Rémi Brague (born 8 September 1947) is a French historian of philosophy, specializing in Islamic, Jewish, and Christian thought of the Middle Ages. He is professor emeritus of Arabic and religious philosophy at the
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, ...
, and Romano Guardini chair of philosophy (emeritus) at the
Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's sixth-oldest university in continuous operatio ...
.
Biography
Educated primarily at the
École Normale Supérieure
École may refer to:
* an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée)
* École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France
* École, Savoi ...
in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, Brague began his career as a student of
Greek philosophy
Ancient Greek philosophy arose in the 6th century BC, marking the end of the Greek Dark Ages. Greek philosophy continued throughout the Hellenistic period and the period in which Greece and most Greek-inhabited lands were part of the Roman Empir ...
, interpreted in a distinctly modern key. His doctoral thesis, later published as ''Aristote et la question du monde: Essai sur le contexte cosmologique et anthropologique de l'ontologie'' (1988), developed a phenomenological account of
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
's conception of the world. In particular, his goal was to write the book on Aristotle that
Heidegger
Martin Heidegger (; ; 26 September 188926 May 1976) was a German philosopher who is best known for contributions to phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism. He is among the most important and influential philosophers of the 20th centur ...
would have written, had he not written ''
Being and Time
''Being and Time'' (german: Sein und Zeit) is the 1927 ''magnum opus'' of German philosopher Martin Heidegger and a key document of existentialism. ''Being and Time'' had a notable impact on subsequent philosophy, literary theory and many other ...
.'' From there, he was led to study Hebrew in order to read the
Old Testament
The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
, and Arabic in order "to read the Jewish philosopher
Maimonides
Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...
' ''
The Guide for the Perplexed
''The Guide for the Perplexed'' ( ar, دلالة الحائرين, Dalālat al-ḥā'irīn, ; he, מורה נבוכים, Moreh Nevukhim) is a work of Jewish theology by Maimonides. It seeks to reconcile Aristotelianism with Rabbinical Jewish the ...
'' in its original language." Since then, most of his work has taken place at the intersection of the three
Abrahamic religions
The Abrahamic religions are a group of religions centered around worship of the God of Abraham. Abraham, a Hebrew patriarch, is extensively mentioned throughout Abrahamic religious scriptures such as the Bible and the Quran.
Jewish tradition ...
, as they developed out of the ancient world, formed themselves in dialogue with one another, and eventually gave rise to modernity.
He is the author of numerous books on classical and medieval intellectual history, religion, national identity, literature, and law, and is perhaps best known in the English-speaking world for his book ''Europe, la voie romaine'' (1992), translated into English as ''Eccentric Culture: A Theory of Western Civilization'' (2009). His masterwork thus far is his trilogy on the philosophical development of law in the West, ''La Sagesse du monde: Histoire de l'expérience humaine de l'univers'' (1999), ''La Loi de Dieu. Histoire philosophique d’une alliance'' (2005), and ''Le Règne de l'homme: Genèse et échec du projet moderne'' (2015). All have been translated into English as ''The Wisdom of the World: The Human Experience of the Universe in Western Thought'' (2004), ''The Law of God: The Philosophical History of an Idea'' (2007), and ''The Kingdom of Man: Genesis and Failure of the Modern Project'' (2018).
While his intellectual influences are various, Brague has developed some of the chief points of his unique account of Western intellectual history in dialogue with the controversial
political theorist
A political theorist is someone who engages in constructing or evaluating political theory, including political philosophy. Theorists may be academics or independent scholars. Here the most notable political theorists are categorized by their ...
Leo Strauss
Leo Strauss (, ; September 20, 1899 – October 18, 1973) was a German-American political philosopher who specialized in classical political philosophy. Born in Germany to Jewish parents, Strauss later emigrated from Germany to the United States. ...
. Brague has said that "Leo Strauss taught me that when reading a text, you must be open to the possibility that it contains different layers of meaning. All philosophical books written before
the Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...
aim at both a wider audience and a small elite, able to understand the deeper meaning of the texts." This approach informed Brague's understanding of Maimonides and the medieval Muslim philosopher
Al-Farabi
Abu Nasr Muhammad Al-Farabi ( fa, ابونصر محمد فارابی), ( ar, أبو نصر محمد الفارابي), known in the Western world, West as Alpharabius; (c. 872 – between 14 December, 950 and 12 January, 951)PDF version was a reno ...
, among others, but he declared himself unconvinced "that it applies to the Greek philosophers" in the way Strauss has taught. Brague holds that "Strauss became so convinced of his own way of interpreting texts, that he came to apply it to all sorts of books, even
Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-emin ...
