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Fourier, Charles (1772–1837)

DOI
10.4324/9780415249126-DC105-1
Published
2003
DOI: 10.4324/9780415249126-DC105-1
Version: v1,  Published online: 2003
Retrieved March 28, 2024, from https://www.rep.routledge.com/articles/biographical/fourier-charles-1772-1837/v-1

Article Summary

Fourier was a French utopian socialist who criticized the economic and domestic structures of the modern social world for their failure to respect human nature. He discerned twelve basic human ‘passions’ which combined to generate 810 basic personality types. On the basis of this account of human diversity, he advocated the establishment of small voluntary communities organized to provide fulfilling work and sexual liberation. Some of the more extravagant elements of his ‘social’ theory (his views on cosmogony, metempsychosis and ‘universal analogy’) were played down by his followers.

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Citing this article:
Leopold, David. Fourier, Charles (1772–1837), 2003, doi:10.4324/9780415249126-DC105-1. Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Taylor and Francis, https://www.rep.routledge.com/articles/biographical/fourier-charles-1772-1837/v-1.
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