Quentin Meillassoux
Encyclopedia
Quentin Meillassoux
Quentin Meillassoux (born 1967 in Paris
, France
) is a French
philosopher. He teaches at the École Normale Supérieure
, and is the son of the anthropologist Claude Meillassoux
.
Meillassoux is a former student of the philosopher Alain Badiou
, who has written that Meillassoux's first book Après la finitude (2006) introduces an entirely new option into modern philosophy, different from Kant's three alternatives of criticism
, scepticism, and dogmatism. The book was translated into English by philosopher Ray Brassier
, Meillassoux's associate in the Speculative Realism
movement.
In this book, Meillassoux argues that post-Kantian philosophy is dominated by what he calls "correlationism," the often unstated theory that humans cannot exist without the world nor the world without humans. In Meillassoux's view, this is a dishonest maneuver that allows philosophy to sidestep the problem of how to describe the world as it really is prior to all human access. He terms this pre-human reality the "ancestral" realm. In keeping with the mathematical interests of his mentor Alain Badiou, Meillassoux claims that mathematics is what reaches the primary qualities of things as opposed to their secondary qualities
as manifested in perception.
Meillassoux tries to show that the agnostic scepticism of those who doubt the reality of cause and effect must be transformed into a radical certainty that there is no such thing as causal necessity at all. This leads Meillassoux to proclaim that it is absolutely necessary that the laws of nature be contingent. The world is a kind of hyper-chaos in which the principle of sufficient reason
is abandoned even while the principle of non-contradiction must be retained.
For these reasons, Meillassoux rejects Kant's so-called Copernican Revolution
in philosophy. Since Kant makes the world dependent on the conditions by which humans observe it, Meillassoux accuses Kant of a "Ptolemaic Counter-Revolution."
Several of Meillassoux's articles have appeared in English via the British philosophical journal Collapse, helping to spark interest in his work in the Anglophone world. His unpublished dissertation L'inexistence divine (1997) is forthcoming in book form.
In September 2011, Meillassoux's book on Stéphane Mallarmé
was published in France under the title Le nombre et la sirène. Un déchiffrage du Coup de dés de Mallarmé, but has not yet been translated into English. In this second book, he offers a detailed reading of Mallarmé's famous poem Un Coup de Dés Jamais N’Abolira Le Hasard
(A Throw of the Dice Will Never Abolish Chance), in which he finds a numerical code at work in the text.
Quentin Meillassoux (born 1967 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...
, France
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...
) is a French
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...
philosopher. He teaches at the École Normale Supérieure
École Normale Supérieure
The École normale supérieure is one of the most prestigious French grandes écoles...
, and is the son of the anthropologist Claude Meillassoux
Claude Meillassoux
Claude Meillassoux was a French neo-Marxist economic anthropologist and Africanist.Meillassoux, a student of Georges Balandier, did fieldwork among the Guro of the Côte d'Ivoire: his thesis was published in 1964. In the 1970s he criticised Marshall Sahlins's use of the notion of "domestic mode of...
.
Meillassoux is a former student of the philosopher 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...
, who has written that Meillassoux's first book Après la finitude (2006) introduces an entirely new option into modern philosophy, different from Kant's three alternatives of criticism
Criticism
Criticism is the judgement of the merits and faults of the work or actions of an individual or group by another . To criticize does not necessarily imply to find fault, but the word is often taken to mean the simple expression of an objection against prejudice, or a disapproval.Another meaning of...
, scepticism, and dogmatism. The book was translated into English by philosopher Ray Brassier
Ray Brassier
Ray Brassier is a member of the Philosophy faculty at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon, known for his work in philosophical realism. He was formerly Research Fellow at the Centre for Research in Modern European Philosophy at Middlesex University, London, England.He is the author of Nihil...
