French philosopher laid low by "Botulism"

Not sure it matters much either way, but fwiw, BHL (as he seems to be known) isn't associated with French philosophy in the school-of-thought sense Americans use the term, although he's clearly French and a philosopher. That is, he isn't associated with the prominent intellectual currents that characterize post-WW2 French philosophy (post-structuralism, postmodernism, psychoanalysis, deconstruction, etc.). Rather the opposite; he's mainly a critic of the mainstream of French philosophy, and politically somewhat towards the right, e.g. opposing socialism and supporting the Iraq War.

(This episode will probably strengthen his critics from the left who tend to accuse him of being a media-savvy intellectual lightweight.)

The Keillor takedown of Levi's book (I had the misfortune of reading it serialized in The Atlantic) is even better than this article. You'll find it linked to the article. Click that link! What a schmuck.

While he considers himself a "french philosopher", BHL is not regarded as a philosopher by everyone. In fact, it is very common to make fun of BHL because of this. He is certainly more known as a journalist and a well marketed public figure than as a philosopher.

Worth a read in conjunction with this Wikipedia entry http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Baptiste_Botul