Michel Serres (; ; 1 September 1930 – 1 June 2019) was a French

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

, theorist and writer. His works explore themes of science, time and death, and later incorporated

prose Prose is language that follows the natural flow or rhythm of speech, ordinary grammatical structures, or, in writing, typical conventions and formatting. Thus, prose ranges from informal speaking to formal academic writing. Prose differs most n ...

Life and career

The son of a bargeman, Serres entered France's naval academy, the

École Navale École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...

, in 1949 and the

École Normale Supérieure École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by Secondary education in France, secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing i ...

in 1952. He aggregated in 1955, having studied

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

. He spent the next few years as a naval officer before finally receiving his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

(

doctorat ès lettres Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

) in 1968 from the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

(with a thesis titled ''Le Système de Leibniz et ses modèles mathématiques''), and began teaching in 1969 at the University of Paris I. As a child, Serres witnessed firsthand the violence and devastation of war. "I was six for my first dead bodies," he told

Bruno Latour Bruno Latour (; ; 22 June 1947 – 9 October 2022) was a French philosopher, anthropologist and sociologist.Wheeler, Will. ''Bruno Latour: Documenting Human and Nonhuman Associations'' Critical Theory for Library and Information Science. Librari ...

. These formative experiences led him consistently to eschew

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

based upon models of war, suspicion, and

criticism Criticism is the construction of a judgement about the negative or positive qualities of someone or something. Criticism can range from impromptu comments to a written detailed response. , ''the act of giving your opinion or judgment about the ...

. Serres served as a professor of French at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

. He earned a reputation as a spell-binding lecturer and as the author of remarkably beautiful and enigmatic prose so reliant on the sonorities of French that it is considered practically untranslatable. He took as his subjects such diverse topics as the mythical

Northwest Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea lane between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, near the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Arctic Archipelago of Canada. The eastern route along the Arctic ...

, the concept of the

parasite Parasitism is a Symbiosis, close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the Host (biology), host, causing it some harm, and is Adaptation, adapted str ...

, and the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger. More generally Serres was interested in developing a

philosophy of science Philosophy of science is the branch of philosophy concerned with the foundations, methods, and implications of science. Amongst its central questions are the difference between science and non-science, the reliability of scientific theories, ...

which does not rely on a

metalanguage In logic and linguistics, a metalanguage is a language used to describe another language, often called the ''object language''. Expressions in a metalanguage are often distinguished from those in the object language by the use of italics, quota ...

in which a single account of science is privileged and regarded as accurate. To do this he relied on the concept of

translation Translation is the communication of the semantics, meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The English la ...

between accounts rather than settling on one as authoritative. For this reason, Serres has relied on the figure of

Hermes Hermes (; ) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology considered the herald of the gods. He is also widely considered the protector of human heralds, travelers, thieves, merchants, and orators. He is able to move quic ...

(in his earlier works) and

angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

s (in more recent studies) as messengers who translate (or map) back and forth between domains (i.e., between maps). He was an influence on intellectuals such as

, Robert Pogue Harrison, and Jonathan Bate. Perhaps his most enduring book is ''Le contrat naturel'' (1990), a prescient work addressing the need for philosophy to address the climate crisis. In an interview with Hans Ulrich Obrist, Serres expressed interest in the

emergence In philosophy, systems theory, science, and art, emergence occurs when a complex entity has properties or behaviors that its parts do not have on their own, and emerge only when they interact in a wider whole. Emergence plays a central rol ...

of a new

political philosophy Political philosophy studies the theoretical and conceptual foundations of politics. It examines the nature, scope, and Political legitimacy, legitimacy of political institutions, such as State (polity), states. This field investigates different ...

that addresses the

digital Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Businesses *Digital bank, a form of financial institution *Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) or Digital, a computer company *Digital Research (DR or DRI), a software ...

context of the 21st century, "I think that out of this place of no law that is the Internet there will soon emerge a new law, completely different from that which organized our old metric space." Serres was a vocal enthusiast for freely accessible knowledge, especially

Wikipedia Wikipedia is a free content, free Online content, online encyclopedia that is written and maintained by a community of volunteers, known as Wikipedians, through open collaboration and the wiki software MediaWiki. Founded by Jimmy Wales and La ...

