Questions ethnographiques et mathématiques de la préhistoire

The study of the mathematics of prehistory cannot be founded on bare archeological data alone; it may be useful to set the archeological documents in context, with the help of comparative ethnography, according to which our own contemporaray or near-contemporary primitive societies can help us understand our prehistoric ancestors. Although once used spontaneously by several historians of mathematics, this approach has been rejected on principle by the recent school of ethnomathematicians. This paper sets out to show, by means of a certain number of examples, that the method can nonetheless yield rewards: on the one hand because it demolishes the fantastic theories so fondly constructed by certain mathematicians, and on the other because it opens up a vast field of research which has so far been vitually unexplored.     

La scission et le développement dans la tradition de l’écriture féminine de Chen Ran

Le roman de Chen Ran陈染Siren shenghuo 私人生活(La vie privée) constitue la vie d’une jeune femme, Ni Niuniu, qui vivait dans une métropole chinoise dans une époque de grands changements. Chen Ran a dévoilé la propre expérience de sa vie intime pour concrétiser son image de soi et d’autrui,son style de narration de la vie avec sa volonté et sa logique, pourétablir les paroles féminines.Chen Ran est une écrivaine singulière et importante dans la littérature contemporaine, elle nous a fourni une ressource spirituelle riche pour le développement de la littérature féminine du XXesiècle par ses nombreuses écritures d’exploration des expériences psychologiques spécifiques, féminines, qui représentent le modernisme.Pendant ces dernières années, son oeuvre s’ est orientée de plus en plus vers le psychologique et le philosophique en explorant la solitude, l’amour sexuel et la vie humaine. Chen Ran exprime la solitude et la tristesse des personnages par son écriture parfaite qui rend toute la beauté de la tristesse profonde. La tristesse qu’elle a exprimée n’est pas de simples expériences ou émotions personnelles, mais de la recherche et de l’interrogation profonde vers l’identité du《je》 et de l’《autre》     

Les «Faits scientifiques» et leur public: l’histoire de la détection de la syphilis

In the 1910's and 1920', thanks to the conjunction of scientific views concerning the specificity of anti-bacterial antibodies, of lay ideas about the existence of anti-bacterial antibodies and of the perceived importance of developing a syphilis test for public health officials, the community of serologists collectively transformed a relatively inefficient diagnostic test described by Wassermann in 1906 into an "incontestable scientific fact". This "scientific fact" established the equivalence: Wassermann positive individual=person infected with the germ Treponema pallidum, the etiological agent of syphilis. It modified the boundaries of the nosologic entity "syphilis", medical practices, professional attitudes, lay perceptions of syphilis, and health policies. In the 1950's, however, discrepancies between Wassermann test data and epidemiological data and, on the other hand, the development of specific anti-treponemal tests, destabilized the previously stabilized "scientific fact". A high percentage of Wassermann positive individuals were redefined as "biological false positifs", that is persons who suffered from chronic affections able to induce positive results of the Wassermann test. The equivalence Wassermann positive person=individual infected by Treponema pallidum was replaced by the equation: Wassermann positive person=individual infected by Treponema pallidum or biological false positive. The new perception of the Wassermann test again changed scientific views, professional practices and lay beliefs. The history of the Wassermann reaction illustrates the complicated interaction between "scientific facts" and "social facts", and the mutual shaping of both.     

Une Réévaluation de la Métaphore Théâtrale Chez Goffman

Translating the goffmanian theatrical metaphor has resulted in a theoretical displacement at the heart of his work. The dramaturgical aspect of social interactions has been exaggerated, leaving some initial nuances on the sidelines. Reading the English text again allows us to restore the original meaning of the goffmanian metaphor and make it an analytical instrument for social science. The article suggests rethinking the metaphor based on the study of theatrical improvisation, from which follows a model that takes into consideration the indeterminate character of social interactions.     

Épistémologie 1900 la tradition Française

The paper reviews the French tradition on epistemology and the reaction of the philosophical milieu in the early XX^th century against the crisis of philosophical concepts induced by the development of science. The 1^st International Congress on Philosophy of 1900 in Paris shows that philosophy tries to confirm her hegemony on sciences, but for this, philosophers have to embark into history of science. History of science becomes for philosophy the means to keep the highest place in the whole realm of knowledge: philosophers become historians of science and supervise historical institutes. It is still possible to show quite a continuity between the philosophical questions of 1900 and some similar problems raised in the years between the two world wars, especially by Gaston Bachelard.     

L’histoire des mathématiques de l’Antiquité

Historical research, during the last half-century, has improved our knowledge of the mathematics of Antiquity. Texts from Egypt and Mesopotamia have been better understood and their elucidation has left behind the crude alternative between empricism and rationalism. The landscape offered by Greek science grew richer and became more varied: it is no longer possible to reduce it to the sole geometrical theory. The main problems which were raised by its history have been deeply discussed. Things being so, more general questions arise, from an epistemological or philosophical point of view. Does the search into some far past of a single «birth» of mathematics make any sense? What link, if any, is there between the form of mathematics in such and such a civilization and its social structure? Can cultural anthropology help to elucidate the variety and unity of mathematics among various peoples? From what time and under what conditions is it possible for a single united historical progress of mathematics to begin?     

Narrativisme et philosophie spéculative de l’histoire

Over the last few decades, such important philosophers as Walter B. Gallie, Arthur Danto, Louis Mink, Hayden White and Paul Ric?ur have drawn attention to the role of narrative in history. After evoking the theses of these authors, this paper pays special attention to the works of David Carr which contend that historical action as such has a narrative structure. The paper discusses the consequences of such a «narrativism» and takes sides in the debate on this question which has been waged in part by William Dray and Noël Carroll. It is claimed that a «realistic» thesis on these matters might tend to generate the revival of a kind of speculative philosophy of history, which naturally would raise various questions concerning both political and historical analysis.     

La fabrique de la perpétuité

TheTrésor des chartes is probably one of the best preserved single collection of archives of the ancient French monarchy. Paradoxically, however, it was never part of a central record office in the modern sense. This large and confused mass of documentation slowly emerged as a records collection during the XIII^th century. Although it seemed to follow the construction of a State administration, it was already inactive by the middle of the XIV^th century. Its records and charters, prestigious and inaccessible, were kept in the Sainte-Chapelle of Paris, close to the relics of the Passion bought by Louis the Ninth. As a record of the past it played a crucial role in the social construction of a notion of «perpetuity» suitable to the domanial and dynastic ideals of the monarchy. The ambiguities of this medieval heritage became obvious in the early modern period. Although there were a large number of inventories and classifications of theTrésor des chartes, it was never able to incorporate the other State records. The Republic inherited a majestic sanctuary which can certainly be described as a piece of shared memory, but which is unable to summarize the genesis of the Nation.     

Algérie: Les retours de la mémoire de la guerre d'indépendance

After independence, the history of national liberation in Algeria was largely managed by the single-party state. Founding figures of Algerian nationalism such as Messali Hadj and Ferhat Abbas were shrouded in silence. Since 1988 a plurality of voices has emerged and a number of historic figures have been rehabilitated. The state of quasi-civil war which has existed since 1992 between government forces and Islamic insurgents has, nevertheless, continued to inhibit discussion of human rights abuses during the war of independence. The recent resurgence in France of the debate over the use of torture during the Algerian war has been largely ignored by the Algerian government. The status of harkis , Algerian Muslims who fought on the side of the French during the war of independence, also remains acutely sensitive in official Algerian circles. Events such as the 'Berber Spring' of 2001 are continuing to press the authorities towards greater openness.