Profession: philosopher

Gaston Bachelard

philosopher, writer

1884 (Bar-sur-Aube, France) – 1962 (Paris)

Brunschvicg examined Bachelard’s doctoral thesis. Canguilhem was one of Bachelard’s own students, taught with him, and succeeded him at the Sorbonne. Bachelard was briefly involved in a journal with Caillois (both interested in spaciality). He contributed articles to Koyré’s philosophical journal, and joined its editorial board. He was a significant influence upon the thought of others including Canguilhem, Hyppolite, Foucault and Bourdieu, and was himself deeply influenced by his friend Cavaillès’ commitment to a particular idea about epistemology. He taught Serres, and was interviewed by his disciple Tournier.

Gaston Bachelard knew…

Wilhelm von Humboldt

philosopher, comparative linguist, educationalist

1767 (Potsdam) – 1835 (Berlin)

Alexander von Humboldt was his brother. Both were friends of Goethe and Schiller, Wilhelm frequently visiting them in Weimar and maintaining a correspondence with Schiller. He was an attender at Mendelssohn’s musical salon, while Coleridge visited him in Rome. Schinkel, a friend, remodelled his home Schloss Tegel for him. Bopp was a great friend, first met when Humboldt was Prussian envoy in London; he taught Humboldt Sanskrit, and was later given a position at Berlin University, an institution founded by Humboldt. Fichte was its first rector; Humboldt attended his lectures as often as he could.

Wilhelm von Humboldt knew…

Walter Benjamin

philosopher, cultural critic, writer

1892 (Berlin) – 1940 (Portbou, Spain)

The ideas of Benjamin’s close friends Adorno, Brecht and Scholem all informed his own work. He met Rilke and Scholem while studying in Munich, and Brecht (who sheltered him twice in Denmark) through a lover, Brecht’s secretary. He worked closely with Adorno, latterly by correspondence, and befriended Lukács, a strong influence. Hofmannsthal published an essay of Benjamin’s. Arendt, Weill and Hesse, exiles from Nazism, were all met in Paris: also Bataille and Klossowski. Perse saved him from a second wartime internment. Horkheimer arranged for him to enter the U.S., but thwarted in his escape from France, he killed himself.

Walter Benjamin knew…

Simone de Beauvoir

writer, philosopher, feminist

1908 (Paris) – 1986 (Paris)

Sartre, Beauvoir’s ‘non-exclusive’ lover and lifetime intellectual companion, was a fellow-student, as were Merleau-Ponty and Lévi-Strauss; she had a lasting dialogue with both. Leiris engaged in left-wing causes with her, but Malraux and Gide failed to support an underground resistance movement she and Sartre helped to organise. She lived with Lanzmann for seven years, and had a seventeen-year relationship with Algren, basing a fictional character upon him. She wrote fondly of Giacometti, and joined in a reading of Picasso’s only play. Beckett lodged with her, but they squabbled over the publication of a story of his.

Simone de Beauvoir knew…

Roger Caillois

writer, philosopher

1913 (Reims, France) – 1978 (Paris)

Kojève, Dumézil and Mauss taught Caillois; Lévi-Strauss traded arguments with him. His good friend Bataille, Leiris and Caillois himself, members of ‘Acéphale’, founded the Collège de Sociologie with Blanchot and Klossowski: Adorno, Benjamin and Sartre gave lectures. Breton, Bataille and he formed the anti-fascist group Contre-attaque. Caillois’ friendship with Ocampo led to 5 years’ exile in Argentina, during which he befriended (and later translated) Borges, as well as Neruda, Porchía, Fuentes and Cortázar. He linked up briefly with Tzara, Aragon and Bachelard, and famously argued with Breton about dissecting a Mexican jumping bean.

Roger Caillois knew…

Raymond Aron

philosopher, sociologist, journalist

1905 (Paris) – 1983 (Paris)

Sartre, Nizan and Aron all met at school: Canguilhem joined them at the École Nationale Supérieur. Sartre, de Beauvoir and Merleau-Ponty were among Aron’s co-founders of the review ‘Les Temps modernes.’ Camus edited another journal, ‘Combat’, with him. He was taught by Alain (the pen-name of Émile Chartier), while Bourdieu became his teaching assistant. He worked briefly with Malraux; Arendt became a friend when she fled Nazi Germany. He said that if his fellow-student Cavaillès had survived, he (Aron) would not have committed so many errors.

Raymond Aron knew…

Nicolas-Antoine Boulanger

Nicolas-Antoine Boullanger

philosopher, writer, engineer

1722 (Paris) – 1759 (Paris)

The interesting but largely obscure Boulanger was a regular member of d’Holbach’s salon. He wrote articles for Diderot and d’Alembert’s Encyclopédie; Diderot and d’Holbach published his works posthumously. His letters to Helvetius (a friend), either initialled or signed pseudonymously, were long thought to be from a better-known associate, Voltaire for example attributing them to Diderot.

Nicolas-Antoine Boulanger knew…

Michel Foucault

philosopher, historian

1926 (Poitiers, France) – 1984 (Paris)

Hyppolite, Merleau-Ponty and Althusser (who became a pal) all taught him. He attended Lacan’s seminars; Canguilhem supervised his doctoral thesis and stayed a strong supporter. Barraqué was his lover, Deleuze a good friend and colleague, Le Roy Ladurie in the same communist cell. Chomsky knew and liked him, while his friendship with Derrida deteriorated before a final reconciliation. He nominated Barthes for a prestigious chair, while Dreyfus introduced him to an overflowing audience. Sartre and de Beauvoir puzzlingly asked Said to meet them at Foucault’s (who chatted amiably and left).

Michel Foucault knew…

Maurice Merleau-Ponty

philosopher

1908 (Rochefort-sur-Mer, France) – 1961 (Paris)

Sartre, de Beauvoir and Lévi-Strauss were all fellow-students who remained colleagues and friends (Merleau-Ponty was in love with de Beauvoir’s closest friend). He founded an influential review with Sartre and Aron, working alongside de Beauvoir editorially and remaining in philosophical dialogue with her (the friendship with Sartre ended with a disagreement over marxism). When the exiled Gurwitsch arrived in Paris he attended Merleau-Ponty’s lectures and became close. Virilio and Foucault were among his students. Leiris attempted suicide after an evening at Merleau-Ponty’s. He himself (another evening) threw gravel at Gréco’s window, vainly hoping to seduce her.

Maurice Merleau-Ponty knew…