Jean-Gaspard-Félix Laché Ravaisson-Mollien (; 23 October 1813 – 18 May 1900) was a French

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

, 'perhaps France's most influential philosopher in the second half of the nineteenth century'."Sinclair (2019), p. 1 He was originally and remains more commonly known as Félix Ravaisson."Sinclair (2016), p. 1 His 'seminal' 'key' work was ''De l’habitude'' (1838), translated in English as ''Of Habit''."Carlisle (2010), p. 125"Sinclair (2016), p. 1"Grosz (2013), p. 219 Ravaisson's philosophy is in the tradition of French Spiritualism, which was initiated by Pierre Maine de Biran (1766 – 1824) with the essay "The Influence of Habit on the Faculty of Thinking" (1802). However, Ravaisson developed his doctrine as what he called ‘spiritualist realism’ and ‘spiritualist positivism’, and - according to Ravaisson scholar Mark Sinclair - can be thought of as founding 'the school of contingency'."Sinclair (2019), pp. 9-10 His most well known and influential successor was

Henri Bergson Henri-Louis Bergson (; 18 October 1859 – 4 January 1941) was a French philosopherHenri Bergson. 2014. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 13 August 2014, from https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/61856/Henri-Bergson

, with whom the tradition can be seen to end during the 1930s;"Sinclair (2019), p. 1 although the 'lineage' of this '

philosophy of life (; meaning ' philosophy of life') was a dominant philosophical movement of German-speaking countries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which had developed out of German Romanticism. emphasised the meaning, value and purpose of life a ...

' can be seen to return in the late twentieth century with

Gilles Deleuze Gilles Louis René Deleuze ( , ; 18 January 1925 – 4 November 1995) was a French philosopher who, from the early 1950s until his death in 1995, wrote on philosophy, literature, film, and fine art. His most popular works were the two volu ...

."Grosz (2013), p. 219 Ravaisson never worked in the French state university system, in his late 20s declining a position at the

University of Rennes The University of Rennes is a public research university which will be officially reconstituted on 1 January 2023 and located in the city of Rennes, in Upper Brittany, France. The University of Rennes has been divided for almost 50 years, before ...

."Sinclair (2019), p. 7 In 1838 he was employed as the principle private secretary to the Minister of Public Instruction, going on to secure high-ranking positions such as Inspector General of Libraries, and then the Curator of Classical Antiquities at the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

."Sinclair (2019), p. 8 Later in his life he was appointed as the President of the Jury of the Aggregation of philosophy in France, 'a position of considerable influence'."Sinclair (2019), p. 9 Ravaisson, was not only a philosopher,

classicist Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

archivist An archivist is an information professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to Document, records and archives determined to have long-term value. The records maintained by an archivist c ...

, and

educational administrator Academic administration is a branch of university or college employees responsible for the maintenance and supervision of the institution and separate from the Faculty (academic staff), faculty or academics, although some personnel may have joint ...

, but also a

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

exhibiting under the name Laché."Sinclair (2019), p. 8

Biography

Théodore Chassériau - Portrait of Jean-Gaspard-Félix Larcher Ravaisson-Mollien

Ravaisson was born at

Namur Namur (; ; nl, Namen ; wa, Nameur) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namu ...

. After a successful course of study at the

Collège Rollin In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...

, he went to

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

in autumn 1839, where he attended the lectures of

Schelling Schelling is a surname. Notable persons with that name include: * Caroline Schelling (1763–1809), German intellectual * Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling (1775–1854), German philosopher * Felix Emanuel Schelling (1858–1945), American educato ...

, and took his degree in philosophy in 1836. In the following year he published the first volume of his famous work ''Essai sur la métaphysique d'Aristote'' ("Essay on the Metaphysics of Aristotle"), to which in 1846 he added a supplementary volume. This work not only criticizes and comments on the theories of

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...

and the

Peripatetic Peripatetic may refer to: *Peripatetic school, a school of philosophy in Ancient Greece *Peripatetic axiom * Peripatetic minority, a mobile population moving among settled populations offering a craft or trade. *Peripatetic Jats There are several ...

s, but also develops from them a modern philosophical system. In 1838 he received his doctorate, his thesis entitled "De l'habitude" ("On Habit"), which was to become a classic text (a metaphysical 'poem' on nature in general apprehended through an intuitive analysis of acquired habit as a particular manifestation of its essential being, much admired by Bergson and Heidegger), and became professor of philosophy at

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...

. From 1840 he was inspector-general of public libraries, and in 1860 became inspector-general in the department of higher education. He was also a member of the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences, and curator of the Department of Antiquities at the

(from 1870). He died in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in 1900.

