From 1966 to 1971, under the guidance of Claude Lefort, his professor at the University of Caen Normandy, Gauchet wrote his DESA thesis on Freud and Lacan. Lefort steered Gauchet towards political philosophy, which led him to study simultaneously for three majors in philosophy, history and sociology. During these years of study, Gauchet attempted to distance himself from the Marxist strain of theory which nonetheless continued to exercise influence over Lefort.[1]