François Regnault
Encyclopedia
François Regnault is a French philosopher, playwright
and dramaturg. Also a university instructor and teacher, Regnault was maître de conférences at Paris VIII before his retirement. Among his various writings he is the author, with Jean-Claude Milner
, of the seminal Dire le vers and of Conférences d'esthétique lacanienne.
Regnault studied philosophy at the Lycée Louis-Le-Grand
, and then the Ecole Normale Supérieure
(ENS) beginning in 1962 where he attended the seminars of Louis Althusser
and Jacques Lacan
and was a member of the editorial board of Cahiers pour l'Analyse
beginning with its inception in 1966. Regnault taught at the Lycée de Reims from 1964–70, where he became a close friend of another philosopher and playwright, Alain Badiou
. In 1970, Regnault joined the Department of Philosophy (headed by Michel Foucault
) at the then newly founded University of Paris VIII (Vincennes). In 1974, he moved to Paris VIII's Department of Psychoanalysis.
Since the early 1970s Regnault's work expanded to include, alongside philosophy and psychoanalysis, a practical involvement in theatre. Coming from a family with theatrical connections, he has sustained an interest in the theatre, including many translations. In 1973 he translated Tankred Dorst
’s Toller (1968) for Patrice Chéreau
. Later, he translated among other well-known works: Henrik Ibsen
’s Peer Gynt
and J.M. Synge’s Playboy of the Western World. But never drifting far from his initial interest in Lacan, Regnault joined the editorial board of Ornicar? in 1975 and began to publish articles there (and elsewhere) on Lacanian psychoanalysis and aesthetics.
Working as a theorist, dramaturg, and playwright, Regnault also co-directed the Théâtre de la Commune at Aubervilliers
from 1991 to 1997, and from 1994 to 2001 he taught diction at the Conservatoire National d’Art dramatique
in Paris
. As a brief explanation of his work and life, Regnault says in a short autobiographical note that whether he is writing on psychoanalysis or working in theatrical aesthetics, it is a double field which shares the subject: Lacan's teaching and the love of theater
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
and dramaturg. Also a university instructor and teacher, Regnault was maître de conférences at Paris VIII before his retirement. Among his various writings he is the author, with Jean-Claude Milner
Jean-Claude Milner
Jean-Claude Milner is a linguist, philosopher and a French essayist. In particular, he is a specialist in the field of both linguistics and psychoanalysis...
, of the seminal Dire le vers and of Conférences d'esthétique lacanienne.
Regnault studied philosophy at the Lycée Louis-Le-Grand
Lycée Louis-le-Grand
The Lycée Louis-le-Grand is a public secondary school located in Paris, widely regarded as one of the most rigorous in France. Formerly known as the Collège de Clermont, it was named in king Louis XIV of France's honor after he visited the school and offered his patronage.It offers both a...
, and then the Ecole Normale Supérieure
École Normale Supérieure
The École normale supérieure is one of the most prestigious French grandes écoles...
(ENS) beginning in 1962 where he attended the seminars of Louis Althusser
Louis Althusser
Louis Pierre Althusser was a French Marxist philosopher. He was born in Algeria and studied at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, where he eventually became Professor of Philosophy....
and Jacques Lacan
Jacques Lacan
Jacques Marie Émile Lacan was a French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist who made prominent contributions to psychoanalysis and philosophy, and has been called "the most controversial psycho-analyst since Freud". Giving yearly seminars in Paris from 1953 to 1981, Lacan influenced France's...
and was a member of the editorial board of Cahiers pour l'Analyse
Cahiers pour l'Analyse
Cahiers pour l'Analyse was a journal published by a group of young philosophy graduates at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris in the 1960s. Ten issues of the journal appeared between 1966 and 1969...
beginning with its inception in 1966. Regnault taught at the Lycée de Reims from 1964–70, where he became a close friend of another philosopher and playwright, Alain Badiou
Alain Badiou
Alain Badiou is a French philosopher, professor at European Graduate School, formerly chair of Philosophy at the École Normale Supérieure . Along with Giorgio Agamben and Slavoj Žižek, Badiou is a prominent figure in an anti-postmodern strand of continental philosophy...
. In 1970, Regnault joined the Department of Philosophy (headed by Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault , born Paul-Michel Foucault , was a French philosopher, social theorist and historian of ideas...
) at the then newly founded University of Paris VIII (Vincennes). In 1974, he moved to Paris VIII's Department of Psychoanalysis.
Since the early 1970s Regnault's work expanded to include, alongside philosophy and psychoanalysis, a practical involvement in theatre. Coming from a family with theatrical connections, he has sustained an interest in the theatre, including many translations. In 1973 he translated Tankred Dorst
Tankred Dorst
Tankred Dorst is a German playwright and storyteller.Tankred Dorst currently lives and works in Munich. His farces, parables, one-act-plays and adaptations are inspired by the theatre of the absurd and the works of Ionesco, Giraudoux and Beckett...
’s Toller (1968) for Patrice Chéreau
Patrice Chéreau
Patrice Chéreau is a French opera and theatre director, filmmaker, actor, and producer.-Biography:Patrice Chéreau was born in Lézigné, Maine-et-Loire, and went to school in Paris. At a young age he became well-known to Parisian critics as director, actor, and stage manager of his high-school theatre...
. Later, he translated among other well-known works: Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of prose drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre...
