Dans cet article, nous abordons le problème de la traduction des noms propres. Nous présentons notre hypothèse, selon laquelle la thèse très répandue de la non-traductibilité des noms propres peut être contredite. Puis, nous décrivons la construction du corpus multilingue aligné que nous utilisons pour illustrer notre propos. Nous évaluons enfin les apports et les limites de ce corpus dans le cadre de notre étude.

This article argues that De trinitate advocates a process of “reading” God through metaphor. For Augustine, as for Plotinus, human beings understand God not by analyzing him rationally but by seeing him through the metaphor of the human mind. But unlike Plotinus, Augustine claims that the imago dei, with its triadic structure of memory, understanding, and will, serves as metaphor only to the extent that it experiences Christ’s redemptive illumination. The act of metaphor is a kind of interior “reading” during (...) which the mind reads the imago dei as a mental text, interprets this text through Christ’s aid, and is simultaneously transformed into a better image. (shrink)

« Rendre encore possible un philosopher après Hegel » n’exige pas seulement que le penseur prenne position à l’égard de l’interprétation hégélienne de l’histoire de la philosophie pour rompre avec l’idéalisme millénaire de la pensée, mais également qu’il se mesure à la philosophie hégélienne de l’histoire pour en dénoncer la funeste vérité. Mais dès lors, comment différer de Hegel sans renoncer à concevoir l’histoire? L’œuvre de Franz Rosenzweig se propose de penser l’histoire sous condition d’une Révélation qui, en lui étant (...) extérieure, la rend intelligible et la sauve. Après avoir dénoncé dans toute philosophie de l’histoire une théodicée usurpée, et démontré le lien étroit entre le concept hégélien de Weltgeschichte et l’histoire du christianisme, Rosenzweig s’avance en direction d’une autre philosophie de l’histoire mondiale, laquelle entend rendre toute sa place à la Révélation et au peuple juif qui en est le porteur. La critique de l’histoire hégélienne se prolonge alors dans l’élaboration d’un nouveau concept, dialogique et pacifié, de l’histoire mondiale – lequel n’échappe pourtant pas à toute ambivalence à l’égard du modèle dont il cherche à s’excepter. (shrink)

Cet article se penche sur les trois « analyses grammaticales » se trouvant au cœur de L’Étoile de la Rédemption de Franz Rosenzweig (1921). Dans ces fragments d’exégèse associés à l’étude des notions de Création, de Révélation et de Rédemption, Rosenzweig se livre à une singulière lecture de la Bible hébraïque, qui semble obéir avant tout à un dessein philosophique. Après avoir déterminé les principes directeurs de cette pratique exégétique, l’on montre en quoi les analyses grammaticales proposent une variation sur (...) les méthodes traditionnelles de l’interprétation, sans renoncer au souci de la lettre ni démentir la fidélité au sens premier du texte. La relation entre le propos philosophique et le texte sacré apparaît alors comme une forme de traduction, grâce à laquelle la « pensée nouvelle » que Rosenzweig appelle de ses vœux trouve sa propre langue. Une grammaire guidée par des principes philosophiques reçoit dès lors la tâche de nous préparer à accueillir le témoignage du texte sacré. (shrink)

Dans cet article, nous abordons le problème de la traduction des noms propres. Nous présentons notre hypothèse, selon laquelle la thèse très répandue de la non-traductibilité des noms propres peut être contredite. Puis, nous décrivons la construction du corpus multilingue aligné que nous utilisons pour illustrer notre propos. Nous évaluons enfin les apports et les limites de ce corpus dans le cadre de notre étude.

