Miguel Abensour
Encyclopedia
Miguel Abensour is a French philosopher, specializing in political philosophy. He is also an emeritus professor of political philosophy
at the Paris Diderot University (Jussieu
) and a former president of the Collège international de philosophie
.
in France.
In his works and numerous articles, he has sought to reconcile democracy
, understood as « democracy against the state » with the idea of utopia
, conceived from the criticism of Emmanuel Levinas
of Martin Buber
's idea of interpersonal relations - the I and Thou
relationship opposed to the I and It.
He has also published numerous articles on Emmanuel Levinas
, Claude Lefort
, Saint-Just, utopian socialism
(Pierre Leroux
, William Morris
), Blanqui
and members of the Frankfurt School
.
An anthology and critique of his works has been published by Sens & Tonka, Critique de la politique. Autour de Miguel Abensour, edited by Anne Kupiec and Étienne Tassin, 2006.
Political philosophy
Political philosophy is the study of such topics as liberty, justice, property, rights, law, and the enforcement of a legal code by authority: what they are, why they are needed, what, if anything, makes a government legitimate, what rights and freedoms it should protect and why, what form it...
at the Paris Diderot University (Jussieu
Jussieu Campus
The Jussieu Campus is a higher education campus located in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France, which is the main campus of the Pierre and Marie Curie University ....
) and a former president of the Collège international de philosophie
Collège international de philosophie
The Collège international de philosophie , located in Paris' 5th arrondissement, is a tertiary education institute placed under the trusteeship of the French government department of research and chartered under the French 1901 Law on associations...
.
Research and Works
Miguel Abensour has written for the revues Textures, Libre and Tumultes. Director of the collection « Critique de la politique » (from the publisher Payot & Rivages) since 1974, he was notable in contributing to the reception of the Frankfurt SchoolFrankfurt School
The Frankfurt School refers to a school of neo-Marxist interdisciplinary social theory, particularly associated with the Institute for Social Research at the University of Frankfurt am Main...
in France.
In his works and numerous articles, he has sought to reconcile democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
, understood as « democracy against the state » with the idea of utopia
Utopia
Utopia is an ideal community or society possessing a perfect socio-politico-legal system. The word was imported from Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempt...
, conceived from the criticism 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...
of Martin Buber
Martin Buber
Martin Buber was an Austrian-born Jewish philosopher best known for his philosophy of dialogue, a form of religious existentialism centered on the distinction between the I-Thou relationship and the I-It relationship....
's idea of interpersonal relations - the I and Thou
I and Thou
Ich und Du, usually translated as I and Thou, is a book by Martin Buber, published in 1923, and first translated to English in 1937.-Premise:Buber's main proposition is that we may address existence in two ways:...
relationship opposed to the I and It.
He has also published numerous articles on 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...
, Claude Lefort
Claude Lefort
Claude Lefort was a French philosopher and activist.He was politically active by 1942 under the influence of his tutor, the phenomenologist Maurice Merleau-Ponty...
, Saint-Just, utopian socialism
Utopian socialism
Utopian socialism is a term used to define the first currents of modern socialist thought as exemplified by the work of Saint-Simon, Charles Fourier, and Robert Owen which inspired Karl Marx and other early socialists and were looked on favorably...
(Pierre Leroux
Pierre Leroux
Pierre Henri Leroux , French philosopher and political economist, was born at Bercy, now a part of Paris, the son of an artisan.- Life :...
, William Morris
William Morris
William Morris 24 March 18343 October 1896 was an English textile designer, artist, writer, and socialist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts Movement...
), Blanqui
Louis Auguste Blanqui
Louis Auguste Blanqui was a French political activist, notable for the revolutionary theory of Blanquism, attributed to him....
and members of the Frankfurt School
Frankfurt School
The Frankfurt School refers to a school of neo-Marxist interdisciplinary social theory, particularly associated with the Institute for Social Research at the University of Frankfurt am Main...
.
An anthology and critique of his works has been published by Sens & Tonka, Critique de la politique. Autour de Miguel Abensour, edited by Anne Kupiec and Étienne Tassin, 2006.
Works
- Instructions pour une prise d'armes. L'éternité par les astres. Hypothèse astronomique et autres textes d'Auguste Blanqui établis et présentés par Miguel Abensour et Valentin Pelosse, Paris, Tête de Feuilles, 1973, puis réédité par Sens & Tonka en 2000.
- De la compacité : architecture et régimes totalitaires, Paris, Sens & Tonka, 1997.
- L'Utopie de Thomas MoreThomas MoreSir Thomas More , also known by Catholics as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman and noted Renaissance humanist. He was an important councillor to Henry VIII of England and, for three years toward the end of his life, Lord Chancellor...
à Walter BenjaminWalter BenjaminWalter Bendix Schönflies Benjamin was a German-Jewish intellectual, who functioned variously as a literary critic, philosopher, sociologist, translator, radio broadcaster and essayist...
, Paris, Sens & Tonka, 2000. - Le Procès des maîtres rêveurs, Arles, Sulliver, 2000.
- La Démocratie contre l'État : Marx et le moment machiavélien, Paris, Le Félin, 2004. [English translation: Democracy Against the State: Marx and the Machiavellian Moment, Polity Press, 2011].
- Rire des lois, du magistrat et des dieux : l'impulsion Saint-just, Lyon, Horlieu, 2005.
- Hannah ArendtHannah ArendtHannah 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...
contre la philosophie politique ?, Paris, Sens & Tonka, 2006. - Maximilien RubelMaximilien RubelMaximilien Rubel was a famous Marxist historian. He was educated in law and philosophy in Vienna and Chernivtsi before moving to France to take German studies at the Sorbonne, from which he received his Licence-dès-lettres in 1934...
, pour redécouvrir Marx, en collaboration avec Louis Janover, Paris, Sens & Tonka, 2008. - Pour une philosophie politique critique, Paris, Sens & Tonka, 2009.
- L'Homme est un animal utopique / Utopiques II, Arles, Les Editions de La Nuit, 2010.
- Le Procès des maîtres rêveurs (nouvelle édition augmentée) / Utopiques I, Arles, Les Editions de La Nuit, 2011.
External links
- Rencontre avec Miguel Abensour, Francois NoudelmannFrançois NoudelmannFrançois Noudelmann is a contemporary French philosopher, university professor and radio producer.François Noudelmann is currently a professor at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee , the University of Paris VIII , Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and New York University...
, Les Vendredis de la philosophie, France-Culture, 26 juin 2009