Philosopher (1922 – 1997)
Cornelius Castoriadis was one of the most renowned philosophers and psychoanalysts of the 20th century. He lived and worked primarily in France and was involved not only with philosophy, but also economics, biology, psychology, humanities, social sciences and mathematics. He had been called the “philosopher of autonomy” and was co-founder of the philosophic group known as Socialisme ou Barbarie. He is the author of The Imaginary Institution of Society, a classic which, although few people have read, gained worldwide attention in the philosophic community and is considered today as one of the greatest works of modern philosophy.
The main question that Castoriadis addresses in The Imaginary Institution of Society is where are humanity’s actions that create social and historical institutions based on? In attempt to answer this question, Castoriadis introduced a new concept in philosophy, the concept of creative imagination, according to which society creates the presentation of itself through imagination. He argues that society establishes institutions not by logic but by creating new forms of institutions which have never existed in the past and which are not necessarily compatible with reality. History and society, according to Castoriadis, are creations of imagination not based on historical laws. In this way, society is self-instituted by its own imaginative creations, sometimes created unconsciously by the society itself.
Except from Imagination and Creation, other words such as Imaginaire and Autonomy were central in Castoriadis’ philosophy and psychoanalysis. The social imaginaire (κοινωνικό φαντασιακό) is the source of all meanings that define the values of a society, that is, what is good and was is bad, was is right and what is wrong etc, what is true and what is false. These meanings, he argued, cannot always be products of mental lucidity and, for example, in many religious societies, such values of social imaginaire originate from God. In that case, these values are holy and cannot be doubted by anyone. This brings the philosopher to the idea of autonomy. He supported that in societies governed by their own imaginary institutions, men cannot think freely, they cannot behave correctly and they cannot judge what is good or bad for them. The first society that was able to bring about a radical change in its own social imaginaire was that of Ancient Greece. He envisioned a new such radical change during our times that would establish a true democracy and would grant autonomy to the people, just like it happened in Greece thousands of years ago and during the Renaissance. Castoriades struggled for this change.
Castoriadis’ philosophy proposed a new ontology for man. His goal was for man to break through society’s imaginary social institutions and rethink about what society’s end goals ought to be and what should man’s own purpose as an individual be in that society. Man should have the ability to institute consciously so that he can create an autonomous society for himself.
Bibliography
- Castoriadis, Cornelius. Οι τέσσερεις Λέξεις του Κ. Καστοριάδη Φαντασία, Φαντασιακό, Δημιουργία, Αυτονομία. Toperiodiko.gr. December 26, 2014. Web. Retrieved on November 8, 2016.
- John V. Garner. Cornelius Castoriadis (1922 – 1997). Internet Encyclopaedia of Philosophy. Iep.utm.edu. Web. Retrieved on November 7, 2016.
- Κορνήλιος Καστοριάδης (1922 -1997). Sansimera.gr. Web. Retrieved on November 6, 2016.
- Οικονόμου, Γιώργος. Σαράντα χρόνια από την «Φαντασιακή Θέσμιση της Κοινωνίας». Efsyn.gr. May 6, 2015. Web. Retrieved on November 8, 2016
