André Tosel (15 June 1941 – 14 March 2017) was a French Marxist philosopher and academic administrator. He taught Philosophy at the University of Franche-Comté and Pantheon-Sorbonne University until he became a full professor of philosophy at the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis. He served as its vice president from 1992 to 1998, and as the director of its Center for the History of Ideas from 1998 to 2003. He was the author of several books about Marxism and Marxist theorists.
Tosel taught Philosophy at the University of Franche-Comté in Besançon and Pantheon-Sorbonne University in Paris.[1] He was a professor of philosophy at the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis in Nice, where he was the vice president from 1992 to 1998.[1] He also succeeded Dominique Janicaud as the director of the Center for the History of Ideas from 1998 to 2003.[1][2] He was elected as a member of the governing board of its college of arts in 2002,[1] and he retired as professor emeritus in 2012.[3]
In his research, Tosel was a critic of consumerism.[5] He argued that capitalism was inherently violent as it rested upon servitude and poverty through debt.[5] He argued in favour of emancipation from the "passive revolution" of globalised capitalism through resistance, or the advocacy of workers rights, feminism, postcolonialism, multiculturalism, and the rejection of neo-colonialism.[5]
According to philosopher Yvon Quiniou, Tosel played a critical role in disseminating Marxist theories in academic circles.[6]
Personal life, death and tributes
Tosel was married with children.[7] He was a member of the French Communist Party from 1972 to 1984,[1] and he re-joined the party in 2012,[8] when he became associated with the Left Front.[1]
On his death, Patrick Le Hyaric, the editor-in-chief of L'Humanité, said he was "overwhelmed with sadness" and said Tosel was "like a shining light, a touchstone in this world of ideological counter-punch where everything is hidden by powerful forces who want to take over the entirety of thought and culture."[7]
Pierre Laurent, the chairman of the French Communist Party, said he was "very moved" by his death, and he added that Tosel had "a deep understanding of the difficulties faced by progressive forces and a willingness to exchange ideas and share his analyses and convictions, not only with a learned audience, but most importantly with young people and workers."[8]
Works
Balibar, Étienne; Luporini, Cesare; Tosel, André (1979). Marx et sa critique de la politique. Paris: Éditions Maspero. ISBN9782707110909. OCLC373538523.
Tosel, André (1984). Spinoza ou le crépuscule de la Servitude : Essai sur le Traité Théologico-Politique. Paris: Aubier. ISBN9782700703665. OCLC708293894.
Tosel, André (1984). Praxis : Vers une refondation en philosophie marxiste. Paris: Éditions Sociales. ISBN9782209056187. OCLC636784656.
Tosel, André (1988). Kant révolutionnaire : Droit et politique. Paris: Presses universitaires de France. ISBN9782130432296. OCLC223157649.
Tosel, André (1991). L'esprit de scission. Études sur Marx, Gramsci et Lukàcs. Besançon: Presses Universitaires de Franche-Comté. ISBN9782251604381. OCLC911863530.
Tosel, André (1991). Marx en italiques : aux origines de la philosophie italienne contemporaine. Mauvezin: Trans-Europ-Repress. OCLC657973794.
Tosel, Andrv, ed. (1993). Modernité de Gramsci?. Besançon: Presses Universitaires de Franche-Comté. ISBN9782251604817. OCLC925092495.
Tosel, André (2014). Essais pour une culture du futur. Bellecombe-en-Bauges: Éditions du Croquant. ISBN9782365120555. OCLC906262786.
Tosel, André (2015). Nous citoyens laïques et fraternels? : dans le labyrinthe du complexe économico-politico-théologique. Paris: Éditions Kimé. ISBN9782841747009. OCLC910510769.
Tosel, André (2016). Étudier Gramsci : pour une critique continue de la révolution passive capitaliste. Paris: Éditions Kimé. ISBN9782841747337. OCLC952172425.
Tosel, André (2016). Emancipations aujourd'hui ? : pour une reprise critique. Vulaines-sur-Seine: Editions du Croquant. ISBN9782365120920. OCLC966417290.
^ abcGiovannangeli, Daniel (2017). "Finitude et politique : André Tosel et Gérard Granel". Les Temps Modernes. 692 (1): 156–176. doi:10.3917/ltm.692.0156 – via Cairn.info.