Efficiency of pregroups and the French noun phrase.SylvainDegeilh &Anne Preller -2005 -Journal of Logic, Language and Information 14 (4):423-444.detailsWe study mathematical and algorithmic properties of Lambek's pregroups and illustrate them by the French noun phrase. An algorithm of complexity n3 to solve the reduction problem in an arbitrary free pregroup as well as recognition by a pregroup grammar is presented. This algorithm is then specified to run in linear time. A sufficient condition for a language fragment that makes the linear algorithm complete is given.
Recipient design in human–robot interaction: the emergent assessment of a robot’s competence.Sylvaine Tuncer,Christian Licoppe,Paul Luff &Christian Heath -forthcoming -AI and Society:1-16.detailsPeople meeting a robot for the first time do not know what it is capable of and therefore how to interact with it—what actions to produce, and how to produce them. Despite social robotics’ long-standing interest in the effects of robots’ appearance and conduct on users, and efforts to identify factors likely to improve human–robot interaction, little attention has been paid to how participants evaluate their robotic partner in the unfolding of actual interactions. This paper draws from qualitative analyses of (...) video-recorded interactions between a robot and groups of participants, in the framework of ethnomethodology and conversation analysis. We analyse the particular ways in which participants shape their embodied actions, how they can reproduce a prior action that failed to obtain a response from the robot; and how they explore the robot’s embodied nature. We find a set of recurrent methods or practices, showing that robot-recipient design displays not only participants’ initial assumptions about the robot’s competences, but also more importantly perhaps their continuous assessment of the robot’s behaviour, and their attempts to adapt to it. Participants locally produce and constantly revise their understanding of the robot as a more or less competent co-participant, drawing from its past, current, and projected conduct and responsiveness. We discuss the implications of these findings for research in robotics and human–robot interactions, and the value of the approach to shed new light on old questions by paying attention to the quality of gesture and the sequential organisation of interaction. (shrink)
L'ethos de l'im-possible: dans le sillage de Heidegger et Schelling.Sylvaine Gourdain -2017 - Paris: Hermann.detailsToute éthique, Heidegger l'a montré, est enfermée dans un paradoxe : alors qu'elle a pour objet de fonder a priori des règles universelles et nécessaires pour orienter notre comportement, l'éthique bute inéluctablement sur la particularité et la contingence des circonstances singulières. Surtout, une éthique qui dicte ainsi des principes risque fort de décharger l'être humain de sa responsabilité essentielle en le dispensant de la tâche de la pensée. Comment, alors, concevoir en conséquence notre rapport au monde? Comment repenser notre "séjour" (...) sur terre pour en faire une véritable préparation au bien-vivre, un soutien au mouvement même du désir, de l'action et de la décision? Comment ajuster notre besoin de règles universelles à l'irréductible singularité phénoménale des événements? La confrontation des philosophies de Schelling et de Heidegger permet de penser autrement l'ethos, radicalement opposé à toute tentative normative qui fixerait a priori les lois universelles censées régir la maxime de nos actions. Tel est le sens du présent essai, dont l'enjeu principal est de fonder l'ethos de l'im-possible, celui qui admet l'événement et le surgissement imprévisible du possible et y répond."--Page 4 of cover. (shrink)
Rethinking learning and development in the Newell test.Sylvain Sirois -2003 -Behavioral and Brain Sciences 26 (5):619-620.detailsThe Newell Test is an ambitious and promising project, but not without pitfalls. Some of the current criteria are not theoretically neutral, whereas others are unhelpful. To improve the test, the learning and development criteria are reviewed and revised, which suggests adding a maturation criterion as well. Such changes should make the Newell Test more general and useful.
