Systems or thought? Challenging the history of philosophy at the Collège de France in 1951

This article aims to shed light on the election of Martial Gueroult (1891-1976) to the chair of History and Technology of Philosophical Systems in 1951, and, indirectly, to explore the success of his “structural” approach to the history of philosophy. I argue that those who occupied key roles in the management of the disciplinary economy of the human sciences were bound not to contradict the axioms that had regulated the practice of the history of philosophy since the beginning of the 19th Century – while still displaying innovating in their field. The first step summarizes the historiographical method proposed by Gueroult; the second places it within a tradition of historiography of philosophy; the third situates the practice of the history of philosophy in relation at the Collège de France and the Sorbonne; the fourth and fifth moments are devoted to describing the rapporteurs and candidates for this election, hiring reports, letters addressed to the administrator; the last moment considers the strategies adopted during Gueroult’s campaign to explain the factors that may have determined the outcome of the election.