Une double subversion de genre(s) chez Nietzsche, ou comment philosopher par le poétique

Friedrich Nietzsche fait appel à un nouveau langage au service de la philosophie de l’avenir dans Par-delà le bien et le mal (1886). Son écriture s’en fait l’ostentation là même où elle se refuse à des descriptions explicites jugées trop conceptuellement fixes. Fidèle à une perspective résolument pluridisciplinaire, ce mémoire propose de souligner comment Nietzsche se tient à dessein sur la frontière mouvante entre philosophie et littérature pour mettre en œuvre ces nouveautés. Puisque la complexité du monde s’avère irréductible aux concepts philosophiques traditionnels, il s’agit plutôt d’illustrer ses vérités perspectivistes en ayant recours à la stylisation poétique et joueuse du texte. Ainsi s’expriment et s’élaborent maintes interprétations artistiquement créatrices du réel. La métaphore de la femme filée dans les œuvres de Nietzsche, qui personnifie tour à tour la vérité, la vie et la sagesse, s’avère centrale à cette pensée pleinement affirmative de la réalité. Elle met en scène des personnages féminins d’apparence voilée et pudique, entités qui se dérobent à la saisie conceptuelle tentée par la philosophie. Obéissant au principe de dévoilement de l’alètheia, la visée de celle-ci se compare à l’indécence juvénile du prétendant qui ne saurait s’y prendre pour conquérir l’objet de son amour et par là lui ferait violence. Nous proposons une exposition chronologico-thématique des diverses occurrences de la métaphore de la femme, enrichie de nombreux parallèles avec les écrits et commentaires de Jacques Derrida, de Sarah Kofman et d’Hélène Cixous. La caractérisation de figures mythologiques féminines (Sphinx, Baubô, Méduse) s’entrelaçant dans les passages étudiés indiquera que les textes de Nietzsche opèrent subrepticement des subversions de genres. La théorie queer de Judith Butler sera mobilisée afin de saisir les subtilités du bouleversement des figures canoniques de la vérité/vie/sagesse-femme et de la philosophie-homme. Il apparaîtra que ces subversions de l’identité de genre sont intimement liées à des subversions du genre textuel. L’interprétation du motif du voile, qui rattache tangiblement la métaphore de la femme à l’acception nietzschéenne du poète-philosophe de l’avenir, montrera que la valorisation des apparences par l’écriture poétique, habituellement perçues comme trompeuses, défie les formes consacrées de l’écriture philosophique et, par conséquent, l’appréhension du réel.In Beyond Good and Evil (1886), Friedrich Nietzsche proclaims the necessity of a new language serving the philosophy of the future he envisions. While his writing refuses to advocate for explicit descriptions deemed too conceptually fixed, it becomes the ostentation of this new language. Faithful to a resolutely multidisciplinary perspective, this dissertation proposes to underline how Nietzsche’s work purposefully blurs the border between philosophy and literature. Since the complexity of the world is irreducible to traditional philosophical concepts, it is rather a matter of illustrating perspectivist truths through poetic and playful textual stylization. Many artistically creative interpretations of reality are thus expressed and elaborated through writing. Specifically, the metaphor of the woman spun in Nietzsche’s works personifies in turn truth, life and wisdom, and is central to his affirmative philosophy of reality. It depicts veiled, modest female characters, such entities evading philosophy’s attempted conceptual grasp. Obeying aletheia’s (truth’s) principle of unveiling, its aim is comparable to the juvenile indecency of the suitor who knows not how to conquer the object of his love, hence committing acts of violence toward it. I propose to exhibit chronologically and thematically the various occurrences of the metaphor of the woman, which will then be read in parallel to the works or commentaries by Jacques Derrida, Sarah Kofman and Hélène Cixous. A characterization of certain female mythological figures intertwined in the examined passages (namely the Sphinx, Baubo and Medusa) will indicate that Nietzsche’s texts surreptitiously operate gender subversions. I will call upon Judith Butler’s Queer Theory to grasp in detail the upheaval of that canonical figures represented by truth/life/wisdom-woman and philosophy-man. As a result, these gender identity subversions will appear intimately tied to subversions of the textual genre. An interpretation of the veil motif, by tangibly linking the metaphor of the woman to the Nietzschean meaning of the future poet-philosopher, will show that the valorization of appearances by poetic writing, usually perceived as deceptive, defies the consecrated forms of philosophical writing. Consequently, it has a significant incidence on human beings’ apprehension of reality or realities

