Victor Cousin is a philosopher and politician French, born with Paris (France), the November 28th 1792 and died in Cannes (the Alpes-Maritimes), the January 14th 1867. It is buried with the Cimetière of the Father-Lachaise.

spiritualistic Philosopher, chief of the eclectic school, it published works of Descartes, translated Plato and Proclos, wrote a Histoire of philosophy at the XVIIIe century (1829), Of Truth, Beautiful and Good (1853), and several monographs on the famous women of the XVIIe century.

Biography

Wire of a Jeweller at the Market-Nine, it was born in Paris, in the Saint-Anthony Suburb. To the ten years age it was sent to the Lycée Charlemagne, where it made brilliant studies until the eighteen years age. The traditional formation received with the college gave him a sharp taste for the literature. Already it was known among his comrades for his knowledge of Greek. It obtained the price of honor to the open Competition of 1810, which enabled him to be exempted military service and admitted of right to the National university. It bound with Guizot and Villemain.

Pierre Laromiguière was then in charge of the course of philosophy. In the second foreword with the philosophical Fragments , where it exposes with frankness the various philosophical influences which marked its life, Cousin speaks with emotion about the recognition which it tested while remembering this day when it had heard Laromiguière for the first time. He claims that this day had decided its whole life because Laromiguière taught the philosophy of Locke and Condillac, by intelligently modifying it on certain points, with a clearness and a grace which, at least seemingly, made disappear the difficulties, and with a charm and a spiritual good-naturedness which penetrated and subjected.

Cousin, after having refused the station of listener to the Council of State which offered to him the count de Montalivet, wanted to also teach philosophy to him: he was named professor with the Lycée Napoleon and quickly obtained a station of university lecturer at the National university.

The second great philosophical influence in its life was the teaching of Pierre-Paul Royer-Collard. This teacher, says us it, by the severity of his logic, the gravity and the weight of each one of his words, had diverted it little by little, but not without resistance, of the beaten paths of Condillac, to carry out it in the way which was to become so easy, but which was then painful to follow and little attended, that of the philosophy of the good sense of the Scottish philosopher Thomas Reid. Cousin was named substitute for Royer-Collard in the pulpit of history of the modern philosophy of the Sorbonne (1815 - 1821).

Victor Cousin went on a first journey in Germany where it bound with Hegel and other contemporary philosophers. On its return, it was diverted Scottish philosophy to turn to the Métaphysique of Kant, Fichte, Schelling and Hegel and, considering that no philosophical system was perfect, it invented the eclecticism, system mediator borrowing something from all the others and accommodating them all for all to reconcile them, particularly the idealism, the Matérialisme, the Scepticisme and the Mysticisme. Another thinker to have influenced it during this first time was Maine de Biran, whose Cousin considered that it was of his time in France a psychological observer except par.

Its eloquence excited a sharp enthusiasm among youth. Its course was suspended because of its liberal ideas in 1821. Victor Cousin, private of any public employment in consequence of the dismissal of the National university, had to become tutor of one of wire of the marshal Lannes, and then occupied with editions of new works of Proclos (Greek text with Latin comment, 1820 - 1827, 6 vol. in-8; 2nd edict., 1865, 1 vol. in-4) and of complete works of Descartes (1826, 11 vol. in-8) like to a translation of complete works of Plato (1825 - 1840, 13 vol. in-8).

It went on a second journey in Germany where, shown Carbonarisme, it was stopped with Dresden (1824) and was imprisoned for six months with Berlin before being returned with freedom on the authorities of the diplomatic representative of France. It returned to France enough discouraged. The liberal ministry directed by Martignac enabled him to find its pulpit of History of modern philosophy in Sorbonne (March 5th 1828) at the sides of Villemain and Guizot.

It is at this period that this testimony of Jules Barthelemy-Saint-Hilaire is referred: the person of the speaker was to contribute to the magic which he exerted. Mr. Cousin had thirty-six years then. He was in all his virility. Its size was raised enough, and it was very well made; its eyes launched flashes constantly; the features of the figure were regular, and of a sculptural beauty; the very expressive and mobile aspect, attested the practice of the thought and work; some wrinkles on the face and of the thinned down cheeks were far from stripping the unit. The voice was sound, of a stamp which was, neither too serious, nor too acute; it did not have anything precipitate, and it was not slow. It was made hear in all the parts of the room; not a word was not lost. A very brown and very abundant hair surmounted the face, which a collar of barb going under the chin framed. The costume was the dress and the pants blacks. The gesture was sober; and as it was not frequent, it could not divert the attention of the listeners.

