physiologique moderne introduit les notions relatives aux conditions de fusion des images binoculaires par le concept de correspondance, prêté à Christiaan Huygens (1704), et par une expérience attribuée à Christoph Scheiner (1619). L'article montre que la conceptualisation de l'expérience remonte en fait à Ptolémée (90-168) et à Ibn al-Haytham (m. ap. 1040), et précise les connaissances que ce dernier avait des mécanismes de la vision binoculaire. Il est ensuite expliqué pourquoi Ibn al-Haytham, mathématicien mais ici expérimentateur, ne donne pas la forme circulaire de l'horoptère théorique, dont la construction revient à Gerhard Vieth (1818) et Johannes Müller (1826). En revanche, l'étude expérimentale d'Ibn al-Haytham met en place la notion de points correspondants, les cas de diplopie homonyme et croisée et prépare même la découverte de l'aire fusionnelle de Panum. (shrink)

This paper reports the results of a workshop held in January 2013 to begin the process of establishing standards for e-learning programmes in the ethics of research involving human participants that could serve as the basis of their evaluation by individuals and groups who want to use, recommend or accredit such programmes. The standards that were drafted at the workshop cover the following topics: designer/provider qualifications, learning goals, learning objectives, content, methods, assessment of participants and assessment of the course. The (...) authors invite comments on the draft standards and eventual endorsement of a final version by all stakeholders. (shrink)

Ethical concerns about therapeutic misconception have been raised since the early 1980s. This concept was originally described as research participants' assumptions that decisions relating to research interventions are made on the basis of their individual therapeutic needs. The term has since been used to refer to a range of ‘misunderstandings’ that research participants may have. In this paper, we describe a new concept—therapeutic appropriation. Therapeutic appropriation occurs when patients, or clinicians, actively reframe research participation as an opportunity to enhance patients' (...) clinical care, while simultaneously acknowledging the generalised research aims. To illustrate the concept of therapeutic appropriation, we draw on data from an interview study which we conducted to investigate the experiences of patients and general practitioners involved in clinical trials in primary care. We argue that therapeutic appropriation has two key elements: comprehension that the research project is not necessarily aiming to benefit participants and the deliberate use of incidental features of the research for personal therapeutic benefit of various kinds. We conclude that therapeutic appropriation is a useful concept that refines understanding of potential ethical problems in clinical research, and points to strategies to address them. (shrink)

In this paper, we build upon Bruno Latour’s political writings to address the current impasse regarding algorithms in public life. We assert that the increasing difficulties at governing algorithms—be they qualified as “machine learning,” “big data,” or “artificial intelligence”—can be related to their current ontological thinness: deriving from constricted views on theoretical practices, algorithms’ standard definition as problem-solving computerized methods provides poor grips for affective dissensions. We then emphasize on the role historical and ethnographic studies of algorithms can potentially play (...) in the politicization of algorithms. By both digging into the genealogy of algorithms’ constricted definition and by making their contemporary constitutive relationships more visible, both historical and ethnographic studies can contribute to vascularizing algorithms and making them objects of enlarged disputes. We conclude by giving a flavor of the political potential of the vascularization efforts we call for, using materials from an ethnographic study conducted in a computer science laboratory. (shrink)

Cet article porte sur le modèle d'innovation qui préside à la conception des plateformes relationnelles sur Internet. Sous l'étiquette de « Web 2.0 » s'est développé récemment un ensemble de pratiques de conception qui associe étroitement les usagers innovateurs et les petites entreprises présentes sur Internet. On montre notamment comment cette tendance prolonge et transforme la dynamique des innovations ascendantes et le mouvement du logiciel libre. L'article s'attache à décrire deux espaces d'innovation particuliers qui permettent de réunir un réseau hétérogène (...) de concepteurs: les barcamps et les coworking places.This paper focuses on the innovation model that governs the design of relational platforms on the Internet. Under the label of "Web 2.0" has recently developed a set of design practices that closely innovative users and small businesses with an Internet presence. We show how this trend extends and transforms the dynamics of bottom-up innovations and the free software movement. The article aims to describe two areas of innovation individuals who bring together a heterogeneous network of designers: the barcamps and coworking spaces. (shrink)

Notamment par l'intermédiaire de Germaine de Staël.

