Abstract
Raymond Aron is the greatest figure in French liberalism of the twentieth century. In the tradition of Montesquieu, Constant, Tocqueville, and Elie Halévy, he is part of the French school of political sociology, which he defined in his Les Etapes de la pensée sociologique: “This is mostly a non-dogmatic school of sociologists, primarily interested in politics, who, without ignoring the social infrastructure, respect the autonomy of the political order and think as liberals.” His liberalism, his lucidity in the face of the upheavals of that period, and his posture as a committed observer anxious to ensure consistency among his thoughts, words, and deeds, give him a unique place among French intellectuals, distinguishing him both from his masters—such as Alain, Léon Brunschvicg, and Célestin Bougie— and his contemporaries—-Jean-Paul Sartre, Nizan, and Simone Weil.
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Notes
Raymond Aron, Le Grand Schisme, Paris, Gallimard, 1948; Les Guerres en chaîne, Paris, Gallimard, 1951
Raymond Aron, La Tragédie algérienne, Paris, Plon, 1957.
Raymond Aron, Le Spectateur engagé, Paris, Julliard, 1981, 286.
Raymond Aron, Mémoires. 50 ans de réflexion politique, Paris, Julliard, 1983, 53.
Raymond Aron, Introduction à la philosophie de l’histoire: Essai sur les limites de l’objectivité historique, Paris, Gallimard, “Bibliothèque des Idées,” 1938.
Raymond Aron, L’Opium des intellectuels, Paris, Calmann-Lévy, “Liberté de l’esprit,” 1955.
Raymond Aron, Les Dernières Années du siècle, Paris, Julliard, 1984.
Raymond Aron, Le Spectateur engagé, Paris, Julliard, 1981, 299–300.
Raymond Aron, Introduction à la philosophie de l’histoire. Essai sur les limites de l’objectivité historique, Paris, Gallimard. « Bibliothèque des Idées », 1938.
Raymond Aron, Dix-Huit Leçons sur la société industrielle, Paris, Gallimard, “Idées”, 1962; La Lutte de classes. Nouvelles leçons sur les sociétés industrielles, Paris, Gallimard, « Idées », 1964; Démocratie et totalitarisme, Paris, Gallimard, « Idées », 1965.
Friedrich A. Hayek, The Constitution of Liberty, Chicago, University, of Chicago Press, 1960.
Raymond Aron, Les Désillusions du progrès. Essai sur la dialectique de la modernité, Paris, Calmann-Lévy, “Liberté de l’esprit,” 1969, 231.
Raymond Aron, “L’Aube de l’histoire universelle,” conference given in London on February 18, 1960, under the sponsorship of the Society of Friends of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, published in Dimensions de la Conscience historique, Paris, Plon, 1961, 295.
Raymond Aron, L’Opium des intellectuels, Paris, Calmann-Lévy, “Liberté de l’esprit,” 1955, 315.
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© 2015 José Colen and Elisabeth Dutartre-Michaut
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Baverez, N. (2015). Life and Works: Raymond Aron, Philosopher and Freedom Fighter. In: Colen, J., Dutartre-Michaut, E. (eds) The Companion to Raymond Aron. Recovering Political Philosophy. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-52243-6_2
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