Catherine Chalier
Catherine Chalier | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 2, 1947 Paris |
| Awards | 2017 French Voices Award |
| Education | |
| Education | University of Tours |
| Thesis | Essai sur l'existence religieuse : Judaïsme et altérité (1981) |
| Francis Kaplan | |
| Philosophical work | |
| Era | Contemporary philosophy |
| Region | Western philosophy |
| Institutions | Paris X (Institut de recherches philosophiques) PhiloMonaco |
Main interests | Jewish thought, Levinas, Spinoza |
| Website | https://dep-philo.parisnanterre.fr/les-enseignants/chalier-catherine |
Catherine Chalier (born in Paris, 2 October 1947) is a French philosopher and translator who has authored several works on Jewish thought and philosophy. She is a specialist in the work of Emmanuel Levinas,[1][2] as well as that of Franz Rosenzweig[3] and Baruch Spinoza.[4] A convert from Catholicism to Judaism,[5][6] she is a professor emeritus[7] at Paris Nanterre University, also known as Paris X.[1][7]
Background, education, and career
[edit]During la classe terminale, the final year of French secondary school, she was a student of Élisabeth de Fontenay.[8] She defended her doctoral thesis [Essai sur l'existence religieuse : judaïsme et altérité (Essay on Religious Existence: Judaism and Alterity)] at the University of Tours in 1981 under the supervision of Francis Kaplan in the field of philosophy of religion.[9]
At the age of 22, and following her first voyage to Israel, Chalier began learning Hebrew and studying under Levinas himself at Paris X.[8] It was the 1960s and, while his lectures emphasized the works of Hegel and Husserl above his own writings, she was deeply moved by the man himself, his story as a survivor of the Holocaust, and the astonishingly optimism that remained in his spirit.[8] She associated this incredible light with the commitment to "choose life" in the Jewish Scriptures and to the very Levinasian philosophy of responsibility to others, in particular those who suffer. [8] She began to attend his Torah classes at the synagogue of the École normale israélite orientale (Paris), where he was passionate about teaching others the power of deriving "fresh insights" from the Torah rather than merely memorizing it.[8]
Chalier has supervised many doctoral theses, including that of Christophe Schaeffer.[10]
Chalier is a member of the jury for the awards at Les Rencontres Philosophiques de Monaco.[7]
Reception
[edit]Deborah Achtenberg reviewed What Ought I to Do?: Morality in Kant and Levinas for Review of Metaphysics (University of Nevada Reno, 2002). Achtenberg praised the "extensive knowledge" and the "scope and detail" of Chalier's account of the philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas, especially helpful in its reflection on the question of whether Levinas is a Kantian.[11]
Brigitt Sassen reviewed the same work for Philosophy in Review (McMaster University). Sassen considered that Chalier's reflection on the philosophies of Kant and Levinas is "illuminating for moral philosophy in general" but more precisely for Levinasian ethics.[12]
Awards and distinctions
[edit]- Fondation J. et S. Rozan, Paris, December 1989[13]
- Prize from the Association Zadoc Kahn, Paris, May 1995[13]
- Prix Colladon, Geneva, September 2003, with Marc Faessler, for L'écoute en partage; awarded for an outstanding work of theology[13]
- Award from the Académie des sciences morales et politiques, 2006, for Spinoza lecteur de Maïmonide[13]
