François Châtelet

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For the mathematician, see François Châtelet (mathematician). For the French Olympic athlete, see François Châtelet (athlete).
François Châtelet
François Châtelet
BornApril 27, 1925
Paris, France
DiedDecember 26, 1985
Paris, France
NationalityFrench
Occupation(s)Philosopher, Professor, and Secondary School Teacher
Notable workPlaton, Une Histoire de la Raison

François Châtelet (27 April 1925 – 26 December 1985) was a historian of philosophy, political philosophy and professor in the socratic tradition. He was the husband of philosopher Noëlle Châtelet, the sister of Lionel Jospin, who served as Prime Minister of France between 1997 and 2002 during the presidency of Jacques Chirac.[1]

Biography[edit]

Châtelet was born and died in Paris. Along with Michel Foucault and Gilles Deleuze, he is a founder of the department of philosophy at the The University of Paris, Vincennes, which was established in the aftermath of the May, 1968 student protests across France, and was later relocated from Vincennes to the northern Parisian commune of Saint-Denis.[1][2] Along with Jean-Pierre Vernant, he and joined the department of philosophy at the University of São Paulo in 1971 as a form of protest to Brazilian military government's imprisonment of most of the department's faculty.[3] In 1983, he co-founded the Collège international de philosophie (International College of Philosophy), which is described as being at “the forefront of militant and engaged critical thinking,” and has sought to “relocate philosophy at the intersection of science, politics, psychoanalysis, art and literature, jurisprudence, and economy.”[2][4] Châtelet's philosophy links thought and action, engaging in a restless combat with his contemporaries. He also taught in high schools and pre-university classes throughout his career,[5] and occasionally participated in the seminars of Gilles Deleuze, with whom he was close friends.[1]

His conception of philosophy makes him more of a historian of philosophy than a philosopher. At the same time, his work demonstrates that the history of philosophy is always a politics of philosophy and history of politics as well.[2] Châtelet argues in La philosophie des professeurs (which can be translated as either "The Philosophy of Teachers" or "The Philosophy of Professors") that the practice of philosophy can never be separated from how it is taught. Instead, he asserts the two are always intimately connected.[5] In Une histoire de la raison (A History of Reason), he shows the role of philosophy in the constitution of modern Western rationality. His work Platon (Plato) is a formidable invitation-initiation to the thought of the ancient Greek philosopher.

In 1982 Châtelet was diagnosed with lung cancer, receiving a tracheotomy the following year. His illness soon left him debilitated, and Châtelet remained homebound until his death in 1985. During this period, Deleuze and his wife Fanny visited Châtelet weekly. The latter's illness had a profound impact on his friend. In 1995, Deleuze wrote a letter to his friend, painter and performance art organizer Jean-Jacques Lebel, stating that he "didn’t want to live through what François had lived through." Deleuze would take his own life several weeks later.[1][6]

In 2023, his work appeared in English translation for the first time with a translation of his "Classical Greece, Reason, and the State" by Adam E. Foster in volume 38 of Parrhesia: A Journal of Critical Philosophy.[2][7]

Works[edit]

  • Périclès et son siècle (Pericles and his age) (1960)
  • La naissance de l'histoire : la formation de la pensée historienne en Grèce, (The birth of history: the formation of historical thought in Greece) (1961)
  • Logos et praxis: recherches sur la signification théorique du marxisme (Logos and praxis: research on the theoretical significance of Marxism) (1962)
  • Platon (Plato) (1965)
  • Hegel (1968)
  • La philosophie des professeurs (The Philosophy of Professors) (1970)
  • Histoire de la philosophie (History of Philosophy) (1972–1973) — 8 volumes
  • Profil d'une œuvre : « Le Capital » (livre 2) (Profile of a work: Das Capital (book 2)) (1976)
  • Les Années de démolition (The Demolition Years) (1976)
  • Questions, objections (Questions, objections) (1979)
  • Une histoire de la raison (A History of Reason) (1992)
  • Logos et Praxis (Logos and Praxis) (2006)

English Translations[edit]

  • "Classical Greece, Reason, and the State," trans. Adam E. Foster, Parrhesia: A Journal of Critical Philosophy 38 (2023): 21-43.[7]

Co-authored Works[edit]

  • La Révolution sans modèle (Revolution without a model) (1974), with Gilles Lapouge and Oliver Revault d'Allones.
  • Les marxistes et la politique (Marxists and the political) (1975), with Évelyne Pisier and Jean-Marie Vincent.
  • Chronique des idées perdues (The chronicle of lost ideas) (1977), with André Akoun.
  • Les conceptions politiques du xxe siècle (Political conceptions of the 20th century) (1982), with Évelyne Pisier.
  • Histoire des conceptions politiques (History of political conceptions) (1982), with Éveline Pisier and Olivier Duhamel.
  • Dictionnaire des œuvres politiques (Dictionary of political works) (1986), with Éveline Pisier and Olivier Duhamel.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d "Francois Chatelet". The Deleuze Seminars. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d Foster, Adam E. (2023). "The State, Philosophy, and the Tyranny of the Logos: An Introduction to François Châtelet's 'Classical Greece, Reason, and the State.'" (PDF). Parrhesia: A Journal of Critical Philosophy. 38: 2.
  3. ^ "Filosofia - USP". Archived from the original on 2011-09-21. Retrieved 2012-05-11. Official Webpage of the Faculty of Philosophy (University of São Paulo) (in Portuguese)
  4. ^ Campana, Alessandra (2005). "From Pericles and Verdi (and Backward)". The Opera Quarterly. 21 (4): 713–715. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  5. ^ a b Verignioux, Alain. "La philosophie de François Châtelet". Le Télémaque. 47 (1): 9–16. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  6. ^ Dosse, Françoise (2010). Intersecting Lives. Translated by Glassman, Deborah. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 497.
  7. ^ a b Châtelet, François (2023). "Classical Greece, Reason, and the State" (PDF). Parrhesia: A Journal of Critical Philosophy. 38. Translated by Foster, Adam E.: 21–43. Retrieved 30 April 2024.

External links[edit]

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