41 research outputs found
Réinventer la sexualité: Remarques sur les derniers écrits de Michel Foucault
In this paper I wish to comment on the way we conceive of sexual life today, in connection with Michel Foucaultâs characterization of âSexâ as something that is part of a âdevice for sexualityâ. The paper is divided into three parts. In the first part, I attempt to analyze and criticize some major components of our conceptions of sex, namely (a) our belief that sex is a private matter, (b) the view that erotism succeeds to be a philosophical clue to the Subject-Object predicament (G. Bataille), and (c) the thesis that a new civilization based on Eros might be born (H. Marcuse). In the second part, I focus on Foucaultâs position, which has been widely misunderstood. Foucaultâs general argument was that the mechanics of power in our contemporary societies required a well organized device for sexual practice, theory, medical care and so on, since power required close control over the private life of individuals and the disciplinary training of bodies. He opposed the (c) thesis, which he called the ârepressive hypothesisâ. He also opposed the (b) view, substituting a âgenealogy of the man of desireâ for Batailleâs conception of erotism. Finally he opposed the (a) belief, by bringing in debate the spectacular counter-example of Ancient Greek and Latin conceptions of sexuality, to the understanding of which he devoted the last years of his life. The third part of this paper then develops Foucaultâs basic assumption that in our present time, to resist power will be possible only if we become able to constitute ourselves as individuals in a new way. I argue that the enigma of sex in our lives essentially exhibits our political, philosophical and ethical weakness. With respect to politics we are deprived of the âpower to actâ, since every confrontation between individuals and the City has become delu- sive, thus making the art of Greek tragedy barely impossible. With respect to philosophy, we meet the major challenge of a new characterization of the Subject. With respect to ethics, we face the reality of violence everywhere. Our âprivate tragediesâ demonstrate that we recoil into private life mainly because we feel that we have lost the world.Lâobjet de lâarticle est dâanalyser notre conception contemporaine de la sexualitĂ©, en liaison avec la caractĂ©risation quâen proposait Foucault et qui fait du âSexeâ lâĂ©lĂ©ment central dâun âdispositif de sexualitĂ©â. Dans la premiĂšre partie de lâarticle, je propose dâabord une description critique de certaines des composantes principales de notre conception de la sexualitĂ©, qui sont (a) la conviction que le sexe est une affaire privĂ©e; (b) lâidĂ©e que lâĂ©rotisme pourrait ĂȘtre une solution philosophique providentielle Ă lâopposition du Sujet et de lâObjet (G. Bataille); et (c) la thĂšse quâune civilisation nonrĂ©pressive est possible (H. Marcuse). Dans la seconde partie je commente les positions de Foucault, qui ont Ă©tĂ© souvent mal comprises. La thĂšse gĂ©nĂ©rale de Foucault Ă©tait que les mĂ©canismes du pouvoir, dans les sociĂ©tĂ©s contemporaines, exigent un contrĂŽle Ă©troit de la vie privĂ©e des individus et par lĂ mĂȘme la mise en oeuvre dâun âdispositifâ bien organisĂ© susceptible de rĂ©gir la pratique sexuelle, de mĂȘme que sa thĂ©orisation et sa mĂ©dicalisation. Foucault sâopposait Ă la thĂšse (c), quâil appelait âlâhypothĂšse rĂ©pressiveâ. Il sâopposait Ă©galement Ă (b), en proposant Ă la place de lâĂ©rotisme de Bataille une âgĂ©nĂ©alogie de lâhomme de dĂ©sirâ. Enfin, il sâopposait Ă la conviction (a) en arguant du spectaculaire contre-exemple des conceptions grĂ©co-latines de la sexualitĂ© dans lâAntiquitĂ©, auxquelles il avait consacrĂ© les derniĂšres annĂ©es de sa vie. La troisiĂšme partie de lâarticle dĂ©veloppe Ă partir de lĂ la prĂ©supposition fondamentale de Foucault selon laquelle la rĂ©sistance au pouvoir nâest possible Ă notre Ă©poque que si nous parvenons Ă nous constituir nousmĂȘmes en tant quâindividus dâune maniĂšre nouvelle. En accord avec cette prĂ©supposition, je propose de dire que lâĂ©nigme du sexe dans nos vies exhibe avant tout notre faiblesse politique, philosophique et Ă©thique. En politique nous sommes privĂ©s de la âpuissance dâagirâ parce que toute confrontation effective entre lâindividu et la CitĂ© est devenue illusoire, ce qui scelle lâim- possibilitĂ© de la tragĂ©die grecque. En philosophie nous rencontrons le dĂ©fi majeur de savoir comment dĂ©finir aujourdâhui le concept de Sujet. Du point de vue Ă©thique, nous avons affaire partout Ă la rĂ©alitĂ© de la violence. Nos âtragĂ©dies privĂ©esâ dĂ©montrent que nous ne nous rĂ©fugions dans la vie privĂ©e que parce que nous avons le sentiment dâavoir perdu le monde
