Georges Palante
Encyclopedia
Georges Toussaint Léon Palante (November 20, 1862 – August 5, 1925) was a French philosopher and sociologist.
He advocated aristocratic individualist ideas similar to Nietzsche and Schopenhauer. He was opposed to Émile Durkheim
's holism
, promoting methodological individualism
instead.
. Palante's older brother, Emile, died when he was only five years old. He studied successively at the college of Arras, where he excelled in Latin, then at Lycée Louis-le-Grand
where he earned his bachelor's degree.
He obtained a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Douai
. In 1885, he began his career as professor of philosophy at Aurillac
, where he met his future wife, Louise Genty, whom he married three years later. The couple had a daughter, Germaine, in 1890. Between 1886 and 1888, he studied in Châteauroux. In 1888 he received his Agrégation
in philosophy.
He separated from his first wife in 1890 and was appointed to teach at the Lycée de Saint-Brieuc
, Brittany
, then in the following years at Valenciennes
, La Rochelle
and Niort
. In 1893, he translated a work by Theobald Ziegler
and began to publish articles. He returned in 1898 to the Lycée de Saint-Brieuc, at which he worked for the remainder of his teaching career. Meanwhile, he continued to work on his philosophical ideas, publishing articles and essays in journals. He published collections of his articles in various books, notably Combat pour l'individu (Fight for the Individual) (1904) and La Sensibilité individualiste (The Individualist Sensibility) (1909)
In 1907, he completed a draft doctoral thesis at the Sorbonne
, but it was never authorized. However, he published the draft under the title Antinomies entre l'individu et la société (Antinomies between the individual and society) in 1912, expanding it two years later under the title Pessimisme et individualisme (Pessimism and Individualism).
In 1908, he stood in municipal elections as a socialist candidate but was not elected. He took over from Jules de Gaultier
at the philosophy journal Mercure de France
, holding the position for 13 years. In 1916, he befriended the writer Louis Guilloux
.
During this period he lived a bohemian lifestyle, drinking heavily and, notoriously, marking his students' essays in a local brothel. He married his second wife, Louise Pierre, in 1923 and retired from teaching a year later.
On 5 August 1925 he died from a self-inflicted bullet wound to the head. The reasons for Palante's suicide are not certain, but he is known to have been suffering from acromegaly
, a condition diagnosed when he was a student. A severe degenerative disease, which had no cure at time, it was making his life more and more painful.
.
, he increasingly rejected it as a political ideal, though he did participate in 1908 municipal elections as a Socialist candidate. He rejected the label "anarchist", but his ideas are nevertheless often regarded as a form of anarchism
or at least as libertarianism
. His ideas have some commonality with classical liberalism
, including his definition of the individual and his opposition to various barriers to trade. However, he opposed it in so far as, in his view, individual being is not determined by rational choice, since social determinism is constantly at work. In the economic field, he also objected to capitalists seeking profits to the detriment of the poor, and called for a "politics of the belly."
wrote Souvenirs sur Georges Palante (Memories on Georges Palante) and took his inspiration from Palante to model his character Cripure (short for Critique de la raison pure, in English: Critique of pure reason) in his novel Le Sang noir
(Dark Blood). He also puts Palante's ideas into the mouths of characters in other novels.
He is quoted in one of the footnotes to Camus
' classic treatise The Rebel. Jean Grenier
who was Camus' philosophy teacher, met Palante and devoted a full chapter to him in his book Les Grèves (The Strikes).
Michel Onfray
's thesis and first published book, Physiologie de Georges Palante (Georges Palante's Physiology) contributed to the renewed interest in his work. The 2002 and 2005 reissues of the book were subtitled portrait d’un nietzschéen de gauche (Portrait of a left-wing nietzschean).
, Death of a thinker: A Note on the French Novel 1925-40, first published in The Kenyon Review, Summer 1941.
He advocated aristocratic individualist ideas similar to Nietzsche and Schopenhauer. He was opposed to Émile Durkheim
Émile Durkheim
David Émile Durkheim was a French sociologist. He formally established the academic discipline and, with Karl Marx and Max Weber, is commonly cited as the principal architect of modern social science and father of sociology.Much of Durkheim's work was concerned with how societies could maintain...
's holism
Holism
Holism is the idea that all the properties of a given system cannot be determined or explained by its component parts alone...
, promoting methodological individualism
Methodological individualism
Methodological individualism is the theory that social phenomena can only be accurately explained by showing how they result from the intentional states that motivate the individual actors. The idea has been used to criticize historicism, structural functionalism, and the roles of social class,...
instead.
