Human Sciences All books
Jacques Gutwirth
The Rebirth of Hasidism, from1945 to the present
In 1945, there were 20,000 Hasidim in the world. Today, there are between 350,000 and 400,000, about half of whom live in Israel. This population explosion cannot be explained simply by demographic reasons. In France alone, it is estimated that there are 10,000 to 15,000 Lubavitch Hasidim, a small but particularly active community. Jacques Gutwirth paints a vivid picture of the major centres of Hasidism - Antwerp, New York, Jerusalem, Bne Brak and Paris. He describes the main aspects of Hasidism today, its spiritual and intellectual contributions, its recent history and the influence it has. Hasidism cannot be reduced simply to a religious conception, a way of expressing one's religion, or a particular lifestyle. Its rapid development is linked to current politics and global economics, to which in turn it also contributes. In this rigorous, balanced study of one of Judaism's most dynamic communities, the author provides solid information to further the discussion on the rise of religious fundamentalism. Jacques Gutwirth is an anthropologist and an honorary research fellow at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS). A pioneer in the field of urban anthropology, he has taught at the University of Provence, in Aix, and at the University René Descartes, in Paris, as well as in Germany and the United States. He is the founder of the laboratory of anthropology at the CNRS. His first book, Vie Juive Traditionnelle, about a Hasidic community in Antwerp, is regarded as a classic. He is also the author of Les Judéo-Chrétiens Aujourd'hui and L'Eglise Electronique: La Saga des Télévangélistes
Alain Boureau
Satan, the Heretic History of demonology in Medieval Europe, 1260-1350
Alain Boureau is one of the most original French medievalists. In his earlier, best-selling book on the droit du seigneur, he showed that such a custom had never actually existed. The present work is not about Satan and Satanism, but about the birth of demonology, i.e. about the demons that inhabit Satan's Court - a fascinating topic for a medievalist. Before the end of the thirteenth century, theology had shown little interest in demons, according to Boureau. But Saint Thomas Aquinas' Treatise on Evil, written in 1272, changed all this. Boureau tries to find an explanation. He is not concerned with why people believe in demons - he has not written a social history of demonology. Instead, he sets out to understand why theologians became interested in the subject - for this is a history of theological ideas about demons. The author summarises his explanation as follows: I propose that the date of the invention of demonology be moved forward by more than a century, not because a new doctrine was established and enforced then, as was the case in the fifteenth century, but because of the considerable procedural changes that assimilated witchcraft and invocations of the devil with the crime of heresy, which in turn led to new legal developments and more revelations. In addition, the injection of doctrinal content into the ancient theme of the devil's pact explained demoniac activity in the world. The issue that lies at the heart of these discussions about a pact with the devil, evil and evidence is obviously the emergence of our legal system. Alain Boureau is a director of studies at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales.
Robert Boyer
General Theory of Capitalism is it possible?
Robert Boyer is a leading figure of the regulationist school of economics, which believes that capitalism requires external, political, monetary and social regulations, and that the capitalist economy cannot be reduced to the self-regulating laws of the market. In this book, he proposes a general theory of capitalism, from two angles. First of all, he argues that there are several models of capitalism - not just one. America's ultra-liberal capitalism is unlike German capitalism, which is characterised by the fusion between banks and businesses, just as it is unlike French state-interventionist capitalism and Japan's capitalism of consensus. Secondly, in order to understand how capitalism works, every aspect has to be considered - not just the market but also political and social institutions (the State, central banks, unions, etc.) and the conventions they create among themselves (salary agreements, etc.). Robert Boyer is a research fellow at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, a director of studies at the Ecole des Haute Etudes en Sciences Sociales and a member of the French prime minister's Council for Economic Analysis.
Gilles Tétart
The Blood of Poets
The first and constant motive of my scientific life has always been the blood, and its formation, diseases and mutations. During the day, I studied corpuscles and serums. In the evening I read or reread poetry. Sometimes I came across blood once again. An intuition, an allusion of a poet came to clarify my clinical or biological reflections of the next day. These kind of exchanges have inspired this book, which constitutes a personal anthology. It is the same blood which runs in the veins of Iphigenis before the planned sacrifice, as wriggles under our gaze using the microscope, and as draws our eyes to the lips it colours The present anthology bears witness to this unity and this diversity of the blood. Jean Bernard Jean Bernard is a member of the Acadamié française
Stella Baruk
Si 7 = 0. Quelles mathématiques pour l'école ?
