A vital rationalist

A Vi ta l

R a ti o n a l i st

Se l e cte d

Wr i ti n g s

Ge o r g .t

Edit cd Tr anslat cd

yn g u i l h e m

b, v Fr ango is l) e lapo r t e bv Ar t hur

l vit h an int r oduct icr n a c r it ical

ZON E

f rom

G oldham nr er

bv Paul R. r binor v and

bib li ogr aphv bv Cam ille

BOOKS

N E\v

1994

Lim oge s

YOR K

,

O 1 9 9 4L I r T o n e ,In c. Z O N EB O O K S

(t

i\I

Contents

6 r r B r o a d r v r y ,S u itc 6 0 8 N e * Y o r k , N Y to o tz

,^t \

A l l r i g h t s r c s c rve d .

rr

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N o p a r t o l t h i s b o o k m a y b e r e p r o d u ce d , sto r e d in a r e t r i c v a l s y s t e m ,o r tr a n sm itte d in a n y lb r m o r b y a ny m e r n s , i n c l u d in g e lcctr o n ic, m e ch a n ica l,p h o to co pl i n g , m i c r o l i l m in g , r cco r d in g , o r o th e r u ' ise ( e xce p t f o r t h a t c o p y i ng p e r m ittcd b y Se ctio n s r o 7 a n d r o 8 of

Editor's Notc b.vFranqoisDelaporte e lnt r oduct ion: A Vit al Rat ionalist

t h e U . S . C o p y r ig h t L a t| a n d e xce p t b y r e vie we r slo r t h e p u b l i c p r e ss) with o u t wr itte n p e r m issio n fio m

by PaulRabinow 1r

the Publisher. S o u r c e sf o r t h e cxce r p ts a r e liste d o n p p . 4 8 0 - 8 1 .

P,qnr ONr

M Er oDor ocY

P r i n t e d i n t h e U n ite d Sta te so fAm e r ica . D i s t r i b u t e d b y l h e M l l- Pr e ss, C a m b r i d g c , M assa ch u se tts, a n d L o n d o n . En g la n d

I II III

25

lhe Hr st or r ol 5cr ( n( e

The VariousModels ar The Historl of the Histor,vof Science

L i b r a r y o f C o n g r e ssCa ta lo g in g - in - Pu b lica tio nDa ta

PARrT\\'()

C a n g u i l h e m . Ge o r g e s,r e o a -

Epr s:l, t t o I olished neu, and

\\.ereoriginall! nonscicntilic, such asselection,hvbridizationand or ient at ion . T h e i r d i s c o v e ri c sw e re a n s \1crstcr questi onsthev

the clt'ments accelerateclthe pacc ol progressin chcnristrv,antl eventuallyled t o an upheavalin at or nic physics,u'hile ot hcr sci-

askedthcnrsel'esin a languagethey had to fbrge for thcmselres. , Critical studv of those aserl on thc nega t ionof t hat ; >or vcr . 1. . . 1 P ersi stcntquest ions. r boutt hc or igins ol lile anclt heor icsof spontaneousgencration nlav \\'ell Point to another latent overdetcrmination. Norvadalsit sccnrsto be taken fbr-grantc(lthit our fasci nat ionr vit h r epr oduct ionis all t he gr eat crbc( . r u5csoci' about thtr subject.Chilctv shunsand indccd l

saying"ambiguitv") ofthe term "spirit," liom .rpirdre- an ambi-

Li[e as Animotion

guitv that pennitted it to sene cquallr rlell in tht'ologv,to dt'nott' the thir d per r on ol t he Tr init v, and in m edicine, r l'hcr c. in t lr c

[23] We conrplctcly forget that r.hen rve speakof animals,animalitv or inanimate bodies, the terms \1e use are vcstigcsof thc nDc ic ntm e ta p h l s i c a li d e n ti fi c a ti o n .,fl i l e u' i rh the soul and of the soul rn'ithbreath(dnrmd= anernos). Thus whcrr man, the onlv

phrases"vit al spir it " and "anim al spit it , " it bccanr ean ant icipr tory trope lir the so-callednervousinllux.

living creaturecapablcof
ti on," "or ganic". r nd"or onnize"st ill car r icd bcr t hbiologicaland musi ca lconnot . r t ionsas r ecent lvas t hc ninet eent hcent ur v ( scc

cvcrvpartol it... . lSutNature's machines, livingbcxlier,arcmachines

l- vides regulrterlorganismsrvith an assuranctol rclativc indcpcnrl-

cc ir er l as l s r r r t 6 f 1 1 .6 1 1 5 1 eopr l ,rc to rr, i t * as onl r l ogi cr) to measurethc pcrfection of livin{I Lreingsin tcrms of the incrcasing structuraldifferentiationand firnctionalspecializationol rheir p ar t s , anr l t hus i n te l ms o f rr:l a ti v cc o m p l e x itv. B ut that comp lex it v r t quir ecl , i n tu rn , a n a s s u rJ n c eo f u n i tv and i ttdi vi dual i z. . t t ion.T ht ' int r o c l u c ti o n o f c e l l rh c o rv i n the bi ol ogv fi rst of p lant s ( ar oun< l1 8 2 5 ) a n d l .rfc r o [.rn i m a l s (a round 1ti 40) i ncvi -

encc fi om v ar int ionsst em m ing liom t ht 'ext cr nal condit ions oltheir cxistence.Bernardwaslirnd ofusing the tenn "elasticitv" to convev his idea c,forganic Iifc. Pcrhapshe had fbrgottcn th.1tthc paratligmaticmachinc of his era, the stearnengine,wasequipped rvith a rcgulator rlhen he rvrotr:

