Julien Benda
Encyclopedia
Julien Benda was a French
philosopher
and novel
ist. He remains famous for his essay The Betrayal of the Intellectuals.
. Yet he believed that science was superior to literature as a method of inquiry. He disagreed with Henri Bergson
, the leading light of French philosophy of his day.
Benda is now mostly remembered for his short 1927 book La Trahison des Clercs, a work of some notoriety in its day. The title of the English translation was The Betrayal of the Intellectuals, although "The Treason of the Learned" would have been more accurate. This polemical essay argued that French and German intellectual
s in the 19th and 20th century had often lost the ability to reason dispassionately about political and military matters, instead becoming apologists for crass nationalism, warmongering and racism. Benda reserved his harshest criticisms for his fellow Frenchmen Charles Maurras
and Maurice Barrès
. Benda defended the measured and dispassionate outlook of classical civilization, and the internationalism of traditional Christianity
, which he understood well.
Other works by Benda include Belphégor (1918), Uriel's Report (1926), and Exercises of a Man Buried Alive (1947), an attack on the contemporary French celebrities of his time. Most of the titles in the bibliography below were published during the last three decades of Benda's long life; he is emphatically a 20th century author. Moreover, Benda survived the German occupation of France, 1940–44, and the Vichy regime despite being a Jew and having called the Germans "one of the plagues of the world". Nevertheless, Benda appears little read by English speakers -- The Betrayal of the Intellectuals is his only work translated into English currently in print. That Roger Kimball
wrote the introduction to a 2006 edition of this translation suggests that Benda commands some respect among present-day Anglophone
conservative thinkers. But his influence can also be felt in the works of Noam Chomsky. However the phrase 'Betrayal of the Intellectuals' or (more commonly) the 'Treason of the Intellectuals' has become a commonly used phrase to describe what happens when the intelligentsia compromise their intellectual honesty for political reasons: this may of course apply as much to intellectuals of the Right as of the Left.
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...
philosopher
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
ist. He remains famous for his essay The Betrayal of the Intellectuals.
Life
Born into a Jewish family, Benda became a master of French belles-lettresBelles-lettres
Belles-lettres or belles lettres is a term that is used to describe a category of writing. A writer of belles-lettres is a belletrist. However, the boundaries of that category vary in different usages....
. Yet he believed that science was superior to literature as a method of inquiry. He disagreed with Henri Bergson
Henri Bergson
Henri-Louis Bergson was a major French philosopher, influential especially in the first half of the 20th century. Bergson convinced many thinkers that immediate experience and intuition are more significant than rationalism and science for understanding reality.He was awarded the 1927 Nobel Prize...
, the leading light of French philosophy of his day.
Benda is now mostly remembered for his short 1927 book La Trahison des Clercs, a work of some notoriety in its day. The title of the English translation was The Betrayal of the Intellectuals, although "The Treason of the Learned" would have been more accurate. This polemical essay argued that French and German intellectual
Intellectual
An intellectual is a person who uses intelligence and critical or analytical reasoning in either a professional or a personal capacity.- Terminology and endeavours :"Intellectual" can denote four types of persons:...
s in the 19th and 20th century had often lost the ability to reason dispassionately about political and military matters, instead becoming apologists for crass nationalism, warmongering and racism. Benda reserved his harshest criticisms for his fellow Frenchmen Charles Maurras
Charles Maurras
Charles-Marie-Photius Maurras was a French author, poet, and critic. He was a leader and principal thinker of Action Française, a political movement that was monarchist, anti-parliamentarist, and counter-revolutionary. Maurras' ideas greatly influenced National Catholicism and "nationalisme...
and Maurice Barrès
Maurice Barrès
Maurice Barrès was a French novelist, journalist, and socialist politician and agitator known for his nationalist and antisemitic views....
. Benda defended the measured and dispassionate outlook of classical civilization, and the internationalism of traditional Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, which he understood well.
Other works by Benda include Belphégor (1918), Uriel's Report (1926), and Exercises of a Man Buried Alive (1947), an attack on the contemporary French celebrities of his time. Most of the titles in the bibliography below were published during the last three decades of Benda's long life; he is emphatically a 20th century author. Moreover, Benda survived the German occupation of France, 1940–44, and the Vichy regime despite being a Jew and having called the Germans "one of the plagues of the world". Nevertheless, Benda appears little read by English speakers -- The Betrayal of the Intellectuals is his only work translated into English currently in print. That Roger Kimball
Roger Kimball
Roger Kimball is a conservative U.S. art critic and social commentator. He was educated at Cheverus High School, a Jesuit institution in South Portland, Maine, and then at Bennington College, where he took a BA in philosophy and classical Greek, and Yale University...
wrote the introduction to a 2006 edition of this translation suggests that Benda commands some respect among present-day Anglophone
Anglosphere
Anglosphere is a neologism which refers to those nations with English as the most common language. The term can be used more specifically to refer to those nations which share certain characteristics within their cultures based on a linguistic heritage, through being former British colonies...
conservative thinkers. But his influence can also be felt in the works of Noam Chomsky. However the phrase 'Betrayal of the Intellectuals' or (more commonly) the 'Treason of the Intellectuals' has become a commonly used phrase to describe what happens when the intelligentsia compromise their intellectual honesty for political reasons: this may of course apply as much to intellectuals of the Right as of the Left.
Criticism
- Nichols, Ray L., 1979. Treason, Tradition and the Intellectual: Julien Benda and Political Discourse. Univ. Press of Kansas.
- Niess, Robert J., 1956. Julien Benda. Univ. of Michigan Press.