, Meillassoux's associate in the Speculative Realism
Speculative realism
Speculative realism is an emerging movement in contemporary philosophy which defines itself loosely in its stance of metaphysical realism against the dominant forms of post-Kantian philosophy or what it terms correlationism. Speculative realism takes its name from a conference held at Goldsmiths...
movement.
In this book, Meillassoux argues that post-Kantian philosophy is dominated by what he calls "correlationism," the often unstated theory that humans cannot exist without the world nor the world without humans. In Meillassoux's view, this is a dishonest maneuver that allows philosophy to sidestep the problem of how to describe the world as it really is prior to all human access. He terms this pre-human reality the "ancestral" realm. In keeping with the mathematical interests of his mentor Alain Badiou, Meillassoux claims that mathematics is what reaches the primary qualities of things as opposed to their secondary qualities
Primary/secondary quality distinction
The primary/secondary quality distinction is a conceptual distinction in epistemology and metaphysics, concerning the nature of reality. It is most explicitly articulated by John Locke in his Essay concerning Human Understanding, but earlier thinkers such as Galileo and Descartes made similar...
as manifested in perception.
Meillassoux tries to show that the agnostic scepticism of those who doubt the reality of cause and effect must be transformed into a radical certainty that there is no such thing as causal necessity at all. This leads Meillassoux to proclaim that it is absolutely necessary that the laws of nature be contingent. The world is a kind of hyper-chaos in which the principle of sufficient reason
Principle of sufficient reason
The principle of sufficient reason states that anything that happens does so for a reason: no state of affairs can obtain, and no statement can be true unless there is sufficient reason why it should not be otherwise...
is abandoned even while the principle of non-contradiction must be retained.
For these reasons, Meillassoux rejects Kant's so-called Copernican Revolution
Copernican Revolution (metaphor)
The Copernican Revolution, which in terms of astronomy amounted to the acceptance of heliocentrism as suggested by Nicolaus Copernicus, has also been used widely as a metaphor supporting descriptions of modernity...
in philosophy. Since Kant makes the world dependent on the conditions by which humans observe it, Meillassoux accuses Kant of a "Ptolemaic Counter-Revolution."
Several of Meillassoux's articles have appeared in English via the British philosophical journal Collapse, helping to spark interest in his work in the Anglophone world. His unpublished dissertation L'inexistence divine (1997) is forthcoming in book form.
In September 2011, Meillassoux's book on Stéphane Mallarmé
Stéphane Mallarmé
Stéphane Mallarmé , whose real name was Étienne Mallarmé, was a French poet and critic. He was a major French symbolist poet, and his work anticipated and inspired several revolutionary artistic schools of the early 20th century, such as Dadaism, Surrealism, and Futurism.-Biography:Stéphane...
was published in France under the title Le nombre et la sirène. Un déchiffrage du Coup de dés de Mallarmé, but has not yet been translated into English. In this second book, he offers a detailed reading of Mallarmé's famous poem Un Coup de Dés Jamais N’Abolira Le Hasard
Un Coup de Dés Jamais N'Abolira Le Hasard (Mallarmé)
Un Coup de Dés Jamais N'Abolira Le Hasard is a poem by the French Symbolist poet Stéphane Mallarmé...
(A Throw of the Dice Will Never Abolish Chance), in which he finds a numerical code at work in the text.
External links
- Conferences by Meillassoux (in French)
- Speculative Heresy blog resources page, which contains articles by Meillassoux
Further reading
- Harman, GrahamGraham HarmanGraham Harman is a professor at the American University in Cairo, Egypt. He is a contemporary philosopher of metaphysics, who attempts to reverse the linguistic turn of Western philosophy...
. Quentin Meillassoux: Philosophy in the Making. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2011. - Ennis, PaulPaul EnnisPaul David "Charlie" Ennis is an English footballer currently playing for Bala Town.-Club career:Ennis played for Stockport County in their youth team before being released in 2008...
. Continental Realism. Winchester: Zero Books, 2011.