Émile-Auguste Chartier (; 3 March 1868 – 2 June 1951), commonly known as Alain (), was a French philosopher,

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

, and

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaig ...

. He adopted his

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

in homage to the 15th-century Norman poet Alain Chartier.

Early life

Alain was born in 1868 in Mortagne-au-Perche (Orne). He entered Lycée d' Alençon in 1881 and studied there for five years. On 13 June 1956, the lycée was renamed Lycée Alain, after its most famous student. In 1892, Alain graduated from

École Normale Supérieure École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education sca ...

and received the

agrégation In France, the ''agrégation'' () is a competitive examination for civil service in the French public education system. Candidates for the examination, or ''agrégatifs'', become ''agrégés'' once they are admitted to the position of ''profess ...

in philosophy.

Career

He subsequently taught at various institutions: Pontivy,

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town ('' commune'') and seaport in the Morbihan department of Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginning around 3000 BC, settlements in the area of Lorient are attested by the presen ...

, Lycée Pierre Corneille in

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the region of Normandy and the department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, the population ...

,Lycée Pierre Corneille de Rouen - History
/ref> and, in Paris: ( Lycée Condorcet and Lycée Michelet). From 1903, he contributed to several journals using his pseudonym, Alain. He was most commonly referred to as "Alain" by his pupils and peers. In 1909, he was appointed a teacher (or professor) at the Lycée Henri-IV 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. ...

. He deeply influenced his pupils, who included

Raymond Aron Raymond Claude Ferdinand Aron (; 14 March 1905 – 17 October 1983) was a French philosopher, sociologist, political scientist, historian and journalist, one of France's most prominent thinkers of the 20th century. Aron is best known for his ...

, Simone Weil, Georges Canguilhem, and André Maurois. Reviewing the beneficial effect he had on his former pupils Simone Weil and

Simone de Beauvoir Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir (, ; ; 9 January 1908 – 14 April 1986) was a French existentialist philosopher, writer, social theorist, and feminist activist. Though she did not consider herself a philosopher, and even ...

, Professor John Hellman writes that Alain was the greatest teacher of their generation.

Books

Alain foretold and denounced the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

but, when hostilities began, he enlisted as a soldier and, refusing promotion, served in the ranks for the whole war. During those years, while in the trenches, he wrote ''Mars, ou la guerre jugée'' (1921) ars, or The Truth about War ''Quatre-vingt-un chapitres sur l'esprit et les passions'' (1917) ighty-One Chapters about the Spirit and Passions and ''Le système des beaux-arts'' (1920) ystem of the Fine Arts He later wrote many other books including ''Propos sur le bonheur'' (1925)

bout Happiness Bout can mean: People * Viktor Bout, suspected arms dealer *Jan Everts Bout, early settler to New Netherland *Marcel Bout Musical instruments * The outward-facing round parts of the body shape of violins, guitars, and other stringed instr ...

''Le citoyen contre les pouvoirs'' (1926)

he Citizen against the Powers He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...

''Les Idées et les âges'' (1927) deas and Ages ''Entretiens au bord de la mer'' (1931) onversations by the Edge of the Sea ''Propos sur l'éducation'' (1932)

bout Education Bout can mean: People * Viktor Bout, suspected arms dealer *Jan Everts Bout, early settler to New Netherland *Marcel Bout Musical instruments * The outward-facing round parts of the body shape of violins, guitars, and other stringed instr ...

''Idées'' (1932)

deas Deas or DEAS may refer to: * Deas (surname), a Scottish surname originating in Fife * Deas Island, a river island in British Columbia, Canada * Deas Vail, an American rock band * Department of East Asian Studies, University of Delhi * Division of E ...

''Les Dieux'' (1934)

he Gods He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...