Stella Baruk is known for her uncompromising criticism of the way mathematics is taught at school. She sees children's frequent aversion to the subject as a clear demonstration of the failure of current methods. Following her earlier book, L'Age du Capitaine, in which she denounced the meaningless mathematical problems that children were burdened with and enjoined to solve, she now addresses the difficulties encountered by the new generation of the captain's children. She has reproduced pages from the exercise books of primary school pupils, with a commentary underlining the confusion created by modern maths in the minds of children who are not yet familiar with mathematics. Her message is clear: the fault lies not in modern maths, but in the fact that the cart has been put before the horse. Modern maths was created to generalise operations and structures that recur in every aspect of mathematics, and modern maths cannot be correctly understood without the full mastery of those operations and structures. Yet, the teaching of mathematics has been turned on its head, with the abstract being taught before the concrete and the general before the specific - with the result that empty formalism is all that is being passed on. Baruk's very precise analyses, illustrated with specific examples, will help parents understand their children's mistakes and difficulties, so that they can help them overcome them. Stella Baruk is a mathematics teacher and pedagogical researcher.
Nicolas Véron, Matthieu Autret, Alfred Galichon
Crise in Financial Information Accounting and Capitalism
Enron, Andersen, Worldcom: although these companies have stopped dominating the headlines, the shock waves they sent through the business community in 2002 have not yet subsided. The belief that accounting is an exact science has been shattered, while economic relations are upset by the knowledge that financial information may be untrustworthy. Yet the market economy profoundly requires relevant and reliable information about the activity and financial situation of businesses. Taking into account the increasing strength of capital markets and international investors, the authors outline the basic elements that could constitute a new, balanced system of accounting that would accompany the necessary changes in capitalism, particularly in France and the rest of Europe. Nicolas Véron, an engineer and high-ranking civil servant, is the founder of Etudes et Conseil pour l'Information Financière (ECIF). Matthieu Autret is an expert currently working for the European Commission. Alfred Galichon is a doctoral candidate in economics at Harvard University.
Georges Charpak, Roland Omnès
Becoming a Magician is Becoming Prophet
In a simple, accessible style the authors address questions that we all ask ourselves about science: Why hasn't science made human beings wiser? Hasn't it even had the opposite effect, rendering humans' criminal tendencies even more devastating? To answer these questions, the authors develop the idea that the advent and triumph of modern science have induced a profound change in humanity because science has given human beings the capacity to understand and master phenomena occurring on the microscopic level - a scale that is alien to them. Some of the fundamental elements of contemporary physics are presented here in game form. The authors argue that physics has left free human beings face to face with an equally free interplay of natural forces and that, without causality and finality, the world has become deprived of meaning. It is therefore hardly surprising that many have taken refuge in religion. But the authors propose an alternative to religion, arguing that we can fulfil our modernity by helping our children develop their love of experimentation so that they can discover the meaning of things for themselves - instead of embracing ideologies that can only be imposed through terror. Georges Charpak is a physicist and Nobel Prize Laureate in Physics. Roland Omnès is a physicist and Emeritus Professor at the University of Paris XI-Orsay.
Raymond Boudon
Why intellectual peoples don't like liberalism
Given the intellectual force of liberalism, its political appeal, its economic effectiveness and its historical significance, why is it so unpopular among French intellectuals? Why does it elicit so little serious discussion? And why is it the object of so much confusion, so many clichés and misunderstandings? Is it simply out of resentment, because intellectuals feel that the market does not afford them the material and symbolic rewards that they believe they deserve? Is it just because they prefer to play a critical role in a society where capitalism is triumphant? Perhaps, but these reasons do not explain everything and they certainly dont explain the systematic rejection of liberal thought in France. A sociologist of knowledge rather than of social determinism, and a specialist in belief systems, Raymond Boudon ruthlessly analyses the cognitive mechanisms that make liberalism so hateful in the eyes of French intellectuals. The result is a keen, detailed review of the clichés that have encumbered discussions for more than thirty years. Raymond Boudon, a professor at the University of Paris-IV, is a member of the Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques. He us the author of numerous works, most notably LInégalité des chances, La logique du social, LIdéologie ou lorigine des idées reçues, LArt de se persuader, Le Sens des valeurs and Déclin de la morale? Déclin des valeurs. He is the co-author, with R. Leroux, of Y a-t-il encore une sociologie?
