Guillemin

Summary

Dominique Pagani cites Henri Guillemin mainly in connection with Napoleon, and always with the same split view. On one side, he recommends his lectures, which he considers excellent, especially those on Pétain, Rousseau and Robespierre12. He describes him as a respected historian who is excellent on Pétain3. On the other, he objects to his hostility toward Napoleon, who "makes him nauseous"4. In his view, Guillemin has no dialectical view of the Emperor: he sees only the negative side, because he fails to grasp its historical significance12. In the session devoted to "Napoleon, or the reasons of the ruse," he goes as far as saying that Guillemin is never as bad as on this subject3. He also criticises him for stressing Napoleon's vanity, greed and ambition, which places the analysis on psychological and moral ground rather than historical ground5. From 2020 to 2024, this judgement stays the same: he admires the lecturer and disputes his reading of Napoleon.

1. 1#10.4 From Lascaux to modern music, the permanence of the political stakes in aesthetics3 Nov 2021 · 8:41
2. 2Worldliness in Clouscard: the world as “cunning of reason”22 Jul 2023 · 39:49
3. 3Napoleon, or the reasons of cunning2 Dec 2024 · 15:12
4. 4#5 Happiness versus the death drive in music11 Dec 2020 · 55:59
5. 5Napoleon, or the reasons of cunning2 Dec 2024 · 17:30

Summary produced automatically from 6 of the passages below, to be reviewed; the numbers link to the moment in the session.