''Histoire de mes pensées'' (1936) istory of my Thoughts and ''Les Aventures de coeur'' (1945) dventures of the Heart

Theorist

He was a leading theorist of radicalism, and his influence extended through the Third and Fourth Republics. He stressed individualism, seeking to defend the citizen against the State. He warned against all forms of power – military, clerical, and economic. To oppose them he exalted the small farmer, the small shopkeeper, the small town, and the little man. He idealized country life and saw Paris as a dangerous font of power. Despite the liberalism of his published work, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

he expressed

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, autho ...

views in some of his private writings: in July 1940 he expressed hope that the

Free French Forces __NOTOC__ The French Liberation Army (french: Armée française de la Libération or AFL) was the reunified French Army that arose from the merging of the Armée d'Afrique with the prior Free French Forces (french: Forces françaises libres, la ...

would be defeated, and he also described

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

as "a modern mind, an invincible spirit", who dealt with the "Jewish question" with "extraordinary eloquence and remarkable sincerity". In his diary published under the title ''Journal inédit'' by Emmanuel Blondel, Alain writes "I would like, as far as I am concerned, to get rid of antisemitism, but I can't achieve this." (''Journal inédit'', Editions des equateurs). He calls his own antisemitism, in a self-disparaging manner, a "sad passion" using a Spinozist expression meaning "a passion that expresses weakness, powerlessness". In 1946, in a new Preface to his book ''Spinoza'' Alain writes:

''"Tel est donc le sens du Spinozisme, sens bien positif et bien aisé à saisir, pourvu qu'on soit persuadé que l'on est en présence de l'Esprit universel. Cette persuasion vous rendra la pensée supportable, et soudain vous vous reconnaîtrez homme, toujours à la lumière de l'axiome : Homo homini deus, qui est la clef de la future République et de l'égalité 1848. Je dis égalité, parce qu'il ne se peut pas que l'homme n'ait pas de passions et parce que toute affection cesse d'être une passion dès qu'on en forme une idée adéquate. Là est le secret de la Paix, qui dans tous les cas est la Paix de l'âme, vérité très méconnue. Par ce moyen vous formerez le parti Spinoza, que vous vous garderez d'appeler le parti juif, mais qui n'en sera pas moins ce parti-là. Alors, sans combat, le nazisme, le fascisme et toute sorte de despotisme seront vaincus, et la méchanceté exactement impuissante, comme elle est (car elle n'est rien). Tel est l'avenir prochain, que renferme ce petit livre''."

The last lines of this quotation 'Par ce moyen vous formerez...''expressing Alain's public thought regarding antisemitic hatred and

Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

, deserve attention:

"Then hen enlightened men have formed the "Spinoza party", the "Jewish party"without fight, nazism, fascism and all other kinds of despotism will be defeated and malevolence will be properly powerless, as it is actually (for malevolence by itself is nothing). Such is the future that is coming, the future that is contained in this little book." (Alain, ''Spinoza'', Gallimard, Collection TEL, Preface, 1946).

The same ambiguity can be observed as to Alain's attitude towards

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...

. In his ''Propos'', Alain writes that Hitler is "a great patriot". But he adds "When I say that Hitler is one of these great leaders, understand carefully that I feel sorry for the people that have such leaders, and also sorry for their neighbours". (''Propos d'Alain'', Propos du 10 Avril 1936, Gallimard, Bibliothèque de la Pléiade, Copyright 1956, page 1305).

Death

Chartier died in 1951. He is buried in the Père Lachaise Cemetery.

Select bibliography

*''Mars, or The Truth about War'', London, Toronto, and New York: Jonathan Cape & Harrison Smith, 1930. Translated from the French by Doris Mudie and Elizabeth Hill. Foreword by André Maurois. Foreword by Denis Saurat. *''Alain on Happiness'', New York: Frederick Ungar, 1973; Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 1973, 1989. Translated by Robert D. and Jane E. Cottrell. introduction by Robert D. Cottrell. *''The Gods'', New York: New Directions, 1974. Translated by Richard Pevear.

References

External links

* * * *
About AlainAlain, Philosophical and Humanistic Norman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chartier, Emile 1868 births 1951 deaths 19th-century French non-fiction writers 19th-century French philosophers 20th-century French non-fiction writers 20th-century French philosophers Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Continental philosophers Cultural critics École Normale Supérieure alumni French classical liberals French radicals French male non-fiction writers French pacifists Lycée Henri-IV teachers Lycée Pierre-Corneille alumni People from Mortagne-au-Perche Philosophers of culture Philosophers of history Philosophers of war Political philosophers Radical Party (France) politicians Scholars of antisemitism French social commentators Social critics Social philosophers