Judgement under uncertainty and conjunction fallacy inhibition training.Sylvain Moutier &Olivier Houdé -2003 -Thinking and Reasoning 9 (3):185 – 201.detailsIntuitive predictions and judgements under uncertainty are often mediated by judgemental heuristics that sometimes lead to biases. Our micro-developmental study suggests that a presumption of rationality is justified for adult subjects, in so far as their systematic judgemental biases appear to be due to a specific executive-inhibition failure in working memory, and not necessarily to a lack of understanding of the fundamental principles of probability. This hypothesis was tested using an experimental procedure in which 60 adult subjects were trained to (...) inhibit the classical conjunction bias on a frequency judgement task derived from Tversky and Kahneman's work. Pre- and post-test performance was assessed via a probability judgement task. The data indicated a training effect, suggesting that subjects traditionally labelled as "irrational" with respect to the classical rules of inductive reasoning are in fact "inefficient inhibitors". These findings are discussed in terms of a polymorphous view of rationality. (shrink)
Deductive reasoning and matching-bias inhibition training: Evidence from a debiasing paradigm.Sylvain Moutier,Nathalie Angeard &Olivier Houde -2002 -Thinking and Reasoning 8 (3):205 – 224.detailsUsing the matching bias example, the aim of the present studies was to show that adults' reasoning biases are due to faulty executive inhibition programming. In the first study, the subjects were trained on Wason's classical card selection task; half were given training in how to inhibit the perceptual matching bias (experimental group) and half in logic without the inhibition component (control group). On the pre- and post-tests, their performance was assessed on the Evans conditional rule falsification task (with a (...) negation in the antecedent of the rule), a task that also involves matching bias. In addition, subjects were tested for perceptual field dependence/independence using the Embedded Figures Test. The results brought out a specific inhibition training effect, as well as a clear-cut relationship in the experimental group between receptiveness to training and perceptual field independence. In the second study, the training paradigm was the same except that on the pre- and post-tests, the negation was in the consequent of the conditional rule (in this case, the perceptual matching response corresponds to the logical response). The subjects succeeded on the pre-test, and the matching-bias inhibition training had a negative effect on post-test performance. This specific negative priming effect confirms the inhibitory impact of our experimental training and outlines the dissociation of inhibition and logical components. (shrink)
Odysseus and the Home of the Stranger From Elea.Sylvain Delcomminette -2014 -Classical Quarterly 64 (2):533-541.detailsNot very long ago, Plato'sSophistwas often presented as a dialogue devoted to the problem of being and not-being, entangled with limited success in an inquiry into the nature of the sophist. Thanks to the renewal of interest in the dramatic form of Plato's dialogues, recent works have shown that this entanglement is far from ill-conceived or anecdotal. However, the inquiry into the sophist is itself introduced by another question, concerning the nature of the Stranger from Elea himself. I would like (...) to show that this question and the way in which it is raised in the prologue may themselves shed light on the relations between the many threads which run across this very complex dialogue. (shrink)
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Stochasticity in cultural evolution: a revolution yet to happen.Sylvain Billiard &Alexandra Alvergne -2017 -History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences 40 (1):9.detailsOver the last 40 years or so, there has been an explosion of cultural evolution research in anthropology and archaeology. In each discipline, cultural evolutionists investigate how interactions between individuals translate into group level patterns, with the aim of explaining the diachronic dynamics and diversity of cultural traits. However, while much attention has been given to deterministic processes, we contend that current evolutionary accounts of cultural change are limited because they do not adopt a systematic stochastic approach. First, we show (...) that, in contrast with the intense debates in ecology and population genetics, the importance of stochasticity in evolutionary processes has generated little discussion in the sciences of cultural evolution to date. Second, we speculate on the reasons, both ideological and methodological, why that should be so. Third, we highlight the inadequacy of genetically-inspired stochastic models in the context of cultural evolution modelling, and ask which fundamental stochastic processes might be more relevant to take up. We conclude that the field of cultural evolution would benefit from a stochastic revolution. For that to occur, stochastic models ought to be developed specifically for cultural data and not through a copy-pasting of neutral models from population genetics or ecology. (shrink)
Sports and ‘Minorities’: Negotiating the Olympic Model.Sylvain Ferez,Sébastien Ruffié &Stéphane Héas -2017 -Sport, Ethics and Philosophy 12 (2):177-193.detailsThis paper studies ‘minority’ initiatives to organize sports games. A meta-analysis of published data in the literature identifies the formal appearance taken by each of these initiatives under the Olympic model. But it also conduces to build a number of indicators to answer a series of questions about their logic and strategies. All the initiatives studied are based on an ambivalent posture that, while based on the denunciation of a discriminating space, claim access to it. By an astonishing paradox, ‘non-normative’ (...) actors are driven to reclaim a model that, under cover of Universal, aims to establish a norm that is situated and dated. In practice, they use two types of strategies: a strategy for participation in the Olympics to transform them into a space which represents a fight against exclusion, or a strategy to create alternative events. Whatever the strategy, these initiatives are implemented according to their objectives. Differentiated in their forms—participatory or autonomy—they are also in their purpose. The comparison of these initiatives shows that ultimately, beyond strategies and logic inherent in different social, historical and organizational contexts, the mobilizations of the actors reveal the same ambivalence about the sports model conveyed by the Olympic institution. (shrink)
Les notions philosophiques : dictionnaire. 1. Philosophie occidentale : A - L.Sylvain Auroux,Jacques Deschamps &François Duchesneau -1990detailsL'une des tâches séculaires de la philosophie est de surmonter ce que Locke nommait l'abus des mots; le dictionnaire des ntions s'efforce de l'accomplir en présentant une technologie des réseaux sémantiques.