The aim of this paper is to clarify the role of category theory in the foundations of mathematics. There is a good deal of confusion surrounding this issue. A standard philosophical strategy in the face of a situation of this kind is to draw various distinctions and in this way show that the confusion rests on divergent conceptions of what the foundations of mathematics ought to be. This is the strategy adopted in the present paper. It is divided into 5 (...) sections. We first show that already in the set theoretical framework, there are different dimensions to the expression foundations of. We then explore these dimensions more thoroughly. After a very short discussion of the links between these dimensions, we move to some of the arguments presented for and against category theory in the foundational landscape. We end up on a more speculative note by examining the relationships between category theory and set theory. (shrink)

Le réalisme scientifique occupe une place centrale dans le système philosophique de Mario Bunge. Au cœur de cette thèse, on trouve l’affirmation selon laquelle nous pouvons connaître le monde partiellement. Il s’ensuit que les théories scientifiques ne sont pas totalement vraies ou totalement fausses, mais plutôt partiellement vraies et partiellement fausses. Ces énoncés sur la connaissance scientifique, à première vue plausible pour quiconque est familier avec la pratique scientifique, demandent néanmoins à être clarifiés, précisés et, ultimement, à être inclus dans (...) un cadre théorique plus large et rigoureux. Depuis ses toutes premières publications sur ces questions et jusqu’à récemment, Mario Bunge n’a cessé d’interpeller les philosophes afin qu’ils développent une théorie, au sens propre du terme, de la vérité partielle afin de clarifier les enjeux épistémologiques liés au réalisme scientifique. Bunge a lui-même proposé plusieurs parties de cette théorie au fil des années, mais aucune de ces propositions ne l’a satisfait pleinement et la construction de cette théorie demeure un problème entier. Dans ce texte, nous passerons rapidement en revue certaines des approches proposées par Bunge dans ses publications et nous esquisserons certaines pistes qui devraient servir à tout le moins de desiderata pour la construction d’une théorie de la vérité partielle. (shrink)

Opponents of human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research claim that such research is incompatible with the moral principle that it is always wrong intentionally to end a human life. In this essay, I discuss how that principle might be revised so that it is subject to as few difficulties as possible. I then argue that even the most defensible version of the principle is compatible with the moral permissibility of hESC research.

La confrontation des conceptions whiteheadienne et merleau-pontienne de l?expérience est loin de constituer une tâche aisée. La difficulté la plus apparente est relative à la divergence sur laquelle nous butons dès que nous plaçons l?une à côté de l?autre les deux entreprises philosophiques. Alors que dans Procès et réalité , la perspective adoptée par Whitehead consiste en une recherche à « entrées multiples », la phénoménologie pourrait être hâtivement décrite comme dérivant toute signification du monde d?une conscience constituante. En d?autres (...) termes, l?expérience perceptive posséde­rait une dimension anthropocentrée chez Merleau-Ponty alors que cette même dimension ne paraîtrait avoir chez Whitehead que le statut du cas particulier. La différence s?expliquerait alors par le fait que Whitehead cherche à analyser la structure de toute expérience du monde comme proces­sus, et pas seulement l?expérience d?une conscience humaine. Plu­sieurs passages de Procès et réalité se veulent d?ailleurs très explicites dans leur rejet, ou tout au moins dans leur « secondarisation » du rôle de la conscience : La conscience est seulement le dernier et le plus grand des éléments par lesquels la sélectivité qui caractérise l?individu masque la totalité externe dont il provient et qu?il incarne. [?] La tâche de la philosophie est de recouvrer la totalité rejetée dans l?ombre par la sélection. Elle remet. (shrink)

Cet article vise à élucider la caractérisation que Franz Rosenzweig propose, dans « La pensée nouvelle », de son grand œuvre publié en 1921. D’après l’essai de 1925, L’Étoile de la Rédemption reposerait en effet sur une « méthode du langage » elle-même identifiée à, ou placée sous la dépendance d’une méthode fondée sur la temporalité. Nous cherchons à comprendre le sens de ces expressions en retraçant le rôle que jouent dans L’Étoile les différentes formes de la parole, pour dévoiler (...) la relation temporelle qui, au moyen d’une structure qualifiée de « prophétique », unit le langage véritable et ce qui le précède ou l’excède. Nous montrons que s’élabore ainsi une théorie du signe qui éclaire la structure de l’ouvrage et l’originalité de sa contribution à la pensée, entre l’exploration des sources juives et l’horizon idéaliste de l’interrogation philosophique. (shrink)

