François Châtelet (27 April 1925 – 26 December 1985) was a historian of

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. ...

political philosophy Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them. Its topics include politics, ...

and professor in the socratic tradition. He was the husband of philosopher Noëlle Châtelet, the sister of Lionel Jospin.

Biography

Châtelet was born and died 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. Si ...

. Along with

Michel Foucault Paul-Michel Foucault (, ; ; 15 October 192625 June 1984) was a French philosopher, historian of ideas, writer, political activist, and literary critic. Foucault's theories primarily address the relationship between power and knowledge, and ho ...

and

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 ...

, he is at the origin of the department of philosophy at the University of Vincennes, and co-founded the Collège international de philosophie (International College of Philosophy). In 1971 he was professor at the

University of São Paulo The University of São Paulo ( pt, Universidade de São Paulo, USP) is a public university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. It is the largest Brazilian public university and the country's most prestigious educational institution, the bes ...

. Official Webpage of the Faculty of Philosophy (University of São Paulo) This was an act of protest that he made with Jean-Pierre Vernant against the

Brazilian military government The military dictatorship in Brazil ( pt, ditadura militar) was established on 1 April 1964, after a coup d'état by the Brazilian Armed Forces, with support from the United States government, against President João Goulart. The Brazilian dict ...

. Châtelet has always been concerned with linking thought and action, engaging in a restless combat with his contemporaries. His conception of philosophy makes him more of a historian of philosophy than a philosopher. In his work ''une histoire de la raison'' (A History of Reason), he shows the role of philosophy in the constitution of modern Western rationality. His work ''Platon'' (

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

) is a formidable invitation-initiation to the thought of the

ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic pe ...

philosopher.

Works

* ''Périclès et son siècle'' (Pericles and his century) (1960) * ''Platon'' (Plato) (1965) * ''Hegel'' (Hegel) (1968) * ''La philosophie des Professeurs'' (The Philosophy of Professors) (1970) * ''Histoire de la philosophie'' (History of Philosophy) (1972–1973) — 8 volumes * ''Une histoire de la raison'' (A History of Reason)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chatelet, Francois 1925 births 1985 deaths Writers from Paris French historians of philosophy Paris 8 University Vincennes-Saint-Denis faculty University of São Paulo faculty 20th-century French historians French male non-fiction writers 20th-century French philosophers 20th-century French male writers