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Françoise Héritier

On Violence II Publication date : January 1, 1999

This is the second and final volume of collected papers given at a seminar directed by Françoise Héritier (the first volume was published in 1996). In this new volume, anthropologists, biologists, psychoanalysts and political scientists continue their interdisciplinary examination of violence. What are our links with the animal world? Is the animal metaphor relevant when discussing violent acts committed by human beings against other human beings? What is the relationship between pain and violence? What part does violence play in social relations? What is nonviolence? Could the concept of nonviolence enable us to develop a universal ethical system?

The texts collected here are by: Jackie Assayag, Henri Atlan, Florence Burgat, Philippe Descola, Françoise Héritier, Michael Houseman, David Le Breton, Pierre Pachet, Angela Procoli, Lucien Scubla, Jacques Semelin, Jean-Pierre Winter, Margarita Xanthakou.

Françoise Héritier is an honorary professor at the Collège de France where she also heads the social anthropology department. She is the author of Les Deux Filles et Leur Mère and Masculin/Féminin. The seminars she gave at the Collège de France – De l’Inceste and De la Violence – have both been published in the Opus series.