- Prix Francine et Antoine Bernheim pour les Arts, les Lettres et les Sciences, Fondation du Judaïsme Français, 2010[13]
- Prix des Écrivains Croyants, 2010, for La nuit, le jour : au diapason de la création[13]
- 2017 French Voices Award for Reading the Torah: Beyond the Fundamentalist and Scientific Approaches (Duquesne University Press, 2017)[14]
Works in French
[edit]Books
[edit]- Judaïsme et altérité, Lagrasse: Éditions Verdier, "Les Dix paroles", 1982, 298 pp. ISBN 2-86432-018-5
- Figures du féminin : lecture d'Emmanuel Levinas, La Nuit surveillée, "Questions", 1982. OCLC 9969744; new expanded edition, including the previously unpublished essay L'Extase du temps, Éditions des Femmes, 2007, 171 pp. ISBN 978-2-7210-0544-1
- Les matriarches : Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel et Léa, Le Cerf, March 1985. ISBN 2-204-02344-2; 3rd revised and expanded edition, with a preface by Emmanuel Levinas, 1991, 224 pp. ISBN 2-204-02344-2
- La persévérance du mal, Le Cerf, "La Nuit surveillée", October 1987, 226 pp. ISBN 2-204-02748-0
- L'Alliance avec la nature, Le Cerf, "La Nuit surveillée", September 1989, 212 pp. ISBN 2-204-03173-9
- L'Histoire promise, Le Cerf, April 1992, 330 pp. ISBN 2-204-04418-0
- Lévinas : l'utopie de l'humain, Albin Michel, "Présences du judaïsme", 1993, 168 pp. ISBN 2-226-06351-X
- Pensées de l'éternité : Spinoza, Rosenzweig, Le Cerf, "La Nuit surveillée", March 1993. ISBN 2-204-04762-7
- Sagesse des sens : le regard et l'écoute dans la tradition hébraïque, Albin Michel, "L'Être et le corps", 1994. ISBN 2-226-07607-7
- L'Inspiration du philosophe : « L'amour de la sagesse » et sa source prophétique, Albin Michel, "La Pensée et le sacré", August 1996, 211 pp. ISBN 2-226-08732-X
- Pour une morale au-delà du savoir : Kant et Levinas, Albin Michel, "Bibliothèque Albin Michel des idées", February 1998, 225 pp. ISBN 2-226-09987-5
- With Marc Faessler, Judaïsme et christianisme : l'écoute en partage, Le Cerf, "Patrimoines. Judaïsme", September 2001, 504 pp. ISBN 2-204-06740-7
- La Trace de l'infini : Emmanuel Levinas et la source hébraïque, Le Cerf, "Philosophie et théologie", May 2002, 267 pp. ISBN 2-204-06922-1
- La Fraternité : un espoir en clair-obscur, Buchet-Chastel, "Au fait", 2003, 156 pp. ISBN 2-283-01960-5
- Traité des larmes : fragilité de Dieu, fragilité de l'âme, Albin Michel, 2003, 219 pp. ISBN 2-226-13683-5; paperback edition, "Spiritualité vivante", 2007, 219 pp. OCLC 470579848
- With photographs by Didier Ben Loulou, Sincérité du visage, Éditions Filigranes, June 2004, 86 pp. ISBN 978-2-226-17860-2
- La Patience : passion de la durée consentie, Autrement, "Morales", September 2004, 219 pp. ISBN 2-7467-0555-9
- De l'intranquillité de l'âme, Manuels Payot, 1998, 138 pp. ISBN 2-228-89200-9; paperback edition, "Petite bibliothèque", 2005, 134 pp. ISBN 2-7436-1390-4
- Les Lettres de la Création : l'alphabet hébraïque, Arfuyen, "Les carnets spirituels", September 2006, 155 pp. ISBN 978-2-84590-093-6
- Spinoza lecteur de Maïmonide : la question théologico-politique, Le Cerf, "Philosophie et théologie", March 2006, 326 pp. ISBN 978-2-204-08015-6
- Des Anges et des hommes, Albin Michel, January 2007, 279 pp. ISBN 978-2-226-17298-3
- Transmettre de génération en génération : essai, Buchet-Chastel, 7 May 2008, 272 pp. ISBN 978-2-283-02282-5
- La Nuit, le Jour : au diapason de la création, Le Seuil, 2009, 249 pp. ISBN 978-2-02-098447-8. Prix des écrivains croyants, 2010.
