The Era of the French Intellectual Is Over
Key takeaways
- The death of the French intellectual Edgar Morin at the end of May was inevitable—death waits for us all, of course—yet also somehow impossible.
- There is a vast literature on the character and career of the French intellectual—predictably, much of it written by intellectuals—just as there is much disagreement on when this social type first appeared.
- Many other historians instead argue that the modern intellectual burst onto the scene more than a century later with the Dreyfus Affair.
The death of the French intellectual Edgar Morin at the end of May was inevitable—death waits for us all, of course—yet also somehow impossible. Having reached the astonishingly lucid and active age of 104, Morin seemed immortal. This made the news of his passing so striking, as did its larger significance: Morin’s death marks the end of that exotic and exclusively French species known as l’intello (French shorthand for intellectual), an extinction event that should be marked, though perhaps not lamented.
There is a vast literature on the character and career of the French intellectual—predictably, much of it written by intellectuals—just as there is much disagreement on when this social type first appeared. Some historians reach back as far as the Enlightenment and the role played by les philosophes in their struggle against the unquestioned and arbitrary powers of throne and altar. With his usual flair, Voltaire captured their goal with his motto “écrasez l’infâme” (crush the infamous thing)—religious superstition and fanaticism. (Tellingly, the Boulevard Voltaire in Paris was on the route taken by millions of demonstrators in 2015 as they protested the massacre of the staff of the French satirical paper Charlie Hebdo by Islamic extremists. For those who could not read a map, many protestors carried portraits of Voltaire emblazoned with the words “Je suis Charlie” to make their point.)
The death of the French intellectual Edgar Morin at the end of May was inevitable—death waits for us all, of course—yet also somehow impossible. Having reached the astonishingly lucid and active age of 104, Morin seemed immortal. This made the news of his passing so striking, as did its larger significance: Morin’s death marks the end of that exotic and exclusively French species known as l’intello (French shorthand for intellectual), an extinction event that should be marked, though perhaps not lamented.