{{short description|French philosopher, activist, and writer (1937–2015)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox philosopher | name = André Glucksmann | region = Western philosophy | era = 20th-, 21st-century philosophy | image = André Glucksmann (cropped).jpg | caption = Glucksmann in 2012 | birth_date = {{Birth date|df=y|1937|06|19}} | birth_place = Boulogne-Billancourt, France | death_date = {{Death date and age|df=y|2015|11|10|1937|06|19}} | death_place = Paris, France | alma_mater = École normale supérieure de Saint-Cloud | school_tradition = Continental philosophy<br />Nouveaux Philosophes | main_interests = Political philosophy }} '''André Glucksmann''' ({{IPA|fr|ɡlyksman|lang}}; 19 June 1937 – 10 November 2015) was a French philosopher, activist, and writer. He was a leading figure of the new philosophers. Glucksmann began his career as a Marxist, who went on to reject Marxism–Leninism and real socialism in the popular book ''La Cuisinière et le Mangeur d'Hommes'' (1975), and later became an anti-Communist and outspoken critic of the Soviet Union and post-Soviet Russian foreign policy. He was a strong supporter of human rights. In later years, he opposed the claim that Islamic terrorism is the product of the clash of civilizations between Islam and the Western world.
== Early years == André Glucksmann was born in 1937 in Boulogne-Billancourt, the son of Ashkenazi Jewish parents from Austria-Hungary. His father was from Czernowitz in northern Bukovina, which later became part of Romania and is now in Ukraine, and his mother from Prague, which later became the capital of Czechoslovakia.<ref>{{cite web|title=Interview with Andre Glucksmann (archived copy)|date=9 June 2010| website=Tabula|url=http://www.tabula.ge/en/story/69957-interview-with-andre-glucksmann |accessdate=7 February 2016 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160207111803/http://www.tabula.ge/en/story/69957-interview-with-andre-glucksmann |archivedate=7 February 2016}}</ref>
Glucksmann's father, Rubin, was a Soviet spy, arrested for espionage on 17 May 1940, and sent to a camp near London. He died on 2 July 1940, in the sinking of the SS Arandora Star, which was taking him to Canada to be interned as an “enemy agent.”<ref>(de) Sebastian Voigt, Der Jüdische Mai '68: Pierre Goldman, Daniel Cohn-bendit und Andre Glucksmann im Nachkriegsfrankreich, Göttingen, Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht Verlag, 2015</ref> His mother and sister were active in the French Resistance.<ref name="book">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/turningonmindfre0000chap|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/turningonmindfre0000chap/page/148 148]|title=Turning on the Mind: French Philosophers on Television|first1=Tamara Chaplin|last1=Matheson|first2=Tamara|last2=Chaplin|date=1 December 2007|publisher=University of Chicago Press|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> The family "narrowly escaped deportation to the camps" during the Holocaust, which influenced Glucksmann's developing ideas of "the state as the ultimate source of barbarism".<ref name="book"/> He studied at the Lycée la Martinière in Lyon, and later enrolled at École normale supérieure de Saint-Cloud. His first book, ''Le Discours de la Guerre'', was published in 1968.<ref name=obit/>
== Career == === Early career === In 1975, Glucksmann published the anti-Communist book ''La Cuisinière et le Mangeur d'Hommes'', which was subtitled ''Réflexions sur l'État, le marxisme et les camps de concentration'', in which he argued that Marxism–Leninism leads inevitably to totalitarianism, tracing parallels between the crimes of Nazism and Communist states.<ref name="obit"/> In his next book, ''Les maitres penseurs'', published in 1977 and translated into English as ''Master Thinkers'' (Harper & Row, 1980), he traced the intellectual justification for totalitarianism back to the ideas articulated by various German philosophers, such as Fichte, Hegel, Marx, and Nietzsche.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/french-jewish-philosopher-andre-glucksmann-dies-at-78/|title=French Jewish philosophers Andre Glucksmann dies at 78|work=Times of Israel.com|accessdate=11 November 2015}}</ref> In the years after the Vietnam War, Glucksmann rose to national prominence after expressing his support for Vietnamese boat people.<ref name=obit/> He began working with Bernard-Henri Lévy criticizing communism.<ref name="BBCobit">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34774533|title=French philosopher Andre Glucksmann dies at 78|work=BBC News|date=10 November 2015 |accessdate=11 November 2015}}</ref> Both had formerly been well known Marxists. Shortly afterwards, they became known, along with others of their generation who rejected Marxism, as New Philosophers, a term coined by Lévy.<ref name="BBCobit"/>