8t

and counteractperturbations.Sucha svstemis capableofaltering its rclation to the en\ironment ll'om which it drarvsits cnergv

C)ne treats thc organism as a machine, and this is correct, but one conridcrs it as a lired, immutrble, mcthanirol moc/lnr, confined rrith in r hr linr it s c r l m at hc m at ic al pr ec i s i o n . a n d t h i r i s a s e r i o u s

in order to maintain thc lcvcl of some paranreteror to perlbrm Somcactivity.

nristakc. The organism is ar otBdnic moclrine,that is, a machine equipped rvith a llcxible, elaslic mcchanisnr,ou.ing to thc special

C l aude Shannon'sr vor k on com m unicat ion and inf or m at ion theor v and it s r elat ion t o t her m od\ nam ics( l9. 1li) appealedt o

o rgn nic pr oc c s \ c s it c m plor s , \ et wit ho u t v i o l a t i n g t h e g e n e r a i l;rls of mechanics,physicsor chcmistrv.2{

offer a partial ans\1erto an age-oldquestion .rbout lif'e. The second la*' of thermodvnamics,which statesthat translbrmationsof

p. 768a-69a] lYie," F,ncvclopacd;o,

an isolated systemare irreversible,owing to rhe degradationof energv in the systemor, put another u?\', to tlre increaseol thc system'sent r opy,appliest o object s indif ler ent t o r he qualir v of their statc, that is, to objccts that are either inert or deacl-Yet an

Life as I nfornation [26] Cvbcrneticsis thc gcneral theon- of servomechanisms, that is , ol m ac h i n e sc o n s tru c te (ls o n s to m a i ntni n certai n outputs ( pr o< luc t so r e fl e c ts ) rv i th i n fl x c < l o r v ari abl cl i mi ts. S Lrchmachines form the heart of selflregulatingsvstems,and it is hardlv s ur pr is ingt h a t s e l f-re g u l a ti n go rg a n i c s vstems,especi al l vthose mediated bv the nerrous system,became models fbr thc t,ntirc class.()fcourse, the analogl betrveenscrvomcchanisms and organisms runs both *avs, In a regulatedsvstem,not onlv do the parts interact u'ith one another but a feedbackloop connects one or m or e m onito re d o u tp u ts to ()n er)r mo rc r cgul atorl ,i nprrts.Thus c y ber net ic m a c h i n c s ,rv h e th e r n a tu ra l or man-made,are oftcn describedin terms of communications or information theory. A sensornronitorsan output fbr (lcviationsfronr a fixed or optimum

\

organism,rvhich feeds,grows,regcDeratcs mutilatcd parts,rcacts to aggr cssion, spont aneously healscer t ain diseases - is not such an organismengagedin a struggleagainstthe lite ofuniversaldisorgan izat ionpr oclained by Car not 's pr inciplc? I s or ganizat ion order amidst disordcri Is it the maintenanceol'a quantirv of iDfbrmation proportionalto the conrplexityol the structure?Doesnot information theory havemore to say,in its orvn algorithmic language ,about living t hings t han llcnr i Bcr gsondid in t be t hir d r olume ol'his Ivo./otionudott;cc(1907)? In fact , t her e is a gr eat gull. an ir r educible dif f er ence, between currcnt theories of organir.ationthrough inlbrmation and

lev el. W hc n s u c h .r d c v i a ti o n i s d e te c re d ,the fecdbackl oop si gnals the control input so as to convevan instruction from sensor t o ef lec t or. It i s th e i n fb rm a ti o n c o n te nt of thi s si gnaJthat i s

Bernard'sideasabour indilidual developmentor Bergson'sirlcas about the evolution ofspecies and the e/an litol. Bcrnardhad no cxpl an at ion f or t he evolut ion of species,and Bcr gsonhad no cxplanationfbr the stability or rcliabiliry of living structurcs.But

im por t ant , n o t i rs i n tri n s i c fo rc e o r ma gni tude. l ' hc {ccdback inf or nr . r t io ne mb o d i e sa n o rd e r i n trv o d i sti nct senses:a cohcrent structure as.rvcllasa command.

the com binat ionof m olecularbiologv u it h g( 'net icshasI ed r o a unified theory of biochcmistry,phvsiologicalregulation.rndheritabilitv oI specific variationsthrough natural selection,ro which

An organism caD thus be understood as a biological svstem, an open c lr n a mi c a sl y s tc mfh a r s e c k sto prcsrrvt' i ts crl ui l Jbri rrm

information theorv has addcd a rigor comparableto thar of rhe phvsi calscicnces.