Don Quixote
is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Wester ...
''. Strauss taught me to read very carefully. But I don't consider myself a Straussian, nor do the real Straussians consider me as one of them." Arguably, Brague's "Roman" view of Western Intellectual History (as enunciated in ''Eccentric Culture'') forms a kind of response to Strauss' famous emphasis on the longstanding tension between
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
and
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
. For Brague, we cannot understand this tension correctly without understanding the historic mediation of both Athens and Jerusalem through
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
. Likewise, Brague's account of Divine Law in the Western intellectual tradition (as presented in ''The Law of God'') reframes the relationship between faith and reason, the secular and the sacred, in response to Strauss' recurrent emphasis on "the Theological-Political Problem."
Brague is the recipient of numerous awards, including honors by both the
French National Centre for Scientific Research
The French National Centre for Scientific Research (french: link=no, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe.
In 2016, it employed 31,637 ...
and the
Academy of Moral and Political Science. In 2009, he received both the
Josef Pieper
Josef Pieper (; 4 May 1904 – 6 November 1997) was a German Catholic philosopher and an important figure in the resurgence of interest in the thought of Thomas Aquinas in early-to-mid 20th-century philosophy. Among his most notable works are ''The ...
Prize and the Grand prix de philosophie de l'
Académie française
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...
, and he was awarded the 2012
Ratzinger Prize for Theology alongside
Brian E. Daley. In 2013, he was named a Chevalier de l'Ordre National de la
Légion d'honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...
.
"Décret du 31 décembre 2012 portant promotion et nomination"
/ref>
References
Works
Books and Edited Volumes in French (and other languages):
* ''Sur la religion.'' Paris: Flammarion, 2018.
* with E. Grimi, ''Contro il'' cristianismo ''e lumanismo''. Il perdono dell'Occidente''. Siena: Cantagalli, 2015.
* ''Le Règne de l'homme: Genèse et échec du projet moderne.'' Paris: Gallimard, 2015.
* ''Modérément moderne: Le Temps Modernes ou l'invention d'une supercherie.'' Paris: Flammarion, 2014.
* ''Le Propre de l'homme. Sur une légitimité menacée.'' Paris: Flammarion, 2013.
* ''Les Ancres dans le ciel: L'infrastructure métaphysique.'' Paris: Seuil, 2011.
* ''Du Dieu des chrétiens et d'un ou deux autres'', Paris: Flammarion, 2008.
* ''Image vagabonde: Essai sur l'imaginaire baudelairien.'' Chatou: Éditions de la Transparence, 2008.
* ''Au moyen du Moyen Age: Philosophies médiévales en chrétienté, judaïsme et islam.'' Chatou: Éditions de la Transparence, 2006.
* ''La Loi de Dieu. Histoire philosophique d’une alliance.'' Paris: Gallimard, 2005.
* ''Introduction au monde grec: Études d'histoire de la philosophie.'' Chatou: Éditions de la Transparence, 2005.
* ''La Sagesse du monde: Histoire de l'expérience humaine de l'univers.'' Paris: Fayard, 1999.
* (ed.) ''Saint Bernard et la philosophie''. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1993.
* ''Europe, la voie romaine. ''Paris: Criterion, 1992.
* (ed.) ''Herméneutique et ontologie: mélanges en hommage à Pierre Aubenque, phronimos anēr. ''Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1990.
* ''Aristote et la question du monde: Essai sur le contexte cosmologique et anthropologique de l'ontologie. ''1988. Paris: P.U.F., 2001.
* ''Du temps chez Platon et Aristote: quatre études''. 1982. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1995.
* ''Le Restant. Supplément aux commentaires du Ménon. ''1978. Paris: Vrin/Les Belles Lettres,1999.
Books in English:
*
Curing Mad Truths: Medieval Wisdom for the Modern Age
'. Notre Dame: U of Notre Dame P, 2019.
*
The Kingdom of Man: Genesis and Failure of the Modern Project
'. Trans. Paul Seaton. Notre Dame: U of Notre Dame P, 2018.
*
Moderately Modern
'. Trans. Paul Seaton. Notre Dame: St. Augustine's P, 2018.
*
Anchors in the Heavens: The Metaphysical Infrastructure of Human Life
'. Trans. Brian Lapsa. Notre Dame: St. Augustine's P, 2018.
*
The Legitimacy of the Human
'. Trans. Paul Seaton. Notre Dame: St. Augustine's P, 2017.
*
On the God of the Christians (and On One or Two Others)
'. Trans. Paul Seaton. Notre Dame: St. Augustine's P, 2013.