This paper examines the relevance of Rosenzweig’s theory of translation to his concept of redemption. Rosenzweig’s statements on the redemptive virtues of translation, in the afterword to his Jehuda Halevi and in “Scripture and Luther,” are well known. However, when considered in connection with the Star of Redemption as well as with the later essays, Rosenzweig’s position appears more complex than what a first reading might suggest, for he seemed to have abandoned his first definition of translation – as an (...) imperfectly redemptive task, nevertheless providing effective understanding between the peoples – to adopt the notion of a true redemption of the tongues, be it at the expense of understanding. In what sense is translation, if at all legitimately, bound to Redemption? The paper argues that the concept of the spirit (Geist) is central to Rosenzweig’s theory of translation, and examines the metamorphoses of this concept from the Star to the later essays. It accounts for the fact that language, in a certain sense, is the true subject of redemption, and allows for new insights into the philosophy of history. (shrink)

L’œuvre édifiante de Kierkegaard demeure objet de perplexité, tout particulièrement pour les lecteurs venant à elle depuis la philosophie. Que signifie l’« édifiant»s’il n’est pas encore le religieux, mais sa préparation dans l’éthique, et s’il n’est déjà plus simplement le spéculatif, mais le retournement de celui-ci contre lui-même à la lumière de l’Écriture sainte? En quoi consiste sa contribution essentielle à la philosophie? Cet article se propose de montrer que les Discours édifiants de 1843-1844 conduisent une méditation du temps et (...) de l’éternité qui demeure unique au sein de l’œuvre kierkegaardienne. Tout en approfondissant la catégorie de l’esprit, forgée par les pseudonymes, les Discours développent les catégories singulières de l’attente et de la patience. Ils offrent une description bouleversante de l’expérience du temps et cherchent à en opérer la transfiguration par l’acte de (se) comprendre. Par là, c’est l’éternité d’une Parole qui pénètre dans l’existence encore sujette au temps. Voué à la tâche de préparer l’intériorité en vue du religieux, l’édifiant apparaît comme le sérieux de la philosophie elle-même. (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Apeiron Jahrgang: 47 Heft: 2 Seiten: 141-171.

In this paper, we look at Bourbaki’s work as a case study for the notion of mathematical style. We argue that indeed Bourbaki exemplifies a mathematical style, namely the structuralist style.

In this paper, we try to establish that some mathematical theories, like K-theory, homology, cohomology, homotopy theories, spectral sequences, modern Galois theory (in its various applications), representation theory and character theory, etc., should be thought of as (abstract) machines in the same way that there are (concrete) machines in the natural sciences. If this is correct, then many epistemological and ontological issues in the philosophy of mathematics are seen in a different light. We concentrate on one problem which immediately follows (...) the recognition of the particular status of these theories: the demarcation problem between ‘natural kinds’ and ‘artefacts’. (shrink)

This article proposes two emendations to the text of Apollonius Citiensis and Galen of Pergamum’s De Praecognitione. The problematic transmissions are isolated and a conjectural emendation suggested.

This essay is a response to Julian Savulescu’s objections to the future of value argument for the immorality of abortion published in the Journal of Medical Ethics, June 2002. Firstly, Savulescu’s claim that the future of value argument has implausible implications is considered. The author argues that the argument does not have these implications. Secondly, properties which, according to Savulescu, could underwrite the wrongness of killing and that are acquired only after implantation, are considered. It is argued that none of (...) these properties is an adequate basis for the distinction between wrongful and permissible killing. (shrink)

Structuralism has recently moved center stage in philosophy of mathematics. One of the issues discussed is the underlying logic of mathematical structuralism. In this paper, I want to look at the dual question, namely the underlying structures of logic. Indeed, from a mathematical structuralist standpoint, it makes perfect sense to try to identify the abstract structures underlying logic. We claim that one answer to this question is provided by categorical logic. In fact, we claim that the latter can be seen—and (...) probably should be seen—as being a structuralist approach to logic and it is from this angle that categorical logic is best understood. (shrink)

John Lizza says that to define death well, we must go beyond biological considerations. Death is the absence of life in an entity that was once alive. Biology is the study of life. Therefore, the definition of death should not involve non-biological concerns.