Operational and technical considerations for microbial electrosynthesis

Extracellular electron transfer has, in one decade, emerged from an environmental phenomenon to an industrial process driver. On the one hand, electron transfer towards anodes leads to production of power or chemicals such as hydrogen, caustic soda and hydrogen peroxide. On the other hand, electron transfer from cathodes enables bioremediation and bioproduction. Although the microbiology of extracellular electron transfer is increasingly being understood, bringing the processes to application requires a number of considerations that are both operational and technical. In the present paper, we investigate the key applied aspects related to electricity-driven bioproduction, including biofilm development, reactor and electrode design, substrate fluxes, surface chemistry, hydrodynamics and electrochemistry, and finally end-product removal/toxicity. Each of these aspects will be critical for the full exploitation of the intriguing physiological feat that extracellular electron transfer is today

Electrochemical technology enables nutrient recovery and ammonia toxicity control in anaerobic digestion

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of an electrochemical system (ES) on the performance of an anaerobic digester during both low and high ammonium (NH4+) loading rates. For this, a Test (with ES) and Control (without ES) setup was used. Ammonia (NH3), in equilibrium with NH4+, is a toxic compound to the methanogenic community, limits the substrate loading rate and endangers process stability. We hypothesized that, through coupling of an ES to a digester, NH3 toxicity can be controlled with simultaneous recovery of this nutrient. The ES always had a temporary negative effect when switched on. However, during periods of high ammonium loading rates the CH4 production of the Test reactor was at maximum a factor 4.5 higher compared to the Control reactor, which could be explained through a combination of NH4+ extraction and electrochemical pH control. A nitrogen flux of 47 g N m-2 membrane d-1 could be obtained in the Test reactor, resulting in a current and removal efficiency of 38±5% and 28±2%, respectively. For this, an electrochemical power input 17±2 kWh kg-1 N was necessary. In addition, anodic oxidation of sulphide resulted in a significantly lower H2S emission

Preliminary Study of Shape-Memory Alloy Torsional Tubes as Thermal Management Actuators Under Non-ideal Conditions

Shape-memory alloys (SMAs) have been used in many engineering applications because of their shape-memory effect and pseudoelasticity. SMA behavior is well understood under steady and constant temperature and loading conditions, whereas transient and non-ideal conditions effects should be further investigated. In this research, SMA torque tubes are studied for use in thermal management applications as self-regulated actuators responding to a process fluid with changes in temperature, with the goal of improved system efficiency by keeping components at an optimal temperature. When utilized in a thermal management configuration, it is likely that the SMA’s thermal environment will be different than that to which it was trained for, leading to challenges from a modeling standpoint. Process fluid transients lead to temperature fluctuations in the SMA, which may not be negligible in a self-regulated system. Similarly, without perfect insulation of the SMA, a temperature gradient (potentially both along the length and along the thickness) will occur when the SMA is subject to a different boundary condition than what they were trained for (steady isothermal). Empirical efforts have shown that this leads to deviations from expected behavior, challenging the modeling of an open-loop system. This study looks at Nitinol (Nickel-Titanium alloy) rotational actuator tubes, with the goal further understanding the non-ideal conditions for a future model system. The SMA tube was subjected to both insulated and natural convection boundary conditions, with low and high mass flow rates for both heating and cooling cases. The one-dimensional model was compared to experiments as well as a modified thermal model to help improve modeling efforts. Experimental efforts show that a convection boundary leads to temperature gradients, especially at high temperatures and low flow rates. Thermal modeling showed no significant variation along the thickness, mostly due to the small thickness of the tube

Biogenic palladium enhances diatrizoate removal from hospital wastewater in a microbial electrolysis cell

decrease the load of pharmaceuticals to the environment, decentralized wastewater treatment has been proposed for important point-sources such as hospitals. In this study, a microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) was used for the dehalogenation of the iodinated X-ray contrast medium diatrizoate. The presence of biogenic palladium nanoparticles (bio-Pd) in the cathode significantly enhanced diatrizoate removal by direct electrochemical reduction and by reductive catalysis using the H(2) gas produced at the cathode of the MEC. Complete deiodination of 3.3 mu M (2 mg L(-1)) diatrizoate from a synthetic medium was achieved after 24 h of recirculation at an applied voltage of -0.4 V. An equimolar amount of the deiodinated metabolite 3,5-diacetamidobenzoate (DAB) was detected. Higher cell voltages increased the dehalogenation rates, resulting in a complete removal after 2 h at -0.8 V. At this cell Voltage, the MEC was also able to remove 85% of diatrizoate from hospital effluent containing 0.5 mu M (292 mu g L(-1)), after 24 h of recirculation. Complete removal was obtained when the effluent was continuously fed at a volumetric loading rate of 204 mg diatrizoate m(-3) total cathodic compartment (TCC) day(-1) to the MEC with a hydraulic retention time of 8 h. At -0.8 V, the MEC system could also eliminate 54% of diatrizoate from spiked urine during a 24 h recirculation experiment. The final product DAB was demonstrated to be removable by nitrifying biomass, which suggests that the combination of a MEC and bio-Pd in its cathode offers potential to dehalogenate pharmaceuticals, and to significantly lower the environmental burden of hospital waste streams