86

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O nc qu c s ti o n re m a i n s ,h o s c v c r, rv i thi n thc thcorv i tscJf,to r v hic h no a n s rv e irs y c t i n s i g h t: Wh e re doesbi ol ogi cal i nfbrmat ion or igin a te ?An d rt I.rv o fl ma i n ta i n sthat bi oJogi calorcl crcan ar is eonll o u t o f b i o l o g i c a l o rd e r, a fb rmuJati oncontemporary rvith tlre aphcrrisrnsomne vivum cx vivo, omniJcelluloet cellulo. llor v did t h c l i rs t s c l f-o rg a n i z a ti o n c o mc about i f communi cation dependson a prior sourceof information?One philosopher, llav m ond R u y e r, p u ts th e p ro b l e m th i s rvav: " C hance cannot

A ug ust Weism nnn'st heor y of t he cont inuit v of t hc gcr m inati ve pl a sm aas opposed t o t he m or t alit y of it s som at ic suppor t (1885), Alexis Car r el'st echniclucs f br cult ur ing em br vonict issuc (1912),and thc do'elopment ofpure bactcrialculturesestablished the potential immortalitv of thc singlc-cellorganism,rvhich .rvas | l rr.rl onlv br . r ctidr nt . . r n, l t h, . r l, nt t r t d. nce t o r hc i, lc, rr har .! thi pht nom , na , , 1. r ging. r n,n. l r t ur ll t l, at h af ier . r , er t , lin . f r , r n, , 1

account fbr antichancc.Thc mcchanicalcommunication of infor-

vearsar e conscqucncesof t he com plexit v of highlv int egr at ed organi sm s.I n such or ganism s,t he pot cnt ialit iesof each com po-

mation bt a machinc cannot account fbr infbrmation itself, since

nent are limited by thc lact that other componcntsperfbnn inde-

the machine can onlv dcgradcor, at bcst, prcscrvcinfbrmation." B iologis t sd o n o t re g a rdth i s c l u e s ti o na s meani ngl ess:contem-

pendent fhnctions. Dying is the privilegc,or rhe ransorn- in anv case,the <Jestinv - of the most highlv regul.rtcd,mosr homcosraric

por ar v t hc o ri c s o [ th e o ri g i n s o f l i fe o n earth l ook to a pri or

natura lm achines.

chcmical cvoltrtion to cstablishthe conditions necessarvfbr bio-

From t hc st andpointol t he cvolut ion of species,cleat hm ar ks an end to the reprievethat thc pressureof naturalsclcctiongrants

logic al ev o l u ti o n .Wi th i n th e s tri c t c o n fi ncsof i nfbrmati on theor\, one young biophvsicist,Llenri Atlan, hasrcccntlv proposed an ingenio u sa n d c o m p l i c a tc < lrc s p o n s cto thc questi on i n the fbrm of u hat hc calls a "noisc-basedprinciple oforder," according to u.hich self:organizingsvstemsevolvc bv taking advantage ol " nois e, " o r ra n d o m p c rtu rb a ti o n si n the envi ronmcnt.,\l i ght t he m eanin go f o rg a n i z a ti o nl i c i n th e a b i l i t) to rnakeuseof di sorganization?But rvhv alrvaystwo opposite tcrms? ["Vie," Encr,clopaedia,pp. 769a-69b] Life and Dcath 127] P ar a d o x i c a l l l ,* .h a i c h a ra c tc ri z e sli l e i s not so much thc cxistcnccofthe life functions tlremselvesas thcir gradualdctcrior at ion and u l ti m a te c e s s a ti o n l. )e a th i s rvhat di sti ngui shesl i ving individualsin the rvorlcl,and thc inevitability of death points up thc apparcntexception to the larvsof thermodvnamicsrvhich living things constitute.Thus, the searchlor signsofdeath is firndamcntally.rscarchfbr an irrefutablc sign of lifc,

to mutantstemporarilvmorc llt than their compctitors to occupv a certain ecological context. Death opens up avcnues,lrees up spacesand clcarsthe rvavlbr novt'l life forms - but this opening is illusorv,for one dav the bcll * ill toll lbr todar''ssur.r'ivors as rvell. From t he st andpointof t hc individual,r he genet ichcr it ageis l i ke a l o an, and deat h is t he t luc dat c uhen t hat loan m ust bc rep:ri d .I t is as if , af t cr a cer t aint im e, it ner c t hc dut v ol'individuals to disappear,to rcvcrt to the statusol incrt matter. W hv , t hen, did I r r cud'st heor "-of t he "dcat h inst inct , " pr esentcd in Be,yond fhe Plcasure Prineiple(1920), mect u.ith so much rcsistance?In Freucl'smind this iclearvasassociatcduith encrgcti ci st concept sof lif c and ol't he psvchicpr ocesses, I f a living thing i! an unstablc svstem constantly lblced to borrorv energv from the external environment in ordcr to survive,anclif lil'e is i n tcns ion r vit h it s nonliving en. r 'ir onm cnt uhat , is so st r ange .rbouthvpot hesizingt he exist cnceol in inst inct t o r educe t hat tensi ont o zcr o, or , put dilf 'er ent lv,a st r iving t or var ddeat h?"lf l{ ',1

