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Philosophy of Alterity

The other as mirror and mystery

The other emerges as an enigma that disturbs our certainties, an opening that provokes resistance and violence as we so fear what comes to trouble our mental universe. This fear of alterity transforms the other into a threatening specter, into a fantasized figure onto which we project our anxieties. Yet true presence to the other requires going beyond our preconceptions, these projections that seem to define our identity but lock us in the repetition of the same. Authentic tolerance consists not in putting up with the other despite their differences, but in building a space of trust where each can dare to transform themselves. Between the totalizing “we” that denies singularities and the solipsistic “I” that refuses the collective, there exists a path: that of the symbolic common place that favors diversity of viewpoints without imposing consensus. The little green men we sought in the stars now emerge from our technological creations, redefining the boundaries of humanity and confronting us with a radically new alterity. Faced with this multiplication of figures of the other - the foreigner, the machine, the dissident - our challenge consists in keeping open the possibility of encounter without reducing the other to our categories, without confusing identity and social function. The absence of privileges can paradoxically make us more present to the real needs of others, thus escaping the trap of altruistic action that starts from its own projections rather than from genuine listening.

Unconditional love between adults
Unconditional love between adults

On a therapeutic dogma and what it obscures.

It is regularly claimed, in therapy training, that unconditional love only exists toward children. This claim seems to me mistaken and harmful, because it conflates love with the romantic relationship, and prevents us from seeing how the former (…)
20 May 2026
  7 min
Giving without expecting return
Giving without expecting return

On asymmetric giving, from human bonds to digital commons.

Anthropology has taught us to be wary of the gift, which it always describes as caught up in an obligation of return. There is, however, another form of giving, one that unfolds over time without depending on that return, that benefits first the (…)
18 May 2026
  6 min
The body-knowledge of fear
The body-knowledge of fear

On what bodies know about danger that concepts cannot convey.

A woman walking home on foot in the evening holds a bodily knowledge of danger that the man walking down the same street does not share. I propose the concept of body-knowledge to name this knowledge that inscribes itself through exposure, and (…)
17 May 2026
  5 min
The Broken Heart That Beats: Dialectic of Solitude and Connection
The Broken Heart That Beats: Dialectic of Solitude and Connection

Self-elaboration in openness to the other, after the unthinkable.

Between relational permeability and necessary withdrawal, one can sketch a philosophy of existence that refuses the alternative between fusion and isolation. This allows us to think about self-construction in the paradox of a grief that never (…)
6 December 2025
  6 min
The cage of representations
The cage of representations

When the absence of care locks the other in our imaginary constructions.

Human relationships break down less through conflict than through construction: we fabricate characters, we assign them roles, and in this seemingly innocuous gesture lies a violence that can go so far as to symbolically kill the other. The (…)
29 October 2025
  9 min
Patriarchal feminism
Patriarchal feminism

When emancipation can reproduce patterns of domination.

Surprisingly, certain forms of struggle against patriarchy can unintentionally reinforce the very structures they seek to combat, particularly within heterosexual couples. I propose an analysis, which I hope is nuanced and useful, of these (…)
13 October 2025
  12 min
Easy Dehumanization
Easy Dehumanization

Reflection on our ambivalent relationship to the humanity of others.

How can we explain our disconcerting ease in treating our fellow human beings as obstacles to eliminate rather than as beings worthy of compassion? And how, faced with this tendency, can we find a viable ethical balance between recognition of the (…)
5 September 2025
  6 min
Rethinking love, work, and autonomy in the age of artificial intelligence.
Rethinking love, work, and autonomy in the age of artificial intelligence.

The new skills to develop for a changing world.

Our era is made of mutations, profound and often invisible. I believe it is time to deconstruct the inner prisons that prevent us from embracing change. Between technological revolution and social emancipation, a reflection on our capacities for (…)
4 September 2025
  5 min
Presence and Dependence
Presence and Dependence

From the illusion of freedom to the awareness of our voluntary servitudes.

We believe we choose independence but cultivate dependence everywhere. This contradiction structures our digital as well as affective lives, and reveals our fear of movement which is yet the very essence of life. The confusion between why and how (…)
3 September 2025
  8 min
Love and Couples
Love and Couples

Rethinking the distinction between romantic feeling and social construction.

We often confuse love and couple, love and sexuality, love and jealousy. Yet love is an immense feeling that largely overflows the framework of the couple and emotional deficiencies. The original confusion: when love is reduced to the couple (…)
21 August 2025
  6 min
Violence against openings
Violence against openings

Understanding the mechanisms of collective rejection.

All openings, which are irruptions of novelty, provoke resistance and violence. Why do humans in society so fear what comes to disturb their certainties? I propose to understand this collective reflex, in order to preserve freedom, in other words (…)
14 August 2025
  5 min
The specter of the other
The specter of the other

From anxious dehumanization to confident recognition.

How can the other, a subject of rights, become a threatening figure? A reflection born from a confrontation with reality, beyond the fantasies and prejudices that our fears construct. The genesis of the fantasy of the other as a threatMy (…)
28 July 2025
  4 min
Presence of Little Green Men
Presence of Little Green Men

Artificial intelligences as new alterity: enom extraterrestrial to infraterrestrial.

Human beings have always sought alterity in the stars. Yet, the true “little green men” emerge today from our own technological creations, redefining the boundaries of humanity. Extraterrestrial imagination as mirror of our humanityThe little (…)
26 July 2025
  6 min
Absence and privileges
Absence and privileges

The dynamics of citizen action, between the reproduction of privileges and genuine openness to the other.

I propose exploring two approaches to civic action: starting from one’s privileges to act altruistically, or opening oneself to the real needs of others. Without imposing a moral stance, I aim to illuminate their characteristics, biases, and (…)
17 July 2025
  6 min
Presence and confrontation
Presence and confrontation

Dialectics of world thinking.

Faced with the impossible dialogue between our divergent world-thoughts, which threatens our identities, a path opens up: building together around a common project. The impossible dialogue of world-thoughtsIn public debates, when someone (…)
6 June 2025
  4 min
Presence, common ground and self-containment
Presence, common ground and self-containment

Cultivating the symbolic space for living together.

Humanity, intrinsically collective, requires a symbolic common ground to form society. This place must promote diversity of viewpoints rather than consensus, avoid insularity, and cultivate the authentic presence of each person. Lies about the (…)
17 May 2025
  3 min
A priori and the presence of others
A priori and the presence of others

When our projections merge with our identity.

Our preconceptions are projections that seem to define our identity. True presence, however, anchors us within ourselves while opening us to others. Cultivating this presence, distinct from our preconceptions, profoundly transforms our (…)
16 May 2025
  3 min
Identity and social function
Identity and social function

Quand le “je suis” devient prison : déconstruire la fusion identité-fonction

The confusion between identity and social function creates hierarchies that limit our exchanges. Recognizing the multiplicity of our identities allows us to emancipate ourselves from rigid assignments and enrich our relationships, benefiting both (…)
15 May 2025
  7 min
The presence of we
The presence of we

When universalism masks domination.

Many texts employ an undefined “we” that claims to speak for everyone. This posture denies otherness and creates antagonisms. Preferring “I” allows respect for differences and opens a truly democratic space. Should we think for others?In (…)
14 May 2025
  3 min
On systems of domination in the film industry
On systems of domination in the film industry

The reasons for the violence are not what you might think.

The film industry is built on deeply entrenched systems of domination. These hierarchical mechanisms legitimize violence, including sexist violence, and require structural overhaul beyond mere sanctions. The Seductive Power of DominationThe (…)
29 April 2025
  8 min