French Literature Reviews - 2026

C. Alunni, Spectres de Bachelard
Philosophy, Anthropology and Ideas

Charles Alunni

Spectres de Bachelard

Hermann

ISBN: 9782705697808

496 p.

OVERVIEW

This essay introduces an "alternative" Bachelard—hitherto unnoticed or sometimes dismissed—who, through his manifold phantoms, returns to the cutting edge of the science of his time. It argues for the unity of his work through a novel dialectic that Bachelard himself termed surrationalism. It is precisely through this lens that we can finally fully appreciate the coherence and power of a French and European tradition in the history and philosophy of science, whose influence now extends into its most contemporary scientific and philosophical developments.

Moving beyond strictly factual historical reconstructions or any form of logical-analytical reductionism, this book patiently demonstrates how Bachelard paved the way for a true "philosophy of the sciences".

Charles Alunni is a philosopher and agrégé researcher at the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa (Italy). In 1994, he founded the disciplinary laboratory "Pensée des sciences" (along with the seminar of the same name) at the École Normale Supérieure on Rue d'Ulm, and he directs the "Pensée des sciences" series published by Hermann.

The volume examines the intellectual trajectory of Gaston Bachelard through the framework of surrationalism, tracing his engagement with the philosophy of the sciences and the historical traditions that shaped French and European thought. By looking past conventional historical accounts and reductionist approaches, the text considers how Bachelard's manifold phantoms and alternative perspectives remain connected to the scientific developments of his era. Charles Alunni brings his background as a philosopher and researcher at the Scuola Normale Superiore to bear on this reading, drawing on his engagement with the history of scientific thought.

Readers interested in the history and philosophy of science or the broader currents of twentieth-century French epistemology may find this work relevant to their studies. The discussion situates Bachelard's output within ongoing inquiries into the relationship between scientific rationality and philosophical reflection, highlighting a tradition whose influence extends into contemporary intellectual debates without relying on analytical reductionism or standard historical methodologies.