Élan vital, philosophical antidote to the contemporary vague à l'âme: an essay by Sophie Chassat published on September 29, 2021.
Never before have we been so preoccupied with preserving life. Yet rarely have we felt so devitalized. It's as if the élan vital had suddenly disappeared from our daily lives. This book sets out in pursuit of that appetite for existence which alone makes us feel truly alive.
How do we recognize the élan vital? What kind of impulses and movements does it generate? What are its ingredients, manifestations and metaphors? Above all, how can we awaken it, nourish it and share it, by identifying our "biophores", i.e. our vitality activators? How, in turn, can we guard against the things that attack, diminish or extinguish it, by fighting against "biocides" of all kinds, those vitality-destroying experiences?
The aim of this book is to identify the vital impulse and bring it back to life within us, as a philosophical antidote to the contemporary "vague à l'âme", and a manifesto for renewed desire.
Published by éditions Calmann-Levy
