Laurent-Michel Vacher
Encyclopedia
Laurent-Michel Vacher was a French-born
, French Canadian
philosopher, writer
, journalist
(Le Devoir, Hobo-Québec, Chroniques, Spirale) and teacher (Ahuntsic College, Montreal
).
He was a proponent of scientism
, rationalism
, positivism
, pragmatism
and materialism
, a critic of mainstream schools of today’s philosophy and of the usual history-centered pedagogy in the field of philosophy.
He was one of the few contemporary philosophers that possessed sufficient scientific knowledge to fairly assess the unique role of the modern science and scientific method
as a knowledge-acquiring mechanism; in his opinion, all these recent or less recent scientific knowledges should be considered by philosophers in any of their philosophical approaches as the necessary starting point in order to avoid the mythicial speech and the metaphysical empty talk.
He often criticised the attitude of some French philosophers concerning what in Francophone literature is labelled somewhat pejoratively as Anglo-Saxon philosophy (perceived as too pragmatist, empiricist and materialist), considering it as a damaging "aristocratic" remnant of continental philosophy.
He was a 1990 Governor General's Awards
winner (non-fiction) for his L'Empire du moderne.
From the political point of view he was a left-leaning intellectual, considered to be an anti-elitist; concerning the Canadian and Quebec's political issues, he was an anti-nationalist and against the sovereignty of provinces in the (Canadian) federation.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, French Canadian
French Canadian
French Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...
philosopher, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
(Le Devoir, Hobo-Québec, Chroniques, Spirale) and teacher (Ahuntsic College, Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
).
He was a proponent of scientism
Scientism
Scientism refers to a belief in the universal applicability of the systematic methods and approach of science, especially the view that empirical science constitutes the most authoritative worldview or most valuable part of human learning to the exclusion of other viewpoints...
, rationalism
Rationalism
In epistemology and in its modern sense, rationalism is "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification" . In more technical terms, it is a method or a theory "in which the criterion of the truth is not sensory but intellectual and deductive"...
, positivism
Positivism
Positivism is a a view of scientific methods and a philosophical approach, theory, or system based on the view that, in the social as well as natural sciences, sensory experiences and their logical and mathematical treatment are together the exclusive source of all worthwhile information....
, pragmatism
Pragmatism
Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition centered on the linking of practice and theory. It describes a process where theory is extracted from practice, and applied back to practice to form what is called intelligent practice...
and materialism
Materialism
In philosophy, the theory of materialism holds that the only thing that exists is matter; that all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions. In other words, matter is the only substance...
, a critic of mainstream schools of today’s philosophy and of the usual history-centered pedagogy in the field of philosophy.
He was one of the few contemporary philosophers that possessed sufficient scientific knowledge to fairly assess the unique role of the modern science and scientific method
Scientific method
Scientific method refers to a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge. To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on gathering empirical and measurable evidence subject to specific principles of...
as a knowledge-acquiring mechanism; in his opinion, all these recent or less recent scientific knowledges should be considered by philosophers in any of their philosophical approaches as the necessary starting point in order to avoid the mythicial speech and the metaphysical empty talk.
He often criticised the attitude of some French philosophers concerning what in Francophone literature is labelled somewhat pejoratively as Anglo-Saxon philosophy (perceived as too pragmatist, empiricist and materialist), considering it as a damaging "aristocratic" remnant of continental philosophy.
He was a 1990 Governor General's Awards
1990 Governor General's Awards
Each winner of the 1990 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit received $10000 and a specially bound edition of his or her book. The winners were selected by a panel of judges administered by the Canada Council for the Arts.-Fiction:Winner:...
winner (non-fiction) for his L'Empire du moderne.
From the political point of view he was a left-leaning intellectual, considered to be an anti-elitist; concerning the Canadian and Quebec's political issues, he was an anti-nationalist and against the sovereignty of provinces in the (Canadian) federation.
Writings
- La passion du réel - La philosophie devant les sciences (Liber, 2006)
- Histoire d'idées (Liber, 1994)
- La science par ceux qui la font (Liber, 1998)
- Le crépuscule d'une idole - Nietzsche et la pensée fasciste (Liber, 2003)
- L'empire du moderne - Actualité de la philosophie américaine (Herbes rouges, 1990)
- Débats philosophiques, Entretiens avec Mario Bunge (Liber, 1993)
- Pour un matérialisme vulgaire (Herbes rouges, 1984)
- Dialogues en ruine (Liber, 1996)
- Une triste histoire (Liber, 2001),
- Une petite fin du monde (Liber, 2005)
- Pratiques de la pensée - Philosophie et enseignement de la philosophie au cégep (Liber, 2002)
- Cinq intellectuels sur la place publique, Découvrons la philosophie (with François Hertel)