Éloge des phénomènes is an essay by the French writer and filmmaker Bruno Deniel-Laurent, published in 2014, dedicated to issues related to Down syndrome and eugenics.
Background
editThe book was published on March 21, 2014, to mark the third edition of World Down Syndrome Day and was launched during a conference at the Economic, Social, and Environmental Council, sponsored by Jean-Paul Delevoye.[1]
Summary
editÉloge des phénomènes aims to be a plea in favor of children with Down syndrome and a critique of the "State eugenics" that they would be, according to the author, the victims of. Bruno Deniel-Laurent reminds us that 96% of fetuses diagnosed with Down syndrome through amniocentesis are subjected to a medical termination of pregnancy. He also explains that the fetus with Down syndrome is the subject of a legal exception: while the time limit for a legal abortion is twelve weeks for "normal" fetuses, fetuses with an extra chromosome can be aborted at any time during the pregnancy.
Drawing on the work of the philosopher Jean-Claude Guillebaud and embedding his essay within ecological and critical movements (inspired by the works of Günther Anders, Ivan Illich, and Jacques Ellul), the author denounces the theories of transhumanism and the "enhanced human" that he equates with "technoliberalism".[2]
The author traces the genealogy of eugenic theories in France, citing the writings of philosopher Clémence Royer and Dr. Charles Richet, the 1913 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate ("The first step towards selection is the elimination of the abnormal. (…) It is barbaric to force a deaf-mute, an idiot, or a rickety person to live… There is bad living matter that deserves no respect or compassion. Resolutely eliminating them would be doing them a favor because they will only ever lead a miserable existence."). Bruno Deniel-Laurent describes the implementation of the Aktion T4 program, suggesting that "the theoretical framework that justified the active eugenics policy of the Third Reich [was] deeply rooted in contemporary Western thought".
Bruno Deniel-Laurent emphasizes the positive meaning of the term “idiocy” (which he contrasts with the “arrogance of fools”), recalling its Greek etymology: “Voltaire knew that before becoming synonymous with stupidity, the word 'idiocy' referred to singularity, and Clément Rosset added that the 'idiot' is also the one who has no reflection, no double, whose mode of access to reality is not polluted by the convolutions of the intellect. Isn’t the 'idiot' the one who masters an 'idiom,' an 'idiosyncratic' language whose meaning eludes most people?”[3]
Finally, the author supports initiatives aimed at better integrating children with Down syndrome into society, citing as an example the intergenerational residence “L'îlot Bon Secours” in Arras.
Reception
editThe book received numerous reviews in the press and media: Direct Matin,[4] Ouest-France,[5] Valeurs actuelles,[6] Famille chrétienne,[7] Causeur,[8] Tak Magazine,[9] Monde & Vie.[10]
The writer Sébastien Lapaque devoted an article to it in the weekly La Vie, describing Éloge des phénomènes as a "moving plea for a fragile, tragic, and variegated humanity", and the essayist Christian Authier interviewed the author in L'Opinion indépendante.[11] The writer Sarah Vajda also published a long text about the book on March 20 on her blog.
References
edit- ^ [1], Program of the "Plus Belle Ta Vie" day at the CESE, March 21, 2014.
- ^ Éloge des phénomènes, pages 30 to 37.
- ^ [2], Back cover of the book.
- ^ [3], Interview with Bruno Deniel-Laurent, Direct Matin published online on March 21, 2014.
- ^ Ouest-France, Angers - Segré edition, May 29, 2014, text by Laurent Beauvallet.
- ^ Valeurs actuelles n° 4034, March 20, 2014, text by Mickaël Fonton.
- ^ [4], “We are not poisons!”, article by Pauline Quillon, March 20, 2014
- ^ Causeur n° 70, April 2014, article by Romaric Sangars.
- ^ [5], “The Song of the Excluded,” Tak Magazine, text by Pierre Cormary, published online on March 21, 2014.
- ^ Monde et Vie n° 889, March 2014, article by Richard de Seze.
- ^ L'Opinion indépendante week of April 11, 2014.