Une Théorie de la Justice peut-elle être Réaliste ?

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content: "Si la philosophie politique aspire à la justice, s’interdit-elle de penser l’histoire, les individus en chair et en os ? En bâtissant des châteaux en Espagne, n’a-t-elle pas peuplé la théorie politique d’artefacts imaginaires ou de « zombies raisonnables » ? Le mythe rationaliste en philosophie politique semble être le comble de l’aveuglement théorique. La théorie politique devient ipso facto aveugle à la violence – violence réelle des rapports sociaux, violence des rapports de genre, violence des guerres et des crimes de masse. La philosophie semble sourde à l’agonisme de la scène politique, incapable de prendre la mesure des situations réelles d’oppression et d’aliénation.

A Liberdade política em O Espírito das leis de Montesquieu

A leitura liberal de Montesquieu não evoca apenas sua concepção de checks and balances, ela insiste na distância tomada por Montesquieu em relação à concepção republicana da liberdade. Montesquieu exprimiria sua escolha em favor da “república moderna”, representativa e comerciante à inglesa, em detrimento da “república participativa” dos antigos e da monarquia absolutista à francesa. O Espírito das leis faria do modelo inglês o regime mais conforme à natureza humana, aquele que garantiria melhor a segurança dos indivíduos. Caso se admita essa visão das coisas, a liberdade positiva cede lugar aqui a uma liberdade negativa, definida como independência no interior de uma esfera protegida pelo direito, garantida pela separação dos poderes no seio do sistema representativo. O presente artigo, a fim de avaliar a pertinência dessa interpretação, examinará (I) as definições da liberdade política que Montesquieu distingue da liberdade dita “filosófica”; em segundo lugar, considerará a “solução” que propõe O Espírito das leis face ao risco que o despotismo causa a todos os governos. O propósito será aqui avaliar o estatuto do “modelo inglês” (II)

Construiu Calcedônia, tendo a costa de Bizâncio diante dos olhos

“Harrington, em sua Oceana, também examinou qual era o ponto mais elevado da liberdade que na constituição de um Estado pode ser implementada. Mas podemos dizer dele que ele apenas procurou essa liberdade depois de tê-la desprezado e que construiu Calcedônia, tendo a costa de Bizâncio diante dos olhos” (Do espírito das leis, XI, 6). O presente artigo tentará esclarecer essa sentença enigmática de Montesquieu à luz de sua análise acerca do republicanismo inglês e de sua defesa sobre o papel da Câmara dos Lordes. Aos seus olhos, Harrington negligencia as condições reais do regime livre da Inglaterra, incluindo o espírito dos ingleses que foi forjado, em parte, pela antiga Constituição e pela sua lei feudal. Contudo, a poderosa crítica de Montesquieu não decreta o fim do republicanismo de Harrington e sua teoria da liberdade. Sua reabilitação por alguns membros do Club dos Cordeliers durante a Revolução Francesa testemunha um “retorno do reprimido”, cujo conteúdo será examinado nesse artigo. Palavras-chave: Harrington. Oceana. Montesquieu. Republicanismo.“Harrington, in his Oceana, has also examined the furthest point of liberty to which the constitution of a state can be carried. But of him it can be said that he sought this liberty only after misunderstanding it, and that he built Chalcedon with the coast of Byzantium before his eyes” (The spirit of the laws, XI, 6). This paper will highlight Montesquieu’s enigmatic sentence considering his theory of English republicanism and the role granted to the House of Lords. To him, Harrington neglects the true conditions of a free regime, including the Englis national spirit partly forged by their ancient Constitution and Feudal Law. Nonetheless, Montesquieu’ powerful critique didn’t outcast Harrington’s republicanismo nor his theory of freedom. His rehabilitation by certain members of the Club des Cordeliers during the French Revolution must be recalled in this respect. Keywords: Harrington. Oceana. Montesquieu. Republicanism

