The Crossed Destinies or Two Philosophers: Louis Althusser and Merab Mamardashvili

The Sorbonne professor, who knew Mamardashvili personally, gives a biographical insight into the Georgian philosopher’s relationship with Louis Althusser, the leading French Left-wing theoretician. She does this on the basis of the correspondence between the two philosophers which lasted as long as their friendship. It began shortly after their first meeting in Paris in 1966 and ended in 1980, when Althusser was committed to a psychiatric hospital following the murder of his wife. The letters were at first sent very officially by post and addressed to the respective places of work, to Althusser at the École Normal Supérieure rue Ulm and to Mamardashvili at the Institute of the Workers Movement in Moscow. Later they were carried by messengers, including the author of the article.