What is Engagement?

Etienne Balibar

doi:10.2298/FID2402405B

Authors

Etienne Balibar Université de Paris-Nanterre

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2298/FID2402405B

Keywords:

engagement, transcendence, subaltern solidarity, science, revolution, Marxism, deconstruction

Abstract

This text explores the nuances of choice and consequence through the philosophical lenses of Pascal and Sartre. It contrasts Pascal’s transcendental faith-based approach with Sartre’s terrestrial decision-making, emphasizing the inherent paradox of engagement beginning before choice. It argues that authentic choice demands embracing the unknown and its extreme consequences, rejecting the spectator’s role for active participation. The text also examines the intellectual’s duality, caught between bourgeois origins and subaltern solidarity, and the antinomy of integrating science and revolution. It concludes with reflections on the intellectual’s role in revolutionary movements, highlighting the necessity of continuous critical engagement and the interplay of truth and error.

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