<P> Roland Barthes (1915--1980) was a literary critic and semiologist who applied Saussure's thought to literary theory . In Mythologies, Barthes explored articles, advertisements, movies, etc. to demonstrate the deep - seated bourgeois propaganda found within . He described these myths as second - order signs . A certain form of green bottles signify red wine . The bourgeois then assign a second signifier to this signifier, that of relaxing, healthy, strong wine, be it to sell products or uphold the status quo . </P> <P> Jacques Lacan (1901--1981) was a psychoanalyst who sought to explain the mind in terms of structures both in order to correct perceived errors in Freud's thought as well as errors in the subsequent interpretation of Freud through the theories of Saussure, Strauss and Barthes . Lacan was also influenced by German philosophers G.W.F. Hegel and Martin Heidegger through Alexandre Kojève's lectures on Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit . </P> <P> The second half of the 20th century saw the rise of so - called postmodern thought . This rise was especially noticeable in France . However, the term is fairly hard to define . In fact, some people maintain that it is nothing but a slur applied to a group of disparate philosophers wrongly grouped together . However, it can also be seen as a critique of traditional western thought, particularly dichotomies and the belief in progress, influenced heavily by structuralism, phenomenology and existentialism . </P> <P> Louis Althusser (1918--1990) and his colleagues, prominently including Étienne Balibar, reworked Marxism using insights from structuralism, against the so - called "humanist" trend in Sartrean and Western Marxisms . Althusser offered an influential new reading of Marx's work, describing an "epistemological break" between the young, Hegelian Marx and the late Marx of Das Kapital . With his focus on the economic level and theory, Althusser came into conflict with social historians, such as E.P. Thompson . </P>

Analyse the role of thinkers and philosophers in french revolution