Priority Monism Beyond Spacetime

I will defend two claims. First, Schaffer's priority monism is in tension with many research programs in quantum gravity. Second, priority monism can be modified into a view more amenable to this physics. The first claim is grounded in the fact that promising approaches to quantum gravity such as loop quantum gravity or string theory deny the fundamental reality of spacetime. Since fundamental spacetime plays an important role in Schaffer's priority monism by being identified with the fundamental structure, namely the cosmos, the disappearance of spacetime in these views might undermine classical priority monism. My second claim is that priority monism can avoid this issue with two moves: first, in dropping one of its core assumptions, namely that the fundamental structure is spatio-temporal, second, by identifying the connection between the non-spatio-temporal structure and the derivative spatio-temporal structure with mereological composition

Fast complexified quaternion Fourier transform

A discrete complexified quaternion Fourier transform is introduced. This is a generalization of the discrete quaternion Fourier transform to the case where either or both of the signal/image and the transform kernel are complex quaternion-valued. It is shown how to compute the transform using four standard complex Fourier transforms and the properties of the transform are briefly discussed

Contre les défenses du présentisme par le sens commun

According to presentism, only the present exists. The view is in a bad dialectical situation since it has to face several objections based on physics and a priori arguments. The view remains nonetheless popular because it is, allegedly, more intuitive than alternative views, namely eternalism (past, present and future entities exist) and no-futurism (only past and present entities exist). In the essay, I shall not discuss whether intuitivity is an accurate criterion for ontological enquiry. I will rather argue that any philosophically acceptable version of presentism entails highly counterintuitive consequences. Indeed, the presentist has to commit herself to substantial claims in order to provide an answer to two problems : the grounding problem and the cross-temporal relations problem. Therefore, if the main motivation for presentism is the willingness to stick with common sense intuitions, presentists should consider endorsing another view about existence in time

Le département : une “vieille institution” qui a résisté au temps et aux critiques

International audienceMenacé par les communes d’un côté et les régions de l’autre, le département, présumé archaïque, conservateur, faiblement démocratique, voire anti-urbain, a fait depuis deux siècles l’objet de multiples critiques. Cette institution a été stigmatisée dans de nombreux rapports appelant à un élagage institutionnel dont l’objectif serait de simplifier le « millefeuille » territorial pour plus de lisibilité et d’efficacité. Le département serait-il « de trop » ? Cet article revient sur les moments de la controverse, et les raisons qui expliquent que le département, échelon politique et administratif, garde néanmoins une place privilégiée dans l’architecture territoriale des pouvoirs en France. Il interroge aussi les enjeux de la réforme territoriale