Philippe Muray
Encyclopedia
Philippe Muray was a French essayist and novelist. Although none of his works has yet been translated into English, Muray is considered one of the most influential thinkers of his generation. In 2002, Daniel Lindenberg included him in his notorious list of "new reactionaries" - along with Michel Houellebecq
, Maurice Dantec, Alain Badiou
, Alain Finkielkraut
and others. In 2010, the French actor Fabrice Luchini read some of Muray's works at the Théâtre de l'Atelier in Paris, which contributed to a renewed discussion of his writings in the French press.
During some months in 1983 he taught French literature at Stanford University in California. There he developed the concept of L'empire du bien (the Empire of the Good), and he collected materials to his book Le XIXe siècle à travers les âges (The 19th century through the ages), published in 1984. In that book he underlines the importance of occultism in the formation of socialism. He also published a controversial essay about Céline
, in which he refused to exonerate the critically acclaimed author of Journey to the End of the Night
for his fierce anti-semitism.
He died on 2 March 2006 of lung cancer and is buried at the Montparnasse Cemetery in Paris.
, Muray criticized what he saw as the absurdities and anomalies of the modern world. He always wrote in a polemical tone and his perspective was that of a cultural antimodernist. He also wrote various works of fiction, most under pseudonyms, of which most are not yet known.
Muray's writing style is often detailed, insistent and comical. He coined a lot of neologisms, mostly pejorative, such as "Artistocrate" (a artist that is completely aligned with the political power structure of the day) and "Rebellocrate" (a person who pretends to be radical but is in fact allied with the power structure). The last is in some way akin to the concept of "recuperation"
.
Michel Houellebecq
Michel Houellebecq , born Michel Thomas, 26 February 1958—or 1956 —on the French island of Réunion, is a controversial and award-winning French author, filmmaker and poet. To admirers he is a writer in the tradition of literary provocation that reaches back to the Marquis de Sade and Baudelaire;...
, Maurice Dantec, Alain Badiou
Alain Badiou
Alain Badiou is a French philosopher, professor at European Graduate School, formerly chair of Philosophy at the École Normale Supérieure . Along with Giorgio Agamben and Slavoj Žižek, Badiou is a prominent figure in an anti-postmodern strand of continental philosophy...
, Alain Finkielkraut
Alain Finkielkraut
Alain Finkielkraut is a French essayist, and son of a Jewish-Polish manufacturer of fine leather goods who had been deported to Auschwitz and survived. He currently teaches at the École polytechnique as professor of the "history of ideas and modernity" in the department of humanities and social...
and others. In 2010, the French actor Fabrice Luchini read some of Muray's works at the Théâtre de l'Atelier in Paris, which contributed to a renewed discussion of his writings in the French press.
Biography
Very little is known about Muray's personal life. His father was a writer and translator of English-language authors (Jack London, Melville, Kipling, etc.) and his mother a devout reader. According to Muray himself his parents contributed significantly to his literary education and taste of literature. As fast as he could he started to study humanities in Paris.During some months in 1983 he taught French literature at Stanford University in California. There he developed the concept of L'empire du bien (the Empire of the Good), and he collected materials to his book Le XIXe siècle à travers les âges (The 19th century through the ages), published in 1984. In that book he underlines the importance of occultism in the formation of socialism. He also published a controversial essay about Céline
Louis-Ferdinand Céline
Louis-Ferdinand Céline was the pen name of French writer and physician Louis-Ferdinand Destouches . Céline was chosen after his grandmother's first name. He is considered one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century, developing a new style of writing that modernized both French and...
, in which he refused to exonerate the critically acclaimed author of Journey to the End of the Night
Journey to the End of the Night
Journey to the End of Night is the first novel of Louis-Ferdinand Céline. This semi-autobiographical work describes antihero Ferdinand Bardamu....
for his fierce anti-semitism.
He died on 2 March 2006 of lung cancer and is buried at the Montparnasse Cemetery in Paris.
Writing
In articles and essays, published in various French magazines such as L'Atelier du romanL'Atelier du roman
L'atelier du roman is a quarterly French literary review founded in Paris in 1993 by the essayist Lakis Proguidis, and currently distributed by Groupe Flammarion and Canadian publisher ....
, Muray criticized what he saw as the absurdities and anomalies of the modern world. He always wrote in a polemical tone and his perspective was that of a cultural antimodernist. He also wrote various works of fiction, most under pseudonyms, of which most are not yet known.
Muray's writing style is often detailed, insistent and comical. He coined a lot of neologisms, mostly pejorative, such as "Artistocrate" (a artist that is completely aligned with the political power structure of the day) and "Rebellocrate" (a person who pretends to be radical but is in fact allied with the power structure). The last is in some way akin to the concept of "recuperation"
Recuperation (sociology)
Recuperation, in the sociological sense, is the process by which politically radical ideas and images are commodified and incorporated within a mainstream society and, thus, become interpreted through a more socially acceptable or conventional perspective. More broadly, it may refer to the...
.
External links
- http://www.philippe-muray.com/ (In French only)
- "Philippe Muray's laugh" : interview of Fabrice LuchiniFabrice LuchiniFabrice Luchini is a French stage and film actor.-Biography:Fabrice Luchini was born in Île-de-France, Paris, into an Italian immigrant family, who were fruit and vegetable vendors. He grew up around the neighbourhood of Goutte d'Or in Paris's 18th arrondissement...
by Alain FinkielkrautAlain FinkielkrautAlain Finkielkraut is a French essayist, and son of a Jewish-Polish manufacturer of fine leather goods who had been deported to Auschwitz and survived. He currently teaches at the École polytechnique as professor of the "history of ideas and modernity" in the department of humanities and social...
(France Culture) - Philosophy of Philippe Muray : Maxence CaronMaxence CaronMaxence Caron is a French writer, poet, philosopher and musicologist.- Biography :He is agrégé in Philosophy , docteur ès Lettres Maxence Caron (born in 1976) is a French writer, poet, philosopher and musicologist.- Biography :He is agrégé in Philosophy (in 1999), docteur ès Lettres Maxence Caron...
guest of Raphaël EnthovenRaphaël EnthovenRaphael Enthoven is a professor of French philosophy. Son of the publisher Jean-Paul Enthoven, he is the former husband of Justine Lévy and former companion of Carla Bruni , with whom he had a son born July 21, 2001...
(France Culture)