Michel Onfray

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Lore & Background

Michel Onfray was born in Argentan to a family of Norman farmers. From ages 10 to 14, he was sent to a weekly Catholic boarding school in Giel, an experience he describes as a place of suffering. He graduated with a teaching degree in philosophy and taught senior students at a high school concentrating on technical degrees in Caen from 1983 to 2002. In 2002, he resigned to establish the Université populaire de Caen, a free institution open to all who cannot access the state university system, which on principle does not accept any money from the State—Onfray uses the profits from his books to help finance it. Based on his 2004 book *La Communauté philosophique*, the original UP now has imitators in Picardy, Arras, Lyon, Narbonne, and Le Mans, with five more in preparation. The national public radio network France Culture annually broadcasts his course of lectures to the Université Populaire on philosophical themes. Onfray is an atheist and author of *Traité d'athéologie* (*Atheist Manifesto*), which became the number one best-selling nonfiction book in France for months when published in spring 2005, and repeated its success in Italy in September 2005. His 2010 book *Le crépuscule d'une idole: L'affabulation freudienne* sparked considerable controversy in France for its criticism of Sigmund Freud, recognizing Freud as a philosopher but casting doubts on the effectiveness of his methods. In 2015, Onfray published *Cosmos*, the first book of a trilogy, which he ironically considers his 'very first book'. He has published a multi-volume *Counter-History of Philosophy* series, aiming to rehabilitate materialist, sensualist, empirical, nominalist, and hedonistic currents that he argues are dismissed by the dominant idealist, spiritualist historiography.

Reader's Guide

Michel Onfray's significance lies in his sustained effort to construct an ethical hedonism rooted in sensual materialism, drawing on Epicurus, Nietzsche, the Cynic and Cyrenaic schools, and French materialism. His *Counter-History of Philosophy* project explicitly challenges the idealist, spiritualist lineage he sees as dominant in Western philosophy—from Plato to Levinas by way of Kant and Christianity—arguing that materialist and hedonistic traditions have been marginalized. By founding the tuition-free Université populaire de Caen in 2002, he sought to make philosophy accessible outside state institutions, using his book profits to sustain it. His *Atheist Manifesto* brought him international attention as a vocal critic of theistic religion, while his later critique of Freud stirred academic and public debate. Onfray is often regarded as being left-wing; however, some observers have stated that he has right-wing tendencies. He has become appreciated by some far-right circles, notably with his sovereignist magazine *Front populaire*. His legacy includes a prolific output of over 100 books and a model for popular education in philosophy.

Did You Know?

• Onfray was sent to a weekly Catholic boarding school in Giel from ages 10 to 14, which he describes as a place of suffering.
• He taught philosophy to senior students at a high school concentrating on technical degrees in Caen between 1983 and 2002.
• His book *Traité d'athéologie* became the number one best-selling nonfiction book in France for months when published in spring 2005.
• The Université populaire de Caen does not accept any money from the State; Onfray uses profits from his books to help finance it.
• Onfray's 2010 book *Le crépuscule d'une idole* caused considerable controversy in France for its criticism of Sigmund Freud.