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Jean Starobinski's ideas of reaction and progress
Philosophy

Jean Starobinski's ideas of reaction and progress

written by Eugène Praz

LONG FORMAT ARTICLE, Eugène Praz | In his essay Action et réaction. Vie et aventures d'un couple (1999), originally composed but of firm intellectual rigor, Swiss literary critic Jean Starobinski revisited the concepts of action and reaction, and showed how they have served in the history of ideas, whether scientific, medical, psychological, literary, philosophical or political. The final chapter was devoted to their political aspect. It's worth coming back to it today, because in addition to serving as an illustration for Alain Badiou's Abrégé de métapolitique, published a year before Starobinski's essay, it demonstrates the easy handling, especially in politics, of the terms action, or progress, and reaction, and that nothing is more misleading than words of such generality. What's more, they encourage a tendency to split any political subject in two, always with a few nuances.

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The right to blasphemy: a counterproductive concept
Philosophy

The right to blasphemy: a counterproductive concept

By Antoine-Frédéric Bernhard · 07 January 2021
LONG FORMAT ARTICLE, Antoine Bernhard | During the «Charlie Hebdo» massacre and the recent attack in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, a theme invaded the political and media scene, especially in France: the «right to blasphemy». Its defenders invoke it in the name of secularism and freedom of expression, while Islamists use it as yet another reason to hate France and the West. Admittedly, the formula is effective. But what about its relevance?
BHL's viral anger and sadness
Philosophy

BHL's viral anger and sadness

By Loris S. Musumeci · September 17, 2020
We all agree. We're all moving in the same direction. United against the coronavirus. Solidarity of a humanity trembling in the face of a so-called unprecedented epidemic. We are at war with the coronavirus. With masks and bottles of hydro-alcoholic gel, and thanks to the heroism of our doctors, we will win. Amen to that! The world will never be the same again. 1TP5Neveragain! Hurrah! Humanity is rising up in an unprecedented surge of awareness. Let's protect ourselves, let's protect our loved ones! Let's all join hands - err... no, sorry! Let's keep a distance of one meter and banish all physical contact... - to erect a barrier against the great Satan who is advancing to kill us.
Focus on Black African thought
History

Focus on Black African thought

By Le Regard Libre · August 26, 2020
The literature on Black African philosophy is mainly concerned with analyzing the extent to which it exists. This is a complex and endless debate. That's why we thought it would be more interesting to highlight a few typical elements of this thought. It's a way of cutting through the Gordian knot and getting to the heart of the matter: philosophy or not, what characterizes Black African thought, and what has it contributed to humanity?
Is social justice justice?
Philosophy

Is social justice justice?

By Danilo Heyer · August 19, 2020
Last May, in a videoconference speech on the theme of financing development in poor countries, our current President Simonetta Sommaruga defended her vision of a global society: less unequal, more sustainable and better able to meet the challenges of societal change, including the current pandemic and climate change. But if this banal speech struck me, it's because she also wanted tomorrow's world to be... fairer! By this, the Socialist Federal Councillor didn't really mean justice, but social justice. So what is this notion that we come across so often? Does it have anything to do with traditional justice?
George Steiner: thought and man
Philosophy

George Steiner: thought and man

By Loris S. Musumeci · 11 June 2020
The great intellectual George Steiner died last February. An entire library burned with him. Fortunately, what remains are not just ashes, but a series of momentous works, rich interviews - and minds changed forever.
«99 francs»: a novel more Kundersonian than it seems
Literature

«99 francs»: a novel more Kundersonian than it seems

By Jonas Follonier · 16 May 2020
According to sociologist Michel Maffesoli, who spoke on the March 9 edition of «Face à l'info», we find ourselves at the crossroads of two eras: a time of quantity may be returning to a time of quality. If so, perhaps the 21st century will be that of the novel, which alone is capable of expressing unquantifiable truths. In many respects, and perhaps surprisingly, «99 francs», Frédéric Beigbeder's novel denouncing the tyranny of advertising and inaugurating the trilogy featuring Octave Parango, can be read according to this very conception of the novel - that of Milan Kundera.