. He died on 1 June 2019, at the age of 88.

Honours and recognition

In 1990, Serres was elected to the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

, in recognition of his position as one of France's most prominent intellectuals. In 2012, Serres was awarded the Meister Eckhart Prize and in 2013 he was awarded the Dan David Prize.

Publications

* 1968: ''Le Système de Leibniz et ses modèles mathématiques'',

Presses universitaires de France Presses universitaires de France (PUF; ), founded in 1921 by Paul Angoulvent (1899–1976), is a French publishing house. Recent company history The financial and legal structure of the Presses Universitaires de France was completely restruc ...

, rééd. 1982 * 1969: ''Hermès I, la communication'', Éditions de Minuit, reprint. 1984 * 1972: ''Hermès II, l'interférence'', Éditions de Minuit * 1974: ''Hermès III, la traduction'', Éditions de Minuit * 1974: ''Jouvences. Sur Jules Verne'', Éditions de Minuit * 1975: ''Auguste Comte. Leçons de philosophie positive'', (in collaboration), tome I, Éditions Hermann * 1975: ''Esthétiques sur Carpaccio'', Hermann * 1975: ''Feux et signaux de brume. Zola'', Grasset, * 1977: ''Hermès IV, La distribution'', Éditions de Minuit, reprint. 1981 * 1977: ''La Naissance de la physique dans le texte de Lucrèce'', Éditions de Minuit * 1980: ''Hermès V, Le passage du Nord-ouest'', Éditions de Minuit, Paris * 1980: ''Le Parasite'', Grasset * 1982: ''Genèse'', Grasset * 1983: ''Détachement'', Flammarion * 1983: ''Rome. Le livre des fondations'', Grasset * 1985: '' Les Cinq Sens'', Grasset; reprint.

Fayard Fayard (complete name: ''Librairie Arthème Fayard'') is a French Paris-based publishing house established in 1857. Fayard is controlled by Hachette Livre. In 1999, Éditions Pauvert became part of Fayard. Claude Durand was director of Fayar ...

, 2014 * 1987: ''L'Hermaphrodite'', Flammarion * 1987: ''Statues'', François Bourin * 1989: ''Éléments d'histoire des sciences'', (in collaboration), Bordas * 1990: ''Le Contrat naturel'', François Bourin, Paris (''The Natural Contract'' (1995),

University of Michigan Press The University of Michigan Press is a university press that is a part of Michigan Publishing at the University of Michigan Library. It publishes 170 new titles each year in the humanities and social sciences. Titles from the press have earn ...

(English translation by Elizabeth MacArthur and William Paulson) * 1991: ''Le Tiers-instruit'', François Bourin * 1991: ''Discours de réception de Michel Serres à l'Académie française et réponse de Bertrand Poirot-Delpech'', François Bourin * 1992: ''Éclaircissements'', (interviews with

