José Guilherme Merquior

J G MERQUIOR, (1941-1991), first trained in law and philosophy, studied literature at the Sorbonne and social theory at the London School of Economics. Once a visiting professor at King's College, London and in Brazil, his native country, he was for five years a member of Claude Levi-Strauss's seminar at the College de France. Several of his books deal with the history of French thought: Rousseau and Weber (London 1980), L'Esthetique de Levi-Strauss (Paris 1977), the Fontana Modern Masters Foucault (1985), Western Marxism (London 1986). He has also written extensively on Georges Sorel, Raymond Aron and the influence of Comte's positivism outside France.