Death of sociologist Edgar Morin

Edgar Morin (1921–2026)

On 29 May, the great French sociologist and philosopher Edgar Morin passed away. He lived through the 20th century and the first decades of the 21st century, and his complex thinking – “which encompasses rather than separates” – left a profound mark on the social sciences. Read and recognised throughout the world, his works include: Introduction à une politique de l’homme (1969), Le Paradigme perdu : la nature humaine (Le Seuil, 1973), six volumes of La Méthode (Le Seuil, 1977–2004), Pour une politique de civilisation (Arléa, 2002), Leçons d’un siècle de vie (Denoël, 2021).

Alongside the free thinking he always cultivated, Edgar Morin fought tirelessly for a multidisciplinary vision of science and culture, that is, for dialogue between all fields of knowledge, the arts, politics and philosophy, breaking down the barriers between disciplines. As a philosopher and anthropologist, he sought to understand anthroposocial complexity, including its biological and imaginary dimensions, always guided by the perspective of connections and systems, or, as he himself put it, of ‘ reliance ’, i.e., that which unites beings.

He championed the humanist values of solidarity, love, friendship and fellowship, and emphasised that uncertainty is an inherent part of the human condition (both cognitive and historical uncertainty). He was perhaps the one who best helped us to understand, in contrast to certainty and univocity, the uncertainty of reality, of knowledge or science, and of action.

In 2019, Lusófona University awarded Edgar Morin an honorary doctorate at a remarkable ceremony enhanced by his distinguished and unique presence, his perceptive insight and his lucid words.