B. Bourgeois, <i>Sur l'histoire ou la politique</i> - Philosophy, Anthropology and Ideas

French Literature Reviews - 2026

B. Bourgeois, Sur l'histoire ou la politique
Philosophy, Anthropology and Ideas

Sur l'histoire ou la politique

Bernard Bourgeois

Vrin

ISBN 978-2-7116-2860-5

432 p.

15.00 €

OVERVIEW

Humanity has learned from history the system of politically realized conditions for a free existence. The fundamental political task of our time is therefore no longer to solve the problem of politics, but rather to find political solutions to problems whose most urgent and severe aspects are not, in their content, political in nature. This means that while we must repoliticize the political sphere and its practice as a *sui generis* activity in its own right, we must equally depoliticize its actual content or object. Yet these non-political problems of politics are of primary concern to the political realm, as they put the very existence of freedom at stake.

AUTHOR

Bernard Bourgeois is a member of the Institut de France and Professor Emeritus of the History of Philosophy at the University of Paris I. He has dedicated his work to the study of German thought from Kant to Marx, with a particular focus on the Hegelian moment.

Bernard Bourgeois has dedicated his work to the study of German thought from Kant to Marx, with a particular focus on the Hegelian moment. In the history of modern philosophy, these thinkers debated how historical progress relates to human freedom and the structure of the state. The text suggests that humanity has learned from history the system of politically realized conditions for a free existence.

The distinction between the form of political activity and its content is a central theme in contemporary political philosophy. According to the text, the fundamental political task of our time is to find political solutions to problems whose most urgent aspects are not political in content. This requires repoliticizing the political sphere as a sui generis activity while depoliticizing its actual content. Readers interested in political philosophy and the history of German thought may find this work relevant.