''Esprit'' is a French

literary magazine A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry, and essays, along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letter ...

. The magazine also deals with current events. It is based in Paris.

History and profile

Founded in October 1932 by

Emmanuel Mounier Emmanuel Mounier (; ; 1 April 1905 – 22 March 1950) was a French philosopher, theologian, teacher and essayist. Biography Mounier was the guiding spirit in the French personalist movement, and founder and director of '' Esprit'', the magazine ...

, it was the principal review of

personalist Personalism is an intellectual stance that emphasizes the importance of human persons. Personalism exists in many different versions, and this makes it somewhat difficult to define as a philosophical and theological movement. Friedrich Schleierm ...

intellectuals of the time. From 1957 to 1976, it was directed by

Jean-Marie Domenach Jean-Marie Domenach (; 13 February 1922 – 5 July 1997) was a French writer and intellectual. He was noted as a left-wing and Catholic thinker. Domenach was born in Lyon, where he studied at the Lycée du Parc. In 1957, he took over the editors ...

. Paul Thibaud directed it from 1977 to 1989. Since 1989 Oliver Mongin has been the director of the magazine. The philosopher

Paul Ricœur Jean Paul Gustave Ricœur (; ; 27 February 1913 – 20 May 2005) was a French philosopher best known for combining phenomenological description with hermeneutics. As such, his thought is within the same tradition as other major hermeneutic ...

often collaborated with it. ''Esprit'' is a member of the

Eurozine ''Eurozine '' is a network of European cultural magazines based in Vienna, linking up more than 90 partner journals and just as many associated magazines and institutions from nearly all European countries. ''Eurozine'' is also an online magazine ...

network.

Personalism and the non-conformists

In the 1930s, ''Esprit'' was the main mouthpiece of the Personalists and of the

non-conformists of the 1930s The non-conformists of the 1930s were groups and individuals during the inter-war period in France that were seeking new solutions to face the political, economical and social crisis. The name was coined in 1969 by the historian Jean-Louis Loubet ...

. A presentation of the magazine by its authors in 1933 stated that it opposed the "compromission" of spiritual values with the established order (which Mounier called "established disorder") and aimed at denouncing their "exploitation by the powers of

Money Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are as ...

, in the social regime, in the government, in the press, etc.Prospectus de présentation de la revue "Esprit"
, presented by Alain-Gérard Slama, on-line course of

Sciences-Po , motto_lang = fr , mottoeng = Roots of the Future , type = Public research university''Grande école'' , established = , founder = Émile Boutmy , accreditation ...

, 18 May 2007 " ''Esprit'' opposed partial reforms and aimed at a global rebuilding of the basis of the social edifice. It targeted as opponents "

individualist Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology and social outlook that emphasizes the intrinsic worth of the individual. Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and to value independence and self-relianc ...

materialism Materialism is a form of philosophical monism which holds matter to be the fundamental substance in nature, and all things, including mental states and consciousness, are results of material interactions. According to philosophical materiali ...

", claiming that the "capitalist jungle was its ultimate product"; "collectivist materialism", which linked both

Communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

and

Capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for Profit (economics), profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, pric ...

, despite their oppositions, in the "same metaphysics"; and the "false

Fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

spiritualism Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century, Spiritualism (when not lowercase) ...

," which seemed to share the same opponents, but in reality turned towards the "tyrannic idolatry of inferior spiritualities:

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

exaltation, national passion, anonymous discipline, devotion to the state or the leader" or plain "safeguard of economic interests." The magazine posited itself for the "rebirth" of a "community of personalities," in opposing of both liberal individualism and collectivism, in one word,

mass society Mass society is a concept that describes modern society as a monolithic force and yet a disaggregate collection of individuals. It is often used pejoratively to refer to a society in which bureaucracy and impersonal institutions have replaced some ...

"Tout homme, sans exception, a le droit et le devoir de développer sa personalité." (Any man, without exception, has the right and the duty to develop his personality.)

Post-War

''Esprit'' broke with part of its legacy following the

Liberation of France The liberation of France in the Second World War was accomplished through diplomacy, politics and the combined military efforts of the Allied Powers of World War II, Allied Powers, Free French forces in London and Africa, as well as the French R ...

, and involved itself in

New Left The New Left was a broad political movement mainly in the 1960s and 1970s consisting of activists in the Western world who campaigned for a broad range of social issues such as civil and political rights, environmentalism, feminism, gay rights, g ...

movements. The review criticized the systemic use of

torture during the Algerian War Elements of both sides in the Algerian War—the French Armed Forces and the opposing Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN)—used deliberate torture during that conflict (1954–1962), creating an ongoing public controversy. Pierre Vidal-Naque ...

, publishing for examples articles by

Pierre Vidal-Naquet Pierre Emmanuel Vidal-Naquet (; 23 July 1930 – 29 July 2006) was a French historian who began teaching at the ''École des hautes études en sciences sociales'' (EHESS) in 1969. Vidal-Naquet was a specialist in the study of Ancient Greece, but ...

. It would also influence in the 1970s the "

Second Left The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...

," gathered around the Unified Socialist Party (PSU).

References

External links

''Esprit'' home page
*Issue
from 1932 to 1939
an
from 1940 to 1993
in Gallica, the digital library of the Bibliothèque nationale de France 1932 establishments in France French-language magazines French Third Republic Literary magazines published in France Magazines established in 1932 Magazines published in Paris Political magazines published in France Non-conformists of the 1930s {{France-lit-mag-stub