Relativité et réalité Nottale, Simondon et le réalisme des relations

The exhaustion of the controversy about realism in physics, which is an epistemological consequence of the radical discrepancy between quantum mechanics and relativity, indicates the irrelevance of the traditional opposition between realism and antirealism. Since its purpose is the reunification of microphysics and macrophysics by the means of fractal space-time and scale relativity, Laurent Nottale's theory of Scale Relativity gets over this opposition by postulating the ontological value of the physical relations. The physicist's relational realism hence confirms spontaneously the intuitions of Gilbert Simondon's philosophy of nucleation, which considers the necessary recognition of the ontological value of relations in order to establish the «great synthesis of relativity and quantum physics».     

Failed Eastern integration and a partly successful opening up to the West: the economic re-orientation of Hungary during the 1970s

The article investigates the ‘long 1970s’ (1968–82), when Hungary re-orientated its economic and foreign-trade relations. Hungary was always a promoter of a deepening of Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) co-operation and when it noticed that socialist integration stagnated at the level of the bilateral exchange of commodities, Budapest gradually launched a policy of opening up to the world outside the CMEA. The year 1977 was a turning point in economic policy. Hungarian elites' thought and attitude towards the West changed, but not independently of the world economic crisis and its impact on Hungary. The oil crisis sharpened latent tensions, and behind the robust growth serious problems appeared. Although Hungary intensified its interrelations with the West and the Third World, the country was not able to profit from the advantages of international trade and co-operation. The article is based on state, party and senior economic leaders' archives.     

Louis Ranvier (1835-1922): the contribution of microscopy to physiology and the renewal of French general anatomy

The French neurohistologist Louis-Antoine Ranvier (1835-1922), somewhat neglected in classical histories of nineteenth-century studies on the nervous system, developed a personal style, traditionally referred to as a synthesis between histology and physiology. Ranvier's research was not centered on the brain. Rather, he remained attached to the intimate nature of minute structures, with a style marked by the concept of generality. Ranvier's original style and role in the development of French histology and anatomie générale are analyzed, and their significance evaluated. Ranvier is reassessed as a prominent figure and as the leader in the renewal of the French anatomy.     

The Importance of the Fundamental Right to Property for the Practice of Planning: An Introduction to the Case Law of the European Court of Human Rights on Article 1, Protocol 1

Article 1 Protocol No. 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights guarantees the “peaceful enjoyment” of ones possessions. The use of land development tools and planning tools therefore will necessarily find a boundary in the protection of the fundamental right to property by Article 1. This contribution gives a general survey of the interpretation and application of Article 1, and discusses the general testing scheme adopted by the European Court. This contribution focuses on case law of the Court involving town and land planning instruments and aims to define general principles in this field.     

The Emergence of Ornaments and Art: An Archaeological Perspective on the Origins of “Behavioral Modernity”

The earliest known personal ornaments come from the Middle Stone Age of southern Africa, c. 75,000 years ago, and are associated with anatomically modern humans. In Europe, such items are not recorded until after 45,000 radiocarbon years ago, in Neandertal-associated contexts that significantly predate the earliest evidence, archaeological or paleontological, for the immigration of modern humans; thus, they represent either independent invention or acquisition of the concept by long-distance diffusion, implying in both cases comparable levels of cognitive capability and performance. The emergence of figurative art postdates c. 32,000 radiocarbon years ago, several millennia after the time of Neandertal/modern human contact. These temporal patterns suggest that the emergence of “behavioral modernity” was triggered by demographic and social processes and is not a species-specific phenomenon; a corollary of these conclusions is that the corresponding genetic and cognitive basis must have been present in the genus Homo before the evolutionary split between the Neandertal and modern human lineages.