Archive of Philosophy of the Encounter

Since the conjuncture that marked the reception of Althusser’s works, it has become clearer that the the initial Anglophone interpretation of Althusser involved considerable conceptual mistranslation, and his texts have since then been cursed by a reputation which powerfully precedes the reading.

In this recent essay, by Richard Seymour and originally published on his Patreon reflects on Hélène Rytman, the wife of Louis Althusser, and the place of her killing in the reception of Althusser's life and work.

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This text is excerpted from Considerations on Western Marxism, written in 1974 as the introduction to a reader on Western Marxism whose publication was ultimately delayed before appearing as a standalone volume in 1976.