For over two decades, French philosopher Michel Onfray has been conducting a radical excavation of Western thought. His monumental project, La Contre-histoire de la philosophie (The Counter-History of Philosophy), first delivered as a weekly lecture at the Université Populaire de Caen, has become a cult classic. While the complete written series spans multiple volumes, it is the audio recordings—raw, unedited, and brimming with Onfray’s oral passion—that capture the true essence of his rebellion. Among these, "Volume 16" stands as a crucial chapter for both devotees and newcomers.
Traditional histories (from Plato to Hegel to Heidegger) present philosophy as a lineage of idealist, bearded, German or Greek men. Onfray’s counter-history includes women (like Ninon de Lenclos), slaves (Epictetus is treated differently), and perverts (Sade). Audio 16 forces you to ask: is Sade’s transgressive thought less "philosophical" than Kant’s dry categorical imperative?
Onfray’s Contre-Histoire (2006–2015) is not a neutral timeline. It is a militant, materialist, hedonist, and atheist counter-narrative to what he calls the “Platonic-Christian” official history (Plato, Augustine, Kant, Hegel). Audio 16 falls in the middle of his reconstruction of the “underground” current: Epicureanism, Cyrenaicism, and their heirs. Uncovering the Underdogs: A Deep Dive into Michel
The keyword specifies "full" . This is crucial. Onfray’s lectures are carefully timed. He constructs his arguments like symphonies: a thesis, a historical digression, a philosophical demolition, and a poetic conclusion.
A truncated version (e.g., a 5-minute YouTube excerpt) robs the listener of: The rhetorical build-up: Onfray spends 20 minutes setting
Without the "full" version, listeners risk caricaturing Onfray as a mere provocateur. In full, he reveals himself as a rigorous historian of ideas.
The final stretch brings the listener into the 19th and 20th centuries. This section is dense with French philosophy, focusing on the post-revolutionary struggle between socialism, individualism, and nihilism. occasionally bordering on caricature (e.g.
Based on the standard numbering, Lecture 16 often focuses on Pierre Gassendi (1592–1655) – the forgotten priest who revived Epicurus, or on Lucrèce’s De Rerum Natura as read by the libertins baroques. Onfray argues that Gassendi, not Descartes, is the true father of modern philosophy because he restored the body, the senses, and pleasure as legitimate philosophical objects.
Key arguments in this audio:
| Issue | Explanation | |-------|-------------| | Selective Emphasis | Onfray sometimes downplays the internal logical coherence of certain systems (e.g., Plato’s metaphysics) in favor of political readings, which may appear reductive to specialists. | | Hedonistic Normativity | The advocacy for ethical hedonism is presented as a “universal” corrective, yet it can be contested as culturally specific and lacking a robust justification beyond personal preference. | | Over‑Generalization | The claim that all philosophical ideas serve power structures may obscure genuine epistemic motivations or genuine pursuit of truth in certain cases. | | Citation Gaps | In the audio format, Onfray frequently references secondary literature without specifying exact sources, making it difficult for listeners to verify or follow up on scholarly claims. | | Tone | The rhetorical style can be polemical, occasionally bordering on caricature (e.g., describing Descartes as “the father of modern solipsism”), which may alienate readers who prefer a more measured tone. |