Philosophical work

In philosophy, he was one of the school of

Victor Cousin Victor Cousin (; 28 November 179214 January 1867) was a French philosopher. He was the founder of "eclecticism", a briefly influential school of French philosophy that combined elements of German idealism and Scottish Common Sense Realism. As ...

, with whom he was at issue in many important points. The act of

consciousness Consciousness, at its simplest, is sentience and awareness of internal and external existence. However, the lack of definitions has led to millennia of analyses, explanations and debates by philosophers, theologians, linguisticians, and scien ...

, according to him, is the basis of all

knowledge Knowledge can be defined as awareness of facts or as practical skills, and may also refer to familiarity with objects or situations. Knowledge of facts, also called propositional knowledge, is often defined as true belief that is distinc ...

. Acts of consciousness are manifestations of

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

, which is the motive and creative power of the

intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or a ...

life. The idea of

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

is a cumulative

intuition Intuition is the ability to acquire knowledge without recourse to conscious reasoning. Different fields use the word "intuition" in very different ways, including but not limited to: direct access to unconscious knowledge; unconscious cognition; ...

given by all the various faculties of the

mind The mind is the set of faculties responsible for all mental phenomena. Often the term is also identified with the phenomena themselves. These faculties include thought, imagination, memory, will, and sensation. They are responsible for various m ...

, in its observation of harmony in

nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...

and in man. This theory had considerable influence on speculative philosophy in France during the later years of the 19th century.

Bibliography

Ravaisson's 'complete' 'three major' philosophical works are: ''Essai sur la métaphysique d’Aristote'' ol. 1 & Vol. 2(1837 and 1846); ''De l’habitude'' (''On Habit'', 1838); and ''Rapport sur la philosophie en France au XIXeme siècle'' (1867)."Sinclair (2019), p. 6"Carlisle & Sinclair (2008), pp. 4-5 Ravaisson also produced a number of other 'noteworthy essays' such as "La Philosophie contemporaine" ("Contemporary Philosophy", 1840); "La Philosophie de Pascale" ("Pascal’s Philosophy", 1887), and "Métaphysique et Morale" ("Metaphysics and Morals", 1893)."Carlisle & Sinclair (2008), p. 5 Upon his death he also 'left unfinished fragments of a major work, which were published posthumously', first as "Testament philosophique" in ''Revue de métaphysique et de morale'' ("Philosophical Testament", 1901), then later in extended form as ''Testament philosophique'' (''Philosophical Testament'', 1933)."Carlisle & Sinclair (2008), p. 5"Sinclair (2016), p. vii

References

Notes

Sources

Primary *Sinclair, Mark. ''Being Inclined: Félix Ravaisson’s Philosophy of Habit'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019) Secondary *Carlisle, Clare. "Between Freedom and Necessity: Félix Ravaisson on Habit and the Moral Life", in ''Inquiry'' (43/2: 2010), pp. 123–45 *Carlisle, Clare and Mark Sinclair. "Editors’ Introduction" and "Editors’ Commentary" in Félix Ravaisson ''Of Habit'', translation, introduction, and commentary by Clare Carlisle and Mark Sinclair (London/New York: Continuum, 2008), pp. 1-21; 78-114 * *Grosz, Elizabeth. "Habit Today: Ravaisson, Bergson, Deleuze and Us", in ''Body and Society'' (19/2–3: 2013), pp. 217–39 *Malabou, Catherine. "Addiction and Grace: Preface to Félix Ravaisson’s ''Of Habit''" in Félix Ravaisson ''Of Habit'', translation, introduction, and commentary by Clare Carlisle and Mark Sinclair (London/New York: Continuum, 2008), pp. vii-xx *Sinclair, Mark. "Introduction" in ''Félix Ravaisson: Selected Essays'', edited by Mark Sinclair; translated by Jeremy Dunham, Adi Efal, Mark Sinclair, Tullio Viola (London: Bloomsbury, 2016), pp. 1-29 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ravaisson-Mollien, Felix 1813 births 1900 deaths 19th-century French educators 19th-century French essayists 19th-century French male writers 19th-century French painters 19th-century French philosophers Action theorists Aristotelian philosophers Classicism Commentators on Aristotle French consciousness researchers and theorists Continental philosophers Epistemologists French archaeologists French art historians French classical scholars French educators French essayists French ethicists French male non-fiction writers French male painters Historians of philosophy Metaphysicians Moral philosophers Ontologists People from Namur (city) Philosophers of art Philosophers of culture Philosophers of education Philosophers of ethics and morality Philosophers of history Philosophers of mind Philosophers of psychology Philosophers of social science Philosophy academics Philosophy teachers Rationality theorists