# Louis Althusser

> French Marxist philosopher (1918–1990)

**Wikidata**: [Q184169](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q184169)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Althusser)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/louis-althusser

## Summary
Louis Althusser was a French Marxist philosopher (1918–1990) best known for reworking Marxist theory in a structuralist register and for influential writings that include the essay "Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses" (1970) and the book For Marx (1965). He was a university teacher and public intellectual affiliated with the École Normale Supérieure and associated with the movement often called structural Marxism.

## Biography
- Born: 16 October 1918
- Died: 22 October 1990
- Nationality: France
- Education: lycée du Parc; École Normale Supérieure (ENS)
- Known for: Reworking Marxist philosophy through structuralist methods; authoring For Marx (1965), Reading Capital, and the essay "Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses" (1970)
- Employer(s): École Normale Supérieure (ENS Paris); affiliated with lycée du Parc
- Field(s): Marxist philosophy; political philosophy; epistemology; metaphysics; philosophy of science; university teaching; editing

## Contributions
- For Marx (1965) — Authored the book For Marx (listed as a 1965 book). The work is one of his principal publications addressing Marxist theory from a structuralist perspective.
- Reading Capital — Authored the book Reading Capital (work-level listed among his notable writings).
- "Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses" (1970) — Wrote the essay identified in the source as a 1970 essay; this work articulated a theory of ideology and the role of state and social institutions in ideological reproduction.
- Associated movement: structural Marxism — Althusser is associated with the structural-Marxist current that is dated in the source as arising around 1975.
- Intellectual networking and editing: acted as editor, teacher, and organizer within French academic life; numerous library and archival identifiers and bibliographic records document his publications and the reception of his work (extensive identifiers and catalogue entries are listed in institutional records).

## FAQs
Q: What are Louis Althusser’s best-known works?
A: His best-known works named in the source are For Marx (1965), Reading Capital (work-level entry), and the essay "Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses" (1970).

Q: Where did Althusser teach or work?
A: He was affiliated with the École Normale Supérieure (ENS Paris) and is linked with lycée du Parc in the provided material; ENS is cited repeatedly as his principal institutional affiliation.

Q: What intellectual movement is Althusser associated with?
A: The source links Althusser to structural Marxism, a strand of Marxist theory associated with him in secondary descriptions and dated in the source as arising in the mid-1970s.

Q: What fields did Althusser work in?
A: He worked in Marxist philosophy, political philosophy, epistemology, metaphysics, and the philosophy of science; he also served as a university teacher and editor.

Q: What is Althusser’s national and personal identification in records?
A: He is recorded as a French citizen and appears in many bibliographic and authority records under variants such as Louis Althusser and Louis Pierre Althusser.

## Why They Matter
Louis Althusser reshaped how Marxist theory was read and taught in the mid-20th century by introducing structuralist categories and by reframing the theoretical status of ideology, state institutions, and the scientific reading of Marx. His 1965 For Marx and his 1970 essay on ideological state apparatuses provided conceptual tools used across political philosophy, sociology, and cultural studies to analyze how social structures and institutions reproduce relations of production and dominant ideas. The identification of ideological state apparatuses—schools, churches, media, and cultural institutions—as sites of ideological formation offered a new vocabulary for thinking about state power beyond simple repressive apparatuses. Althusser’s work became a reference point in debates on Marxism, structuralism, and the role of theory in politics; it circulated through and influenced intellectual networks that include French and international philosophers and social theorists. Without Althusser’s interventions, mid‑ and late‑20th‑century re-readings of Marx that emphasize structure, theory, and ideology would have followed a substantially different course, and the specific formulations now standard in discussions of ideological reproduction would be missing from the canon.

Influence and networks recorded in the source connect Althusser to a broad set of thinkers and traditions. He engaged with and is associated, in the provided material, with classical Marxist figures (Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Antonio Gramsci, Mao Zedong), with structuralist and post‑structuralist contemporaries and interlocutors (Claude Lévi‑Strauss, Michel Foucault, Gilles Deleuze, Jacques Derrida), and with later or allied Marxist theorists and critics (Étienne Balibar, Nicos Poulantzas, Alain Badiou, Fredric Jameson, Slavoj Žižek). His name also appears in relation to methodological and disciplinary debates spanning epistemology, metaphysics, and the philosophy of science.

## Notable For
- Being recorded in bibliographic and authority files under aliases such as Louis Althusser and Louis Pierre Althusser across many institutional records and identifiers.
- For Marx (1965) — listed as a principal book by Althusser.
- Reading Capital — listed among his major works (work-level entry).
- "Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses" (1970) — a widely cited essay formulating a theory of ideology and the role of institutions in ideological reproduction.
- Association with the movement labeled structural Marxism, identified in the source as connected to Althusser.
- Longstanding academic affiliation with the École Normale Supérieure (ENS Paris).
- Roles recorded beyond philosophic authorship: university teacher and editor.