- Le Désir de conversion, Le Seuil, 2011, 283 pp. ISBN 978-2-02-095907-0
- Kalonymus Shapiro : rabbin au ghetto de Varsovie, 1889-1943, Éditions Arfuyen, "Les carnets spirituels", 6 October 2011. ISBN 978-2-84590-164-3
- Présence de l'espoir, Le Seuil, "Les dieux, les hommes", 2013, 195 pp. ISBN 978-2-02-104805-6
- Lire la Torah, Le Seuil, "Les dieux, les hommes", 2014, 190 pp. ISBN 978-2-02-109932-4
- La gravité de l'amour : Philosophie et spiritualité juives, PUF, "Chaire Étienne Gilson", 2016.
- L’Appel des images, Actes Sud, "Le Souffle de l’esprit", 2017, 112 pp. ISBN 978-2-330-08692-3
- Mémoire et pardon, François Bourin, January 2018, 250 pp. ISBN 979-10-252-0371-2
- Le Rabbi de Kotzk (1787-1859) : Un hassidisme tragique, Arfuyen, "Les Carnets spirituels", no. 99, 2018, 136 pp. ISBN 9782845902633
- Pureté, impureté. Une mise à l'épreuve, Bayard Culture, 16 January 2019, 320 pp. ISBN 978-2-227-49472-5
- Rabbi Chmuel Bornstein (1856-1926) L'espoir hassidique, Arfuyen, "Les carnets spirituels", no. 104, 7 February 2019, 120 pp. ISBN 978-2-845-90280-0
- Découvrir la gratitude au risque de l’asymétrie, Bayard, 2020. ISBN 978-2-2274-9793-1
- R. Mordechai Joseph Lerner (1801-1854), La liberté hassidique, Arfuyen, 2020. ISBN 978-2-845-90299-2
- Comme une clarté furtive. Naître, mourir, Bayard, 2021, 342 pp. ISBN 978-2-227-50020-4
- R. Tsaddoq haCohen de Lublin (1823-1900), La clarté hassidique, Arfuyen, 2022, 188 pp. ISBN 978-2-845-90329-6
- Il nous créa à son image. Un commentaire de la Genèse, Bayard, 2023, 524 pp. ISBN 978-2-227-50061-7
- La voix de Moïse, Éditions du Cerf, 25 September 2025, 280 pp. ISBN 978-2-204-15912-8
- L'exception du bien, Éditions Salvator, 9 April 2026, 190 pp. ISBN 978-2706730764
Translations from Hebrew
[edit]- Amos Funkenstein, Maimonides : nature, histoire et messianisme, Le Cerf, "La Nuit surveillée", February 1988, 124 pp. ISBN 2-204-02829-0
- Yoram Jacobson, La pensée hassidique, Le Cerf, "La Nuit surveillée", May 1989, 184 pp. ISBN 2-204-03062-7
- Josef Ben Chlomo, Introduction à la pensée du Rav Kook, Le Cerf, "Patrimoines. Judaïsme", 1992, 177 pp. ISBN 2-204-04564-0
- Moshe Idel, Messianisme et mystique, Le Cerf, "Patrimoines. Judaïsme", 1994, 118 pp. ISBN 2-204-04807-0
- Rabbi Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter, the Rebbe of Gur, La langue de la vérité, followed by Penser avec les versets, Albin Michel, 2004, 202 pp. ISBN 2-226-15427-2
- Le Maggid de Mezeritch : aux sources du hassidisme, with an extended introduction, Arfuyen, "Les carnets spirituels", 2014, 176 pp. ISBN 978-2-845-90207-7
- Rabbi Nahman de Bratzlav (1772–1810), La nostalgie hassidique, with an extended introduction, Arfuyen, "Les carnets spirituels", 2024, 178 pp. ISBN 978-2-845-90378-4
Selected articles
[edit]- Chalier, Catherine. "Le désir de savoir a disparu pour lui, il est remplacé par des explications globales au service du pire." Madame Le Figaro, 27 June 2026.
Works in English translation
[edit]- "Emmanuel Levinas: responsibility and election." Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplements 35 (1993): 63-76.