There is no direct, constant relationship between the anthropological and cultural aspects of modernity. Anthropologically modern peoples display a certain heterogeneity that is not unconnected with earlier peoples, and the culture produced by modern humans, which is also heterogeneous, is differentiated diachronically and according to territory. Though paleogenetic research seems to point us to a single, African source for modern peoples, who had replaced the pre-sapiens populations in Eurasia, this view is not completely proven or accepted. On the other hand, (...) paleo-genetic research has contributed to our relinquishing the hypothesis of a multiregional ‘total continuity’ of local pre-modern populations in the Old World. Indeed the theory of a partial replacement, by a migration ‘out of Africa’, appears to be getting increasingly plausible. This article deals with the problems of the origins of modern man from the points of view of anthropological, paleogenetic, paleoenvironmental and cultural approaches. (shrink)

entre judaïsme, christianisme et islam Dominique de Courcelles. PRÉFACE Le fou de Dieu - celui qui, déployant la logique du discours de Paul sur la folie de la Croix, échange la folie aux yeux du monde contre la sagesse aux yeux de Dieu,  ...

A «proto-história» do livro e a história da imprensa foram sobretudo assuntos dos bibliófi­los, dos bibliográficos e dos historiadores da literatura, ou seja, de especialistas ambicionando defender uma identidade, ou de distinguir, na massa da produção impressa ao longo dos sécu­los, o raro, o monumental, o anedótico, o literário... A partir de meados do século XX c com Apparition du Livre (1a Ed. 1958) de Lucien Febvre et Henri-Jean Martin, a história do livro, usufruindo dos desenvolvimentos da sociologia histórica e (...) de conceitos como o de «história das mentalidades», constituiu-se como disciplina pioneira. Com trabalhos como Histoire de l'édition française (1982-1986), Histoire des bibliothèques françaises (1988-1992), Diction­naire encyclopédique du livre (2002 -...) e outros projectos similares quer na Europa, quer além dela, o livro foi reposicionado, quer quanto à sua produção, quer quanto às práticas associadas, num vasto contexto económico, social, político e cultural. Ao mesmo tempo, as interrogações levantadas pela história do livro foram ao encontro da história da comunicação social e dos media, que hoje se tornaram dominantes. (shrink)

Dans cette sélection d’extraits d’un interview avec Zsuzsa Laszlo, Dominique Malaquais et Kadiatou Diallo proposent une parole commune autour de SPARCK (Space for Pan-African Research, Creation, and Knowledge), qu’elles ont fondé en 2008. C’est un programme expérimental et multidisciplinaire de résidences d’artistes, d’ateliers, d’expositions, de publications et de performances centré sur des approches novatrices et éthiques d’espaces et de sociétés postcoloniales. Les projets SPARCK prennent pour point de départ les Afriques, pour penser le monde et ses futurs depuis le (...) continent et ses diasporas. (shrink)

Les femmes ont des yeux, des cheveux, une peau, des idées, des jambes, un sexe, une date de naissance, des hommes dans la tête, un problème avec Isaac Newton, de petits poudriers qu'elles sortent de leur sac, et le pouvoir d'arrêter les voitures... Il fallait sans doute le regard d'un homme pour s'en rendre compte. Dominique Quessada est philosophe et écrivain. Il regarde ce qu'il y a pour lui de plus mystérieux et de plus proche à la fois : (...) les femmes. Ce livre s'adresse à elles, mais il peut aussi servir de guide à l'usage des aveugles, sourds et malentendants : les hommes. (shrink)