Philosophie, théologie, politique dans l'œuvre de Spinoza.Sylvain Zac -1979 - Paris: J. Vrin.detailsVie, conatus, vertu.--Philosophie et théologie chez Spinoza.--Spinoza et le langage.--Spinoza et la théorie des attributs de Dieu de Maïmonide.--Allégorie et prophétie.--Société et communion chez Spinoza.--État et nature chez Spinoza.--Spinoza et l'État des Hébreux.--Durée et histoire chez Spinoza.--L'idée de loi.--Le chapitre XVI du Traité théologico-politique.--Le péché et le pardon d'après Spinoza.--Le Spinoza de Martial Guéroult I.--Le Spinoza de Martial Guéroult.
Précis of neuroconstructivism: How the brain constructs cognition.Sylvain Sirois,Michael Spratling,Michael S. C. Thomas,Gert Westermann,Denis Mareschal &Mark H. Johnson -2008 -Behavioral and Brain Sciences 31 (3):321-331.detailsNeuroconstructivism: How the Brain Constructs Cognition proposes a unifying framework for the study of cognitive development that brings together (1) constructivism (which views development as the progressive elaboration of increasingly complex structures), (2) cognitive neuroscience (which aims to understand the neural mechanisms underlying behavior), and (3) computational modeling (which proposes formal and explicit specifications of information processing). The guiding principle of our approach is context dependence, within and (in contrast to Marr [1982]) between levels of organization. We propose that three (...) mechanisms guide the emergence of representations: competition, cooperation, and chronotopy; which themselves allow for two central processes: proactivity and progressive specialization. We suggest that the main outcome of development is partial representations, distributed across distinct functional circuits. This framework is derived by examining development at the level of single neurons, brain systems, and whole organisms. We use the terms encellment, embrainment, and embodiment to describe the higher-level contextual influences that act at each of these levels of organization. To illustrate these mechanisms in operation we provide case studies in early visual perception, infant habituation, phonological development, and object representations in infancy. Three further case studies are concerned with interactions between levels of explanation: social development, atypical development and within that, developmental dyslexia. We conclude that cognitive development arises from a dynamic, contextual change in embodied neural structures leading to partial representations across multiple brain regions and timescales, in response to proactively specified physical and social environment. (shrink)
Quantifying Aristotelian essences: on some fourteenth-century applications of limit decision problems to the perfection of species.Sylvain Roudaut -2025 -British Journal for the History of Philosophy 33 (2):325-348.detailsThis paper explores a specific problem within an important philosophical genre of the fourteenth century: the debates over the perfection of species. It investigates how the problem of defining limits for continuous magnitudes – a problem typical of Aristotelian physics – was integrated into these debates at the levels of genera, species, and individuals as these entities began to be conceptualized in quantitative terms. After explaining the emergence of this problem within fourteenth-century metaphysics, the paper examines the contributions of three (...) philosophers – Hugolinus of Orvieto, John of Ripa, and Paul of Venice – who offered varying solutions to the challenge of defining limits between species. It demonstrates that two primary solutions arose, inspired by continuous and discrete mathematical objects. It is shown that whereas Hugolinus of Orvieto advocates for a continuist model, John of Ripa proposes a discrete one. The last part of the paper examines Paul of Venice's hybrid approach, which combines elements from both models, facilitating a more comprehensive treatment of species particularly difficult to analyse, namely geometric figures. The conclusions of this comparative study underscore how profoundly the metaphysical reflections of the Middle Ages contributed to the analysis of the structure of the continuum and the extension of the notion of quantity to various objects. (shrink)
