Alexis Rosenbaum

Who is Alexis Rosenbaum?

Alexis Rosenbaum is a French essayist. After studying philosophy and psychology at the University of Paris-Sorbonne, he graduated with a dissertation on "hierarchical representations in the history of philosophy". He currently teaches at various elite engineering colleges.

Most of Rosenbaum's multidisciplinary works are meant to put modes of comparison into historical perspective. The sacred order questions the importance of hierarchical images in the history of western philosophy. Stressing the importance of platonic traditions, Rosenbaum argues that stratification is the prevailing mode of comparison in antique and medieval philosophy. He acknowledges the decline of hierarchical images during the European Renaissance, but contends that this decline is misleading, as hierarchical representations have been surviving in more discrete ways ever since. The fear of inferiority investigates the historical changes in procedures of social comparison, highlighting the peculiarities of the contemporary system of "overcomparison". The influence of Alfred Adler's thought on this work is undeniable.