They Think, Therefore They Are _ the Economist

20/06/2015 Theythink,thereforetheyare|TheEconomist

http://www.economist.com/news/booksandarts/21654003whylifemindsoimportantfrancetheythinkthereforetheyare?fsrc=scn/fb/te/pe/ed/theythin 1/3

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DominiquedeVillepin

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Jun13th2015| Fromtheprintedition

Frenchintellectualism

Theythink,thereforetheyareWhythelifeofthemindissoimportantinFrance

HowtheFrenchThink:AnAffectionatePortraitofanIntellectualPeople.BySudhirHazareesingh.AllenLane427pages20.TobepublishedinAmericabyBasicBooksinSeptember.

IN2003,asAmericawasgearingupfortheinvasionofSaddamHusseinsIraq,atallFrenchmanwithathicksilverymanetookthefloorattheUNinNewYork.DominiquedeVillepinwasthenFrancesforeignminister,andwhatmarkedmindswasnotonlyhisuncompromisingantiwarmessage,butthewayheutteredit:hisspeechwasamagnificentrhetoricalappealtovaluesandideals.Inadeep,silkytone,hespokeforanoldcountrythathasknownwarandbarbaritybuthasneverceasedtostanduprightinthefaceofhistoryandbeforemankind.Astheguardiansofanideal,theguardiansofaconscience,theUN,likeFrance,hedeclared,hadadutytopleadfordisarmamentbypeacefulmeans.

TherewassomethingquintessentiallyFrenchaboutthisspeech,arguesSudhirHazareesingh,aprofessorofpoliticsatOxfordUniversity,whoopenshisimpressivenewbookwiththescene.MrdeVillepinswordscombinedseductivemasculinityandrhetoricalverveinthebesttraditionofFrenchpublicoratoryandlinguisticelegance.Thespeechalsoappealedtoreason,abstractionandlogic,framedbybinaryoppositions:conflictandharmonymoralityandpower.IthintedatthewisdombothofoldcivilisationsandofFrance,thenationalembodimentofuniversaltruthbornofhistoricaltrauma.AnditwasexpressedwiththeconfidentoptimismgeneratedbyanenduringFrenchsenseofhistoricalsuperiority.WhatisitabouttheFrench,asksMrHazareesingh,thatmakesthemthinkandspeaklikethis?

Franceisarguablytheworldsmostselfconsciouslyintellectualcountry.Publicthinkersarecherishedlikenationaltreasures,givenairtimeontelevisionandcolumninchesinLeMonde.Theircounselisevenheeded.BernardHenriLvy,a

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FromtheprinteditionJun13th2015

20/06/2015 Theythink,thereforetheyare|TheEconomist

http://www.economist.com/news/booksandarts/21654003whylifemindsoimportantfrancetheythinkthereforetheyare?fsrc=scn/fb/te/pe/ed/theythin 2/3

contemporaryphilosopherwithanoutsizedreputation,iscreditedwitharoleinpersuadingNicolasSarkozy,aformerFrenchpresident,tointerveneinLibyain2011.AsayoungerFrenchgenerationdiscoveredtotheirdefiantdelightatamassmarchinParisaftertheterroristattacksonCharlieHebdoinJanuary,Frenchthoughtisnotonlyaboutdrystufftobefoundinphilosophytextbooksitisacentralpartoftheirnationalidentity.

MrHazareesinghsinquiryispartlyadensecompendiumofsuchthoughtfromRenDescartesonwards.Itisnotaworkforthecasualreader,andeachchapterissopackedwithreferencesandquotationsthatattimesthenarrativeflowsuffers.ButMrHazareesinghsmainpurposeistoexaminehow,ratherthanwhat,theFrenchthink:theframework,codesandreasoningthathavemarkedthecountrysintellectualexpressionoverthepastfourcenturies.

TheauthordistinguishesfiveelementstoFrenchthinking.Thefirstisthewayhistoryisusedtostructurereasoning,throughconceptssuchasrupture,revolutionandprogress.Secondisthefixationwiththenationandcollectiveidentity,MrdeVillepinsrhetoricbeingafineexample.Thirdistheintensityofpublicdebateaboutideas(Wegossip,wequarrel,weexpendourenergyinwordsweusestronglanguage,andflyintogreatragesoverthesmallestofsubjects,wroteJulesMichelet,aFrenchhistorian,in1846).Fourthistheimportanceofthepublicintellectualasavehiclefordisseminatingsuchideas.Finally,thereistheinterplaybetweenrationalorderandthecreativeimagination.

Astheauthornotes,manyformsofexpressionconsideredcharacteristicallyFrenchclassicism,beliefinscientificprogressemergedwellbeforethe1789revolutionunderabsolutemonarchy.But,forMrHazareesingh,mostofthefundamentalargumentsamongtheFrenchcontinuedtorevolveinonewayoranotheraround[the]Revolutionaryheritage.Thelongshadowoftherevolutionshapedthefundamentalnotionofrupture:ideas,artisticmovements,theoreticalconstructsorevenpoliticalmovements,aretobedoubted,critiquedanddestroyed.

Overtime,thisreflexhasbeenasourceofbothcreativity(thenouvellevaguethenouveauroman)andinstability(the1871ParisCommuneMay1968).Theauthormakesthecaseforlongcyclesofthinkingonboththeleftandtheright:20thcenturycommunismandGaullismechoed,respectively,JacobinandBonapartisttraditions.Heisgood,too,onhowrupturehasbothanimatedandfracturedtheleftoverhistory,withtheprevailingbeliefthatpoliticalchangecouldbemeaningfulonlyifitwascomprehensiveandcleansing.RadicalrhetoricstillinformstheSocialistParty,despiteitssplitfromcommunismbackin1920afterdisagreementoverallegiancetoLeninsThirdInternational.

MrHazareesinghislessconvincingattheendofthebookwhenexaminingthedeclininginfluenceofFrenchthinkingtoday.HerightlynotesalossofconfidencebytheFrenchinthecreativityoftheirthinkerssincetheeraofJacquesDerrida,MichelFoucault,JeanPaulSartreandAlbertCamus.Andheisscathingabouttodaysculturalconservativethinkers,withtheirlinkstoresurgentethnicnationalism.HealsodocumentsthefadinginfluenceofFrenchthoughtontherestoftheworld,thoughhehasoddlylittletosayaboutthebestcounterexample,ThomasPiketty,aneconomistwhosebook,Capitalinthe21stCentury,recentlytookEnglishspeakingcountriesbystorm.Theauthordismisseshisdisciplineasatechnicalfield.

Despitetheevidencehemarshalstothecontrary,MrHazareesinghseemstonotwanttobelievethatFrenchintellectualinfluenceisinretreat.Francemaynolongerhavegreatthinkers,hewrites,butatleastitstillhaslotsofpeoplewhothinkandpublishlotsofbookseachyear,asifquantitysomehowmakesupforit.Perhapstheauthorisswayedbyanevidentandunderstandableaffectionforthecountryanditsculture.Butasatisfyingexplanationforthisdecline,andforitsaccompanyingcollectivepessimism,deservesanothervolumetoitself.

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20/06/2015 Theythink,thereforetheyare|TheEconomist

http://www.economist.com/news/booksandarts/21654003whylifemindsoimportantfrancetheythinkthereforetheyare?fsrc=scn/fb/te/pe/ed/theythin 3/3

CopyrightTheEconomistNewspaperLimited2015.Allrightsreserved.

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