Role of monocarboxylate transporters in human cancers : state of the art

Monocarboxylate transporters (MCTs) belong to the SLC16 gene family, presently composed by 14 members. MCT1-MCT4 are proton symporters, which mediate the transmembrane transport of pyruvate, lactate and ketone bodies. The role of MCTs in cell homeostasis has been characterized in detail in normal tissues, however, their role in cancer is still far from understood. Most solid tumors are known to rely on glycolysis for energy production and this activity leads to production of important amounts of lactate, which are exported into the extracellular milieu, contributing to the acidic microenvironment. In this context, MCTs will play a dual role in the maintenance of the hyper-glycolytic acidresistant phenotype of cancer, allowing the maintenance of the high glycolytic rates by performing lactate efflux, and pH regulation by the co-transport of protons. Thus, they constitute attractive targets for cancer therapy, which have been little explored. Here we review the literature on the role of MCTs in solid tumors in different locations, such as colon, central nervous system, breast, lung, gynecologic tract, prostate, stomach, however, there are many conflicting results and in most cases there are no functional studies showing the dependence of the tumors on MCT expression and activity. Additional studies on MCT expression in other tumor types, confirmation of the results already published as well as additional functional studies are needed to deeply understand the role of MCTs in cancer maintenance and aggressiveness

Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies identifies novel loci that influence cupping and the glaucomatous process

Glaucoma is characterized by irreversible optic nerve degeneration and is the most frequent cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. Here, the International Glaucoma Genetics Consortium conducts a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies of vertical cup-disc ratio (VCDR), an important disease-related optic nerve parameter. In 21,094 individuals of European ancestry and 6,784 individuals of Asian ancestry, we identify 10 new loci associated with variation in VCDR. In a separate risk-score analysis of five case-control studies, Caucasians in the highest quintile have a 2.5-fold increased risk of primary open-angle glaucoma as compared with those in the lowest quintile. This study has more than doubled the known loci associated with optic disc cupping and will allow greater understanding of mechanisms involved in this common blinding condition

La solidarité comme telos de l’Union européenne

Un corps politique fédéral européen aurait-il vocation à dissoudre les systèmes de protection sociale et les liens de solidarité existants ? L’Europe ne peut-elle se constituer qu’en érodant les politiques redistributives et les services publics ? Inversement, la solidarité peut-elle devenir la nouvelle finalité –le nouveau telos– de l’Union européenne ? Plusieurs auteurs contemporains (notamment les « néofoucaldiens ») analysent la fonction de libéralisation et de dérégulation de la Cour de justice depuis les années 1970 : l’affaiblissement des États-nations est synonyme de déclin des systèmes de sécurité sociale et des services publics. Tout en prenant ces critiques au sérieux, cette contribution tentera de montrer que la solidarité est devenue une nécessité à l’échelle de l’Union. L’Union économique et monétaire doit s’accompagner d’une Union politique et sociale.Would a European federal political body have the vocation to dissolve existing social protection systems and links of solidarity? Can Europe only be formed by undermining redistributive policies and public services? Conversely, can solidarity become the new purpose –the new telos– of the European Union? Several contemporary authors (notably the “neofoucaldians”) have analyzed the function of liberalization and deregulation of the Court of Justice since the 1970s: the weakening of nation-states is synonymous with the decline of welfare and public service systems. While taking these criticisms seriously, this contribution will attempt to show that solidarity has become a necessity at the Union level. The economic and monetary Union must be accompanied by a political and social Union

Des histoires à l’Histoire. L’héritage paradoxal de Montesquieu dans l’œuvre de William Robertson

International audienc

La vertu politique comme principe de la démocratie. Robespierre lecteur de Montesquieu

International audienceCette contribution se propose de montrer en quoi la défense de la cause du peuple et de la régénération de la nation conduit Robespierre à s’éloigner in fine des principes de l’un de ses mentors. L’Esprit des lois estsans conteste l’une des œuvres majeures dans la formation intellectuelle de Robespierre, comme elle l’a été pour de nombreux artisans de la Révolution, comme Marat ou Saint-Just. Il convient donc de se demander à quelles conditions Robespierre a pu contrer les mises en garde de Montesquieu sur l’impossibilité de la vertu chez les modernes, dans le contexte singulier d’une consolidation de la Révolution contre la menace de rechute dans la tyrannie. Il va de soi, que Robespierre n’a pas été un Montesquieu, moins encore qu’un Rousseau « au pouvoir », dossier encore brûlant que nous ne rouvrirons ici que de façon très marginale. Robespierre construit, en fonction d’un contexte en constante évolution, une trajectoire politique qui lui est propre. Nous souhaiterions donc mettre à jour de véritables structures de pensées, qui ne sont certes pas projetées comme un a priori philosophique sur la matière ductile de l’histoire, mais conçues sous formes de « principes » et adaptées, sous formes de maximes, aux circonstances hic et nunc