A Study of the History and Philosophy of Category Theory Jean-Pierre Marquis. to say that objects are dispensable in geometry. What is claimed is that the specific nature of the objects used is irrelevant. To use the terminology already ...

Categorical foundations and set-theoretical foundations are sometimes presented as alternative foundational schemes. So far, the literature has mostly focused on the weaknesses of the categorical foundations. We want here to concentrate on what we take to be one of its strengths: the explicit identification of so-called canonical maps and their role in mathematics. Canonical maps play a central role in contemporary mathematics and although some are easily defined by set-theoretical tools, they all appear systematically in a categorical framework. The key (...) element here is the systematic nature of these maps in a categorical framework and I suggest that, from that point of view, one can see an architectonic of mathematics emerging clearly. Moreover, they force us to reconsider the nature of mathematical knowledge itself. Thus, to understand certain fundamental aspects of mathematics, category theory is necessary (at least, in the present state of mathematics). (shrink)

ArgumentThe sect of ancient Greek physicians who believed that medical knowledge came from personal experience also read the Hippocratic Corpus intensively. While previous scholarship has concentrated on the contributions of individual physicians to ancient scholarship on Hippocrates, this article seeks to identify those characteristics of Empiricist reading methodology that drove an entire medical community to credit Hippocrates with medical authority. To explain why these physicians appealed to Hippocrates’ authority, I deploy surviving testimonia and fragments to describe the skills, practices, and (...) ideologies of the reading community of ancient Empiricist physicians over the one-hundred year period 175 to 75 BCE. The Empiricist conception of testimony taken on trust operative within that reading community elided the modern distinction between personal and institutional targets of trust by treating Hippocratic writings as revelatory of the moral character of Hippocrates as an author. Hippocrates’ moral character as an honest witness who accurately observed empirical phenomena aligned with the epistemic virtues of an empirical medical community who believed that medical knowledge came from personal experience. So I argue that Empiricist reading culture constructed a moral authority of honesty and accuracy from Hippocratic writings, enlarged the personal authority of Hippocrates among medical readers, and contributed to the development of Hippocratism. (shrink)

This paper discusses three cultural narratives that threaten the health of people with intellectual/developmental disabilities (IDD) and which have become more evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. These meta-narratives are the medical model of health/disability; the population health approach to health inequalities; and policies premised on the assumption of the importance of national economic growth as an incentive for reducing health inequalities. Evidence exists that health research is more likely to become policy if it fits within a medical model and addresses (...) national economic growth. These two criteria are particularly problematic for people who have IDD. The paper also proposes a research model to facilitate the inclusion of IDD related issues in future policy regarding health inequalities. (shrink)

In this paper, following the claims made by various mathematicians, I try to construct a theory of levels of abstraction. I first try to clarify the basic components of the abstract method as it developed in the first quarter of the 20th century. I then submit an explication of the notion of levels of abstraction. In the final section, I briefly explore some of main philosophical consequences of the theory.

This article queries the very question of and that is ‘gender’, from the vantage of transgender studies. In other words, it moves through Wiegman's question of the desires that propel us and asks what desires propel a feeling of gender's necessity, positing the possibility of relinquishing gender as a vector with the same kind of footing it currently has. In short, the question that is asked is gender itself, and the question is asked from a trans studies that excavates the (...) possibilities of radicality. (shrink)

Während Condorcets Schriften bislang nur unter dem Gesichtspunkt der Geschichtsphilosophie und mathematischen Entscheidungstheorie rezipiert wurden, präsentiert dieser Band Condorcet als einen zentralen politischen Ordnungsdenker der Französischen Revolution, als einen liberal-republikanischen Autor. Die in der Edition versammelten Quellentexte zeigen, dass er die menschenrechtlichen und demokratischen Leitideen am Ende des 18. Jh.s nachdrücklich artikulierte. Condorcets zentrales Anliegen besteht in der Suche nach einer institutionellen Form demokratischer Ordnung, die ein hohes Maß an bürgerschaftlicher Partizipation mit den liberalen Forderungen individueller Rechte verbindet. Die Schriften (...) zur Emanzipation von Sklaven, zum Bürgerrecht für Frauen, zum Begriff der Revolution sowie sein demokratischer Verfassungsentwurf von 1793 belegen seinen theoretisch komplexen und innovativen Versuch, Antworten auf die Herausforderungen demokratischer Legitimität zu finden. (shrink)