=== 1980s and 1990s === In 1985, Glucksmann signed a petition to then United States president Ronald Reagan urging him to continue his support for the Contras in Nicaragua.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/antiamericanism00andr|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/antiamericanism00andr/page/155 155]|quote=andre glucksmann nicaraguan contras.|title=Anti-Americanism|publisher=Internet Archive|accessdate=11 November 2015}}</ref> After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Glucksmann became an advocate for the use of nuclear power.<ref name=obit/> In 1995, he supported the resumption of nuclear tests by the-then French president Jacques Chirac.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://digilander.libero.it/asdfghj2/dossier/060604s.htm|title=Jacques Iraq aka Jacques Chirac|publisher=Diglander.it|accessdate=11 November 2015}}</ref> He supported the NATO intervention in Serbia in 1999. He also called for Chechnya to become independent.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.clarin.com/sociedad/Murio-filosofo-Andre-Glucksmann-totalitarismos_0_1465053627.html|title=Murió el filósofo André Glucksmann, un crítico de los totalitarismos|date=10 November 2015 |publisher=Clarin.com|accessdate=11 November 2015}}</ref>
=== Philosophy === thumb|upright=.91|Glucksmann speaking at a conference in Paris, 2002 In his book ''Dostoyevsky in Manhattan'', Glucksmann asserts that nihilism, particularly as depicted by Dostoyevsky in his novels ''Demons'' and ''The Brothers Karamazov'', is the 'characteristic form' of modern terrorism. Drawing on Ivan Karamazov's dictum that "If there is no God, everything is permitted", Glucksmann argues: "The inner nature of nihilistic terrorism is that everything is permissible, whether because God exists and I am his representative, or because God does not exist and I take his place."<ref name="attacks"/>
His 2006 book ''Une rage d'enfant'' is an autobiography which talks about how his experiences as a young Jew in occupied France led to his interest in philosophy and his belief in the importance of intervention. He wrote: "My style of thinking is to compare what happens on the TV, in the news and so on, and then extract what I can from books of philosophers to understand it. Philosophy for me is like subtitles. The problem comes from current events but the answer is supplied by philosophy."<ref>{{cite book|author=Thomas H. Stanton|title=Meeting the Challenge of 9/11: Blueprints for More Effective Government|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i5oTjMYZ1gMC&pg=PA147|year=2006|publisher=M.E. Sharpe|isbn=978-0-7656-2179-5|page=147}}</ref>
Glucksmann criticised the notion that Islamic terrorism is a product of the clash of civilizations between Islam and the West, arguing that the first victims of Islamic terrorism are Muslims. He wrote: "Why do the 200,000 slaughtered Muslims of Darfur not arouse even half a quarter of the fury caused by 200-times fewer dead in Lebanon? Must we deduce that Muslims killed by other Muslims don't count – whether in the eyes of Muslim authorities or viewed through the bad conscience of the West?"<ref name="attacks">{{cite web|url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/article_1111jsp/|title=Bin Laden, Dostoevsky and the reality principle: an interview with André Glucksmann|website=|publisher=Open Democracy.net|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190907174613/https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/article_1111jsp/ |archive-date=7 September 2019 |accessdate=11 November 2015}}</ref>