\\'egrant that the existenceofa living thing dcpenclson the prior t'xistenceof the inanimateobjects h'oln rvhich it arises.it tbllows that the death instinct is in accord rvith thc fbrmula statcd earlier ac c or d i n g to rv h i c h e v e rYi n s ti n c t tends to restore a pri or state." PerhapsFrcud's theory u'ill nou'bc reexaminerlin light of t he c onc l u s i o n so f A tl a n ' s rv o rk : " l n fact, the onl v i denti l i ablc project in living organismsis death. But o\r'ing to the initial complexity of those organisms.Perturbationscapableot disrupting t heir t ' < l u i l i b ri u mg i v e ri s e (o s ti l l g re atercompl exi tv i n rht: \ er v pr oc esoJfre s to ri n g e q ui l i b ri u m ." z l F inally , o n e mi g h t a l s o rl i s h to u n d erstandthe reasonfbr, anclmeaningo1, the reactionaldesire for immortalit\', the dream ol survival - uhich Bcrgsoncalls a "useful theme ol mvthificat ion" - f bu n d i n c e rta i n c u l tu re s . A d e ad tree, a dead bi rd, a c ar c as s- in d i v i d u a l Ii v e s a b o l i s h e d w i thout consci ousnessof t heir des t i n y i n d e a th . l s n o t th e v a l u e ofl i fe, al ong rvi th the ac k nolv led g n re not f l i fe a s a v a l u e . to o t ed i n kncrn' l edqeot i ts

I

CH,rprrs

'l

1

Epistemology

Frvr

of Physiology

A B. r r ocl Lr c Phvsiologv \

I

Objectives ond Methods [28] In 155a,when t he celebr at edJeanlr er ncl( 1. 197- 1558) collccted his previouslvpublished treatisesunder the titlc Univcrsa medicino,hc providcd a prcfacedetailing his conception of me

gr r ss, "r nd "\ \ 'it h

t h. t r ( a te s ti n c o n rp re hc n s i o na n d c ri ti ci snt.Il ,rgendi e' svi vi sccr ilr r nro L l s e dh o s ti l e p ro te l t .rn d d e monrtrati ons, no doubt l br rris()nsmore profound than conrpassionfbr animal suff'ering. For (o rcason lrom anintalsto man $ils r,t abolish the clistance

theoric lrerc are no nror( scientitic rct'olttiont.Sciencegrorrs graduall1111st e. r dilr '. "{l Ale;it u,asi nconc eivable in t hc t im c of M agendie.lt r vasnor unr il 1856 that W i l l i am Per kin, Sr . , obt aincd a nr auvedye f r om . r niline as the outcom e of r esear chdir ect ed t or ", ar dan cnt ir ely dif f er ent

Kiyoshi Shigahe discoveredthat Trvpan red destroysthe trypanos om e t hat ca u s e ss l c c p i n g s i c L n e s s .L a te r came the di scoverv

goal . It * as not unt il 1865 t hat F. A.K6ku16publishedhis paper

in 1910of S al v a rs a no, r " 6 0 6 ." a n d N t' o -Sal varsan, uhi ch proved les sef f ec r iv ei n c o m b a tti n g s v p h i l i s th a n *r.rs[rel i evedat fi rst.

that the cartronatom is tetrar';lcnt, Kekul€ determined thc stntcture ol benrene and {.rve the name "aromatic" to its (leiivatives to distinguish them ficrm compounds involving thc fittv acids, rvhich, along rvith the alcohols,rverethc primarv fbcusofchcmi-

But Ehrlich's real successlay not so much in thc products that he ident if ied h i m s e l l a s i n th o s e th a t u ,o u l d ul ti matel y be di scoveredin pursuit ofhis fundamentalhypothesis:that the affinit ic s of c hem i c .rls ta i n sc o u l d b c u s e d a s a svstemnti ctechni que for dcvelopingartificial anrigcns.Using the samemethod, in l9]5 Gerhardt Domag discoveredprontosil red, the first ofa glorious s er iesof s ulfa mi d e s .Its d e c l i n i n g e ffi c a cy l ed to the greatest of triumphs to this dav, the chemical synthcsisof penicillin bv

"The Composition ol Aromatic Comporrnrls."Alter confirming

cal intt'rest in the daysof Magenclieand Bernard. l'he theoreticalcreation of new chemical substanccs \\'asconlimrcd on a vastscalebl the chemical industry.Alizarin. thc principal component of nr.r<Jder, rvhich Perkin in Englandand Karl lames Peter Graebc and Edme Caro in Cermanl separatelyand si mul taneouslvsvnt hcsizedin 1858, uas r vit hin t en year s't im c

Horvard Walter Florev and Ernst Chain. fhis is not to say rhar t her apeut ic ssi n c e th e d i s c o v e ryo I c h e motherapyhas been rc-

being prodrrcedat thc rate ol'9,500 tons annuall,v. Finallyin lt)04, ani l i ne, thc m ost ( 'labor at eof t he dve com pounds,best ou'cdit s

duc ed t o t he a u to ma ti c a n d i n fl e x i b l c a p pl i cati onof chemi c:rl ant it ox ins or a n ti b i o ti c s , a s i f i t rv e re e n ough to admi ni ster a

prestiAiousname on tlre German flrms Baclische Anilin und Soda Fahri k1B A5l lr nd Anilin Konzer n.

remcdv and lct it do its rvork. Gradually,phvsicianslearnedthar inf ec t ious ag e n tsd e v e l o p re s i s ta n c eto th e drugs used agai nsr

Thus. trvo of thc preconditionsnecessarylor the devclopment of chemoth er apvas a r epJacem entlbr r he t hcr apiesassoci. r t ed

