He then established the "Centre de recherche philologique" in Lille, which he ran for some years and to which his friend Heinz Wismann participated.[2][3] According to Barbara Cassin, his philological work is remarkable for its "extraordinary textual vigilance".[4]
In addition to his work as a Hellenist with his wife and collaborator Mayotte Bollack, he has published studies on the poetry of Paul Celan. He is considered one of the most penetrating commentators on Celan.[2]
Publications
Empédocle 1 : « Introduction à l'ancienne physique », Paris, Éditions de Minuit, coll. "Le sens commun", 1965, (rééd. des 3 volumes) coll. TelÉditions Gallimard.
Empédocle 2 : « Les Origines », edition and translation of fragments and testimonies, Paris, Minuit, coll. "Le sens commun", 1969. Tel Gallimard.
Empédocle 3 : « Les Origines: commentaire », commentary, Paris, Minuit, coll. "Le sens commun", 1969. Tel Gallimard.
Héraclite ou la séparation, in collaboration with Heinz Wismann, Paris, Minuit, coll. "Le sens commun", 1972. [Reference book]
La Pensée du plaisir. Epicure : textes moraux, commentaire, Paris, Minuit, 1975.
La Grèce de personne : les mots sous le mythe, Paris, Éditions du Seuil, coll. "L'ordre philosophique", 1997.
Christoph König, Denis Thouard (éd.), La philologie au présent : pour Jean Bollack, Villeneuve-d'Ascq, Presses universitaires du Septentrion, 2010 (collection Cahiers de philologie)
Christoph König, Heinz Wismann (éd.), "La lecture insistante. Autour de Jean Bollack", Paris, Albin Michel, 2011 (Colloque de Cerisy).