1001Philosophers

Cornelius Castoriadis Quotes

Cornelius Castoriadis was a Greek-French philosopher, psychoanalyst, and political theorist. A founding figure of the heterodox Marxist group Socialisme ou Barbarie in post-war Paris, he broke with Marxism in the 1960s while retaining a radical commitment to the project of human self-government. The quotes below are attributed to Cornelius Castoriadis, organized by topic.

Cornelius Castoriadis on Freedom

  • Attributed to Cornelius Castoriadis:

    “Autonomy is the project of consciously giving ourselves our own laws.”

Read all Cornelius Castoriadis quotes on Freedom

Cornelius Castoriadis on Mind

  • Attributed to Cornelius Castoriadis:

    “The radical imagination is the deepest source of human creativity.”

Cornelius Castoriadis on Politics

  • Attributed to Cornelius Castoriadis:

    “Society is self-instituted; it is not given by nature, by God, or by history.”

  • Attributed to Cornelius Castoriadis:

    “We are responsible for what we make of the world we share.”

  • Attributed to Cornelius Castoriadis:

    “The crisis of the West is the crisis of imagination as much as of institutions.”

Read all Cornelius Castoriadis quotes on Politics