Kostas Axelos

Kostas Axelos (Κώστας Αξελός) (June 26, 1924 – February 4, 2010) — also spelled Costas Axelos — was a Greek philosopher. He was born in Athens and attended high school at the French Institute[1] and the German School of Athens. He enrolled in the law school in order to pursue studies in law and economics. With the onset of World War II Alexos got involved in politics. Then during the German and Italian occupation he participated in the Greek Resistance, and later on in the Greek Civil War, as an organiser and journalist affiliated with the Communist Party (1941–1945). He was later expelled from the Communist Party and condemned to death by the right-wing government. He was arrested and escaped.

At the end of 1945 Axelos moved to Paris, France, where he studied philosophy at the Sorbonne. From 1950 to 1957 he worked as a researcher in the philosophy branch of C.R.N.S, where he was writing his dissertations[1], and subsequently proceeded to work in Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes. From 1962 to 1973 he taught philosophy at the Sorbonne. His dissertation "Marx, penseur de la technique" (translated as "Alienation, Praxis and Techne in the Thought of Karl Marx") tried to provide an understanding of modern technology based on the thought of Heidegger and Marx and was very influential in the 1960s, alongside the philosophy of Herbert Marcuse.

Axelos was a collaborator on, columnist with, and subsequently editor of the magazine Arguments (1956–1962). He founded and, since 1960, has run the series Arguments in Edition de Minuit[2]. He has published texts mostly in French, but also in Greek and German. His most important book is "Le Jeu du Monde" (Play of the World), where Axelos argues for a pre-ontological status of play. One of his last interviews was conducted by Christos Memos and was published at the international academic journal 'Thesis Eleven' under the title 'For Marx and Marxism: An Interview with Kostas Axelos', (Number 98, August 2009, pp. 129-139).

Select Bibliography (by publication in French)

* Marx, penseur de la technique, Paris, UGE/Les Éditions de Minuit, 1961.
* Héraclite et la philosophie, 1962.
* Arguments d'une recherche, Paris, Les Éditions de Minuit, 1963.
* Vers la pensée planétaire, Paris, Les Éditions de Minuit, 1964.
* Le Jeu du monde, Paris, Les Éditions de Minuit, 1969.
* Pour une éthique problématique, Paris, Les Éditions de Minuit, 1972.
* Entretiens, Paris, Scholies/Fata Morgana, 1973.
* Horizons du monde, Paris, Les Éditions de Minuit, 1974.
* Contribution à la logique, Paris, Les Éditions de Minuit, 1977.
* Problèmes de l'enjeu, Paris, Les Éditions de Minuit, 1979.
* Systématique ouverte, Paris, Les Éditions de Minuit, 1984.
* Métamorphoses, 1991.
* L'errance érotique, 1992.
* Lettres à un jeune penseur, Paris, Les Éditions de Minuit, 1996.
* Notices autobiographiques, 1997.
* Ce questionnement, Paris, Les Éditions de Minuit, 2001
* Réponses énigmatiques, Paris, Les Éditions de Minuit, 2005.
* Ce qui advient. Fragments d'une approche, Paris, Les Belles-Lettres, coll. "Encre marine", 2009.

[edit] References

1. ^ a b "INTERVIEW: Kostas Axelos; Mondialisation without the world". Radical Philosophy. 2005. http://www.radicalphilosophy.com/pdf/mondialisation.pdf. Retrieved 2010-02-02.
2. ^ "Kostas Axelos". Éditions de Minuit. http://www.leseditionsdeminuit.eu/f/index.php?sp=livAut&auteur_id=1383. Retrieved 2010-02-02.

One of his last interviews was conducted by Christos Memos and was published at the international academic journal 'Thesis Eleven' under the title 'For Marx and Marxism: An Interview with Kostas Axelos', (Number 98, August 2009, pp. 129-139)

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