’s Peer Gynt
Peer Gynt
Peer Gynt is a five-act play in verse by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen, loosely based on the fairy tale Per Gynt. It is the most widely performed Norwegian play. According to Klaus Van Den Berg, the "cinematic script blends poetry with social satire and realistic scenes with surreal ones"...
and J.M. Synge’s Playboy of the Western World. But never drifting far from his initial interest in Lacan, Regnault joined the editorial board of Ornicar? in 1975 and began to publish articles there (and elsewhere) on Lacanian psychoanalysis and aesthetics.
Working as a theorist, dramaturg, and playwright, Regnault also co-directed the Théâtre de la Commune at Aubervilliers
Aubervilliers
Aubervilliers is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.-Name:In medieval times the name Aubervilliers was recorded as Alberti Villare, meaning "estate of Adalbert"...
from 1991 to 1997, and from 1994 to 2001 he taught diction at the Conservatoire National d’Art dramatique
CNSAD
The Conservatoire National Supérieur d'Art Dramatique is France's national drama academy in Paris...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. As a brief explanation of his work and life, Regnault says in a short autobiographical note that whether he is writing on psychoanalysis or working in theatrical aesthetics, it is a double field which shares the subject: Lacan's teaching and the love of theater
Select bibliography
- ‘Qu’est-ce qu’une coupure épistémologique?’, lecture of 26 February 1968 for Louis Althusser’s ‘Philosophy Course for Scientists’. Notes on the lecture were published as ‘Définitions’, in Michel PêcheuxMichel PêcheuxMichel Pêcheux was a French philosopher. He was a follower of Louis Althusser. He was a leading French contributor to discourse analysis. In the 1960s, Pêcheux became involved with the journal Cahiers pour l'Analyse, where he began developing his own unique model of 'discourse analysis'...
and Michel Fichant, Sur l’histoire des sciences. Paris: Maspero, 1969. - ‘Meditations sur la Somme’. Ornicar? 2 (March 1975).
- ‘Le sujet de la science et la fantasme du monde’. Ornicar? 5 (winter 1975).
- ‘Dickens, le théâtre et la psychanalyse’. Ornicar? 17/18 (spring 1979).
- ‘Entretiens sur les mariages, la sexualité, et les trois fonctions’. Roundtable with Claude Dumézil, Joël Grisward, Alain Grosrichard, Jacques-Alain MillerJacques-Alain MillerJacques-Alain Miller is a French academic. He is a Lacanian psychoanalyst.-Life and career:As a student at the École Normale Supérieure, he met his future father-in-law Jacques Lacan in 1964 while attending his seminars at the rue d'Ulm...
and Jean-Claude MilnerJean-Claude MilnerJean-Claude Milner is a linguist, philosopher and a French essayist. In particular, he is a specialist in the field of both linguistics and psychoanalysis...
. Ornicar? 19 (autumn 1979). - ‘Système formel d’Hitchcock’. Cahiers du cinéma, ‘HitchcockHitchcockHitchcock may refer to people with the surname Hitchcock:* Alfred Hitchcock , film director* A. S. Hitchcock , American botanist and agrostologist* Billy Hitchcock , American baseball player...
’, hors-série 8 (1980). - ‘De deux dieux’. Ornicar? 24 (1981).
- ‘Usages et mésusages de Lacan’. Ornicar? 36 (1986).
- Dire le vers, with Jean-Claude Milner. Paris: Seuil, 1987; Verdier, 2008.
- Conférences d’esthétique lacanienne. Paris: Agalma, 1997.
- ‘Vos paroles m’ont frappé’. Ornicar? 49 (1998).
- ‘Du comme ça au just so’. Ornicar? 49 (1998).
- L’Une des trois unités. Paris: Isele, 1999.
- Théâtre-Équinoxes. Paris: Actes Sud, 2001.
- Théâtre-Solstices. Paris: Actes Sud, 2002.
- Notre objet a. Paris: Verdier, 2003.
- ‘Le Marx de Lacan’ [2005]. Compte-rendu of a seminar at the École de la cause freudienne. In Lettre mensuelle de l’ECF 242, online at
- 'Presentation' (c. 2008), on line at
In English translation
- ‘Lacan and Experience’. In Lacan and the Human Sciences, ed. Alexandre Leupin. Lincoln & London: University of Nebraska, 1991.
- ‘The Name-of-the-Father’. In Reading Seminar XI: Lacan’s Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis, ed. Richard Feldstein, Maire Jaanus, & Bruce Fink. Albany: SUNY, 1995.
- ‘Art after Lacan’, trans. B.P. Fulks & J. Jauregui. lacanian inkLacanian InkLacanian Ink is a cultural journal based in New York City and founded in the Autumn of 1990 by Josefina Ayerza to provide the American intellectual scene with the theoretical perspective of European post-structuralism. It features major analyses of psychoanalytic theory, poetry, philosophy and...
19 (2002). - ‘Ethics and the Theatre’, trans. B.P. Fulks & J. Jauregui. lacanian ink 21 (2003).
- ‘Saintliness and Sainthood’, trans. P. Bradley. lacanian ink 33 (2009).
External links
- François Regnault Homepage at Cahiers pour l'Analyse
- Positions: François Regnault, include Regnault's text on the "situation of theatre": "Passe, Impair et Manque"
- Contributor's Notes & Bio at "Lacanian Ink" includes links to texts by Regnault, translated into English