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Jacques Ellul
Sign in to saveFrench sociologist, technology critic, and Christian anarchist
OverviewAI-generated
Jacques Ellul (1912–1994) was a French theologian, philosopher, sociologist, and university teacher. Born in Bordeaux, he was a member of the Combat movement and affiliated with the degrowth and personalism movements. His academic career included positions at the Institut d'études politiques de Bordeaux and the University of Montpellier. Ellul was a Protestant and was influenced by thinkers such as Karl Marx, Bernard Charbonneau, Emmanuel Mounier, and Gilbert Simondon.
He authored numerous works, including *Les classes sociales*, *À temps et à contretemps*, *The meaning of the city*, and *Die theologische Begründung des Rechtes*. Ellul received the Prix Européen de l'Essai Charles Veillon and was recognized as one of the Righteous Among the Nations. He died in Pessac in 1994. His archives are held at Wheaton College and the Institut d'études politiques de Bordeaux.
Synthesized by Vinony from 36 facts across 8 sources: Wikidata, Open Library, Crossref, MusicBrainz, Last.fm, Wikiquote, Vinony collections, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Person · Open Library
- Born
- 6 January 1912
- Died
- 19 May 1994
- Works
- 103
Top works
- Les classes sociales
- À temps et à contretemps
- The meaning of the city
- Die theologische Begründung des Rechtes
- ... Étude sur l'évolution et la nature juridique du mancipium ...
via Open Library + Wikidata
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 11
- Total plays
- 91
Tags
<a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Jacques+Ellul">Read more on Last.fm</a>
Recent publications · Crossref
5 total works indexed
- Global Cancer Statistics 2020: GLOBOCAN Estimates of Incidence and Mortality Worldwide for 36 Cancers in 185 Countries
· 2021 · cited 79,228x
- Global cancer statistics 2018: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries
· 2018 · cited 53,823x
- Global cancer statistics
· 2011 · cited 23,192x
- Cancer incidence and mortality worldwide: Sources, methods and major patterns in GLOBOCAN 2012
· 2014 · cited 21,628x
- Global cancer statistics 2022: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries
· 2024 · cited 20,662x
via Crossref · CC0
Quotes
- “Faith lived in the incognito is one which is located outside the criticism coming from society, from politics, from history, for the very reason that it has itself the vocation to be a source of criticism. It is faith (lived in the incognito) which triggers the issues for the others, which causes everything seemingly established to be placed in doubt, which drives a wedge into the world of false assurances.”
- “I describe a world with no exit, convinced that God accompanies man throughout his history.”
- “There are different forms of anarchy and different currents in it. I must, first say very simply what anarchy I have in view. By anarchy I mean first an absolute rejection of violence. Hence I cannot accept either nihilists or anarchists who choose violence as a means of action.”
- “Anarchism can teach Christian thinkers to see the realities of our societies from a different standpoint than the dominant one of the state. What seems to be one of the disasters of our time is that we all appear to agree that the nation-state is the norm. … Whether the state be Marxist or capitalist, it makes no difference. The dominant ideology is that of sovereignty.”
- “I can very well say without hesitation that all those who have political power, even if they use it well have acquired it by demonic mediation and even if they are not conscious of it, they are worshippers of diabolos.”
- “The will of the world is always a will to death, a will to suicide. We must not accept this suicide, and we must so act that it cannot take place.”
via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA
Key facts
- Born
- 6 January 1912, Bordeaux , France
- Died
- 19 May 1994 (1994-05-19) (aged 82), Pessac , France
- Alma mater
- University of Bordeaux University of Paris
- Era
- 20th-century philosophy
- Region
- Western philosophy
- School
- Christian anarchism Continental philosophy Non-conformists of the 1930s
- Institutions
- University of Bordeaux
- Notable ideas
- Technological society
via Wikipedia infobox
~40 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Jacques Ellul (/ɛˈluːl/; French: [ɛlyl]; 6 January 1912 – 19 May 1994) was a French born philosopher, sociologist, lay theologian, resistance fighter and professor. Noted as a Christian anarchist, Ellul was a longtime professor of History and the Sociology of Institutions on the Faculty of Law and Economic Sciences at the University of Bordeaux. A prolific writer, he authored more than 60 books and more than 600 articles over his lifetime, many of which discussed propaganda, the impact of technology on society, and the interaction between religion and politics.
The dominant theme of Ellul's work proved to be the threat to human freedom and religion created by modern technology. He did not seek to eliminate modern technology or technique but sought to change our perception of modern technology and technique to that of a tool rather than regulator of the status quo. Among his most influential books are The Technological Society and Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Jacques Ellul” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.