Why not More Equality? Sufficientarianism and Inequalities above the Threshold

For people starting from a presumption in favor of equality, the very idea of a sufficiency threshold where the demands of justice would stop because everyone has enough is puzzling. However, Liam Shields, offers an account of sufficiency that has the potential to reconcile these egalitarians with the principle of sufficiency. This comes from his endorsement of what he calls “the shift thesis”, stating roughly that there is a discontinuity in the weight of our reasons to benefit people once they have enough. This thesis distinguishes his theory from other accounts of sufficientarianism by not denying the injustice of inequalities above the threshold. It thereby changes the way one can look at the relation between sufficiency and equality. The principle of sufficiency becomes the first principle of a conception of justice that must be completed by another – possibly egalitarian – principle. In the first section, I start with a brief exposition of the shift thesis and the way it relates to other accounts of sufficiency. In the second, I introduce a distinction between agnosticism and indifference towards inequalities above the sufficiency threshold. In the third, I argue that pragmatism might provide positive reasons to focus on insufficiency if one is agnostic about these inequalities. I conclude with a brief discussion of this pragmatic stance and of the choice to defend a partial view of justice as Shields does.status: publishe

Exploitation et obligation de travailler

Cet article défend une définition de l’exploitation, restreinte aux relations de travail, en tentant d’une part d’expliciter une certaine compréhension de sens commun du concept (rémunération inéquitable en fonction du travail presté), et d’autre part d’échapper aux difficultés qui ont affecté la définition marxiste traditionnelle de l’exploitation comme extorsion de la plus-value (dans ses diverses variantes). Il explore ainsi le lien entre l’exploitation et l’obligation matérielle de travailler pour subvenir à ses besoins fondamentaux. Après avoir mis en garde contre les politiques d’activation des chômeurs, il conclut que l’exploitation est un phénomène contre lequel on peut lutter à l’aide de mécanismes relativement simples, même dans les sociétés capitalistes. Il rappelle toutefois que cela ne suffit pas à réaliser la justice sociale, resituant l’exploitation parmi d’autres enjeux fondamentaux pour une philosophie politique égalitariste

Jürgen HABERMAS, 2012, La Constitution de l’Europe, Paris, Gallimard, « NRF Essais », 224 p.

Jamais sans doute un ouvrage de Jürgen Habermas n’aura autant « collé » à l’actualité – européenne en l’occurrence. Non pas que l’Union européenne ait soudainement emprunté la voie idéale qu’il cherche à lui dessiner depuis quelque quinze années – loin de là –, mais plutôt parce que la crise à laquelle elle fait face témoigne avec une certaine évidence du « vice de construction » (p. 51) que Habermas – parmi d’autres – n’a cessé de dénoncer à son sujet. Presque tout le monde aujourd’hui, quel..

Prairat Eirick. La morale du professeur

Le dernier ouvrage du spécialiste des sciences de l’éducation Eirick Prairat interroge l’attitude morale qui doit guider l’agir enseignant. Non pas, donc, les contenus moraux qu’un professeur doit transmettre – comportement qu’on essaye désormais d’éviter –, mais les principes d’action qu’il doit mobiliser afin d’être un professeur juste. Pour ce faire, l’auteur prend soin d’inscrire sa réflexion dans le contexte contemporain d’une École balançant entre la remise en question de l’« hétérotopi..

Prairat Eirick. La morale du professeur

Le dernier ouvrage du spécialiste des sciences de l’éducation Eirick Prairat interroge l’attitude morale qui doit guider l’agir enseignant. Non pas, donc, les contenus moraux qu’un professeur doit transmettre – comportement qu’on essaye désormais d’éviter –, mais les principes d’action qu’il doit mobiliser afin d’être un professeur juste. Pour ce faire, l’auteur prend soin d’inscrire sa réflexion dans le contexte contemporain d’une École balançant entre la remise en question de l’« hétérotopi..