146

| 4ccausc -f,, fr" sure' Bernardan p .7 1 -7 6 1 i s procecdi ng f 6ll It i s n o t a b s u rdto c o n c l u d c t hat bi ol ogY torvareof arr org.rni Both arc mcchanicalphenomcna. fF.)rDtdtiDn tlu iJlttc. p.11) rv h i l c i t i s tru e th.rt D cscartes' snork conTo s u m trp , [ 68] t ains t lr c th to rt ri c ,rl t< l u i rrl e n t o l c e r tai n ni netecnth-ccnturv attcmpts to lbrnrullte.r generalreflcxolog),r-igorousexamination t ur ns up n c i th c r th r' tc rm n o r th e c o n cept ofrefl ex, Thc dorvnfill ofCartcsianphvsiologr',on( cannot overemphasize, lay in the explanationof the movenrcntsof rhc hcart. I)escartesliiled to see W illiam H a rre l ' s th e o r' \'.r\ a n i n d i v i s i b l c u hol e. To be sure,he was, rvasrT'cllarlarc that thc cxplanationofthe he.rrt'sl-novcments centur-\'tthe kev to the problem ol'movement fbr thc scvcr-rtccnth gencrallr'.lt-fhisrvoulclcontinue to bc thc cascin the eighteenth centurv. One f)ct turncd out to be crucinl in the Baconiansense causesand for anv theon purportingto crl>lainthe neuromtrscular r t ' gulat io n so f m. e mc n t - i rJ D )e l \'L, he movcmcnt of exci sed or gans ,c s p c c i ,rl l \th e h e a rt, l l th t' l > r' ai ndi d not causesP i ri tsto llou into thesc organs,rrh.rt c.rusedth('D)to contract?Dcscartes from thc body' did not ha v cto c o n l i o n t th i s rl te s ti o rt,R cntovecl In .1

rhc heart r et aineclit s heat , anr l t r aceslr f blor r t l r et r ainit lg in it uut f ol t hosc *ho held coul (l vap or ir er nd c. r uscit t o er par r r J. lN it dif f ic( r lt t o. r r g( r ct hat t he was a r nusclc. bec. r m c h ear t that thc brain was the cssentialcentr.ll controller ol .rll crrganm()vcmcnts. l-hus, it becamenecessarvto look to pl.rccrother than thc brain, i 1 not l or t he causet hen at lcast lir r lact or s go! er ning cer t ain rnovements.lFormationdu rillctc, p.5)l Thomos Willis DeservesCredit for the Reflex Concept [69] W hat dist inguishedWillis f iom [ ) escar t es\ \ 'er e his conccpti ons of t he m ot ion of t he hcar t an( l t he cir culat ion of t he blood, rvhich hc took *'holesalc fiom \\iilliam Ilarvev; namelv, l ri s conce pt ionsol t he nat ur c of anim al spir it s and t heir m ov( ment through t he ner ves;of t hc st r uct ur eol ner 'es; anclof m usru l ar con t r act lon. ;\ccor ding t o Willis ( and Har vcr ') ,t hc hear t is a nr uscleind r t he ot her t nusclcs,it D ()thi D gr) r or c.I f ir is t hc pr im um m ovcl-ol rc i s srronl v bv vir t ue ol t he r hvt hm of it s lut r clinand savt hat \ \ 'hat everis n. r t t t r , r l.t hat is,

and, firrthcr, that "one ol his chief rcasonslbr confessingthe hilur t ' ol his n e d i c a l p ro j e c t rv a sh i s g rrt rri ng convi cti on that me-

in t hc anim al or ganismis also ar t ilici, ll, given t hat i nech.r nic. r l, itrtontittonsconstnlcted,asit lrerc, br (lod? anim.rl-machincs,'tre

c h,rnicalconcepts rlonr: r,r'ouldncvcr suffice to cre.rter mcdical s c ic nc cbe c a u s ec h eh u m a ni ro < l vi s n rrt p urr c\ten!i on but i n part

r\nd i n const r uct ing t hcse m achines,cliclCiod not lllor iclc f ir r indilir iLr at ior, r nt lr epr r xlr t ct ionllr t nct hlnical th(i r conscr \ ', r t ion, mcans?ln ot her \ vof ds,\ vct c not ccr t ain t elcologicalcnds incor -

. r ps r c hop h v s i c asl u b s ta n c c ." r'F)o l l rx v i ngC ueroul t, perhaps,but r e Jttcnrpt to rcducc ani mal m or c hol< l l r'I, u o u l d a s k .rv h e th eth biologr tt.rmechanicsdid not revealthe resistanceof vital phenomena to lirll cxprcssionin mechanicaltt'rms. I carlier alluded to thc passagcin the Prrntaeco{lit.rtionesin \\ hich comrnodaand incommodordtllr.rc\rere secn to influence the movementsoforganic par ts a n d e v e n e n ti re o rg a n i s m s.roTruc. D escartes,* ho pr ided hi n rs e l l o n t' x p l a i n i n g * h a t rre rroul tl crl l rhc narural nppet ir eso r i n c l i n a ti o n so f a n i m a l s" s ol el r i n tt-rnrsof thc rul es of m ec han i c s p o i n fe d o u r th a t " brutt' s haveno knou,l " ;,rn ,," l l edgeof rl hacis arob.rblv totel j nnism ,lbr uhile vit a] ism bor r or r cr lnr uch ol it s t cr nt inologt from Ar ist ot le, it s spit it \ r 'r s. r l\ r '. 1\llippocr '\ at i Lri l di ng - 11iv en, all, s , r lv e. Thc nraterialcmboclimcnt ofthcse dcgr eesof lr eedom consist sin guiect r blc.cult ivat cd mal r' s m ode ol'r hought t *assor nehou valjr l and nor m al, Nlot 't on rvhatbasir rvejudgeclthc narivcsrrf the countai.qncvvon.rna

