Raymond Aron
Raymond Aron | |
|---|---|
 1956 portrait | |
| Born | Raymond Claude Ferdinand Aron 14 March 1905 Paris, France |
| Died | 17 October 1983 (aged 78) Paris, France |
Resting place | Montparnasse Cemetery, Paris |
| Academic background | |
| Education | École Normale Supérieure University of Paris (Dr ès l, 1938) |
| Thesis | Essai sur la théorie de l'histoire dans l'Allemagne contemporaine : la philosophie critique de l'histoire (1938) |
| Academic work | |
| Era | 20th-century philosophy |
| Region | Western philosophy |
School or tradition | Continental philosophy French liberalism |
| Institutions | ENA Sciences Po University of Paris Collège de France EHESS |
Doctoral students | Neagu Djuvara Jon Elster Nicolas Herpin Claude Lefort Alain Touraine |
Notable students | Pierre Bourdieu |
| Personal details | |
| Party | SFIO (1920s) RPF (1947–1953) |
Main interests | Political philosophy |
Notable ideas | Marxism as the opium of intellectuals |
Raymond Claude Ferdinand Aron (/ɑːˈrɒn/; French: [ʁɛmɔ̃ aʁɔ̃]; 14 March 1905 – 17 October 1983) was a French philosopher, sociologist, political scientist, historian and journalist, one of France's most prominent thinkers of the 20th century.
Aron is best known for his 1955 book The Opium of the Intellectuals, the title of which inverts Karl Marx's claim that religion was the opium of the people; he argues that Marxism was the opium of the intellectuals in post-war France. In the book, Aron chastised French intellectuals for what he described as their harsh criticism of capitalism and democracy and their simultaneous defense of the actions of the communist governments of the East. Critic Roger Kimball suggests that Opium is "a seminal book of the twentieth century". Aron is also known for his lifelong friendship, sometimes fractious, with philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre. The saying "Better be wrong with Sartre than right with Aron" became popular among French intellectuals.
Considered by many as a voice of moderation in politics, Aron had many disciples on both the political left and right; he remarked that he personally was "more of a left-wing Aronian than a right-wing one". Aron wrote extensively on a wide range of other topics. Citing the breadth and quality of Aron's writings, historian James R. Garland suggests, "Though he may be little known in America, Raymond Aron arguably stood as the preeminent example of French intellectualism for much of the twentieth century."