Vladimir Jankélévitch

Vladimir Jankélévitch was a French philosopher who wrote subtle studies of moral life — of forgiveness, of the 'almost nothing' and the ineffable — and of music, especially Fauré, Debussy and Ravel. A member of the Resistance during the Occupation, he taught for decades at the Sorbonne and refused all reconciliation with German culture after the Shoah. He was born to a family of Russian Jewish immigrants, and his Jewish identity was central to his post-war ethical writing.