C angri lhc m pl i v rd i mri or rol c th.rt l rrr i ,r rhr i c onoc trs ti c r.\uc thar l i c ol f

l v z e t i t i r r l lr r n r l to r csp r ct r h .\c $ r itjn g !, whi l . cmphasi /i ng d neo-K i ntj rn

N ,'rmale s tuc l t' nts,,rg.rnrz e,lrnd s t,rgerlar rhr. c nd < n c ac h rc rrtc nri r rear. l l c ras onc ,,f thr 1!ri te' r .,1 (h( pl .rv .l e I)era;tre rtc t..rngv ,n.. i pun i nl ol v i ng

p e r s p t . l i \ t . a r r cll a s h is o sn { tiu n ( h p tr cilism

rn rthi rs bascdon.r l unda-

m e n t a l d i s r r u st o l p o r rcr l"le cio r < n L o n tr cle rp oututr') .tnd ol rcpubl i can genr : n r s i t y .A. l a in d ce p h in llu r n .cd Ca n g u ilh e m \ in tr'l l cctuall i fc duri ng thesc ytars. I n 1 9 2 4 , ( ' a n g u ilh cm e n te r u r i tb e Eco le No rmal c S upi ri cure, rherc,;rs:n L r n a p o l , , g r tirJn r im ilit.r r ist n n ,l p r cilr sr . h e r e m.ri ncrll ai tbl i rl to r\l .ri n'\ rf.'ch

I 11b

th( nnm e ol rhc di r.c t,)r,,1 the E L{ ,l c N < ,rnral r,c us tav c Ianrrn. anrl t.ang S on i n Indoc hi na, trherr r barl l c trc trv c en thc Fr.nth an< lthc C hi n.n.hi (t l c (t ro thc di sn i s s rl ol thc J ul ,s I:c n\ { ()\1.rnm.nr j n t885. 1e() anti nri l i ri ri \r s ones $tr( c{ ' rs i dc rr(l p,rni fi rl .rrJ r ourragc o,!\ -,:,,r I ' LI I i I i s.r( i , , |) rt,.s ;nrc l l ec ruc l s

td 7

e n t e m p i Jd f g u cr r f!' a n d "Co r n p la in tc d u ca p ita inc C ambusat" (C ambu,;atuas

i n N i mr.s . l \l i c hel A l ex andre(1888-1952),then a l v c i c profes s ori n th' t c i t!,

a n o l l i c e r n s p o n sib lc ti,r th c m ilita r y in str u ctio n oi tho E col e N ormal e stu-

rvi th hi s * i l i J eannt:,as s umedmos t ofthc edi tori al burtl c n ol rv hat rv asthc n

d e n t s ) . C r n g u ilh cm *a s a u th o r o fth c fir st a n d co author ofthe second, rvi th a

a w ee k l ,vpubl i c ati on. W hen A l ex andrc Il rs t met A l ai n hc w as tl v t.ntv y ears

g r o u p o l i i l l o r v stu d e n tsin clu d in g Sa r tr c.Sir in d li ha\ repri nted the text ol both

ol tl ; he rc mai ned a dev ()teddi s c i pl e thri )ughout hi \ l i i t

!'ngs (scc Clrdr.,,to, intellcctuellc, pp. 326-28) and provides substantial mate-

.rttra c te,lc nough att(:nti on i mong Frc nc h i ntel l ec n,al s that Gal l i mard dc

r i a l a b o u t t h c co n te xt o f th csc cvcn ts. I a n vr n b cl d C angui l hern and others

ci ded to publ i s h i t under i ts P res ti gi ous"N R F" i mpri nt i n 1922 23.rnd

r c s p o n s i b l ef o r th e * a ctio n s,a n d th e in scr ip tio n "P R " (l i l r "revol uti onar,vprop-

192.1 l.v hc n the j ournal c eas edprtbl i c ati on A s ec ond s c ri esol l i bres prtrpos

. r g a n d a " )w r s re co r d e d in th e m ilita r y d o ssie r so f thc cul pri ts - rvho rvere sup-

sas p ubl i s hed as a montbl y from N l arc h 192? to S eptc mbc r 1935r s rc

p o r e d t o b e c o m e o llice r s a t th e e n d o f th e ir "m ilitr ry prcparati on"at the E c ,rc :

a n d a n in llu cn tia l in ttlle cr u a l a d r ise r to its studr:nts.as tel l as an unsuc-

drni c vc rrs .

r c s s l i r l p n 4 x,n cn t < ,1f{ cg cl in F r a n cc. Cr n gui l hcm publ i s}rctla bri c{ pt'r fC onmc nts onl \nd

n " r r l a c co u o t o l L u cicn I I( r r in 1 q 7 7 . " L I n l i ! r c \ c o l Jir c...e n Allcr n .r g n c.' 1 il' r .tp ..,p o r ( oct.

l 9l 2),pp.

si 3

l e.

