Félix Guattari: biography of this French philosopher and psychoanalyst.

A summary of the life and work of Félix Guattari, French activist and philosopher inspired by Lacan.

Félix Guattari was a French thinker, philosopher and psychoanalyst of the 20th century, who conceived thought as a tool of social struggle. He was a disciple of Lacan and a left-wing militant, and wrote numerous works on politics and philosophy.

In this article we will see a brief biography of Félix Guattariand a summary of his contributions to the French society of that century. His legacy still lives on today.

Félix Guattari: biography of this thinker and activist

Félix Guattari was born on April 30, 1930 in Villeneuve-les-Sabons (Oise), France. He was a prominent psychoanalyst and philosopher, and a central figure in French intellectual life. a central figure in French intellectual life in the second half of the 20th century..

Félix Guattari began studying pharmacy, under pressure from his family, but quickly abandoned it to study philosophy. In his formative journey, the two most important areas that stand out are the factory and the psychiatric hospital.

In relation to the factory, Félix Guattari joined the union group composed of workers of the Hispano-Suiza (factory producing luxury cars and aircraft engines) as a young man. The "Hispano-Suiza Youth" organized different activities for young workers (study groups, outings to museums, volleyball games, singing lessons, etc.).

Félix Guattari is then forged as a militant in this youthful environment of cooperation and community life, and becomes one of the most active members of this group.He became one of the most important figures of the Albergues (where one of the activities was vacationing there).

From that moment on, his militant activity never stops, and he goes through different groups (Trotskyism, entryism and the left opposition).

Intellectual trajectory

As for the psychiatric hospital, Félix Guattari deviates from his studies in philosophy and begins to and began attending Lacan's seminar (in the early 1950s). (at the beginning of the 1950s) to become a specialist in the work of the Lacanian psychoanalyst. Later, however, he distanced himself from "Lacanism" through his collaboration with Gilles Deleuze (also a French philosopher).

His therapeutic experience went further and at that time he entered the psychiatric clinic and at that time he joined the La Borde psychiatric clinic (an outstanding center of institutional psychotherapy), located in a castle in 18 hectares of forest, and became the right hand of Jean Oury, founder and director of the hospital. From that moment on and for the next 20 years, he settles in the castle and Félix Guattari's life takes place and is centered in La Borde.

Félix Guattari approaches Freudian work through the thought of Jacques Lacan. After beginning his studies of psychoanalysis with Lacan himself, he ends up becoming one of the first non-physicians to participate in his Seminar.

Years later, Guattari joined the Freudian School of Paris, created by Lacan.created by Lacan, where he obtained the title of Member Analyst of the School. He participated in the School until its dissolution on January 5, 1980.

Finally, Guattari died at the age of 62, on August 29, 1992, in the clinic of La Borde (France).

His written work

One of his most outstanding works is Psychoanalysis and transversalityfrom 1976. It is about a psychoanalytic critique of institutions. It is considered a heterogeneous work, since it compiles articles written over a period of 15 years (from '55 to '70). Moreover, it is also heterogeneous because the articles are very diverse both formally and thematically.

This work gathers different texts; from conferences that took place in university circles, to articles from newspapers or specialized magazines. The topics are diverse; there are two specific areas: politics and psychoanalysis.

Other of his original works were: La révolution moléculaire (1977), L'inconscient machinique (1979), Les années d'hiver 1980-1985 (1985), Schizoanalytic Cartographies (1989), The three ecologies (1989)... All covering different themes of politics, philosophy and psychoanalysis.

Philosophy

Regarding his philosophical legacy, one of the contributions of Félix Guattari is that he he does not believe that it is possible to isolate the unconscious in language.nor to structure it. On the contrary, he considers the unconscious present in many fields, such as the social, the economic and the political.

Félix Guattari seeks answers to existential questions with the aim of reintegrating the complexity of individuals, their libido, dreams and inclinations in the political sphere; all this leads him to propose the so-called "ecosophy". leads him to propose the so called "ecosophy"..

Ecosophy is characterized as a current of thought that promotes the search for a wisdom to inhabit the planet, in the midst of the global ecosystemic crisis facing humanity.

Legacy

Félix Guattari's intellectual work is intertwined with his political militancy. Guattari is considered a dissident Marxistand conceives thought as a tool of social struggle. He militates in the Voie Communiste and in different leftist groups.

Guattari left a legacy, a very important intellectual production, strongly influenced by May '68 (the chain of protests that took place in France and, especially, in Paris during the months of May and June 1968).

For Guattari, this movement (which he characterizes for the first time as a molecular revolution) announces the possibility of other modes of political subjectivation and micro-social struggle.. Subjectivation is considered the process through which we constitute ourselves as subjects and manifest our subjectivity, and was a concept widely used by Guattari.

Bibliographical references:

• Guattari, F.(1976[1972]). Psychoanalysis and transversality. Buenos Aires: Siglo veintiuno editores.
• Abadi, D. (2011). Félix Guattari and institutional analysis. An introduction. I Jornadas de Estudiantes del Departamento de Filosofía.