In the Presence of Schopenhauer
In the Presence of Schopenhauer (French: En présence de Schopenhauer) is a 2017 book by the French writer Michel Houellebecq. It is a personal reflection on the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer and the effect he has had on Houellebecq.
Synopsis
Houellebecq recounts how he as a 25-year-old came across a copy of Schopenhauer's Aphorisms. Houellebecq became enthralled within minutes and hunted down the philosopher's major work, The World as Will and Representation. Although a "disappointed enthusiast" for the positivism of Auguste Comte, it is in Schopenhauer's philosophy he finds consolation.
Reception
France Culture's Géraldine Mosna-Savoye wrote that "Houellebecq turns himself into a formidable commentator", and that it would be a mistake to try to read the book as "a clarification of [Houellebecq's] writings". The critic argued that the book should be read only as a confrontation with Schopenhauer's philosophy, and as such manages to make it "both present and current".[1] Joseph Hanimann of the Süddeutsche Zeitung wrote that "Houellebecq's Schopenhauer commentaries offer an as thorough as original reading". Hanimann was particularly fascinated by Houellebecq's defense of eroticism as a viable part of art, which is in conflict with Schopenhauer's view, and wrote that "it's just a pity that he doesn't go further into such paradoxes".[2]
References
- ^ Mosna-Savoye, Géraldine (2017-01-03). "'En présence de Schopenhauer' de Michel Houellebecq". France Culture (in French). Retrieved 2017-08-07.
Houellebecq se fait un formidable commentateur : on aurait tort d'ailleurs d'y voir un éclairage sur son écriture, un « concept auquel ramener son œuvre ». Il faut plutôt y voir un éclairage sans masque, une mise en présence de Schopenhauer : ce qui nous le rend à la fois présent et le rend actuel.
- ^ Hanimann, Joseph (2017-01-12). "Houellebecq liest Schopenhauer". Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 2017-08-07.
Houellebecqs Schopenhauer-Kommentare bieten eine ebenso gründliche wie originelle Lektüre. ... Schade nur, dass er auf solche Paradoxe nicht weiter eingeht.
External links
- Presentation at the publisher's website (in French)
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- Bibliography
- Whatever (1994)
- Atomised (1998)
- Lanzarote (2000)
- Platform (2001)
- The Possibility of an Island (2005)
- The Map and the Territory (2010)
- Submission (2015)
- Serotonin (2019)
- Anéantir (2022)
- The Art of Struggle (1996)
- Configuration du dernier rivage (2013)
monographs
- H. P. Lovecraft: Against the World, Against Life (1991)
- Interventions (1998, 2009, 2020)
- Public Enemies (2008)
- In the Presence of Schopenhauer (2017)
- Quelques mois dans ma vie (2023)
- Whatever (1999)
- Atomised (2006)
- La Possibilité d'une île (2008)
- To Stay Alive: A Method (2016)
- Unterwerfung (2018)
- The Elementary Particles (2021)
- Préliminaires (2009)
- The Kidnapping of Michel Houellebecq (2014)
- Thalasso (2019)