R c r i ts o l a r t r < ltr ,r l A h in : str kr r r r n slatcdi nto ( l crmrn: i rnr l urn,i l r r r r rr r r r c n l' lir lr cnzu r Ijn l[]h r u ,, n

' cin

l) e r r l crr.ed. Jul ;r'' S chmi dr (B crl i n:

W i \ t ( r mr n , 1 9 l2 ) . 1 o P o t t s o n so u cu n cr iscr vc,T h t*

,lt F ili.icn Chal l a\c. sui \i e (l i i nf (l i sfussi (,n

c n t r e T h tr xL ,r c liu r sscn , F a licicn Ch a ll.tr c , {;corgcs C .togui l htm ct j can I c \ 4 a t .r l, e t d cs tc\te s ( lc llo ' lfr n d Ru sscll et d'A l ai n sur "Lr !rai c ct l i

i ngthi r.rrri rl e,

J ,,u' s .1i n,"l ' rns c i s ' renrc nt rl c l .r w x i ol ogi c ." l < ,l l < rrj ). fti l os ophi qu. (l .rn. l el

l /,j rhoJ r.A dru../. i .nrc tqtmr:

pl . l O-l l . "R . l c S(nn(, l r /)rrar (A l c .rn, l 9l ()). l t.i i r,/r' . R c rrrci /c /' c ns c ,gn,.nr,.nr,"i rl ," mfh rv ud (l rl ,. l 9l ]). pp. 2 5-27. l l o i c r. ''S urLrnc Int.rpri ' ti ri ,)n de I' hi s roi rc ." / tbrc r frol o! (11i (h

l i , l l r R t lsist:n cc." I) o i:u n l,n t' r lcr ' l ib r cs I'ropoi C rhi cr no. 1 (N i mcs:

ol N< rernhtr 1912. C ,rnr.hrL,(l \ rrpl \ i ptx r,.(l

l r r p r i n r er ic l- a L a b o r icu s( , l9 ll ) .

f.ol ,.r, t,p. l l 9-10.

196

t9l l ),

pp. I55;6.

A c ri ti quc ol nn ,rrti c l e bl j ac ques{ ,.rnuc hrrrl prrl ,l ;s hc di n ! tbrc spa' p,t

199

i n rhc nrrt i s s Lrr.,rt/r/' r..r

r EL

" F s s a i s .P a c ilisr n ce t r i' vo lu tio n ," lib r e r p r o p o r ( March l 9l I)'

OGRAPHY

t 935

P P l 57-59

A r cp lv r c Ra vm o n d Ar ;n ' s cr iciq u e ' p u bl i sherl i n the prcvi ous i ssueo1 I)uri ng tht- ac atl c mi c y c ar! l el ]-15, C i ngui l hem taught at the hc .c oi l hl en

r ; 6 r e r p ro p o s( se ea b o ve ,lin a l cn tr y u n d e r 1 9321 " N t o . t e ! t . l le r r ;o r vu p a r lu i- m tm e ( e t co m m e n tc)," l rhr.s l roP or (A pri l I9l l )'

ci (nnes. L{ r

' v as

appoi ntl rl toB i z i ers l or the ac ademi c y ear 1935 } 6.

p p . l l ? - 19 . S i g n cd "( ;.C. ' A cr ir iq u t o fa n a r ticle p ubl i shed l >v E doual rl Il erri ot i n r h c n e s r p a p e r It Din r o cr o r co f t.vo n o n APr il l 5' l 9l l .

':{l ai n. /es /)rc ur (N rl , l 9} 1).' turopc R c ri trr. Frtr.rtr

' Li brespropos " t ) ( l ' O h j . ( ti.,n < lt co n scie n cc i ta co n sci< n cc de l i rbj ecti on

-17(19} 5), pp..+ 4s 18.

{ .,,nr thi ! foi es

* ere rrpri nrrrl i n rhr i j u.i i c rrnr1i

I'.1'\odatnn J t\ dni \ I.1/orn 20(f)rc . 196.{ ),pp. II

ll.

C onri ti dc V i gi l anc c tl c r Intc l l ec trrc l s A nti ,fi s c i rtes , l .c Los tts nt tr l c t patnnt

( l \ l . r v l s ) 1 ) . p p .2 7 2 - 7 5 . A c r i( iq u c o f th e a ( lm in istr a tive cir cu lar si gncd bv N ti ni sttr C ami l l e C h a u t c n r p sa g a in stth c cm e r g e n ceo 1 th e co nsci cnti ousobi tctor m'rvement' Ini ti ati on .i 10 P hi l ost)P hlnn " S u r l a P h i l ,xo p h ie c!n te m p o r a in e - H. Se r o r t.v^. ' icmporaiD. (L.r Rrnaissancc du Liwc). J. tsenrubi, lir Sourcesct /cr .ourd'tr dc I ' r p h i l Dn t) h ft.o n tu ln p o r o mcn c fr a zc ( Alca n )"'[rl rt;f. ]l (l 9l l )'

pP '151 5l '

