Philosophical Materialism as an Existential and Spiritual quest in Michel Serres’s Philosophy and Sylvain Tesson’s “La Particule”
ORCID
Moser: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3824-1021
MSU Affiliation
College of Arts and Sciences; Department of Classical and Modern Languages and Literatures
Creation Date
2026-06-01
Abstract
This article proposes a Serresian interpretation of Sylvain Tesson’s short story “La particule.” To be more precise, this study focuses on the existential and spiritual implications of the doctrine of philosophical materialism espoused by both writers. Compared to anthropocentric views of the world that are grounded in magical thinking revolving around a human-centered universe, Serres and Tesson’s arguments in support of philosophical materialism lean heavily on scientific discoveries that have completely removed Homo sapiens from any kind of ontological pedestal. Their deconstruction of human exceptionalism also strives to reinvigorate our numbed senses and to restore our lost connection to the earth in the Anthropocene-Technocene. On a biosphere that bears the visible scars of human transformation, their promotion of a purely materialistic worldview reminds us that the ultimate end goal of our unchecked parasitism is ecocide. For better or worse, all material entities will survive or perish together depending upon the fateful decisions that Homo terminator makes in the coming years.
Publication Date
5-8-2025
Publication Title
Romance Notes
Publisher
The University of North Carolina Press
First Page
283
Last Page
294
Recommended Citation
Moser, Keith. "Philosophical Materialism as an Existential and Spiritual quest in Michel Serres’s Philosophy and Sylvain Tesson’s “La Particule”." Romance Notes, vol. 64 no. 2, 2024, p. 283-294. Project MUSE, https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/rmc.2024.a959815.
