Equality in the operating room

Abstract: Let’s dissect Equality, which is an ideal and not an ontological principle, to see what we must keep from it: the right to importance, access to knowledge and travel. I explain how the egalitarian ideal tends to vitiate these fundamental principles, particularly in the constitution of expertise in science, confused with scientific research. The … Read more

A consciousness that is too horizontal

Abstract: The hierarchy works poorly because it is represented too horizontally in our minds. Defect inherent in the synthesis carried out in the conscious space. At this level of the neural network, the model flattens a social universe that is actually endowed with vertical complexity. Two mental dimensions In this chapter I use a notion … Read more

When does a power have authority?

Abstract: Power is a mechanism and authority its acceptable, freely consented form. The complexity of modern societies sees power move away from the base, and therefore lose authority. Rather than destroying collective power to the detriment of one’s own, the only way to escape submission is to increase one’s own authority, through personal re-hierarchization. Power … Read more

Do without hierarchy?

Abstract: The etymology of ‘hierarchy’, the sacred order, remains relevant: there are always laws to which one must submit, if only the natural, new sacraments. I show that the collapse of hierarchies is natural, too, but that this disappearance is disastrous. It is not the hierarchical principle that poses the problem but its dysfunctions, its … Read more

A chancellor and a philosopher debate labor

Abstract: Debate between Olaf Scholz, German Chancellor, and Axel Honneth, philosopher author of ‘Le Souverain au travail’, on the problem of the recognition of work in contemporary society. The interest of the debate is that it is the archetype of dodging the fundamentals of the problem. Social ontology is not even mentioned. Surprisingly, the philosopher … Read more

Is the rise of esotericism and pseudo-science worrying?

Esotericism and the whimsical use of scientific discoveries —French talk of patasciences— are booming commercially. Enough for scientific magazines and news weeklies to look into the subject, with a major dossier in L’Express this week. Should we really worry about it, or is it just a necessary and transitory phase of our social evolution? The … Read more

Ecoterrorism: George Monbiot vs Andreas Malm

Is infrastructure sabotage deemed ecocidal productive or counterproductive? The need to repair the damage at an even greater cost to the planet marks these acts as imbued with crass stupidity. However, before concluding, let’s look at the debate between two ecologists, George Monbiot, British journalist, and Andreas Malm, Swedish geographer author of ‘How to sabotage … Read more

The fundamental vice of anarchy

Abstract: This article is part of those surrounding the presentation of the universal political regime. It takes stock of the value of anarchy as a political system, explains its advantages and its limits, which appear as soon as the population expands, due to a fundamental flaw in the concept of solidarity. True political system, false … Read more

What can be a universal political regime?

Abstract: Based on the principle of citizens as ‘parts of a social Whole’ and the definition of ‘civilization’, I describe a universal political regime as creating a hierarchy of organization but keeping it constantly within reach of citizens. Universal in the midst of political chaos? What political regime can adapt to criteria as varied as … Read more

The T<>D principle in sociology

This article sheds original light on the violence of 2023 in France, redefining what true participatory democracy can be. Abstract: The individualist principle is easy to locate in my unique body, while my solidarity principle is lost in a maze of social circles with less and less identity. Intimate circles focus and strengthen my empathy. … Read more