LâArs Magna Lucis et Umbrae d'Athanase Kircher. NĂ©oplatonisme, hermĂ©tisme et « nouvelle philosophie »
Communication En 1646 le PĂšre JĂ©suite Athanase Kircher publie Ă Rome son septiĂšme ouvrage, intitulĂ© Ars Magna Lucis et Umbrae. Affirmer que ce livre est lâun des exemples les plus frappants du Baroque dans le domaine des sciences serait une platitude, tant il est clair que le seul nom de Kircher attire le qualificatif de « baroque » sous la plume de tous ses commentateurs. Pourtant, Ă sâefforcer ne serait-ce que de justifier ce jugement, de lâexpliquer et dâen argumenter la valeur, on est con..
La connaissance a-t-elle un sujet ? Un essai pour repenser lâindividu
Il y a sans doute en philosophie aujourdâhui peu de questions dâallure aussi classiques et acadĂ©miques que celle du sujet. Pourtant, lorsquâil sâagit de traiter des rapports entre philosophie, histoire des sciences et sociologie des sciences, le problĂšme que pose la dĂ©termination dâun concept de sujet est gĂ©nĂ©ralement Ă©ludĂ©; ou bien, ce qui produit le mĂȘme nĂ©ant de rĂ©sultats, il est phagocytĂ© par la polĂ©mique ou noyĂ© dans lâĆcumĂ©nisme. Je voudrais donc procĂ©der autrement et affronter directem..
Réinventer la sexualité: Remarques sur les derniers écrits de Michel Foucault
In this paper I wish to comment on the way we conceive of sexual life today, in connection with Michel Foucaultâs characterization of âSexâ as something that is part of a âdevice for sexualityâ. The paper is divided into three parts. In the first part, I attempt to analyze and criticize some major components of our conceptions of sex, namely (a) our belief that sex is a private matter, (b) the view that erotism succeeds to be a philosophical clue to the Subject-Object predicament (G. Bataille), and (c) the thesis that a new civilization based on Eros might be born (H. Marcuse). In the second part, I focus on Foucaultâs position, which has been widely misunderstood. Foucaultâs general argument was that the mechanics of power in our contemporary societies required a well organized device for sexual practice, theory, medical care and so on, since power required close control over the private life of individuals and the disciplinary training of bodies. He opposed the (c) thesis, which he called the ârepressive hypothesisâ. He also opposed the (b) view, substituting a âgenealogy of the man of desireâ for Batailleâs conception of erotism. Finally he opposed the (a) belief, by bringing in debate the spectacular counter-example of Ancient Greek and Latin conceptions of sexuality, to the understanding of which he devoted the last years of his life. The third part of this paper then develops Foucaultâs basic assumption that in our present time, to resist power will be possible only if we become able to constitute ourselves as individuals in a new way. I argue that the enigma of sex in our lives essentially exhibits our political, philosophical and ethical weakness. With respect to politics we are deprived of the âpower to actâ, since every confrontation between individuals and the City has become delu- sive, thus making the art of Greek tragedy barely impossible. With respect to philosophy, we meet the major challenge of a new characterization of the Subject. With respect to ethics, we face the reality of violence everywhere. Our âprivate tragediesâ demonstrate that we recoil into private life mainly because we feel that we have lost the world
Myocardial revascularization and bilateral lung transplantation without cardiopulmonary bypass
Coronary artery disease is occasionally encountered in lung transplant recipients and is a risk factor for perioperative complications and poor survival. Besides combined heart-lung transplantation, various techniques of myocardial revascularization can be performed before, or at the time of lung transplantation. We report herein a patient with end-stage bronchoemphysema and two-vessel coronary disease who underwent âoff-pump' coronary artery bypass graft immediately followed by bilateral lung transplantatio
