Ferdinand Alquié (; 18 December 1906,

Carcassonne Carcassonne (, also , , ; ; la, Carcaso) is a French fortified city in the department of Aude, in the region of Occitanie. It is the prefecture of the department. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Carcassonne is located in the plain of the ...

Aude Aude (; ) is a Departments of France, department in Southern France, located in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region and named after the river Aude (river), Aude. The departmental council also calls it "Ca ...

– 28 February 1985,

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

) was a French philosopher and member of the

Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, f ...

from 1978. In the years 1931 to 1945 he was a professor in various provincial and Parisian lycees, and later at the

University of Montpellier The University of Montpellier (french: Université de Montpellier) is a public university, public research university located in Montpellier, in south-east of France. Established in 1220, the University of Montpellier is one of the oldest univ ...

and

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

where he worked until he retired in 1979.

Career

Alquié's career was dominated by the decades-long polemic between himself as a Cartesian and the Spinozian perspective of his rival Martial Gueroult. He was vehemently opposed to all forms of philosophical monism and felt that human life is permeated by various forms of dualism. He was opposed to totalitarianism as well as to Marxism; as a close friend of André Breton, he aligned himself with the surrealist project. He was an instructor of

Gilles Deleuze Gilles Louis René Deleuze ( , ; 18 January 1925 – 4 November 1995) was a French philosopher who, from the early 1950s until his death in 1995, wrote on philosophy, literature, film, and fine art. His most popular works were the two volu ...

, whom, according to

Michael Hardt Michael Hardt (born 1960) is an American political philosopher and literary theorist. Hardt is best known for his book ''Empire'', which was co-written with Antonio Negri. Hardt and Negri suggest that several forces which they see as domin ...

, he accused of drawing on

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

, and other fields, neglecting

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

. Deleuze responded by agreeing with Alquié and moreover, he argued that his primary interest was precisely in the metaphysics science needs rather than in the science philosophy needs. Alquié went on to direct Deleuze's secondary thesis, "Expressionism in Philosophy: Spinoza." Also among his students at the Sorbonne was the Finnish feminist philosopher and Descartes specialist Lilli Alanen. Alquié has published many books about Descartes,

Kant Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German Philosophy, philosopher and one of the central Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemolo ...

and

Spinoza Baruch (de) Spinoza (born Bento de Espinosa; later as an author and a correspondent ''Benedictus de Spinoza'', anglicized to ''Benedict de Spinoza''; 24 November 1632 – 21 February 1677) was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, b ...

, as well as a book on

Nicolas Malebranche Nicolas Malebranche ( , ; 6 August 1638 – 13 October 1715) was a French Oratorian Catholic priest and rationalist philosopher. In his works, he sought to synthesize the thought of St. Augustine and Descartes, in order to demonstrate the ...

. He was close to the artist

André Breton André Robert Breton (; 19 February 1896 – 28 September 1966) was a French writer and poet, the co-founder, leader, and principal theorist of surrealism. His writings include the first ''Surrealist Manifesto'' (''Manifeste du surréalisme'') o ...

and wrote ''Philosophy of Surrealism'' (1955), which espoused a view of

surrealism Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

as a form of

humanism Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...

that values the vibrant potential of the

unconscious mind The unconscious mind (or the unconscious) consists of the processes in the mind which occur automatically and are not available to introspection and include thought processes, memories, interests, and motivations. Even though these processes exis ...

