Onfray, Michel 1959-

PERSONAL:

Born 1959, in France. Education: Earned a Ph.D.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Normandy, France. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

People's University, Caen, France, teacher of philosophy.

WRITINGS:

Georges Palante: Essai Sur Un Nietzschéen De Gauche, Editions Folle Avoine (Romillé, France), 1989.

Combat Pour L'individu, Editions Folle Avoine (Romillé, France), 1989.

La Sensibilité Individualiste, Folle Avoine (Romillé, France), 1990.

L'art De Jouir: Pour Un Matérialisme Hédoniste, B. Grasset (Paris, France), 1991.

La Révolte Individuelle: Actes Du Colloque Georges Palante, Saint-Brieuc, 9, 10, 11 Novembre 1990, Editions Folle Avoine (Bédée, France), 1991.

L'oeil Nomade: La Peinture De Jacques Pasquier, Editions Folle Avoine (Romillé, France), 1993.

La Sculpture De Soi: La Morale Esthétique, B. Grasset (Paris, France), 1993.

Les Antinomies Entre L'individu Et La Société, Editions Folle avoine (Romillé, France), 1994.

La Raison Gourmande: Philosophie Du Goût, B. Grasset (Paris, France), 1995.

Ars Moriendi: Cent Petits Tableaux Sur Les Avantages Et Les Inconvénients De La Mort, Editions Folle avoine (Bédée, France), 1995.

Métaphysique Des Ruines: La Peinture De Monsù Desiderio, Mollat (Bordeaux, France), 1995.

Le Désir D'être Un Volcan: Journal Hédoniste, Grasset (Paris, France), 1996.

Les Formes Du Temps: Théorie Du Sauternes, Mollat (Bordeaux, France), 1996.

Politique Du Rebelle: Traité De Résistance Et D'insoumission, B. Grasset (Paris, France), 1997.

Ici Et Maintenant, Actes Sud (Arles, France), 1997.

Hommage À Bachelard: Eugéne Van Lamsweerde, Bernard Pagès, Paul Rebeyrolle, Klaus Rinke, Editions du Regard (Paris, France), 1998.

Les Vertus De La Foudre, B. Grasset (Paris, France), 1998.

A Côté Du Désir D'éternité: Fragments D'Egypte, Mollat (Bordeaux, France), 1998.

Velickovic, Blessure(s), Fondation d'entreprise COPRIM (Paris, France), 1999.

Théorie Du Corps Amoureux: Pour Une Érotique Solaire, B. Grasset (Paris, France), 2000.

L'archipel Des Comètes, B. Grasset (Paris, France), 2001.

Splendeur De La Catastrophe: La Peinture De Vladimir Velicković, Galilée (Paris, France), 2002.

Vladimir Velicković: Slike, Crtezi, Kolazi: 1988-2002, Sanu (Belgrade, Serbia), 2002.

Physiologie De Georges Palante: Pour Un Nietzschéisme De Gauche, B. Grasset (Paris, France), 2002.

Esthétique Du Pôle Nord: Stèles Hyperboréennes, B. Grasset (Paris, France), 2002.

Atheist Manifesto: The Case against Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, Arcade Publishing (New York, NY), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

French writer Michel Onfray is known primarily for his divisive philosophical writings and for his founding of l'Université populaire de Caen, or the People's University of Caen. In Atheist Manifesto: The Case against Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, one of his most controversial works, Onfray takes on organized religion of any kind, criticizing the influences of various forms of faith and considering any type of religious belief as impractical and unnecessary as the next. Steve Young, writing in the Library Journal, noted that some of Onfray's arguments are reasonable, but remarked that "much of his reasoning rests on generalizations, and he fails to consider and rebut common counterarguments to his claims." Gerard Windsor, in a review for the Sydney Morning Herald online, agreed, stating: "Onfray just flings down axioms and gallops on, wreathed in bandoliers, firebrands in his mouth and behind each ear, blasting away at every religious body that stirs on the earth beneath, or in the heavens above." Chris Haire, reviewing for the Honolulu Weekly online observed that the book "reads very much like what you might expect from something billing itself as a manifesto…. It's a stiff, blow-hardy read that makes a lot of promises and pronouncements." Barney Zwartz, in a review for Age Web site, wrote: "Onfray is deeply erudite and draws together some fascinating threads," but went on to conclude that his "disdainful caricature of the three monotheistic faiths is not going to persuade a fair-minded thinker. He is just another strident voice bellowing at the already (un)converted."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Library Journal, February 1, 2007, Steve Young, review of Atheist Manifesto: The Case against Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, p. 77.

ONLINE

Age,http://www.theage.com.au/ (May 25, 2007), Barney Zwartz, review of Atheist Manifesto.

Honolulu Weekly Online,http://honoluluweekly.com/ (June 6, 2007), Chris Haire, "Let There Be Light: Atheist Tomes Hope to Spur a New Age of Enlightenment in These Dark Times."

Natural Selections,http://selections.rockefeller.edu/ (August 30, 2007), Bertrand Mollereau, "Do Atheists Have (Bio)Ethics?," author interview.

Sydney Morning Herald,http://www.smh.com.au/ (April 20, 2007), Gerald Windsor, review of Atheist Manifesto.