Jean-Baptiste Botul is a fictional French philosopher created in 1995 by the journalist Frédéric Pagès and other members of a group calling itself the Association of the Friends of Jean-Baptiste Botul. Originating as a literary hoax, the names of both Botul and his philosophy of ''botulism'' derive from

botulism Botulism is a rare and potentially fatal illness caused by botulinum toxin, which is produced by the bacterium ''Clostridium botulinum''. The disease begins with weakness, blurred vision, Fatigue (medical), feeling tired, and trouble speaking. ...

, an illness caused by the bacterium ''

Clostridium botulinum ''Clostridium botulinum'' is a Gram-positive bacteria, gram-positive, Bacillus (shape), rod-shaped, Anaerobic organism, anaerobic, endospore, spore-forming, Motility, motile bacterium with the ability to produce botulinum toxin, which is a neurot ...

''. References to Botul were first made in publications by members of the association and later turned up in texts by writers who were not party to the hoax and thought Botul was a real person, notably the French philosopher

Bernard-Henri Lévy Bernard-Henri Georges Lévy (; ; born 5 November 1948) is a French public intellectual. Often referred to in France simply as BHL, he was one of the leaders of the " Nouveaux Philosophes" (New Philosophers) movement in 1976. His opinions, politi ...

. There is now an annual Botul Prize awarded for a book that mentions Botul.

History

The hoax began in 1995, when Frédéric Pagès, a journalist for the satirical weekly newspaper ''

Le Canard enchaîné (; English: "The Chained Duck" or "The Chained Paper", as is French slang meaning "newspaper") is a satirical weekly newspaper in France. Its headquarters is in Paris. Founded in 1915 during World War I, it features investigative journalism ...

'' (The Chained Duck) and a former professor of philosophy, invented Jean-Baptiste Botul and his chief work, entitled ''The Sexual Life of

Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (born Emanuel Kant; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German Philosophy, philosopher and one of the central Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works ...

''. The general idea behind Botul and ''botulism'' was that philosophy is too vital to be left solely in the hands of professional philosophers. Various authors afterwards referred to this work—some facetiously and some seriously—including the philosopher and TV personality

, who quoted from it extensively in his 2010 book ''On War in Philosophy''. Lévy afterwards acknowledged that he had fallen for the "well-rigged" hoax.

Fictional biography

Pagès created a fictitious history for Botul, as follows: Botul was supposedly born on August 15, 1896, in the French village of Lairière in the south-central

Aude Aude ( ; ) is a Departments of France, department in Southern France, located in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region and named after the river Aude (river), Aude. The departmental council also calls it " ...

department. Affiliating himself with the oral tradition in philosophy, he left no official writings; instead, what is known of his thought comes from transcribed speeches and fragments of correspondence. He is said to have been a friend of the writer

Marcel Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust ( ; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, literary critic, and essayist who wrote the novel (in French – translated in English as ''Remembrance of Things Past'' and more r ...

and to have been engaged for a time to the politician and former spy Marthe Richard. Other famous people placed in his orbit include the writers

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, nor was she ...

Lou Andreas-Salomé Lou Andreas-Salomé (born either Louise von Salomé or Luíza Gustavovna Salomé or Lioulia von Salomé, ; 12 February 1861 – 5 February 1937) was a Russian-born psychoanalyst and a well-traveled author, narrator, and essayist from a French Hu ...

Marie Bonaparte Princess Marie Bonaparte (2 July 1882 – 21 September 1962), known as Princess George of Greece and Denmark upon her marriage, was a French author and psychoanalyst, closely linked with Sigmund Freud. Her wealth contributed to the popularity ...

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau ( , ; ; 5 July 1889 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, film director, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost avant-garde artists of the 20th-c ...

Jean Giraudoux Hippolyte Jean Giraudoux (; ; 29 October 1882 – 31 January 1944) was a French novelist, essayist, diplomat and playwright. He is considered among the most important French dramatists of the period between World War I and World War II. His wo ...

Stefan Zweig Stefan Zweig ( ; ; 28 November 1881 – 22 February 1942) was an Austrian writer. At the height of his literary career, in the 1920s and 1930s, he was one of the most widely translated and popular writers in the world. Zweig was raised in V ...