Life
Palante was born in Blangy-les-Arras in the Pas-de-Calais, 20 November 1862. His father, Emile Palante, was an accountant from LiègeLiège
Liège is a major city and municipality of Belgium located in the province of Liège, of which it is the economic capital, in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium....
. Palante's older brother, Emile, died when he was only five years old. He studied successively at the college of Arras, where he excelled in Latin, then at Lycée Louis-le-Grand
Lycée Louis-le-Grand
The Lycée Louis-le-Grand is a public secondary school located in Paris, widely regarded as one of the most rigorous in France. Formerly known as the Collège de Clermont, it was named in king Louis XIV of France's honor after he visited the school and offered his patronage.It offers both a...
where he earned his bachelor's degree.
He obtained a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Douai
University of Douai
The University of Douai is a former university in Douai, France. With a Middle Ages heritage of scholar activities in Douai, the university was established in 1559 and lectures started in 1562. It closed from 1795 to 1808...
. In 1885, he began his career as professor of philosophy at Aurillac
Aurillac
Aurillac is a commune in the Auvergne region in south-central France, capital of the Cantal department.Aurillac's inhabitants are called Aurillacois, and are also Cantaliens or Cantalous in Occitan....
, where he met his future wife, Louise Genty, whom he married three years later. The couple had a daughter, Germaine, in 1890. Between 1886 and 1888, he studied in Châteauroux. In 1888 he received his Agrégation
Agrégation
In France, the agrégation is a civil service competitive examination for some positions in the public education system. The laureates are known as agrégés...
in philosophy.
He separated from his first wife in 1890 and was appointed to teach at the Lycée de Saint-Brieuc
Saint-Brieuc
Saint-Brieuc is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France.-History:Saint-Brieuc is named after a Welsh monk Brioc, who evangelized the region in the 6th century and established an oratory there...
, Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
, then in the following years at Valenciennes
Valenciennes
Valenciennes is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.It lies on the Scheldt river. Although the city and region had seen a steady decline between 1975 and 1990, it has since rebounded...
, La Rochelle
La Rochelle
La Rochelle is a city in western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department.The city is connected to the Île de Ré by a bridge completed on 19 May 1988...
and Niort
Niort
Niort is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department in western France.The Latin name of the city was Novioritum.The population of Niort is 60,486 and more than 137,000 people live in the urban area....
. In 1893, he translated a work by Theobald Ziegler
Theobald Ziegler
Theobald Ziegler was a German philosopher and educator who was a native of Göppingen, Württemberg.-Career:...
and began to publish articles. He returned in 1898 to the Lycée de Saint-Brieuc, at which he worked for the remainder of his teaching career. Meanwhile, he continued to work on his philosophical ideas, publishing articles and essays in journals. He published collections of his articles in various books, notably Combat pour l'individu (Fight for the Individual) (1904) and La Sensibilité individualiste (The Individualist Sensibility) (1909)
In 1907, he completed a draft doctoral thesis at the Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
, but it was never authorized. However, he published the draft under the title Antinomies entre l'individu et la société (Antinomies between the individual and society) in 1912, expanding it two years later under the title Pessimisme et individualisme (Pessimism and Individualism).
In 1908, he stood in municipal elections as a socialist candidate but was not elected. He took over from Jules de Gaultier
Jules de Gaultier
Jules de Gaultier , born Jules Achille de Gaultier de Laguionie, was a French philosopher and essayist. He was a contributor to Mercure de France and one of the chief advocates of "nietzscheism" in vogue in the literary circles of the day...
at the philosophy journal Mercure de France
Mercure de France
The Mercure de France was originally a French gazette and literary magazine first published in the 17th century, but after several incarnations has evolved as a publisher, and is now part of the Éditions Gallimard publishing group....
, holding the position for 13 years. In 1916, he befriended the writer Louis Guilloux
Louis Guilloux
Louis Guilloux was a French writer born in Saint-Brieuc, Brittany, where he lived throughout his life. He is known for his Social Realist novels describing working class life and political struggles in the mid-twentieth century...
.
During this period he lived a bohemian lifestyle, drinking heavily and, notoriously, marking his students' essays in a local brothel. He married his second wife, Louise Pierre, in 1923 and retired from teaching a year later.
On 5 August 1925 he died from a self-inflicted bullet wound to the head. The reasons for Palante's suicide are not certain, but he is known to have been suffering from acromegaly
Acromegaly
Acromegaly is a syndrome that results when the anterior pituitary gland produces excess growth hormone after epiphyseal plate closure at puberty...
, a condition diagnosed when he was a student. A severe degenerative disease, which had no cure at time, it was making his life more and more painful.