- With Tina Chanter. "The exteriority of the feminine," translated by Bettina Bergo, Feminist interpretations of Emmanuel Levinas, University Park, Pennsylvania (2001): 171-179.
- What Ought I to Do? Morality in Kant and Levinas, translated by Jane Marie Todd, Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2002. ISBN 9780801487941.
- "Levinas and the Talmud." In The Cambridge Companion to Levinas (2002): 100-18. ISBN 9780521665650.
- Levinas and Education: At the Intersection of Faith and Reason. United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis, 2008. ISBN 9781135989408.
- With Ami Bouganim. "Emmanuel Levinas: School master and pedagogue." In Levinas and Education, pp. 25-37. Routledge, 2008.
- "The philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas and the Hebraic tradition." In Ethics as first philosophy, pp. 3-12. Routledge, 2013.
- "Blessing Precedes Cursing: Philosophical Reading of Genesis 3:16" Religions 15, no. 9: 1028, 2024.
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 Gotein, Denise. "Catherine Chalier (1947- )". Jewish Virtual Library (Encyclopedia Judaica). American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
- ↑ Peperzak, Adrian (8 April 2003). "What Ought I to Do? Morality in Kant and Levinas". ndpr. Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews. Archived from the original on 6 December 2025. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
- ↑ Casarella, Peter (2013). "Desire for Conversion - Selected Session". ejournals. University of Notre Dame. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
- ↑ Nadler, Steven. “The Jewish Spinoza.” Journal of the History of Ideas 70, no. 3 (2009): 491–510. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20621904.
- ↑ Le Mosellan, Jean (27 June 2011). "Le désir de conversion, Catherine Chalier" [The desire to convert, Catherine Chalier]. refléctsdutempts (in French). Reflets du Temps. Archived from the original on 26 September 2026. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
- ↑ Lapaque, Sébastien (27 October 2023). "Levinas, l'utopie de l'humain de Catherine Chalier: sur le sentier de la paix". lefigaro (in French). Le Figaro. Archived from the original on 25 September 2026. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Catherine Chalier, Philosopher, Member of the Jury". Philomonaco. Les Rencontres Philosophiques de Monaco. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Maurot, Élodie (15 July 2020). "Catherine Chalier et Emmanuel Levinas, une amitié intellectuelle entre Athènes et Jérusalem" [Catherine Chalier and Emmanuel Levinas: An Intellectual Friendship Between Athens and Jerusalem]. la-croix (in French). La Croix. Archived from the original on 26 September 2026. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
« À l'issue de ma classe de terminale, ma professeure la philosophe Élisabeth de Fontenay m'avait prêté Totalité et infini qui venait de paraître, raconte Catherine Chalier.
- ↑ "ssai sur l'existence religieuse : judaïsme et altérité". Sudoc. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
- ↑ "Catherine Chalier". Theses. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
- ↑ Achtenberg, Deborah. "Chalier, Catherine. What Ought I to Do? Morality in Kant and Levinas." The Review of Metaphysics 57, no. 3 (2004): 612+. Gale Academic OneFile (accessed September 26, 2026).
- ↑ Sassen, Brigitte. 2003. “Catherine Chalier, ‘What Ought I to Do? Morality in Kant and Levinas.’”. Philosophy in Review 23 (4). British Columbia, Canada:238-40. https://journals.uvic.ca/index.php/pir/article/view/6573.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Catherine Chalier". Université Paris Nanterre. Retrieved 25 September 2026.
- ↑ "In Support of Duquesne University Press". aupresses. Duquesne University Press. 5 April 2017. Archived from the original on 17 May 2026.
Most recently, the Press's new title, Reading the Torah: Beyond the Fundamentalist and Scientific Approaches by Catherine Chalier, was recognized as a 2017 French Voices Award winner, presented by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy and the PEN American Center.
External links
[edit]- Podcasts featuring Chalier on Radio France
- * Articles in Revue Esprit
