Louis Lavelle (; July 15, 1883 – September 1, 1951) was a French philosopher, considered one of the greatest French metaphysicians of the twentieth century.
His
magnum opus
A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...
, ''La Dialectique de l'éternel présent'' (1922), is a systematic
metaphysical
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...
work. Lavelle's other principal works include ''De l'Être'' (1928), ''De l'Acte'' (1937), ''Du Temps et de l'Eternité'' (1945), and ''De l'Âme Humaine'' (1951).
In his works, Lavelle dealt with themes such as
axiology,
aesthetics
Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed t ...
,
the problem of evil,
morality
Morality () is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of co ...
,
and freedom of the spirit. Lavelle was a member of the
Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...
.
Biography
Louis Lavelle was born in France in 1883 and died there in 1951. He was Professor at the College de France; at the Sorbonne; and lectured at German, Italian, Swiss, Belgian and Dutch universities. In 1947 he was recognized for his many philosophical and religious writings, and named to the ''
Académie des sciences morales et politiques
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...
''.
Reception
Lavelle's work aroused much interest in the
interwar period, yet received less attention in the second half of the twentieth century.
Although he was recognized by some of the greatest French philosophers of the 20th century, such as
Merleau-Ponty
Maurice Jean Jacques Merleau-Ponty. (; 14 March 1908 – 3 May 1961) was a French phenomenological philosopher, strongly influenced by Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger. The constitution of meaning in human experience was his main interest an ...
,
Gilles Deleuze,
and
Pierre Hadot
Pierre Hadot (; ; 21 February 1922 – 24 April 2010) was a French philosopher and historian of philosophy specializing in ancient philosophy, particularly Neoplatonism.
Life
In 1944, Hadot was ordained, but following Pope Pius XII’s e ...
, In addition to the coverage he received in France, articles dedicated to him have come from Italian and Brazilian interpreters.
[Homenagem a Louis Lavelle no 1º Centenário de seu nascimento, Centro Dom Vital, '' A Ordem '', 1983, Tarcísio Padilha]
From 1989 to 2019, thank to efforts by names like
Alexis Klimov,
Jean École,
Jean-Louis Vieillard-Baron,
Michel Adam and
Bruno Pinchard, the ''Louis Lavelle Association'' promoted annual conferences on the work of the author. While some 21st century commentators consider Lavelle a forgotten philosopher, ongoing scholarship on his work continues into 2021.
[
]
Major publications
;Original French
Lavelle's other writings include ''La dialectique du monde sensible: La perception visuelle de la profondeur'' (1921), ''La conscience de soi'' (1933), ''La présence totale'' (1934), ''L'Erreur de Narcisse'' (1939), ''Le Mal et la Souffrance'' (1940), ''La Parole et l'Écriture'' (1947), and ''Les puissances du Moi'' (1948).
;Selected translations of works by Lavelle
* A translation of selected chapters of ''De l’Acte'' (Of the Act), ''Du temps et de l’éternité'' (Of Time and Eternity) and ''De l’âme humaine'' (Of the Human Soul), together with a long introduction to the work of Lavelle, can be found in ''The Act of Presence'' by Robert Jones. Both is presented in full on the website of the Association Louis Lavelle (http://association-lavelle.chez-alice.fr) under « ''Traductions'' ».
;Analyses and critiques in English
* James Collins published the article "Louis Lavelle on Human Participation" in ''The Philosophical Review'' vol 56, no. 2 (1947): 156–83.
*
Walter J. Ong works with a sound/sight contrast throughout ''Ramus, Method, and the Decay of Dialogue: From the Art of Discourse to the Art of Reason'' (1958, 3rd ed. 2004), which he credits largely to Lavelle: "For a discerning and profound treatment of the visual-aural opposition on which the present discussion turns, the reader is referred to the works of Louis Lavelle, especially ''La parole et l'ecriture'' (Paris, 1942), and Jean Nogue, ''Esquisse d'un système des qualités sensibles'' (Paris, 1943)" (p. 338n.54).
* Colin Smith devotes a chapter to discussing Lavelle's work in ''Contemporary French Philosophy: A Study in Norms and Values'' (1964, pp. 47–74).
* Marvin Farber includes an essay by Lavelle in the collection ''Philosophic Thought in France and the United States: Essays Representing Major Trends in Contemporary French and American Philosophy'' (1968, pp. 121–35).
;Analyses and critiques in French
* Bechara Sargi, ''La Participation à l'être dans la philosophie de Louis Lavelle'', Éditions Beauchesne, Paris, 1957.
See also
*
René Le Senne
*
Gabriel Marcel
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lavelle, Louis
1883 births
1951 deaths
French Roman Catholics
Members of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques
Ontologists
University of Paris faculty