Works

*''Leçon de philosophie'', 2 vol., Didier, 1931-1951. *''Notes sur la première partie des '' Principes de la philosophie'' de Descartes'', Éditions Chantiers, 1933. *''Le Problème moral'', Éditions Chantiers, 1933. *''Les États représentatifs'', Éditions Chantiers, 1934. *''Les Mouvements et les actes'', Éditions Chantiers, 1934. *''Plans de philosophie générale'', Éditions Chantiers, 1934; réédition La Table Ronde, "La Petite Vermillon", 2000. *''La Science'', Éditions Chantiers, 1934. *''Les Devoirs et la vie morale (plans de morale spéciale)'', Éditions Chantiers, 1935. *''Notions de psychologie générale'', Éditions Chantiers, 1935. *''Les Tendances et la raison'', Éditions Chantiers, 1935. *''Les Sciences mathématiques, les sciences de la matière et de la vie'', Éditions Chantiers, 1936. *''Les Synthèses représentatives'', Éditions Chantiers, 1936. *''Les États affectifs'', Éditions Chantiers, 1937. *''Les Opérations intellectuelles'', Éditions Chantiers, 1937. *''Le Désir d'éternité'',

PUF PUF may refer to: * Physical unclonable function, in computer security, a physically-implemented secure identifier * The University Presses of France *Permanent University Fund, for Texas public universities * Pau Pyrénées Airport in France (I ...

, 1943. *''Introduction à la lecture de la Critique de la raison pure'', PUF, 1943. *''La Découverte métaphysique de l'homme chez Descartes'', PUF, 1950. *''La Nostalgie de l'être'', PUF, 1950. *''Science et métaphysique chez Descartes'', Les Cours de Sorbonne, CDU, 1955. *''Philosophie du surréalisme'', Flammarion, 1955. *''Descartes, l'homme et l'œuvre'', Connaissance des Lettres, Hatier, 1956. *''L'Expérience'', PUF, 1957. *Édition de textes choisis de l Éthique'' de

, PUF, 1961. *Édition des ''Œuvres philosophiques de Descartes'', 3 vol., Garnier, 1963-1973. *''Nature et vérité dans la philosophie de Spinoza'', Les Cours de Sorbonne, CDU, 1965. *''Solitude de la raison'', Le Terrain vague, 1966. *''La Critique kantienne de la métaphysique'', PUF, 1968. *''Entretiens sur le surréalisme'', W. de Gruyter, 1968. *''Signification de la philosophie'',

Hachette Hachette may refer to: * Hachette (surname) * Hachette (publisher), a French publisher, the imprint of Lagardère Publishing ** Hachette Book Group, the American subsidiary ** Hachette Distribution Services, the distribution arm See also * Hachett ...

, 1971. *''Le Cartésianisme de Malebranche'', Vrin, 1974. *''Malebranche et le rationalisme chrétien'', Seghers, 1977. *''La Conscience affective'', Vrin, 1979. *''Le Rationalisme de Spinoza'', PUF, 1981. *''Servitude et liberté chez Spinoza'', Les Cours de Sorbonne, CDU. *''La Morale de Kant'', Les Cours de Sorbonne, 1957. *Édition des ''Œuvres philosophiques de Kant'', 3 vol., Gallimard,

Bibliothèque de la Pléiade The ''Bibliothèque de la Pléiade'' (, "Pleiades Library") is a French editorial collection which was created in 1931 by Jacques Schiffrin, an independent young editor. Schiffrin wanted to provide the public with reference editions of the c ...

, 1980, 1984, 1986. *''Études cartésiennes'', Vrin, 1983.

References

* Bell, J. (2011). Between Realism and Anti-realism: Deleuze and the Spinozist Tradition in Philosophy. ''Deleuze Studies''. Vol. 5:1–17. * Peden, K. (2011). Descartes, Spinoza, and the impasse of French philosophy: Ferdinand Alquie versus Martial Gueroult. ''Modern Intellectual History''. Vol. 8(2): 361–390. {{DEFAULTSORT:Alquie, Ferdinand 1906 births 1985 deaths People from Carcassonne Lycée Louis-le-Grand alumni Lycée Louis-le-Grand teachers French historians of philosophy 20th-century French philosophers Academic staff of the University of Paris Descartes scholars Spinoza scholars Members of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques 20th-century French historians French male writers Academic staff of the University of Montpellier