Jean-Francois Lyotard biography

Synopsis

Early Years

French philosopher. Born Jean-Francois Lyotard on August 10, 1924 in Vincennes, France. The son of a salesman, Lyotard showed creative and contemplative qualities from an early age. He dreamed of becoming a painter or novelist, and for a time even thought about becoming a Dominican monk. Eventually, however, philosophy won out and Lyotard enrolled at the Sorbonne in Paris for his studies.

With the onset of World War II, Lyotard interrupted his studies. He served as a first aid volunteer for the French army, and experienced the fight to liberate Paris in August 1944.

No doubt shaped by the destruction and devastation he'd witnessed during the war, and drawn to the early promises of socialism, Lyotard became a devout Marxist in the years following World War II.

Political Years

By his own admission, Lyotard turned a period of his life after World War II over to socialist revolution. His writing largely centered on left-wing politics and he took a particular interest in the war for Algeria's independence, which he saw in person while teaching there.

During this time Lyotard edited Socialisme ou Barbarie, a journal that was published by a group of communist sympathizers of the same name. In addition he churned out published material to distribute to workers at factory gates. Lyotard was also at the center of the labor strikes and political unrest that swept through Paris in May 1968.

But Lyotard's relationship with his fellow Marxists wasn't a smooth one. After a split with his comrades at the Socialisme ou Barbarie, he joined an offshoot group before abandoning Marxism altogether and turning toward the beginnings of what would become postmodernity.

Postmodernity

In 1979 Lyotard published The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge. The landmark work helped set the stage for the beginning of thought on the postmodern condition, and helped make the philosopher a more recognizable name in the English-speaking world.

Lyotard's writing, and the work that would follow, set the stage for his full departure from what he called the "grand narratives" of Marx and the Enlightenment.

The world had grown too complex, Lyotard reasoned, too diverse in thought and ambition, for these larger ideas to represent everything to everyone. What ruled instead were a series of micro-narratives. The older, simpler industrial world was dying, Lyotard argued, and its place had arisen a more technologically driven world that centered increasinly on linguistic and symbolic production.

Threaded through the work was a certain nod toward relativism, with the author theorizing that there is no right or wrong way to interpret the world around you.