Biological attention to evolution and animal life has primarily emphasized a filiative approach that, although important, overlooks crucial dimensions highlighted by an ecological approach to animal human societies. Increased attention to singular animals and critical scrutiny of the operating definitions of society and culture indicates that vast dimensions of this area have been overlooked and remain to be studied. It is particularly important to pursue the aspects of signification, meaning, individuation, and subjectivity. Attention to animal human societies, or to animal (...) cultures that develop in the heart of human cultures, shows that humans and animals often form extimate relations based on particular aspects of animal subjectivity. With certain species we share a dense form of intertwining built on natural, cultural, and biographical histories. Beyond that, an argument on biosemiotic grounds maintains that culture is intrinsic to the living. (shrink)

Biological attention to evolution and animal life has primarily emphasized a filiative approach that, although important, overlooks crucial dimensions highlighted by an ecological approach to animal human societies. Increased attention to singular animals and critical scrutiny of the operating definitions of society and culture indicates that vast dimensions of this area have been overlooked and remain to be studied. It is particularly important to pursue the aspects of signification, meaning, individuation, and subjectivity. Attention to animal human societies, or to animal (...) cultures that develop in the heart of human cultures, shows that humans and animals often form extimate relations based on particular aspects of animal subjectivity. With certain species we share a dense form of intertwining built on natural, cultural, and biographical histories. Beyond that, an argument on biosemiotic grounds maintains that culture is intrinsic to the living. (shrink)

pt. 1. Gaston Bachelard's historical epistemology.--pt. 2. For a critique of epistemology.

Dominique Lecourt argues that a counter-revolution in French intellectual life has seen the period of the master thinkers of the 1960s succeeded by an era of ...

Qu'un interet renouvele se manifeste aujourd'hui pour la versant epistemologique de l'oeuvre de Gaston Bachelard peut se comprendre au regard de l'histoire contemporaine de la philosophie des sciences. Cette histoire a ete dominee durant la plus grande partie du XXe siecle par une doctrine - celle de l'empirisme (ou positivisme) logique - promue a Vienne a la fin des annees 1920 par une institution originale, le Cercle de Vienne qui publie son manifeste en 1929, et s'organise comme un mouvement a (...) visee universelle et progressiste - celui de la conception scientifique du monde. La tradition francaise de la philosophie des sciences a pris d'entree de jeu un tout autre chemin. Si elle ne les a pas ignorees, elle a refuse de souscrire aux theses majeures du positivisme logique lorsqu'il s'est presente a elle. Elle a toujours lie etroitement philosophie et histoire des sciences. Dans le titre de ce petit livre ecrit durant l'annee universitaire 1967-1968 sous la direction de Georges Canquilhem, Dominique Lecourt a avance l'expression d'epistemologie historique pour signaler, a propos de Gaston Bachelard, cette particularite. (shrink)

This interview ranges across a number of topics relevant to Dominique Lestel's thought: the history and philosophy of ethology; animal culture; realist-Cartesian and bi-constructivist ethology; biosemiotics; philo- sophical anthropology; animal studies; the other-than-human; veganism; and technology. It touches on thinkers including Bruno Latour, Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault, Gilles Deleuze, Paul Shepard, and Donna Haraway.

The belief that obscure dreams have meaning, that they can be understood in spite of their seeming incoherence, is shared by most cultures: the importance attributed to the interpretation of dreams comes up several times in such sacred texts as the Bible and Talmud, where it is warned that an uninterpreted dream is like an unopened letter. However, even if such a point of view may justify the interpretation of obscure dreams, it does not provide a basis for a systematic (...) interpretive approach. Roger Caillois considered the will to interpretation “one of the noblest flaws of the human spirit,” defining it as “this passion to find meaning in what has none, and thus to derive meaning from the meaningless.” And it is surely the human spirit's inherent need for intelligibility that underlies the desire to account for the existence of dreams, whether as a divine message or a symptom of neurosis. The act of interpretation consists of giving meaning to something that, at first glance, appears to have none; and this is done not arbitrarily but by discerning a meaning - with the help of methods created for this purpose - that is believed to be implicitly contained in the dream. Thus to interpret a dream we must explain it in relation to the context in which it takes it meaning. For Freud “the interpretation of a dream” requires specifying its “sense” and then replacing it with something that can fit within the chain of our psychic actions. (shrink)