Alexandre Billon
Biographic Data
| ID | 1174694 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Alexandre Billon |
| GIVEN NAMES | Alexandre |
| FAMILY NAME | Billon |
| SIGNATURE | BILLON A |
| AFFILIATIONS | Savoirs, Textes, Langage |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-8905-0298 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 10 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 3 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 10 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2010 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Making Sense of Science Denialism
International audience
Beyond “Reality Testing”
Depersonalization derealization disorder (DPD) is typically defined by two criteria.First, patients experience lasting or recurring impressions of unreality (or alienation) concerning themselves, their body, or the world around them.Second, their reality testing remains intact, which usually means they know these impressions are misleading and that they, their body, or the world are in fact real (and not alienated).In his stimulating article, Cas…
The Sense of Existence
If I see, hear, or touch a sparrow, the sparrow seems real to me. Unlike Bigfoot or Santa Claus, it seems to exist; I will therefore judge that it does indeed exist. The “sense of existence” refers to the kind of awareness that typically grounds such ordinary judgments of existence or “reality.” The sense of existence has been invoked by Humeans, Kantians, Ideologists, and the phenomenological tradition to make substantial philosophical claims. H…
Are Infinite Explanations Self-Explanatory
A Recipe for Non-wellfounded but Complete Chains of Explanations (and Other Determination Relations)
Consider a chain of explanation u_{1},u_{2},u_{3},\ldots where each item is fully explained by its successor. Suppose that the chain is non-wellfounded in the sense that it is either infinite or circular. Explanations here can be either causal explanations or grounding, metaphysical explanations. It is widely believed that such chains of explanation will always be incomplete, i.e. leave things to be explained, and many philosophers have considere…
What is the Point of Persistent Disputes
Many philosophers regard the persistence of philosophical disputes as symptomatic of overly ambitious, ill-founded intellectual projects. There are indeed strong reasons to believe that persistent disputes in philosophy (and more generally in the discourse at large) are pointless. We call this the pessimistic view of the nature of philosophical disputes. In order to respond to the pessimistic view, we articulate the supporting reasons and provide…
Paradoxical hypodoxes
Irrationality and Happiness
There is a long tradition in philosophy of blaming passions for our unhappiness. If only we were more rational, it is claimed, we would live happier lives. I argue that such optimism is misguided and that, paradoxically, people with desires, like us, cannot be both happy and rational. More precisely, if someone rational has desires he will not be fully happy, and if he has some desires that are rational and—in a yet-to-be-specified sense—demandin…
Why Are We Certain that We Exist
Descartes was certain that he was thinking and he was accordingly certain that he existed. Like Descartes, we seem to be more certain of our thoughts and our existence than of anything else. What is less clear is the reason why we are thus certain. Philosophers throughout history have provided different interpretations of the cogito , disagreeing both on the kind of thoughts it characterizes and on the reasons for its cogency. According to what w…
Dousir » et « plaileur » l'énigme de l'attribution d'expériences
International audience
Why Are We Certain that We Exist
Descartes was certain that he was thinking and he was accordingly certain that he existed. Like Descartes, we seem to be more certain of our thoughts and our existence than of anything else. What is less clear is the reason why we are thus certain. Philosophers throughout history have provided different interpretations of the cogito , disagreeing both on the kind of thoughts it characterizes and on the reasons for its cogency. According to what w…
Paradoxical hypodoxes
Dousir » et « plaileur » l'énigme de l'attribution d'expériences
International audience
Why Are We Certain that We Exist
Descartes was certain that he was thinking and he was accordingly certain that he existed. Like Descartes, we seem to be more certain of our thoughts and our existence than of anything else. What is less clear is the reason why we are thus certain. Philosophers throughout history have provided different interpretations of the cogito , disagreeing both on the kind of thoughts it characterizes and on the reasons for its cogency. According to what w…
Irrationality and Happiness
There is a long tradition in philosophy of blaming passions for our unhappiness. If only we were more rational, it is claimed, we would live happier lives. I argue that such optimism is misguided and that, paradoxically, people with desires, like us, cannot be both happy and rational. More precisely, if someone rational has desires he will not be fully happy, and if he has some desires that are rational and—in a yet-to-be-specified sense—demandin…
Paradoxical hypodoxes
What is the Point of Persistent Disputes
Many philosophers regard the persistence of philosophical disputes as symptomatic of overly ambitious, ill-founded intellectual projects. There are indeed strong reasons to believe that persistent disputes in philosophy (and more generally in the discourse at large) are pointless. We call this the pessimistic view of the nature of philosophical disputes. In order to respond to the pessimistic view, we articulate the supporting reasons and provide…
The Sense of Existence
If I see, hear, or touch a sparrow, the sparrow seems real to me. Unlike Bigfoot or Santa Claus, it seems to exist; I will therefore judge that it does indeed exist. The “sense of existence” refers to the kind of awareness that typically grounds such ordinary judgments of existence or “reality.” The sense of existence has been invoked by Humeans, Kantians, Ideologists, and the phenomenological tradition to make substantial philosophical claims. H…
Are Infinite Explanations Self-Explanatory
A Recipe for Non-wellfounded but Complete Chains of Explanations (and Other Determination Relations)
Consider a chain of explanation u_{1},u_{2},u_{3},\ldots where each item is fully explained by its successor. Suppose that the chain is non-wellfounded in the sense that it is either infinite or circular. Explanations here can be either causal explanations or grounding, metaphysical explanations. It is widely believed that such chains of explanation will always be incomplete, i.e. leave things to be explained, and many philosophers have considere…
Making Sense of Science Denialism
International audience
Beyond “Reality Testing”
Depersonalization derealization disorder (DPD) is typically defined by two criteria.First, patients experience lasting or recurring impressions of unreality (or alienation) concerning themselves, their body, or the world around them.Second, their reality testing remains intact, which usually means they know these impressions are misleading and that they, their body, or the world are in fact real (and not alienated).In his stimulating article, Cas…
Epistemology (5 works) · Philosophy (5 works) · Mental Health and Psychiatry (4 works) · Psychology (4 works) · Epistemology, Ethics, and Metaphysics (3 works) · Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments (3 works) · Linguistics (2 works) · Metaphysics (2 works) · Neurology and Historical Studies (2 works) · Pessimism (2 works)