Postdoctoral Fellow 2001-02
Theodor Paleologu (Philosophy)
Ecole Normale Supérieure, France
"Secret France" Seen from
the Outside
Nietzsche spoke in his writings about a "hidden France of
taste" as opposed to the vulgarity of modern world, of contemporary
German culture and of the official France. In his attempt to give
a Christian answer to Nietzsche, the Russian philosopher Nicholas
Berdiaev refered also to a secret, spiritual France, and transformed
a mainly esthetic concept into a mainly religious concept. It is
my first purpose to give an interpretation of this transformation.
Who than are the represantatives of this secret France? Nietzsche
and Berdiaev gave quite different answers. It will be another point
to explain their "elective affinities" and especially
why Berdiaev chose Leon Bloy as main figure of his spiritual France.
It was Bloy who wrote these mysterious words: "La France est
le SECRET de Jesus". Despite the "nationalistic"
appearance of this formula and others which can be found in Bloy's
works, his symbolical exegesis of history influenced people like
Carl Schmitt and Ernst Junger. Their dialogue with the "secret
France" is certainly a fascinating episode of European intellectual
history in the 20th century.
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