Jacques Ellul

Jacques Ellul (January 6, 1912 – May 19, 1994) was a French philosopher, sociologist, lay theologian, and professor who was a noted 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 58 books and more than a thousand 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 his work proved to be the threat to human freedom and religion created by modern technology. Among his most influential books are The Technological Society and Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes.

Considered by many a philosopher, Ellul was by training a sociologist who approached the question of technology and human action from a dialectical viewpoint. His constant concern was the emergence of a technological tyranny over humanity. As a philosopher and theologian, he further explored the religiosity of the technological society.

Ellul was a very close friend of Bernard Charbonneau, and both had a strong influence upon each other.

Monographs

(in French unless noted otherwise)

• La technique ou l’enjeu du siècle, Librairie Armand Colin, 1954.
  • The Technological Society, trans. John Wilkinson, New York: Vintage, 1964. (English)
• Propagandes, Paris: A. Colin, 1962.
  • Propaganda: The Formation of Men’s Attitudes, trans. Konrad Kellen and Jean Lerner, Alfred A. Knopf, 1965; New York: Vintage, 1973. (English)
• L'illusion politique, Paris: Robert Laffont, 1964.
• Exégèse des nouveaux lieux communs, Paris: Calmann-Lévy, 1966.
• Revolution trilogy (1969-1982) :
  • Autopsie de la révolution, Paris: Calmann-Lévy, 1969.
  • De la révolution aux révoltes, Paris: Calmann-Lévy, 1972.
  • Changer de révolution ? L'inéluctable prolétariat, Paris: Seuil, 1982.
• Les nouveaux possédés, Paris: Fayard, 1973.
• Trahison de l'Occident, Paris: Calmann-Lévy, 1975.
• Le système technicien, Paris: Calmann-Lévy, 1977.
• L'empire du non-sens, Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1980.
• La parole humiliée, Paris, Seuil, 1981.
• Le bluff technologique, Paris: Hachette, 1988.
  • The Technological Bluff, Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1990. (English)
• Déviance et déviants dans notre société intolérante, Paris: Economica, 1991.

Literature

• Ivan Illich, "To Honor Jacques Ellul". Based on an address given at Bordeaux, 13 November 1993.

Links

• Ellul at Wikipedia