March 14

Raymond Aron was a prominent French intellectual renowned for his work in sociology, political science, and philosophy. He critiqued Marxist ideology and totalitarianism, advocating for liberal democracy and moderate socialism. Aron's seminal works include The Opium of the Intellectuals and The Origins of Contemporary Germany. He served as a journalist and foreign affairs commentator, providing analysis on postwar European politics. As a professor at the Sorbonne and Sciences Po, he influenced generations of students and scholars. Aron engaged in public debate with contemporaries such as Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus. His balanced approach to social theory and political philosophy continues to shape modern thought.

Maurice Merleau-Ponty developed a unique phenomenological approach that emphasized the embodied nature of human experience. Born in 1908, he studied at the École Normale Supérieure and later taught at the Sorbonne. His major works include 'Phenomenology of Perception' and essays on art and language. Rejecting Cartesian dualism, he argued that perception precedes cognition and that consciousness is rooted in bodily engagement with the world. Merleau-Ponty influenced fields such as cognitive science, art theory, and existential philosophy. His interdisciplinary work bridged Husserlian phenomenology and existentialism, leaving a lasting impact on continental philosophy.