Alain Finkielkraut
Encyclopedia
Alain Finkielkraut is a French
essayist, and son of a Jewish-Polish manufacturer of fine leather goods who had been deported to Auschwitz and survived. He currently teaches at the École polytechnique
as professor of the "history of ideas and modernity" in the department of humanities and social sciences. Author of a number of books, Finkielkraut is among some of France's "public intellectuals" who often appear on talk shows and publish columns in the French media. Finkielkraut advocates what in France is known as a humanist standpoint; although his supposed (self-declared) humanism has been challenged at many times during his career and frequently deemed quite the opposite of humanism, especially by anti-conservative and liberal activists. Sixty researchers and professors at the École polytechnique are known to have signed a petition
to protest his alleged colonial views, although others have come to his defense and accused his protestors of attacking Finkielkraut because of his Jewish heritage.
In 2010, he was involved in founding JCall
, advocacy group based in Europe to lobby the European parliament
on foreign policy issues concerning the Middle East. He is a strong supporter of Israel.
. Broadly speaking, his ideas may be described as being in the same vein as those of Emmanuel Levinas
and Hannah Arendt
, a filiation he has repeatedly pointed out.
Finkielkraut first came to public attention when he and Pascal Bruckner
co-authored a number of short but controversial essays intended to question the idea that a new emancipation was underway; these included The New Love Disorder (1977) (Le Nouveau Désordre amoureux) and At The Corner Of The Street (1978) (Au Coin de la rue), as well as The Adventure (1979) (L'aventure).
Finkielkraut then began publishing singly authored works on the public's betrayal of memory and our intransigence in the presence of events which, he argued, should move the public. This reflection led Finkielkraut to address post-Holocaust Jewish identity in Europe
(The Imaginary Jew) (1983) (le Juif imaginaire). Seeking to promote what he calls a duty of memory, Finkielkraut also published The Future Of A Negation: Reflexion On The Genocide Issue (1982) (Avenir d'une négation : réflexion sur la question du génocide) and later his comments on the Klaus Barbie
trial, Remembering in Vain (La Mémoire vaine).
Finkielkraut feels particularly indebted to Emmanuel Levinas
. In The Wisdom Of Love (La Sagesse de l'amour), Finkielkraut discusses this debt in terms of modernity and its mirages. Finkielkraut continues his reflection on the matter in The Defeat Of The Mind (1987) (La Défaite de la pensée), The Ingratitude: Talks About Our Times (1999) (Ingratitude : conversation sur notre temps).
in The Internet, The Troubling Ecstasy (2001) (Internet, l'inquiétante extase. In the book Present Imperfect (2002) (L'Imparfait du présent), akin to a personal diary, he expresses his thoughts about different events in the world (especially the events of September 11, 2001).
During the wars resulting from the breakup of Yugoslavia
, he was one of the first who strongly supported independence of Slovenia
, Croatia
, Bosnia and Herzegovina
. He became especialy strong supporter of croatian independence in first years of war, so in media get
name "Finkelcroat". However, he has been criticised for his close friendship with Croatian nationalist leader Franjo Tuđman, and was accused by David Bruce MacDonald
of supporting "a nation whose leader was a Holocaust denier
, at the helm of an authoritarian government."
magazine in November 2005 in which he gave his opinion about the 2005 civil unrest in France
stirred up much controversy. Finkielkraut's remarks that the French Soccer Team was "Black, Black, Black" (as opposed to the expression "Black, Blanc, Beur"—meaning "Black, White, Arab"—coined after the 1998 World Cup victory to honor the African and Afro Caribbean, European and North African origins of the players) were seen as "racially insensitive".
Israeli filmmaker Eyal Sivan
took legal action against Finkielkraut in response to the accusation that Sivan “is, if you will, one of the actors in this particularly painful, particularly alarming reality, the Jewish anti-Semitism that rages today."
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
essayist, and son of a Jewish-Polish manufacturer of fine leather goods who had been deported to Auschwitz and survived. He currently teaches at the École polytechnique
École Polytechnique
The École Polytechnique is a state-run institution of higher education and research in Palaiseau, Essonne, France, near Paris. Polytechnique is renowned for its four year undergraduate/graduate Master's program...
as professor of the "history of ideas and modernity" in the department of humanities and social sciences. Author of a number of books, Finkielkraut is among some of France's "public intellectuals" who often appear on talk shows and publish columns in the French media. Finkielkraut advocates what in France is known as a humanist standpoint; although his supposed (self-declared) humanism has been challenged at many times during his career and frequently deemed quite the opposite of humanism, especially by anti-conservative and liberal activists. Sixty researchers and professors at the École polytechnique are known to have signed a petition
Petition
A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer....
to protest his alleged colonial views, although others have come to his defense and accused his protestors of attacking Finkielkraut because of his Jewish heritage.
In 2010, he was involved in founding JCall
JCall
JCall is a nonprofit advocacy group based in Europe to lobby the European parliament on foreign policy issues concerning the Middle East and Israel in particular. They say they are based along the lines of the America group J Street, founded just months before this group...
, advocacy group based in Europe to lobby the European parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
on foreign policy issues concerning the Middle East. He is a strong supporter of Israel.
Philosophy
Alain Finkielkraut studied modern literature at the École normale supérieure de Saint-CloudÉcole normale supérieure lettres et sciences humaines
The École Normale Supérieure Lettres et Sciences Humaines, or ENS LSH, was an elite French grande école specialising in the arts, humanities and social sciences...