*
Legend of the Middle Ages: Philosophical Explorations of Medieval Christianity, Judaism, and Islam
''Trans. Lydia G. Cochrane. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 2009.
*
Eccentric Culture: A Theory of Western Civilization
'' Trans. Samuel Lester. Notre Dame: St. Augustine's P, 2009.
*
Law of God: The Philosophical History of an Idea
''Trans. Lydia G. Cochrane. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 2008.
*
The Wisdom of the World: The Human Experience of the Universe in Western Thought
'. Trans. Theresa Fagan. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 2004
Articles in English:
"God as a Gentleman."
''First Things.'' (February, 2019).
* "The Failure of the Modern Project." ''The Modern Turn.'' Ed. Michael Rohlf. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 2017. 291-306.
* "Culture as a By-Product." ''Cooperatores Veritatis. Scritti in onore del Papa emerito Benedetto XVI per il 90° compleanno.'' Rome: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2017. 297-317.
* "God and Freedom. Biblical Roots of the Western Idea of Liberty." ''Christianity and Freedom, Volume 1: Historical Perspectives.'' Eds. T. S. Shah & A. D. Hertzke. Cambridge; Cambridge University Press, 2017. 391-402.
"From What is Left Over."
''First Things.'' (August, 2017) 1-13.
* "Diversity: How Far?" ''Justice Through Diversity?: A Philosophical and Theological Debate.'' Ed. M. Sweeney. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2016. 159-174.
"On the Need for a Philosophy of Nature and on Aquinas’ Help in Sketching One."
''Proceedings of the American Catholic Philosophical Association.'' 89 (2015) 35-43.
* "Five challenges to European Democracies." ''After the Storm. How to Save Democracy in Europe.'' Eds. L. van Middelaar & Ph. Van Parijs Tielt, Belgium: Lannoo, 2015. 43-52.
"Eclipse of God, Eclipse of Man."
Tr. N. Sachot. ''The European Conservative.'' (Winter, 2015) 39-44.
* "Treason or Tradition?" ''Tradition as the Future of Innovation.'' Ed. Elisa Grimi. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars, 2015. 96-110.
* "The Concept of the Abrahamic Religions, Problems and Pitfalls." ''The Oxford Handbook of the Abrahamic Religions.'' Eds. Adam Silverstein, Guy Stroumsa, & Moshe Blidstein. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2015. 88-108.
* "Are There as Many Gods as Religions?" ''Modern Age.'' 57.3 (Summer 2015) 78-84.
"The Necessity of the Good."
''First Things''. (February 2015) 47-52.
* "Epilogue: Camus and Christianity." In Albert Camus, ''Christian Metaphysics and Neoplatonism.'' Trans. Ronald Srigley. Notre Dame: St. Augustine's P, 2015. 134-139.
* “On Aristotle’s Formula ὅ pote ὄn: Physics IV. 11, 14." tr. E. R. Jimenez. ''The Bloomsbury Companion to Aristotle''. Ed. C. Baracchi. London: Bloomsbury, 2013. 75-88.
* "Natural Law in Islam.” ''Human Rights and Natural Law: An Intercultural Philosophical Perspective''. Ed. Walter Schweidler. Sankt Augustin: Academia-Verlag, 2013. 251-265.
"The Impossibility of Secular Society."
''First Things''. (October 2013).
* "Athens – Jerusalem – Rome." ''Communio''. 40.1 (Spring 2013)
"Sin no more. Liberty, the West, and the Judeo-Christian Heritage."
''The American Spectator.'' 41.4 (May 2008) 28–35.
* "Natural Law and Divine Law." ''Communio''. 35.3 (Fall 2008) 504–513.
"Jew, Greek and Christian. Some Reflections on the Pauline Revolution."
''Expositions. Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities.'' 1.1 (March 2007) 15–28.
"Are Non Theocratic Regimes Possible?"
''The Intercollegiate Review.'' 41.1 (Spring 2006) 3–12.
* "Is there such a thing as Eurocentrism?" ''Europe and Asia Beyond East and West.'' Ed. G. Delanty. London: Routledge, 2006. 257–268.
"The deadly idea that will define the 21st century."
''The Catholic Herald ''(June 23, 2006) 10.
* "Christianity: a Fact in History." ''A Generative Thought: An Introduction to the Works of Luigi Giussani. ''Ed. E. Buzzi. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2003. 34–39.
* "Wasted Time?" ''Communio. ''30.1 (Spring 2003) 70–78.