Quels fondements philosophiques pour l’enseignement de la morale laïque ? Pour une éducation au décentrement

Vincent Peillon, ministre de l’Éducation nationale, a suggéré à la rentrée 2012 l’introduction d’un cours de morale laïque à l’école, suscitant les réactions les plus diverses. Cet article examine à la fois la plausibilité d’une éducation morale respectant les exigences de neutralité et de laïcité de l’État et la désirabilité d’un tel enseignement. Distinguant des compréhensions conventionnelle et postconventionnelle de la morale, il conclut à la nécessité sociale d’éduquer à la faculté morale individuelle de décentrement.Vincent Peillon, the French minister of education, introduced the idea of a class of secular morality at the beginning of the 2012-2013 academic year. This paper examines both the plausibility of a moral education program respecting the imperatives of state neutrality and secularism, and the desirability of such a program. Making the distinction between conventional and post-conventional understandings of morality, it argues for the social necessity of educating for the individual moral faculty of decentration

Myopericarditis complicated by pulmonary embolism in an immunocompetent patient with acute cytomegalovirus infection: a case report

Background Primary acute cytomegalovirus infection in immunocompetent patients is common worldwide. Infection is most often asymptomatic or occurs sub-clinically with a self-limited mononucleosis-like syndrome. More rarely, the infection may lead to severe organ complications with pneumonia, myocarditis, pericarditis, colitis and hemolytic anemia. Recent cases of cytomegalovirus-associated thrombosis have also been reported sporadically in the medical literature. Case presentation We report here a case of simultaneous myopericarditis and pulmonary embolism in a 30-year-old man with no medical history. The patient was not immunocompromised. We discuss the possible role of acute cytomegalovirus infection in the induction of vascular damage and review relevant cases in the literature. Conclusion Thrombosis in patients with acute cytomegalovirus infection may be more frequent than is generally thought. Physicians need to be aware of the possible association between acute cytomegalovirus and thrombosis in immunocompetent patients, especially in the presence of severe systemic infection, as our case illustrates

Impact of perfluorooctylethane on the formation of a semi-crystalline liquid-condensed phase in a phospholipid monolayer and of perfluorooctyl bromide on the adsorption of albumin on such a monolayer

International audienc

The histone methyltransferase SUV420H2 and Heterochromatin Proteins HP1 interact but show different dynamic behaviours

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Histone lysine methylation plays a fundamental role in chromatin organization and marks distinct chromatin regions. In particular, trimethylation at lysine 9 of histone H3 (H3K9) and at lysine 20 of histone H4 (H4K20) governed by the histone methyltransferases SUV39H1/2 and SUV420H1/2 respectively, have emerged as a hallmark of pericentric heterochromatin. Controlled chromatin organization is crucial for gene expression regulation and genome stability. Therefore, it is essential to analyze mechanisms responsible for high order chromatin packing and in particular the interplay between enzymes involved in histone modifications, such as histone methyltransferases and proteins that recognize these epigenetic marks.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>To gain insights into the mechanisms of SUV420H2 recruitment at heterochromatin, we applied a tandem affinity purification approach coupled to mass spectrometry. We identified heterochromatin proteins HP1 as main interacting partners. The regions responsible for the binding were mapped to the heterochromatic targeting module of SUV420H2 and HP1 chromoshadow domain. We studied the dynamic properties of SUV420H2 and the HP1 in living cells using fluorescence recovery after photobleaching. Our results showed that HP1 proteins are highly mobile with different dynamics during the cell cycle, whereas SUV420H2 remains strongly bound to pericentric heterochromatin. An 88 amino-acids region of SUV420H2, the heterochromatic targeting module, recapitulates both, HP1 binding and strong association to heterochromatin.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>FRAP experiments reveal that in contrast to HP1, SUV420H2 is strongly associated to pericentric heterochromatin. Then, the fraction of SUV420H2 captured and characterized by TAP/MS is a soluble fraction which may be in a stable association with HP1. Consequently, SUV420H2 may be recruited to heterochromatin in association with HP1, and stably maintained at its heterochromatin sites in an HP1-independent fashion.</p

Improving Vaccine-Induced Immunity: Can Baseline Predict Outcome?

Immune signatures measured at baseline and immediately prior to vaccination may predict the immune response to vaccination. Such pre-vaccine assessment might allow not only population-based, but also more personalized vaccination strategies ('precision vaccination'). If baseline immune signatures are predictive, the underlying mechanism they reflect may also determine vaccination outcome. Thus, baseline signatures might contribute to identifying interventional targets to be modulated prior to vaccination in order to improve vaccination responses. This concept has the potential to transform vaccination strategies and usher in a new approach to improve global health