. Broadly speaking, his ideas may be described as being in the same vein as those of Emmanuel Levinas
Emmanuel Lévinas
Emmanuel Levinas was a Lithuanian-born French Jewish philosopher and Talmudic commentator.-Life:Emanuelis Levinas received a traditional Jewish education in Lithuania...
and Hannah Arendt
Hannah Arendt
Hannah Arendt was a German American political theorist. She has often been described as a philosopher, although she refused that label on the grounds that philosophy is concerned with "man in the singular." She described herself instead as a political theorist because her work centers on the fact...
, a filiation he has repeatedly pointed out.
Finkielkraut first came to public attention when he and Pascal Bruckner
Pascal Bruckner
Pascal Bruckner is a French writer.-Biography:After studies at the university Paris I and Paris VII Diderot, and then at the École Pratique des Hautes Études, Bruckner became maître de conférences at the Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris, and collaborator at the Nouvel Observateur.Bruckner...
co-authored a number of short but controversial essays intended to question the idea that a new emancipation was underway; these included The New Love Disorder (1977) (Le Nouveau Désordre amoureux) and At The Corner Of The Street (1978) (Au Coin de la rue), as well as The Adventure (1979) (L'aventure).
Finkielkraut then began publishing singly authored works on the public's betrayal of memory and our intransigence in the presence of events which, he argued, should move the public. This reflection led Finkielkraut to address post-Holocaust Jewish identity in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
(The Imaginary Jew) (1983) (le Juif imaginaire). Seeking to promote what he calls a duty of memory, Finkielkraut also published The Future Of A Negation: Reflexion On The Genocide Issue (1982) (Avenir d'une négation : réflexion sur la question du génocide) and later his comments on the Klaus Barbie
Klaus Barbie
Nikolaus 'Klaus' Barbie was an SS-Hauptsturmführer , Gestapo member and war criminal. He was known as the Butcher of Lyon.- Early life :...
trial, Remembering in Vain (La Mémoire vaine).
Finkielkraut feels particularly indebted to Emmanuel Levinas
Emmanuel Lévinas
Emmanuel Levinas was a Lithuanian-born French Jewish philosopher and Talmudic commentator.-Life:Emanuelis Levinas received a traditional Jewish education in Lithuania...
. In The Wisdom Of Love (La Sagesse de l'amour), Finkielkraut discusses this debt in terms of modernity and its mirages. Finkielkraut continues his reflection on the matter in The Defeat Of The Mind (1987) (La Défaite de la pensée), The Ingratitude: Talks About Our Times (1999) (Ingratitude : conversation sur notre temps).
Essayist on society
In recent years, Alain Finkielkraut has given his opinion on a variety of topics regarding society, for instance the InternetInternet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
in The Internet, The Troubling Ecstasy (2001) (Internet, l'inquiétante extase. In the book Present Imperfect (2002) (L'Imparfait du présent), akin to a personal diary, he expresses his thoughts about different events in the world (especially the events of September 11, 2001).
During the wars resulting from the breakup of Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
, he was one of the first who strongly supported independence of Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
. He became especialy strong supporter of croatian independence in first years of war, so in media get
name "Finkelcroat". However, he has been criticised for his close friendship with Croatian nationalist leader Franjo Tuđman, and was accused by David Bruce MacDonald
David B. MacDonald
David Bruce MacDonald has an international reputation in the academic fields of Comparative Indigenous Politics, US politics, International Relations, nationalism studies, genocide and human rights. Born in Leeds, UK in 1973, he was raised in Canada, and is currently Associate Professor in...
of supporting "a nation whose leader was a Holocaust denier
Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial is the act of denying the genocide of Jews in World War II, usually referred to as the Holocaust. The key claims of Holocaust denial are: the German Nazi government had no official policy or intention of exterminating Jews, Nazi authorities did not use extermination camps and gas...
, at the helm of an authoritarian government."
Controversies
His interview published in the HaaretzHaaretz
Haaretz is Israel's oldest daily newspaper. It was founded in 1918 and is now published in both Hebrew and English in Berliner format. The English edition is published and sold together with the International Herald Tribune. Both Hebrew and English editions can be read on the Internet...
magazine in November 2005 in which he gave his opinion about the 2005 civil unrest in France
2005 civil unrest in France
The 2005 civil unrest in France of October and November was a series of riots by mostly Muslim North African youths in Paris and other French cities, involving mainly the burning of cars and public buildings at night starting on 27 October 2005 in Clichy-sous-Bois...
stirred up much controversy. Finkielkraut's remarks that the French Soccer Team was "Black, Black, Black" (as opposed to the expression "Black, Blanc, Beur"—meaning "Black, White, Arab"—coined after the 1998 World Cup victory to honor the African and Afro Caribbean, European and North African origins of the players) were seen as "racially insensitive".
Israeli filmmaker Eyal Sivan
Eyal Sivan
Eyal Sivan is an Israeli filmmaker and critic noted for his criticisms of Israeli policies.-Biography:Born in Haifa, Sivan attended school in Jerusalem, but dropped out to pursue photography...
took legal action against Finkielkraut in response to the accusation that Sivan “is, if you will, one of the actors in this particularly painful, particularly alarming reality, the Jewish anti-Semitism that rages today."