After the Revolution of 1830, Victor Cousin was named full professor in the Sorbonne, member of the royal Council of the State education, commander of the Légion of honor, director of the National university, to advise State and Pair of France (October 11th 1832). He was elected with the French Academy to replace the baron Joseph Fourier the November 18th 1830, after having beaten Benjamin Constant; he was accepted by the abbot of Féletz the May 5th 1831. Academician, it supported the candidatures of Victor Hugo, Falloux and Lacordaire and belonged to the Commission of the Dictionary. He was also named with the Academy of Science morals and political in 1832 at the time of his reorganization.

After having filled of the scientific expeditions in Prussia and Holland, it became Minister for the State education in the second ministry Thiers of March 1st to the October 28th 1840. Sometimes it attached its name to the new program of philosophy and spoke with the Room of the pars on questions of education.

Under the Second Empire, it was devoted exclusively to the letters and was named professor emeritus in the Sorbonne in November 1855 and was withdrawn with Cannes. It was plunged in the study of the history of the famous women of the 17th century.

Work

Judgments

“Its untiring activity of spirit was not confined with a sphere; it entered all: history, critical, political scholarship, and the philosophy finally, which was a long time its fortified town and its general headquarter with flag. ” (Holy-Beuve)

“the style of Mr. Cousin has size, it with the open line and the broad drawing. It would be said, really, that it is a character of the 17th century which writes; it with the rise in your easy, natural, width of the turn, the luminous and simple property of the expression. ” (Holy-Beuve)

Chronological list

  • 1820 - 1827: Procli philosophi Platonici operated , 6 vol.
  • 1826: philosophical Fragments
  • 1827: Eunape, to be used with the history of philosophy as Alexandria
  • 1828: New philosophical fragments. Course of the history of philosophy
  • 1829: History of philosophy at the XVIIIe century , 2 vol.
  • 1833: Of the state education in Germany, and in particular in Prussia , 2 vol.
  • 1835: Of the metaphysics of Aristote
  • 1837: Of the state education in Holland
  • 1840: Course of moral philosophy. Philosophy scholastic
  • 1841: Course of history of modern philosophy. Collection of the acts of the ministry for the State education from March 1st to October 28th, 1840. Course of history of moral philosophy at the XVIIIe century , 5 vol.
  • 1842: Lessons on the philosophy of Kant. Thoughts of Pascal
  • 1843: Introduction to works of the father Andre. Literary fragments
  • 1844: Of the skepticism of Pascal. Defense of the university and philosophy
  • 1845: Jacqueline Pascal
  • 1846: Fragments of Cartesian philosophy
  • 1846: popular Philosophy
  • 1848: Justice and charity
  • 1850: Of the teaching and the exercise of medicine and pharmacy
  • 1852: the youth of Mrs. de Longueville
  • 1853: Mrs. de Longueville during the Sling
  • 1854: Mrs. de Sablé
  • 1855: First tests of philosophy
  • 1856: M {{me}} of Chevreuse. Mrs. de Hautefort
  • 1857: Literary Fragments and memories
  • 1858: Of truth, beautiful and the good
  • 1859: Of the French company at the XVIIIe century, according to large Cyrus , 2 flight
  • 1861: Philosophy of Locke
  • 1862: Scottish Philosophy
  • 1863: Philosophy sensualist at the XVIIIe century
  • 1865: the youth of Mazarin

Quotations

  • “ God made the reason to see the truth as it made the eye to see and the ear to hear ”, extracted from “truth, the beautiful one and good”.
  • “ God who is absolutely incomprehensible for us is God who does not exist for us ”, extracted of “Introduction to the history of philosophy”.
  • “ We leave the man to arrive at all, even with God ”, extracted from “Political discourse”.
  • “ true freedom is not to do what one wants, but what one has the right to make ”, extracted from “truth, the beautiful one and good”.
  • “ It is better to have future that past ”.
  • “ One needs religion for the religion, of morals for morals, art for art ”.

Others

  • the legacy makes on October 1st 1863 with the Université of Paris by Victor Cousin constituted the funds initial of the Bibliothèque Victor-Cousin and approximately contained, at the origin, 16.000 volumes of which:
    • a collection of works of philosophy of the 19th century,
    • a collection of works relating to the history of the 17th century,
    • a collection of manuscripts, prints and books invaluable of the 15th century at the 18th century,
    • papers of the philosopher.
  • a price Victor Cousin, decreed by contest, was organized in 1896 by the Academy of Science morals and political.
  • One can find streets Victor Cousin:

References

Sources

  • Paul Janet, Victor Cousin and his work , 1885 (available on the Gallica site)

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