Philosophy isn't always fun and it's rather tough.

Lev Fraenckel, "Serial Thinker" on social networks, passionate professor of philosophy, has decided to tackle the bad reputation of this subject and posts videos on Tik Tok with borrowings from pop culture that appeal to high school students.

Result, it hits.

Tightly written three-minute videos, shot in his Strasbourg apartment with a former student, Simon Schott, who set up his production company, Wolfdog.

Real revision sheets with his notions of the condensed philosophy baccalaureate in which, in jeans and a T-shirt, he summarizes in a relaxed tone the 17 notions of the philosophy baccalaureate (the State, the unconscious, language, freedom... ).

"We say: 'Young people are not curious, they no longer ask questions.'

I think it's completely false, they [are] asking a lot.

But the current education system does not favor the emergence of these questions”, considers this 41-year-old teacher who launched himself “three years ago”, first on YouTube, to “teach differently”.

“The badass side of Socrates”

He baptizes his account "Serial Thinker", a name he will later use on TikTok.

A cryptic tribute to Socrates: "He was considered a 'serial killer' when he was a 'serial thinker', an old man who walks around Athens asking questions and who has been sentenced to death.

He continues: “He is the first to destabilize the system” and goes on: “I wanted to show the 'badass', martial side of philosophy.

»

To illustrate his questions about love, veganism or the meaning of life, Lev Fraenckel digs into "pop culture" to stick to the "repository of a 16 or 17 year old" and talk to him about philosophy "in his language”, by summoning series (

Snowpiercer

,

Dahmer

) or blockbusters (

Fast and Furious

).

His first YouTube videos, aimed more at the general public and some of which exceed twenty minutes, enjoyed modest success.

Nearly 7 million views at the time of the bac

But in June, at the time of the baccalaureate, he launches on TikTok.

The success will be immediate, “with 100,000 subscribers in a few days” and “6 or 7 million views.

It was impressive,” recalls the professor.

Condensed, punctuated with quotes from key authors, they are quickly a hit with high school students in the middle of revisions before the philosophy test.

According to many students, their efficiency is formidable.

A medical student, Cyril Hadef from Strasbourg, 18, says he had “19” at the baccalaureate thanks to them.

Lev Fraenckel “has the gift of managing to simplify quite complicated things to make them something” understandable by “everyone”, enthuses the young man.

“Proof”, for the teacher, that his “method works.

We can do serious philosophy”, which will at the same time be “a little entertaining”.

“I don't like things that are too closed”, continues the one who, as a child, did not appreciate “school too much” but asked himself “lots of existential questions”.

But at the time, "I was told: 'If you do philosophy, you'll end up a tramp.'

»


A revelation

After a few years in chartered accountancy, he realized that he risked “completely wasting away” if he remained in this field and enrolled in philosophy at the University of Strasbourg.

A “shock”, by his own admission: “I say to myself: here, this is where I should have been forever”.

He began a thesis, still in progress, on psychoanalysis and existentialism, and in 2014, successfully passed the Capes in philosophy.

Currently on leave from the Strasbourg high school where he teaches, he still gives history of religions lessons at the university to keep a foothold in teaching "IRL, [in real life, in real life]", slips into a laugh the one who gives himself a year to live from his activity on TikTok.

He will soon be releasing a book “to help Terminale students pass the philosophy baccalaureate”.

Others will follow, "larger public", in which he intends to develop themes addressed in certain videos, for example "Does Mbappé deserve his salary?

".

In the meantime, in a few days, he will put online an exchange with Gad Elmaleh around his film

Reste un peu

, a story of religious introspection.

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  • Culture

  • TikTok

  • Strasbourg

  • Philosophy

  • National Education

  • BAC

  • Teacher

  • pop-culture

  • Social networks

  • Great East