Philosophy All books
Giulia Sissa
The Soul is a Feminine Being
Do women have a soul ? Philosophers have historically doubted this, refusing to accord women rationality. However, at the same time, they have been unable to imagine the soul without the help of feminine metaphors : the soul conceives, it is pregnant with knowledge, it gives birth in pain and distress but always with the help of someone. In reading classic texts such as Derrida, and deconstructing them while drawing comparisons with others and focusing on what may seem paradoxical, such as the many Freudian slips, Giulia Sissa leads us to interrogate ourselves on the exclusively feminine attributes of the Western soul. A radical questioning of the difference between the sexes which leads us to the most profound aspects of our culture.
Élisa Brune, Paul Qwest
Life as an Event What Art and Science Expand in Us
In this final book, Élisa Brune and Paul Qwest share a reflection that is as rich as it is stimulating on our relationship with knowledge. A reflection based on 66 strokes of genius in the arts and sciences.
Patrice Debré
Revolutions in Biology and the Human Condition
A reflection on the prowess and the promises of biotechnologies, this text also casts a critical light on the transhumanist project.
Jean-Claude Carrière
The Valley of Nothingness
An intimate reflection on universal questions, written with the finesse and intelligence we have come to know in Jean-Claude Carrière’s writing.
Florence Burgat
The Animal, My Relation
On one hand, men exploit, manipulate and slaughter animals. On the other hand, they let animals interfere with their lives, pollute them, and sometimes dominate them. Since the classical Age, Man has sought to define himself in his opposition to animals. Claiming for himself the most noble faculties - consciousness, thought, esthetic sense, morality - he represses his own animal side, notably his sexuality. But Florence Burgat goes beyond this negative statement. She walks in Jean-Jacques Rousseau's steps, claiming that men, like animals are sensitive beings, liable to suffer. On this basis, she proposes a new morality. Florence Burgat is a philosopher, and works at the Laboratory of Social Anthropology of the College of France.
François Galichet
What Is a Completed Life?
François Galichet is a philosopher. A graduate of the École normale supérieure, with a Ph.D. in philosophy, he is emeritus professor at the Université de Strasbourg.
Marc Crépon
Inhuman Conditions Battling the Intolerable
a strong response to the omnipresent violence around us
Pierre-Henri Tavoillot
How to Govern a People-King? A New Treatise on the Art of Politics
Pierre-Henri Tavoillot offers us a voyage through time and space: to the great authors of the past, to the heart of the world’s political experiments, but also among the latest technological innovations.
Jean-Claude Carrière
A Forgotten Century, the Twentieth
The book tells the story of an era, with humor and with gravity, while also giving us a glimpse of the contours of a life; that of a passionate and exciting man.
Pierre-Henri Tavoillot
Better and better and worse and worse Understanding our world better, and using it with optimism
An antidote to the pessimistic discourse on decline, it shows that the only lucid and worthwhile attitude is to accept the limits of progress without renouncing confidence in the future. A book which reconnects with the idea of progress without falling either into naïvete or into demagogy.
Daniel C. Dennett
Evolutionist theory of freedom
Billions of years ago, there was no freedom on earth, for the simple reason that there was no life. What forms of freedom have evolved since the first stirrings of life? Can freedom and free will exist in a deterministic universe? If we are free, are we responsible for our freedom, or is it governed by chance? Drawing on evolutionary biology and the cognitive sciences, Daniel Dennett provides a series of unorthodox replies to these traditional philosophical questions. It is generally held that what is determined is inevitable and that freedom can only exist in a non-deterministic universe. This is untrue, says Dennett. It is also held that in a pre-determined universe, we have no real choices: all we have is the illusion that we can choose. This too is false, argues Dennett. He then goes on to explain how, some day, we will be able to create robots endowed with free will. In this groundbreaking book, written in a striking, lively style, Dennett interweaves philosophical creativity with the latest scientific developments, and challenges a series of philosophical orthodoxies. Daniel C. Dennett is University Professor and Director of the Center for Cognitive Studies at Tufts University, Mass., U.S.A. He is the author of Consciousness Explained and Darwin's Dangerous Idea.
Régis Debray
Believe, See, Do Crossings
In this work, Régis Debray gives free rein to his thoughts and tackles the varied subject matter provided by daily events encountered " in the news, out of the blue, or through friendship or surprise, at a moments notice and without great forethought. " The subjects he writes about range from " the Gulf War to a photo exhibit, from Tatis Jour de Fête to copyright registration, from a daydream about water to a meditation on road travel. " Other works by Régis Debray published by Editions Odile Jacob include Que Vive la République!, Tous Azimuts, and Transmettre.