Georges-Elia Sarfati

Who is Georges-Elia Sarfati?

Georges Elia Sarfati is a linguist, philosopher and Franco-Israeli poet writing in French. He is a University Professor, a director of research at the Sorbonne University of Paris IV. A former professor at the University of Tel Aviv, and an associate at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. He is a member of the editorial board of the French journal Controverses and the Israeli Im Tirtzu movement. He is also a specialist in Jewish Studies and a professor at the University of Clermont-Ferrand.

He introduced into language theory the philosophical and anthropological question of common sense and doxa, that is, commonly accepted beliefs. His research has developed a conception of social reproduction based on a theory of the norms of the practice and institutions of meaning. Following the Italian thinker Antonio Gramsci, he has worked out a critical elite and hegemony theory, linked to a political conception of discourse.

His work in philosophy constitutes a reflection on the Jewish condition profoundly shaped by Israel's national renaissance.