Philosophy
A thoroughgoing Individualist, he admired Nietzsche and showed early interest in the work of Freud. His thinking is also critical towards the mass "herd instinct", which he thought oppresses and prevents individuals from developing fully. He did not, however, oppose social networks, and insisted that his philosophy did not seek to destroy society for the benefit of the individual, but to help to build new networks of social interaction. In sociology, he objected to the holistic model espoused by Emile DurkheimÉmile Durkheim
David Émile Durkheim was a French sociologist. He formally established the academic discipline and, with Karl Marx and Max Weber, is commonly cited as the principal architect of modern social science and father of sociology.Much of Durkheim's work was concerned with how societies could maintain...
.
Political ideology
Initially close to Socialist theories, although critical of Marxist state socialismState socialism
State socialism is an economic system with limited socialist characteristics, such as public ownership of major industries, remedial measures to benefit the working class, and a gradual process of developing socialism through government policy...
, he increasingly rejected it as a political ideal, though he did participate in 1908 municipal elections as a Socialist candidate. He rejected the label "anarchist", but his ideas are nevertheless often regarded as a form of anarchism
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
or at least as libertarianism
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
. His ideas have some commonality with classical liberalism
Classical liberalism
Classical liberalism is the philosophy committed to the ideal of limited government, constitutionalism, rule of law, due process, and liberty of individuals including freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and free markets....
, including his definition of the individual and his opposition to various barriers to trade. However, he opposed it in so far as, in his view, individual being is not determined by rational choice, since social determinism is constantly at work. In the economic field, he also objected to capitalists seeking profits to the detriment of the poor, and called for a "politics of the belly."
Influence
Louis GuillouxLouis Guilloux
Louis Guilloux was a French writer born in Saint-Brieuc, Brittany, where he lived throughout his life. He is known for his Social Realist novels describing working class life and political struggles in the mid-twentieth century...
wrote Souvenirs sur Georges Palante (Memories on Georges Palante) and took his inspiration from Palante to model his character Cripure (short for Critique de la raison pure, in English: Critique of pure reason) in his novel Le Sang noir
Le Sang noir
Le Sang noir is a 1935 novel by Louis Guilloux that has been described as a "prefiguration of Sartre's La Nausée", because of its concentration on the psychological alienation of an individual.-Origins:...
(Dark Blood). He also puts Palante's ideas into the mouths of characters in other novels.
He is quoted in one of the footnotes to Camus
Albert Camus
Albert Camus was a French author, journalist, and key philosopher of the 20th century. In 1949, Camus founded the Group for International Liaisons within the Revolutionary Union Movement, which was opposed to some tendencies of the Surrealist movement of André Breton.Camus was awarded the 1957...
' classic treatise The Rebel. Jean Grenier
Jean Grenier
Jean Grenier was a French philosopher and writer. He taught for a time in Algiers, where he became a significant influence on the young Albert Camus.-Biography:...
who was Camus' philosophy teacher, met Palante and devoted a full chapter to him in his book Les Grèves (The Strikes).
Michel Onfray
Michel Onfray
Michel Onfray is a contemporary French philosopher who adheres to hedonism, atheism and anarchism...
's thesis and first published book, Physiologie de Georges Palante (Georges Palante's Physiology) contributed to the renewed interest in his work. The 2002 and 2005 reissues of the book were subtitled portrait d’un nietzschéen de gauche (Portrait of a left-wing nietzschean).
Writings
- Précis de Sociologie, Paris, Alcan, 1901.
- Combat pour l’individu, Paris, Alcan, 1904a.
- La Sensibilité individualiste, Paris, Alcan, 1909.
- Les Antinomies entre l’individu et la société, Paris, Alcan, 1912.
- La Philosophie du bovarysme, Jules de Gaultier, Paris, Mercure de France, 1912.
- « Autour d’une thèse refusée en Sorbonne », Revue du Mercure de France, 1912.
- Pessimisme et individualisme, Paris, Alcan, 1914.
- Du nouveau en politique ! Des problèmes nouveaux ! Des partis nouveaux ! Des hommes nouveaux !, Duperret, 1919.
External links
Website dedicated to Georges Palante, with online resourcesSome of his articles and excerpts from his books are available at the Marxists Internet Archive.Eleanor ClarkEleanor Clark
Eleanor Clark was an American writer. Clark was born in Los Angeles. She attended Vassar College in the 1930s and was involved with the literary magazine Con Spirito there, along with Elizabeth Bishop, Mary McCarthy, and her sister Eunice Clark...
, Death of a thinker: A Note on the French Novel 1925-40, first published in The Kenyon Review, Summer 1941.