), François Bourin * 1993: ''La Légende des Anges'', Flammarion * 1993: ''Les Origines de la géométrie'', Flammarion * 1994: ''Atlas'', Julliard * 1995: ''Éloge de la philosophie en langue française'', Fayard * 1997: ''Nouvelles du monde'', Flammarion * 1997: ''Le trésor. Dictionnaire des sciences'', (in collaboration), Flammarion, Paris * 1997: ''À visage différent'', (in collaboration), Hermann * 1999: ''Paysages des sciences'', (in collaboration), Le Pommier * 2000: ''Hergé, mon ami'', Éditions Moulinsart * 2001: ''Hominescence'', Le Pommier * 2002: ''Variations sur le corps'', Le Pommier, 1999; édition texte seul, Le Pommier * 2002: ''Conversations, Jules Verne, la science et l'homme contemporain, 1re version'', Revue Jules Verne 13/14, Centre international Jules-Verne, Amiens * 2003: ''L'Incandescent'', Le Pommier * 2003: ''Jules Verne, la science et l'homme contemporain'', Le Pommier * 2004: ''Rameaux'', Le Pommier * 2006: ''Récits d'humanisme'', Le Pommier * 2006: ''Petites chroniques du dimanche soir'', Le Pommier * 2006: ''L'Art des ponts : homo pontifex'', Le Pommier * 2007: ''Le Tragique et la Pitié. Discours de réception de René Girard à l'Académie française et réponse de Michel Serres'', Le Pommier * 2007: ''Petites chroniques du dimanche soir 2'', Le Pommier * 2007: ''Carpaccio, les esclaves libérés'', Le Pommier * 2008: ''Le Mal propre : polluer pour s'approprier ?'', Le Pommier, coll. « Manifestes » * 2008: ''La Guerre mondiale'', Le Pommier * 2009: ''Écrivains, savants et philosophes font le tour du monde'', Le Pommier, coll. « Les Essais » * 2009: ''Temps des crises'', Le Pommier, coll. « Manifestes », * 2009: ''Van Cleef et Arpels, Le Temps poétique'', with Franco Cologni and Jean-Claude Sabrier, Cercle d'Art, coll. « La collection » * 2009: Petites chroniques ''du dimanche soir 3'', Le Pommier * 2010: Biogée, Éditions-dialogues.fr/Le Pommier * 2011: ''Musique'', Éditions Le Pommier * 2012: '' Petite Poucette'', Éditions Le Pommier * 2012: ''Andromaque, veuve noire'', Éditions de l’Herne * 2013: ''Les Temps nouveaux ''(coffret), Le Pommier * 2014: ''Pantopie, de Hermès à Petite Poucette ''(avec Martin Legros et Sven Ortoli), Le Pommier * 2014: ''Petites Chroniques du dimanche'' tome VI, Le Pommier * 2014: ''Yeux'', Le Pommier * 2015: ''Le gaucher boiteux : puissance de la pensée'', Le Pommier * 2015: ''Écrivains, savants et philosophes font le tour du monde'', Le Pommier * 2015: ''Du bonheur, aujourd'hui'' (with Michel Polacco), Le Pommier * 2015: ''Solitude. Dialogue sur l'engagement'' (with Jean-François Serres), Le Pommier * 2016: ''De l'impertinence, aujourd'hui'' (with Michel Polacco), Le Pommier * 2016 : ''Darwin, Bonaparte et le Samaritain : une philosophie de l'histoire'', Paris, Le Pommier * 2017 : ''De l'Amitié, aujourd'hui'' (avec Michel Polacco), Paris, Le Pommier * 2017 : ''C'était mieux avant !'', Paris, Le Pommier * 2018 : ''Défense et illustration de la langue française aujourd'hui'', (avec Michel Polacco), Paris, Le Pommier * 2019 : ''Morales espiègles'', Paris, Le Pommier

Notes

References

* Alan D. Schrift (2006), ''Twentieth-Century French Philosophy: Key Themes and Thinkers'', Blackwell Publishing.

External links

* * Includes a brief exchange on the relationship of Serres to Deleuze.
Steven Connor's website, with links to his writing on Serres
*

by Robert P. Harrison *
L'Académie française

Michel Serres talks to François-Bernard Huyghe in the Unesco Courier
*
Serres speaking about wikipedia very enthusiastically

Michel Serres, one of France's 'immortels,' tells the 'grand récit' at Stanford
by Cynthia Haven, Stanford Report, 27 May 2009.
issuu.comObituary in Radical Philosophy
Autumn 2019 by Lucie Kim-Chi Mercier {{DEFAULTSORT:Serres, Michel 1930 births 2019 deaths 20th-century French philosophers 21st-century French philosophers Continental philosophers École Normale Supérieure alumni University of Paris alumni Members of the Académie Française Members of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts People from Agen People from Vincennes French philosophers of science French philosophers of technology Stanford University Department of French and Italian faculty Academic staff of Pantheon-Sorbonne University French male non-fiction writers Winners of the Prix Broquette-Gonin (literature) Prix Médicis essai winners Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour Grand Cross of the Ordre national du Mérite École Navale alumni