Charles De Koninck et le bien commun.Sylvain Luquet -2014 -Laval Théologique et Philosophique 70 (1):45-60.detailsSylvain Luquet | : On tente ici de retracer aussi fidèlement que possible les tenants et les aboutissants du célèbre débat autour du bien commun et de la personne suscité par l’attaque du Père Eschmann contre le livre de Charles De Koninck, De la primauté du bien commun contre les personnalistes . On y verra vite à quel point il s’agissait d’un débat d’idées et nullement de conflits personnels. | : We attempt here to retrace as faithfully as possible (...) the whys and wherefores of the famous debate about the common good and the person that resulted from the attack by Father Eschmann against Charles De Koninck’s book, On the Primacy of the Common Good against the Personalists . It will soon be obvious how much the core of this debate were ideas, and not at all personal conflicts. (shrink)
Axiomatization and implementation of a class of solidarity values for TU-games.Sylvain Béal,Eric Rémila &Philippe Solal -2017 -Theory and Decision 83 (1):61-94.detailsA new class of values combining marginalistic and egalitarian principles is introduced for cooperative TU-games. It includes some modes of solidarity among the players by taking the collective contribution of some coalitions to the grand coalition into account. Relationships with other class of values such as the Egalitarian Shapley values and the Procedural values are discussed. We propose a strategic implementation of our class of values in subgame perfect Nash equilibrium. Two axiomatic characterizations are provided: one of the whole class (...) of values, and one of each of its extreme points. (shrink)
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Nullified equal loss property and equal division values.Sylvain Ferrières -2017 -Theory and Decision 83 (3):385-406.detailsWe provide characterizations of the equal division values and their convex mixtures, using a new axiom on a fixed player set based on player nullification which requires that if a player becomes null, then any two other players are equally affected. Two economic applications are also introduced concerning bargaining under risk and common-pool resource appropriation.
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Le Philèbe de Platon: introduction à l'agathologie platonicienne.Sylvain Delcomminette -2006 - Boston: Brill.detailsThis book provides a comprehensive commentary of the Philebus designed to shed light on the nature and function of the good in Plato’s philosophy as a whole. Topics discussed include dialectic, pleasure, epistemology, and the relations between metaphysics and ethics.
Characterizations of weighted and equal division values.Sylvain Béal,André Casajus,Frank Huettner,Eric Rémila &Philippe Solal -2016 -Theory and Decision 80 (4):649-667.detailsNew and recent axioms for cooperative games with transferable utilities are introduced. The non-negative player axiom requires to assign a non-negative payoff to a player that belongs to coalitions with non-negative worth only. The axiom of addition invariance on bi-partitions requires that the payoff vector recommended by a value should not be affected by an identical change in worth of both a coalition and the complementary coalition. The nullified solidarity axiom requires that if a player who becomes null weakly loses (...) from such a change, then every other player should weakly lose too. We study the consequence of imposing some of these axioms in addition to some classical axioms. It turns out that the resulting values or set of values have all in common to split efficiently the worth achieved by the grand coalition according to an exogenously given weight vector. As a result, we also obtain new characterizations of the equal division value. (shrink)
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Bergson professeur: actes du colloque international organisé par Alain Panero,Sylvain Matton & Mireille Delbraccio (Paris, École Normale Supérieure, 22-24 novembre 2010).Alain Panero,Sylvain Matton &Mireille Delbraccio (eds.) -2014 - Louvain-la-Neuve: Peeters.detailsBergson Professeur rassemble les actes d'un colloque international qui s'est tenu a Paris, a l'Ecole Normale Superieure, en novembre 2010. On y trouve les contributions des meilleurs bergsoniens contemporains sur un theme habituellement peu traite : le role exact des cours de Bergson et des notes de cours relativement a ses ouvrages publies. Ce volume vient ainsi combler un manque dans les publications academiques sur Bergson, puisqu'il permet de restituer, dans le sillage des travaux engages il y a deux decennies (...) par Henri Hude, ce qui est trop souvent considere comme la part la moins importante de sa philosophie. En tentant de faire entendre de nouveau la voix vivante du professeur Bergson, ce travail ne rend donc pas seulement un hommage au maitre admire par tous ses auditeurs, il nous fait entrer, comme par effraction, dans l'atelier ou, a n'en pas douter, furent mises au point plusieurs des grandes trouvailles d'un genie philosophique. (shrink)