Improving Care of Patients At-Risk for Osteoporosis: A Randomized Controlled Trial
BACKGROUND: Despite accurate diagnostic tests and effective therapies, the management of osteoporosis has been observed to be suboptimal in many settings. We tested the effectiveness of an intervention to improve care in patients at-risk of osteoporosis. DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial. PARTICIPANTS: Primary care physicians and their patients at-risk of osteoporosis, including women 65Â years and over, men and women 45 and over with a prior fracture, and men and women 45 and over who recently used â„90Â days of oral glucocorticoids. INTERVENTION: A multifaceted program of education and reminders delivered to primary care physicians as well as mailings and automated telephone calls to patients. Outcome: Either undergoing a bone mineral density (BMD) testing or filling a prescription for a bone-active medication during the 10Â months of follow-up. RESULTS: After the intervention, 144 (14%) patients in the intervention group and 97 (10%) patients in the control group received either a BMD test or filled a prescription for an osteoporosis medication. This represents a 4% absolute increase and a 45% relative increase (95% confidence interval 9â93%, pâ=â0.01) in osteoporosis management between the intervention and control groups. No differences between groups were observed in the incidence of fracture. CONCLUSION: An intervention targeting primary care physicians and their at-risk patients increased the frequency of BMD testing and/or filling prescriptions for osteoporosis medications. However, the absolute percentage of at-risk patients receiving osteoporosis management remained low
Complémentarité et langage dans l'interprétation de Copenhague
SUMMARY. â The notion of Complementarity, put forward by Bohr when the new « quantum mechanics » was first publicly discussed, is almost invariably presented as a superficial, and ill-defined, means of resolving fundamental difficulties â by contributing to the obfuscation of, and evasion from, these issues. This paper seeks to show that, on the contrary, the Copenhagen Interpretation â taking Complementarity as a central concept â was addressing the whole, complex, question of the relationship between natural language and physical objects : in this case, the so-called « atomic phenomena ». This problem entailed a paradox, which in turn led to distinguishing two notions of physical reality, calling for scrupulous definition. In such a context, complementarity takes on the role of an indispensable, if imperfect safeguard, as to the consistency of the « ordinary » (i.e. unformalized) discourse of physics. It acts to compensate for the unattainability of a quantum language, in adequation to objects that no longer behave as do the objects in our ordinary world.RESUME. â La notion de ComplĂ©mentaritĂ© proposĂ©e par Bohr en 1927, au moment de la premiĂšre discussion publique de la nouvelle « mĂ©canique quantique », est presque toujours prĂ©sentĂ©e comme la solution mal dĂ©finie et superficielle de difficultĂ©s fondamentales, qu'elle contribuerait Ă Ă©luder. L'objet de cet article est de montrer, au contraire, que l'InterprĂ©tation de Copenhague, pour laquelle la ComplĂ©mentaritĂ© est un concept central, posait dans toute sa complexitĂ© le problĂšme de la relation du langage naturel aux objets de la physique, dĂ©signĂ©s par le terme de « phĂ©nomĂšnes atomiques ». C'est ce problĂšme qui donne lieu Ă un paradoxe, qui Ă son tour engendre une distinction entre deux notions de rĂ©alitĂ© physique, qu'il faut dĂ©finir soigneusement. Dans ce contexte, la complĂ©mentaritĂ© devient une sorte de garantie, imparfaite mais nĂ©cessaire, de la cohĂ©rence du discours ordinaire (non formalisĂ©) de la physique. Elle compense l'impossibilitĂ© de trouver un langage quantique adĂ©quat Ă des objets qui ne se prĂ©sentent plus comme des choses du monde ordinaire.Chevalley Catherine. ComplĂ©mentaritĂ© et langage dans l'interprĂ©tation de Copenhague. In: Revue d'histoire des sciences, tome 38, n°3-4, 1985. pp. 251-292
L'optique des Jésuites et celle des médecins
Chevalley Catherine. L'optique des Jésuites et celle des médecins. In: Revue d'histoire des sciences, tome 40, n°3-4, 1987. pp. 377-382