## Body

### Early life and identity
- Louis Althusser is recorded in the source as born on 16 October 1918 and deceased on 22 October 1990. The source provides his full personal name variants, including Louis Pierre Althusser and the common form Louis Althusser.
- Institutional and library metadata list many authority identifiers and catalogue entries for Althusser, indicating wide archival and bibliographic registration across national and international databases.

### Education and institutional affiliation
- Secondary education: linked with lycée du Parc in the provided affiliations.
- Higher education and professional base: educated at and employed by the École Normale Supérieure (ENS Paris). ENS appears repeatedly in the provided material as both an alma mater and principal institutional affiliation.
- Professional roles: described in the source material as a philosopher, university teacher, editor, and as holding occupations that include political activity in the context of Marxist theory.

### Major works and publications
- For Marx (1965): Listed explicitly as a 1965 book by Louis Althusser. The title is included in the list of his notable works in the provided material.
- Reading Capital: Given as a book by Louis Althusser (work-level entry is included among notable works).
- "Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses" (1970): Listed as a 1970 essay by Althusser; the essay formulates his theory of ideological state apparatuses and distinguishes ideological from repressive state apparatuses.
- The provided material lists additional work-level identifiers and catalog records that show the scope of his publishing and editorial footprint. Numerous institutional identifiers and catalogue numbers in national and academic libraries document editions, translations, and archival holdings of his writings.

### Intellectual approach and fields of work
- Marxist theory: Althusser is identified in the source as a Marxist philosopher who reinterpreted Marx through structuralist methods.
- Structural Marxism: The source explicitly links Althusser with the movement known as structural Marxism (inception dated in the source as +1975).
- Epistemology and philosophy of science: Althusser’s fields of work, as recorded in the material, include epistemology and the philosophy of science—domains in which he examined the theoretical status of Marxism as a science and the epistemological breaks in Marx’s own work.
- Political philosophy and metaphysics: The source lists political philosophy and metaphysics among his areas of activity.

### Intellectual networks, influences, and interlocutors
- The provided material places Althusser in a broad intellectual network. Key named figures associated in the source include:
  - Classical Marxist and revolutionary figures: Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Antonio Gramsci, Mao Zedong.
  - Structuralist and social‑theoretical contemporaries and interlocutors: Claude Lévi‑Strauss, Georges Canguilhem, Gaston Bachelard.
  - Post‑structural and continental philosophers with whom his work was in dialogue or contrast: Michel Foucault, Gilles Deleuze, Jacques Derrida.
  - Marxist and left intellectuals who appear alongside him in the source’s network: Étienne Balibar, Nicos Poulantzas, Alain Badiou, Fredric Jameson, Slavoj Žižek, Nikos Poulantzas.
- The source records that Althusser’s work is connected to these figures via networks of influence, engagement, and scholarly debate. It also documents that Althusser’s re‑reading of Marx entered the matrix of 20th‑century French and international theory alongside the work of these thinkers.

### Roles as teacher and editor
- The source classifies Althusser as a university teacher and editor. His principal institutional affiliation is the École Normale Supérieure, and lycée du Parc appears among his formal affiliations.
- Bibliographic and authority records listed in the source (numerous catalog and identifier entries) indicate extensive editorial and bibliographic activity, including the curation and circulation of his own texts and essays.

### Reception, movement, and legacy
- Movement association: structural Marxism is named in the source as the philosophical movement associated with Althusser; the source gives an inception date (+1975) for that association.
- Notable reception: the inclusion of Althusser in multiple authority files, cross‑references in other intellectual biographies, and his appearance in the networks of major 20th‑century thinkers in the source all attest to his broad reception and continuing relevance.
- Influence on disciplines: Althusser’s theoretical formulations—particularly about ideology, the role of institutions, and Marxist epistemology—are presented in the source as central outputs that fed debates in political philosophy, sociology, cultural theory, and the history of ideas.

### Bibliographic and authority data (selected)
- The source lists many institutional identifiers and catalogue records for Althusser, demonstrating extensive archival presence in libraries and databases. Variants shown include Louis Althusser; Louis Pierre Althusser; authority and catalogue entries across national and library systems. (The source supplies numerous P‑prefixed identifiers and catalogue numbers documenting these registrations.)

### Names, aliases, and cataloguing
- Aliases recorded in the source: Althusser; Louis Pierre Althusser; Louis Althusser.
- The source lists Althusser under many library and authority headings and provides cross‑references such as biography entries and catalog IDs, underscoring his established presence in scholarly and bibliographic infrastructures.

### Final notes
- The provided material identifies Louis Althusser principally as a French Marxist philosopher (1918–1990), a university teacher associated with ENS, an editor, and an author of key texts (For Marx, Reading Capital, and "Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses"). His work is connected in the source to a wide set of intellectual figures and to the movement labeled structural Marxism. The multiple identifiers and catalogue entries in the source indicate a large and well‑documented body of work and reception history.

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