(P ari s, 1935). C angui l hc m w as the anonv mousi urhor ol thi s s i x tv trv o pagc(l oc umc nr, pri nttd i n C ahors .The C omi te de V i gi l anc e des l ntel l c c tuc l s A nti -l as c i * es *'as created i n res pons eto the l i ebrurr) l 9l ' 1 ri < ,tsi n P ari sand the threat o1 frsci s m, and i t rc mi j D c ,l i n ex i s tenc eup to the rv ar. Irs l t.rdc rr ut' rc thc rthnol ogi s t P aul R i v et,

c hai red the c ommi rree. rhc pl rrri c i s t t)rul ' rho l .angcv i n rnd A l .ri n. D u,i ng th.\( v ears ,A l ai n w as ol i en i l l and Lrn.rbl cro atti nrl v mt

I9 3 4

meeri ngs : C rngui l herr s l i i end Mi c hc l A l tx .rn,l n r,> L,l ,l s rrb,

sti totr. l o. hi nr ,)n rhe\e o((i ' \i on\ (5re J eannr A l ti .rndr,:. t< 1..l n S ouv rnrr "D.u\

n o u tclu \ Iir r e s fr a n r a issu r le s { ' r ig ir e s rl r l ,rguerre

ti brcs propos(Jan'

R t v ie r o f Ca m ille Blo ch , lcr Co u se sr ./el o.qucrrcmondtdl . (P .rri s:t{art' n r a n n , lg ll) ,

dt .l ti c helA l ts nJ tt:

/f{ on' , r.\rc r, /c trc s l P ari s : Merc rrt tl r t rrnc c , t.r56l ,

p.520). Thus , C .rngui l hem hi ms c l l s as qui te c l os r: ti ) rh( i r(ri ,)n ot the

1 9 1 + ) . pp . 4 0 - .1 ,1 .

a m l lu le s lsa r c, I9 t1 - L c Probl i ntcder ori l l i nu dc kt oLteruc

comnl ittee. l hc b()ol l c t has thru: parts : "P rc pos al s l or an ,.\gri c ul tur.rl I'ol i cy-," a hv o-part apprndi x c on' i s ti ng oi the res ul ts ol I s urv rr on rhc (;c F i n frs c i s t Ittrl v ' \gri c ul ture ' n(l the rons equenc es oi l .rs c i rr rotal i rnri nni s m i n

"agri cul tural c ri ri s ," i nd "N otes on

( P a r i s :Ir icd r r , l9 ll) . "fcan Richrrrl t]loch, Oft'ronded la polit,gu. (Coll. Furopc Rieder. lell)"'

/ ibr.:r

many," rv hi c h dc rl r \i th

p n , p o ' l ) r n . Ie l4 ) , F p . s 2 - s l. R n ie u . s;g n cd"G.C." " l l l r o i s m e u n ilcr sitn i,c.

lifr e r p r o p o r( Ib r ch

)911),pp

l -l l 15

1936

l h ir is th c la r t ,r n icle Cr n g u ilh e m s r ote krr l ri 'rcr 2ropos.Though hc * r u l d rtm a in p e n o o a ll) clo sc to Ala in L n til rht htter'r I n c l ud cd in th is r e a d e r . ' ' L e C o n c c l t e t l,r vie ," Rtvu . p lilo r o p liq u c < it l ouvon 6a (i \1ar 1966)' P t''

N 1i \\on, I-ondati onS i ngtr-P ol i gn.rc ,1967), pp. 2 l -l ). P aperprc s entedat an i ntc rnati onal c ol l oqui un organi red l br the c el e-

193-223. 8 . r s cdo n tso p u b lic lcctu r e s g ive n a t th c Fc r m a r io nd u co n cept dr: mi tanrrphose, tl n E ssai d ' a p p l ica tio nd c la p r o b llm a tiq u e ca n g u ilh 6mi ennedu normal c du pathol o g i q u e," p p . 1 4 5 - 5 7 i

coi l or7rc ( P ari s :A l bi n M i c hel , 199I ). Marc R egon , "K i ng C ang," Lhi fdrk ,

C 6 r a r d l\lo lin a , " ' D,r n ' in c' t \Va lla cc...', trentc ans trpras,"pP . l 5l t-74;

(Feb..1, l egl ), pp. l 9 21.

Inkr rmati on on C angui l hem\ l i l i ' :nd rorl .

on rht: oc c as i onol the pub

P a sca llissy, "De ve lo p p cllr ( ' n t ct tcm p s gan[al ogi quc," pp. 175-93;

l i crti on ol G..orqc rC ongui l hen: P hi l o:ophc ,hts t,' rrc ndc i s ri c rrc r. :1c rc i < /o

j e . r r rNta th io t. "Gcn cliq u t ct co n n a issanccrl e l a vi c, pp. 194 2{J7;

.o//.,9u.(P ari s iA l hi n N l i c hel , l 99l ).

152

4t )

Ackn o u ' le d g e m e n ts

Notes

l rom the tcncr T h e c o m p i l i r i,) n o f th is b ib lio g r r p h v b e n e lltcd subsrrnti al l v ard vtrY S rrteo u s i s s i s t a n c. o f m a n y p co p te to "h o m I a m g r eatl v i ndebk\l D rri d-N {'nrrd' l i r l . T h c s c i n t lL r tlc:fr a n e o is De h Po .tc, Cla u d ' ' iu i'na(l N toni qui r ( ;u ille r m c a n d Iur P i e t r o C o r : i , lld lin e \tr in , ir cq ( r c\

S chsartz' w ho prrvi