The doctrine that it is wrong to end the existence of something because it is a human life I call “the standard view.” I argue that attempts by proponents of abortion choice to avoid the implications of the standard view by suggesting that we don't know when life begins or by suggesting that fetuses are only potential lives fail. Nevertheless, opponents of abortion choice should not base their arguments on the standard view, for the standard view is false. I propose (...) a substitute for the standard view that avoids the difficulties with it, that explains why most people believe that the standard view is true and that also underwrites opposition to abortion choice. (shrink)

Bonnie Steinbock, Life Before Birth New York, Oxford University Press, 1992, 256 pp.

In this issue of the journal Mark Brown has offered a new argument against my potential future of value theory. I argue that even though the premises of this new argument are far more defensible than the premises of his old argument, the new argument does not show that the potential future of value theory of the wrongness of killing is false. If the considerations to which Brown appeals are used, not to show that the potential future of value theory (...) is false, but to show that abortion is morally permissible, they are also unsuccessful. I also argue that Brown's clarified self-represented future of value account and Simon Parsons's account of the wrongness of killing are both subject to major difficulties. Finally, I show, in an appendix, that Brown's assertion that my discussion of his views suffers from major logical errors is false. (shrink)

In this paper, we argue that, contrary to the view held by most philosophers of mathematics, Bourbaki’s technical conception of mathematical structuralism is relevant to philosophy of mathematics. In fact, we believe that Bourbaki has captured the core of any mathematical structuralism.

In my essay, Why abortion is immoral, I criticised discussions of the morality of abortion in which the crucial issue is whether fetuses are human beings or whether fetuses are persons. Both argument strategies are inadequate because they rely on indefensible assumptions. Why should being a human being or being a person make a moral difference? I argued that the correct account of the morality of abortion should be based upon a defensible account of why killing children and adults is (...) wrong. I claimed that what makes killing us wrong is that our premature deaths deprive us of our futures of value, that is, the goods of life we would have experienced had we survived. This account of the wrongness of killing explains why killing is one of the worst of crimes and how killing greatly harms the victim. It coheres with the attitudes of those with cancer or HIV facing premature death. It explains why we believe it is wrong to kill infants. It does not entail that it wrongs a human being to end her life if she is in persistent vegetative state or if her future must consist only of unbearable physical suffering and she wants to die. This account of the wrongness of killing implies that abortion is immoral because we were fetuses once and we know those fetuses had futures of value. Mark Brown claims that this potential future of value account is unsound because it implies that we have welfare rights to what we need to stay alive that most people would reject. I argue that Brown is incorrect in two ways: a welfare right to what we need to stay alive is not directly implied by my account and, in addition, most of us do believe that dependent human beings have substantial welfare rights to what they need to stay alive. Brown argues that depriving us of a future of value of which we have mental representations both is a better explanation of the wrongness of killing and does not imply that abortion is immoral. I reply that if Brown's arguments against my view were sound, those arguments could be easily adapted to show that his view is unsound as well and Brown's view is both ambiguous and unsound on any interpretation. The most popular class of pro-choice argument strategies appeals to the view that some or all fetuses lack either a mental state or function or a capacity for a mental state or function necessary for possession of the right to life. Desires, interests, sentience, various concepts, moral agency, and rationality have all been suggested as candidates for this crucial mental role. Brown's analysis is one member of this class of strategies. I believe that it is possible to show that none of these strategies is reasonable. However, there are so many of these strategies that the required argument demands something more like a book and less like a short essay. The argument of the following essay is a piece of this larger argument. (shrink)