On french sociology of philosophy

I’ve been reading a lot of French sociology of philosophy, and it continues to frustrate me that the major American text in this genre, Randall Collins’ The sociology of philosophies (1998), basically makes no reference to this literature. Admittedly, the French subfield I’ve examined is relatively limited in scope, basically amounting to a very elaborate exploration of the French philosophical field, which is construed in generally orthodox Bourdieuian terms. There’s a lot of stuff about publishing markets, access to jobs, different forms of symbolic capital. But as far as I can tell, the whole French enterprise is dramatically more empirically involved than Collins’ over-ambitious project to theorize all of philosophy throughout world history. (Mostly this involves drawing little network diagrams of who knew whom.)

So for the benefit of Anglophone sociologists who may be interested in this, I suggest the following partial bibliography. But beforehand, for your amusement, I want to reproduce an table of “the social dilemmas at the base of philosophical positions,” lifted from a review by Steve Fuller of Collins’ book:

Table 1: The Origins of Philosophical Positions in Projects of Social Legitimation
Philosophical Position / Legitimatory Origins

  • Kantianism (in ethics) / How to legislate so as to respect individual integrity
  • Utilitarianism (in ethics) / How to legislate so as to advance society as a whole
  • Rationalism (in epistemology) / How to preempt an irresolvable religious dispute
  • Empiricism (in epistemology) / How to secure minimum agreement in an irresolvable religious dispute
  • Realism (in philosophy of science) / What replaces religion in secular society
  • Instrumentalism (in philosophy of science) / Why secular society does not need a replacement for religion
  • Objectivism (in philosophy of social science) / What enables ultimate success of the imperialist project
  • Relativism (in philosophy of social science) / What enables resistance to the imperialist project.

Table 2: List of sociological studies of French philosophy

  • Bourdieu, Pierre, and Jean-Claude Passeron. “Sociology and Philosophy in France since 1945: Death and Resurrection of a Philosophy without Subject.” Social Research 45, no. 1 (1967): 162-212.
  • Boltanski, Luc. “Notes Sur Les Échanges Philosophiques Internationaux.” Actes de la recherche en sciences sociales 5-6 (1975): 191-99.
  • Verdes-Leroux, Jeannine. “Le Patronage Philosophique.” Actes de la recherche en sciences sociales 1, no. 1 (1975): 88-97.
  • Bourdieu, Pierre. “Les Sciences Sociales Et La Philosophie.” Actes de la recherche en sciences sociales 47, no. 1 (1983): 45-52.
  • Fabiani, Jean-Louis. “Les Programmes, Les Hommes Et Les Oeuvres: Professeurs De Philosophie En Classe Et En Ville Au Tournant Du Siècle.” Actes de la recherche en sciences sociales 47, no. 1 (1983): 3-20.
  • Lepenies, Wolf. “Contribution À Une Histoire Des Rapports Entre Sociologie Et La Philosophie.” Actes de la recherche en sciences sociales 47-48 (1983): 37-44.
  • Pinto, Louis. “L’école Des Philosophes?” Actes de la recherche en sciences sociales 47-48, no. 21-36 (1983).
  • —. Les Philosophes Entre Le Lycée Et L’avant-Garde : Les Métamorphoses De La Philosophie Dans La France D’aujourd’hui. Paris: Editions L’Harmattan, 1987.
  • Fabiani, Jean-Louis. Les Philosophes De La République. Paris: Minuit, 1988.
  • Pinto, Louis. “Le Journalisme Philosophique.” Actes de la recherche en sciences sociales 101-102 (1994): 25-38.
  • —. “La Dénégation De L’origine.” Actes de la recherche en sciences sociales 109, no. 1 (1995): 41-59.
  • Soulié, Charles. “Anatomie Du Goût Philosophique.” Actes de la recherche en sciences sociales 109, no. 1 (1995): 3-28.
  • —. “Profession Philosophe.” Gèneses 26 (1997): 103-22.
  • Godechot, Olivier. “Le Marché Du Livre Philosophique.” Actes de la recherche en sciences sociales 130 (1999): 11-28.
  • Pinto, Louis. “L’inconscient Scolaire Des Philosophes.” Actes de la recherche en sciences sociales 135 (2000): 48-57.
  • Soulié, Charles. “L’enseignement De La Philosophie À L’université : Une Pratique Sous Contrainte Structurale. La Crise De 1986 À L’u.F.R De Philosophie De Paris I.” Les Cahiers du GERME 22-24 (2002).
  • Pinto, Louis. La Vocation Et Le Métier De Philosophe: Pour Une Sociologie De La Philosophie Dans La France Contemporaine. Paris: Seuil, 2007.
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