ABSTRACT

This chapter explores the role of intellectuals in modern and contemporary French society. The chapter examines the changing role of the intellectual, considering the chronological development of intellectual engagement in France, from Foucault to Deleuze and through to the likes of Bernard Stiegler. The chapter argues that interventions by intellectuals in the public debate and their more or less successful ability to carve out a social space are conditioned by the media and in particular by the hegemonic use of technological apparatus. The chapter further argues that, while intellectuals are not quite the same figures they once were in French society, and the ‘death’ of the intellectual is a regular feature of the French media, there is still a role to be played. Increasingly, the chapter demonstrates, intellectuals can fulfil the role of ‘whistleblower’ in contemporary society.