* "How to Be in the World: Gnosis, Religion, Philosophy." ''Martin Buber: A Contemporary Perspective.'' Ed. Paul R. Mendes-Flohr. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2002. 133-147.
* "Facing Reality." ''Courage''. Ed. B. Darling-Smith. South Bend, IN" U of Notre Dame P, 2002. 43–53.
* "History of Philosophy as Freedom." ''Epoché.'' 7.1 (Fall 2002) 39–50.
* "Is Physics Interesting? Some Late Ancient and Medieval Answers." ''Graduate Faculty Philosophy Journal.'' 23.2 (2002) 183–201.
* "Is European Culture 'a Tale of Two Cities'?". ''Historical, Cultural, Socio-political, and Economic Perspectives on Europe. ''Ed. Suzanne Stern-Gillet and M. Teresa Lunati. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen, 2000. 33–50.
''Communio.'' 27.3 (Fall 2000) 549–561.
* "The Angst of Reason." ''Faith and Reason. ''Ed. T.L. Smith. South Bend, IN: Saint Augustine's P, 1999. 235–244.
" Athens, Jerusalem, Mecca: Leo Strauss's 'Muslim' Understanding of Greek Philosophy."
''Poetics Today''. 19.2 (Summer 1998) 235–259.
* "Are we at Home in the World?" ''The Longing for Home''. Ed. L. Rouner. U of Notre Dame P, 1997. 95–111.
* "Cosmological Mysticism: The Imitation of the Heavenly Bodies in Ibn Tufayl's Hayy ibn Yaqzan." ''Graduate Faculty Philosophy Journal. ''19.2 / 20.1 (1997) 91–102.
* "Geocentrism as a Humiliation for Man." ''Medieval Encounters.'' 3.3 (1997) 187–210.
* "A Medieval Model of Subjectivity: Toward a Rediscovery of Fleshliness." ''The Ancients and the Moderns''. Ed. R. Lilly. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1996. 230–247.
* "The Impotence of the Word: The God Who Has Said It All." ''Diogenes''. 170 (1995) 43–68.
"Christ, Culture & the New Europe."
''First Things''. (August 1992).
* "Leo Strauss and Maimonides." ''Leo Strauss's Thought: Towards a Critical Engagement''. Ed. Alan Udoff. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1991. 93–114.
"Aristotle's Definition of Motion and Its Ontological Implications."
''Graduate Faculty Philosophy Journal''. 13.2 (1990) 1–22.
* "The soul of salvation." ''Communio. ''14.3 (Fall 1987).
* "The Body of the Speech: A New Hypothesis on the Compositional Structure of Timaeus's Monologue." ''Platonic Investigations''. Ed. D.J. O'Meara. Washington, D.C.: Catholic UP, 1985. 53-83.
* "On the Christian Model of Unity: The Trinity." ''Communio'' 10 (1983): 149–166.
* "Radical Modernity and the Roots of Ancient Thought." ''Independent Journal of Philosophy''. 4 (1983) 63–74.
External links
* Official website: http://remibrague.com.
Brague's page at Academia.edu
which has a number of essays in French and English translation.
The 2019 Erasmus Lecture, on "God as a Gentleman,"
in New York City (Oct 29, 2018).
A lecture on "Culture as a By-Product,"
at the Crossroads Cultural Center in New York (Oct 22, 2016).
A lecture on "God and Freedom: Biblical Roots of the Western Idea of Liberty"
at the Pontifical Urban University in Rome (December 2013).
* at the University of Notre Dame (October 2012).
* at McGill University (2012)
A lecture on "The Question Atheism Can't Answer"
at McGill University (2012).
An interview with Brague on the Metaphysical Foundations of Modern Social Problems
in ''Il Sussidiario ''(November 2012).
A lecture on "The Failure of 'The Modern Project'"
at Catholic University of America (December 2010). Scroll to the bottom of the page.
An interview with Brague on "Secularity vs. Secularism
" in ''Mercatornet''(October 2010).
An interview with Brague
in the ''Clarion Review ''(October 2009).
with Brague, excerpted from his book ''The Legend of the Middle Ages, ''by the University of Chicago Press (2009).
on clericalism and the role of the laity, with the website ''30Giorni'' (2009).
in ''Bryn Mawr Classical Review'', (September 2007).
A review of ''Eccentric Culture''
in ''Modern Age'' (Spring 2005).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brague, Remi
1947 births
20th-century French historians
French philosophers
Living people
Academic staff of the University of Paris
Academic staff of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
Theorists on Western civilization
Members of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts
Catholic philosophers
Historians of philosophy
French male writers
21st-century French historians
Members of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities
Ratzinger Prize laureates