Societal issues All books

Jean-Claude Cousseran, Philippe Hayez
Intelligence Handbook
For the first time, the real practice of intelligence comes in out of the shadows. Very timely issues, from the international fight against terrorism to cyberthreats and economic intelligence.

Dominique Schnapper
Of Democracy in France
From providential democracy to extreme democracy, the concepts forged by D. Schnapper have now passed into contemporary language. A great voice for democracy (D. Schnapper, the daughter of Raymond Aron, is former member of the Conseil constitutionnel).

Alain Peyrefitte, Raymond Boudon, Pierre Chaunu
Values and Modernity Expanding on Alain Peyrefitte
With The Society of Confidence, and Of the Economic Miracle, Alain Peyrefitte has illustrated that growth is not primarily founded on the material wealth of a nation, capital, or even on work. Development is intrinsically linked to mentalities and values, which are the essential elements of economic, political and social modernity. Using this thesis as a starting point, the Institute of France organised a conference which brought together economic and technological historians, sociologists, criminologists, and experts from across the world, amongst which were R.Boudon, S.Eisenstadt, D.Landes, and S.Lipset. The wide spectrum of debate runs from the history of religious mentalities (P. Chaunu, J.Delumeau), to penal philosophy (D. Szabo). The comparative outlook of this book allows the reader an insight into the hidden depths of confidence, from Switzerland (J.-F. Bergier), to Japan (Terushi Hara), right through to the Third World (P. Moussa).

Irène Théry
Filiation, Origins, Parenthood How Lawmakers Are Dealing with Recent Notions of Inter-generational Responsibility
One of the most sensitive social issues of the day, analysed by an acclaimed specialist on family and social transformations

Jacques Lesourne
Rethinking the 21st Century Through Its Crises
Global warming, melting ice caps, the Middle East conflict, Chinese economic development, extreme poverty in Darfur, decreasing biodiversity: hardly a day goes by when these subjects are not in the news...

Alain Supiot
Solidarity An Enquiry Into a Legal Principle
A thorough enquiry into the meaning and future of the legal principle of solidarity

Dominique Schnapper, Paul Saloma, Perrine Simon-Nahum
Thinking about anti-Semitism A Symposium on Anti-Semitism
Commentary from the latest reports on anti-Semitism in France, in order to go well beyond journalistic and political discourse. The current character of the issue, which is examined here with the resources of both history and philosophy. The scope of the analyses proposed by some of the most respected specialists on the issue.

Irène Théry
From Marriage to Divorce Justice and Private Life
Can dual parental responsibility outside marriage be recognized as a principle by law? I. Théry believes that all controversies on divorce are basically debates on marriage. Our representations of the relationships between the individual and society, the private and public realms, are destabilized in this insecure period of unmarriage . The psycho-social drift of justice increases further when we consider the true sufferers of divorce court battles: the children.

Louis Roussel
Forgotten Childhood
Roussel points to a number of frightening signs among children today failure at school, depression, suicide, juvenile delinquency, violent behaviour and concludes that childhood itself is seriously threatened. The changes in family relations have played a determining role in affecting the lives of all children each and every one of them potential victims of the upheavals that shake our society. Such is the theory that Roussel presents in this book, as he traces more that 20 years of changes in the family and examines their impact on education. Louis Roussel is a scientific adviser for Frances national institute of demographic studies.

Alain Renaut, Geoffroy Lauvau
Conflictions in the Twenty-First Century
A strong and original thesis for an understanding of the new, contemporary social violence. Alain Renaut is a recognized philosopher, and his works, such as his Leçons de la philosophie, have enjoyed long-term sales.

Jacques Hochmann
Degeneration Theories Psychiatry and History
The unbelievable story of a mad psychiatric theory centered on the idea of heredity which was put to the most horrible of uses, while having a lasting effect on mentalities.

Rita Hermon-Belot
The Sources of the Secular Idea Religious Pluralism and French Secularism
Laïcité: a long history of confrontation

Bernard Lewis
Faith and Power Religion and Politics in the Middle East
One of the greatest experts on the Middle East revisits the great question of Islam and its clash with the West

Serge Lebovici
The Baby, the Psychoanalyst and the Metaphor Presented by Bernard Golse
This exceptional document, the last work of Serge Lebovici, traces the history of metaphor as a concept for philosophers, linguists,and psychoanalysts. It particularly shows why this notion constitutes the keystone of psychic ontogenesis and of all therapeutic activity. A psychoanalyst, and professor of child and adolescent psychology, Serge Lebovici was the president of the International Psychoanalytical Society.

Michel Savy
New Spaces, New Movements Future Mobility
An innovative approach to such essential issues as work, housing and information

Yves Michaud
Changes in Violence An Essay on Universal Goodwill and Fear
For better or for worse, violence has accompanied humanity throughout its history. It is consubstantial with history, technical knowledge and even culture, and it is unlikely that it will disappear. Human beings are inhabited by darkness great darkness and they must have the courage to confront it. Then why are we so frightened and shocked by each flare-up of violence on the international stage and in our own streets? We feel that there is both more and less violence; that life on our planet has become easier and yet more ruthless; that although benevolence is the universal law, hate is equally strong, if not stronger; that feeling safe may be a right but that fear reigns. Yves Michaud, a philosopher, teaches at the University of Paris-I.

Françoise Zonabend
The Nuclear Peninsula Three Mile Island, Tchernobyl, Fukushima... and after?
Twenty-five years after her first investigation, the author returns to the French nuclear site at La Hague — and finds it more dangerous than ever

Christine Delaporte
Telling Sick People the Truth
The issue of medical truth is perceived differently by doctors and patients. From the doctors point of view: Should a given patient be told the truth? Should terminally ill patients be told how much longer they may expect to live? From the patients point of view: How can I hear the truth and learn to live with the disease? This book should help health professionals deal with emotionally difficult moments of truth. It should also help patients and their loved ones to feel less alone, once they have heard the truth, and to gradually learn to live with their disease. Christine Delaporte is a head of research at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique.

Geneviève Delaisi de Parseval, Pierre Verdier
Nobody's Child
Adoption and medically assisted procreations reflect the same suffering and ask the same questions. In both cases, the institution, in the name of a mistaken conception of filiation, weighs upon the children's head with an absolute secrecy as to its biological origins. The authors show in this book the consequences this secrecy has upon the psychology of children and parents.