, and Andre Malraux, and the Mexican revolutionaries

Pancho Villa Francisco "Pancho" Villa ( , , ; born José Doroteo Arango Arámbula; 5 June 1878 – 20 July 1923) was a Mexican revolutionary and prominent figure in the Mexican Revolution. He was a key figure in the revolutionary movement that forced ...

and

Emiliano Zapata Emiliano Zapata Salazar (; 8 August 1879 – 10 April 1919) was a Mexican revolutionary. He was a leading figure in the Mexican Revolution of 1910–1920, the main leader of the people's revolution in the Mexican state of Morelos, and the insp ...

. In 1946 he supposedly emigrated to

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

with a hundred German families fleeing the advancing Soviet armies, and there he is said to have founded a town, 'Nueva Königsberg', governed by the principles of Kantian philosophy.''Landru, précurseur du féminisme'' cited in ''Le Nouvel Observateur'', Feb. 19, 2010 His death date is given as August 15, 1947. In his philosophical work, Botul is presented as an expert in the work of Immanuel Kant, with special attention to Kantian morality.

Fictional works

*''The Sexual Life of Immanuel Kant'' * ''Landru: Precursor of Feminism: The Unpublished Correspondence Between Henri Désiré Landru and Jean-Baptiste Botul'' * ''

Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche became the youngest pro ...

and the Noonday Demon'' * ''Soft Metaphysics'' * ''Hole in All: Correspondence to Myself''

Association of the Friends of Jean-Baptiste Botul

The Association of the Friends of Jean-Baptiste Botul was founded in 1995, at the same time as Botul himself, and its founders include Pagès, writers

Hervé Le Tellier Hervé Le Tellier (; born 21 April 1957) is a French writer and linguistics, linguist, and a member of the international literary group Oulipo (Ouvroir de Littérature Potentielle, which translates roughly as "workshop of potential literature") ...

and Jacques Gaillard, actor Patrice Minet, economist Bertrand Rothé, and Emmanuel Brouillard, who holds the title of curator of the Botul Museum. The association's founders are also known as the ''core botulien'' (Botulian core) and the NoDuBo (''Noyau Dur Botulien'', Botulian hard core). The association contributes to the creation of Botul's oeuvre. This includes most prominently ''The Sexual Life of Immanuel Kant'' as well as ''Nietzsche and the Noonday Demon''; ''Landru: The Precursor of Feminism''; and ''Soft Metaphysics''. The first two of these have since been published by the French press Éditions Mille et une nuits. The association also organizes various annual events, including a banquet. Association member all sit on the jury that is responsible for awarding the annual Botul Prize.

Botul Prize

Since 2004, an annual Botul Prize has been awarded for a work that mentions Botul. It is awarded under the auspices of a Foundation for Botul Botulism.

Prize winners

*2004: Jacques Gaillard, for ''Mes aventures en Haute Savoie'' (My Adventures in

Haute-Savoie Haute-Savoie () is a Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region of Southeastern France, bordering both Switzerland and Italy. Its Prefectures in France, prefecture is Annecy. To the north is Lake Gene ...

) *2005: Ali Magoudi, for ''Rendez-vous'' (Appointments), and Jean-Hugues Lime, for ''Le Roi de Clipperton'' (The King of Clipperton) *2006: Patrice Minet, for ''Moi et la Reine d'Angleterre'' (Me and the Queen of England) *2007: Emmanuel Brouillard, for ''Trois claques à Balzac'' (Three Slaps at Balzac) *2009: Bertrand Rothé, for ''Lebrac, trois mois de prison)'' (Lebrac: Three Months in Prison) *2010:

, for ''De la guerre en philosophie'' (On War in Philosophy) *2011:

Frédéric Lordon Frédéric Lordon (born 15 January 1962) is a French economist and philosopher, CNRS Director of Research at the Centre européen de sociologie et de science politique' in Paris. He is an influential figure in France's Nuit debout movement and ...

, for ''D'un retournement l'autre'' *2012: Jacques Colombat for ''Alexandre Jacob, le forçat intraitable'' (Alexander Jacob: The Intractable Convict) *2013: Nathalie Peyrebonne, for ''Rêve général'' (General Dream) *2016:

, for ''Moi et François Mitterrand'' (Me and

François Mitterrand François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was a French politician and statesman who served as President of France from 1981 to 1995, the longest holder of that position in the history of France. As a former First ...

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Botul, Jean-Baptiste Literary characters introduced in 1995 1995 hoaxes Literary forgeries Fictional philosophers Fictional French people Nonexistent people used in hoaxes