=== Later years === Glucksmann supported military action by the West in Afghanistan and Iraq, and was highly critical of Russian foreign policy, supporting for example Chechen independence (for which he was posthumously awarded the Order of Friendship by the Chechen government in exile).<ref name=beliefs>{{cite web|url=http://www.ndtv.com/world-news/french-philosopher-andre-glucksmann-dies-1242118|title=French Philosophers Andre Glucksmann Dies at 78|publisher=NDTV.com|accessdate=11 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Постановление Кабинета министров ЧРИ №83 |url=https://thechechenpress.com/developments/18382-postanovlenie-kabineta-ministrov-chri-no83.html |access-date=12 December 2024 |website=thechechenpress.com}}</ref> He was against the Abkhazian and South Ossetian independence from Georgia, arguing that Georgia is essential to maintaining European Union "energy independence", vis-a-vis Russia, through access to oil and gas reserves in the former Soviet republics, stating: "If Tbilisi falls, there will be no way to get around Gazprom and guarantee autonomous access to the gas and petroleum wealth of Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan."<ref name=beliefs/>
[[File:Glucksmann.JPG|thumb|upright=.91|Glucksmann in Festival SOS 4.8 in Murcia, 2009]] As evidence of Russia's plans to use energy blackmail, Glucksmann referenced a biting anti-Gazprom satirical song performed at the annual satirical award show "Silver Rubber Boot", which made jokes like: "If the Eurovision Song Contest denies victory to Russia again, we are going to drive to their concert and block their gas with our bodies!"<ref name=against>{{cite web|url=https://tendancecoatesy.wordpress.com/2015/11/10/andre-glucksmann-former-leftist-nouveau-philosophe-sarkozy-backer-dies/|title=André Glucksmann, former Leftist, Nouveau Philosophe, Sarkozy Backer, Dies.|date=10 November 2015 |publisher=Ten Dance Coatsey.com|accessdate=11 November 2015}}</ref> Glucksmann cited this as evidence that the Russian people want to cut off gas to Ukraine and Europe. He wrote: "Consider a popular song performed by a military choir in Moscow. Its chorus depicts the 'radiant future' that Gazprom is preparing: 'Europe has a problem with us? We will cut off its gas...' The Russian public loves the song."<ref>[http://www.city-journal.org/2009/eon0730ag.html A Hot Summer in Europe], André Glucksmann'' City Journal'', 30 July 2009</ref>
Glucksmann supported Nicolas Sarkozy for the 2007 French presidential election.<ref>[http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3232,36-860988,0.html Pourquoi je choisis Nicolas Sarkozy], ''Le Monde'', 29 January 2007 {{in lang|fr}}</ref> In August 2008, he co-signed an open letter with Václav Havel, Desmond Tutu, and Wei Jingsheng calling upon the Chinese authorities to respect human rights both during and after the 2008 Summer Olympics.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.olympicwatch.org/|title=Olympic Watch: Human Rights|publisher=Olympic Watch.com|accessdate=11 November 2015}}</ref> He was also a signatory of the Prague Declaration on European Conscience and Communism.<ref name="moresignatures">{{cite web|url=http://praguedeclaration.org/vipsig |title=Prague Declaration: Selected signatories |publisher=Institute for Information on the Crimes of Communism |accessdate=10 May 2011 |url-status=usurped |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110825012931/http://praguedeclaration.org/vipsig |archivedate=25 August 2011 }}</ref>
== Death == Glucksmann died in Paris on 10 November 2015 at the age of 78.<ref name=obit>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/10/french-philosopher-andre-glucksmann-dies-at-78|title=French philosopher André Glucksmann dies at 78|work=The Guardian|date=10 November 2015 |accessdate=11 November 2015}}</ref> In reaction to his death, the-then French president François Hollande said that Glucksmann always "listened to the suffering of peoples".<ref name="BBCobit"/> Former president and opposition leader Nicolas Sarkozy commented on Glucksmann's death by saying: "[Glucksmann] turned a page in French thought from the second half of the 20th Century."<ref name="BBCobit"/>
== Personal life == His first wife (1958-1974) was the philosopher Christine Buci. He then married in March 1981 Françoise Villette, daughter of the Communist philosopher Jeannette Colombel. Their only child was Raphaël Glucksmann, who became a social democratic politician.
