Julien Freund

Julien Freund (Henridorff, January 8th 1921 - Strasbourg, September 10th 1993), Political economist and Sociologist French.

Biography

Born with Henridorff (the Moselle) the January 8th 1921, of a country mother and a working father socialist, Julien Freund was the elder one of six children. After the death of his father, it had had to stop its studies prematurely and had become Instituteur as of the 17 years age.

Resistance

During the Second world war, it took an active part in the Résistance. Taken as an hostage by the German S in July 1940, it managed to pass in free Zone and, as of January 1941, militated with Clermont-Ferrand (where had been folded up the Université of Strasbourg) in the movement Libération of Emmanuel d' Astier of Vigerie, then in the group-francs of Combat animated by Henri Frenay, while completing a license philosophy.

Decree in June 1942 in Clermont-Ferrand, then in September with Lyon, he with Emmanuel Mounier one of was shown Combat lawsuit. Imprisoned to the central prison of Eysses, then to the fortress of Sisteron, he managed to escape on June 8th, 1944 and joined until the Libération the maquis ftp of the the Low-Alps and the Drome. Returned to Strasbourg in November 1944, it devoted some time to the Journalisme and the political action, experiments which were for him a source of disappointment at the same time as the starting point of a long reflection. It was in 1945-46 departmental person in charge of the Liberation movement main road (MLN) of the the Moselle, and some time academic secretary of SNES.

Academic career

Having postulated since 1946 a post of professor of philosophy, it had passed its aggregation, then taught successively with the college of Sarrebourg (1946-49), with the college of Metz (1949-53) and with the college Fustel de Coulanges of Strasbourg (1953-60). From 1960 to 1965, he had been senior research worker to CNRS, specialized in the studies of political analysis. In 1965, year of the defense of its thesis of doctorate to the Sorbonne, he had been elected professor of sociology at the university of Strasbourg, where he was the principal founder, then the director of the faculty of social sciences. He created there a certain number of institutions with regional vocation, like the Institut of polemology of Strasbourg (testimony of its proximity with Gaston Bouthoul), the Research center and of studies in social sciences (in 1967), the Revue social sciences of France of the East (in 1972) or the Research center in regional sociology (1973). He also taught in 1973-75 with the Collège of Europe of Bruges, then in 1975 with the Université of Montreal. Named in 1979 president of the International association of political philosophy, it had taken little time after an early withdrawal rejecting the evolutions of teaching and the administration academics. , Withdrawn since to City, it was devoted entirely to its books.

Work

Marked by the thought of max Weber, of Georg Simmel, Vilfredo Pareto and Carl Schmitt, authors who it contributed to better making known in France, Julien Freund had asserted himself with his book on the gasoline of the policy , resulting from the thesis of doctorate which it had supported on June 26th, 1965 under the direction of Raymond Aron (the philosopher Jean Hyppolite having preferred to challenge itself not to have to sponsor its theses). Influenced by Schmitt, he endeavoured in his thesis to analyze the founders categories of the policy, insistent on triple relation between obedience and command, friend and enemy, public and deprived. He will not cease, thereafter, being interested in the invariants of the human spirit, which it is of esthetics, ethics, economic or the monk.

Little integrated into French sociology, Julien Freund had however a certain reputation in the whole world, in particular for his book on max Weber, translated in particular into English. He had refused to leave his native Alsace to come to settle in the capital: “Kant lived with Königsberg and not Berlin”, he answered those which were astonished some. Amateur of painting - he had married in 1948 the girl of the Alsatian painter Rene Kuder (1882-1962) - and of regional gastronomy.

Its fascination for Carl Schmitt, indissociable of its basically agonistic approach of the policy, just as its engagement in the review New school of the Group of research and studies on European civilization (GREECE) and its contribution to the review of extreme-right-hand side Nationalism and République , made of him a discussed thinker.

Its work strongly influenced two of its former students, the philosopher Chantal Delsol and the sociologist Michel Maffesoli.

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