== Works == ''Note: Many of his works were translated into German by his long-term colleague Helmut Kohlenberger.'' * Voltaire Counter-Attacks (Voltaire contre-attaque) (2014)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bibliobs.nouvelobs.com/actualites/20151110.OBS9189/le-testament-philosophique-d-andre-glucksmann.html|title=Le testament philosophique d'André Glucksmann|date=10 November 2015 |publisher=Bibliobs.com|accessdate=11 November 2015}}</ref> * A Child's Rage (Une rage d'enfant) (2006)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.franceculture.fr/oeuvre-une-rage-d-enfant-de-andr%C3%A9-glucksmann.html|title=Une rage d'enfant|publisher=France Culture.fr|accessdate=11 November 2015}}</ref> * The Discourse of Hate (Le Discours de la haine) (2004)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.franceculture.fr/oeuvre-le-discours-de-la-haine-de-andr%C3%A9-glucksmann.html|title=Le Discours de la haine|publisher=France Culture.fr|accessdate=11 November 2015}}</ref> * West Versus West (Ouest contre Ouest) (2003)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.franceculture.fr/oeuvre-ouest-contre-ouest-de-andr%C3%A9-glucksmann.html|title=Ouest contre Ouest|publisher=France Culture.fr|accessdate=11 November 2015}}</ref> * Dostoevsky in Manhattan (Dostoïevski à Manhattan) (2002)<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.laffont.fr/site/dostoievski_a_manhattan_&100&9782221093214.html|title=Dostoïevski à Manhattan|publisher=Laffont.fr|accessdate=11 November 2015}}</ref> * The Third Death of God (La Troisième Mort de Dieu) (2000)<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.nil-editions.fr/site/la_troisieme_mort_de_dieu_&100&9782841111572.html|title=LA TROISIÈME MORT DE DIEU|publisher=NIL editions.fr|accessdate=11 November 2015}}</ref> * Silence, Killing in Process (Silence, on tue) (1986) (with {{ill|Thierry Wolton|fr}})<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grasset.fr/silence-tue-9782246380115|title=Silence, on tue|publisher=Grasset.fr|accessdate=11 November 2015}}</ref> * Stupidity (La Bêtise) (1985)<ref name="french culture">{{cite web|url=http://www.lefigaro.fr/culture/2015/11/10/03004-20151110ARTFIG00055-deces-du-philosophe-andre-glucksmann.php|title=André Glucksmann, la ferveur et l'engagement|date=10 November 2015 |publisher=Lefigaro.fr|accessdate=11 November 2015}}</ref> * Cynicism and Passion (Cynisme et passion) (1981/1999)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grasset.fr/cynisme-et-passion-9782246268116|title=Cynisme et passion|publisher=Grasset.fr|accessdate=11 November 2015}}</ref> * The Force of Vertigo (La Force du vertige) (1983)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.babelio.com/livres/Glucksmann-La-Force-du-vertige/516323|title=La Force du vertige|publisher=Babelio.com|accessdate=11 November 2015}}</ref> *The Master Thinkers (Les Maîtres penseurs) (1977)<ref name="french culture"/>
== Interviews == * "An Interview with Andre Glucksman". ''Telos'' 33 (Fall 1977). New York: Telos Press. * "Solzhenitsyn's Children", from 49:30 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yPoEqbIThs]
== References == {{reflist|30em}}
== External links == {{Commons category}} * {{Wikiquotelang|fr}} * {{IMDb name|0323254}} * [http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/philosopher-andre-glucksmann-a-dark-vision-of-the-future-of-europe-a-851266.html Philosopher André Glucksmann: A Dark Vision of the Future of Europe]
{{New Philosophers}} {{authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Glucksmann, Andre}} Category:1937 births Category:2015 deaths Category:20th-century French essayists Category:20th-century French philosophers Category:20th-century French writers Category:21st-century French essayists Category:21st-century French philosophers Category:21st-century French writers Category:Activists from Boulogne-Billancourt Category:ENS Fontenay-Saint-Cloud-Lyon alumni Category:Former Marxists Category:French Maoists Category:French people of Czech-Jewish descent Category:French people of Romanian-Jewish descent Category:French Zionists category:Jewish anti-communists Category:Jewish philosophers Category:Members of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts Category:New Philosophers Category:People from Boulogne-Billancourt Category:Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 3rd Class Category:Tibet freedom activists Category:Writers from Boulogne-Billancourt