Émile Bréhier (; 12 April 1876,

Bar-le-Duc Bar-le-Duc (), formerly known as Bar, is a commune in the Meuse département, of which it is the capital. The department is in Grand Est in northeastern France. The lower, more modern and busier part of the town extends along a narrow valley, ...

– 3 February 1952, Paris) was a French

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

. His interest was in classical philosophy, and the history of philosophy. He wrote a ''Histoire de la Philosophie'', translated into English in seven volumes. This work inspired Frederick Copleston's own ''

History of Philosophy The history of philosophy is the systematic study of the development of philosophical thought. It focuses on philosophy as rational inquiry based on argumentation, but some theorists also include myth, religious traditions, and proverbial lor ...

'' (1946–1975), initially comprising nine volumes.

Life

Bréhier studied at the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

. In 1908 he received his doctorate at the Sorbonne with a dissertation about

Philo of Alexandria Philo of Alexandria (; ; ; ), also called , was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt. The only event in Philo's life that can be decisively dated is his representation of the Alexandrian Je ...

. From 1910 to 1912 he was Master of Philosophical Conferences at the University of Rennes, and professor of philosophy at the University of Bordeaux from 1912 to 1914."Bréhier, Emile", ''The Catholic Encyclopedia and Its Makers'', New York, the Encyclopedia Press, 1917, p. 18
/ref> He was

Henri Bergson Henri-Louis Bergson (; ; 18 October 1859 – 4 January 1941) was a French philosopher who was influential in the traditions of analytic philosophy and continental philosophy, especially during the first half of the 20th century until the S ...

's successor at the University of Paris in 1945. The art historian Louis Bréhier was his brother. In 1914 Bréhier became a sub-lieutenant in the 344th Infantry Regiment; later he was made knight of the ''Légion d'honneur''. In 1914 he lost his left arm in combat.

Philosophical work

He was an early follower of Bergson; in the 1930s there was an influential view that Bergsonism and

Neoplatonism Neoplatonism is a version of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a series of thinkers. Among the common id ...

were linked. He has been called "the sole figure in the French history who adopts an

Hegelian Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a 19th-century German idealist. His influence extends across a wide range of topics from metaphysical issues in epistemology and ontology, to political philosophy and the ...

interpretation of Neoplatonism", but also a

Neo-Kantian In late modern philosophy, neo-Kantianism () was a revival of the 18th-century philosophy of Immanuel Kant. The neo-Kantians sought to develop and clarify Kant's theories, particularly his concept of the thing-in-itself and his moral philosophy ...

opponent of Hegel. Bruce Baugh, ''French Hegel: From Surrealism to Postmodernism'' (2003), note p. 183.

Works

* ''Les idées philosophiques et religieuses de Philon d'Alexandrie'' (1908) * ''La Théorie des incorporels dans l'ancien stoïcisme'', Paris, Librairie Alphonse Picard & fils (1907). * ''Schelling'' (1912) * ''Histoire de la philosophie allemande'' (1921) * ''La Philosophie de Plotin'' * ''Plotin: Ennéades'' (with French translation),

Collection Budé The ''Collection Budé'', or the ''Collection des Universités de France'', is an editorial collection comprising the Greek and Latin classics up to the middle of the 6th century (before Emperor Justinian). It is published by Les Belles Lettre ...

(1924–1938) * ''Histoire de la philosophie'' – I: Antiquité et moyen âge (three volumes), II: La philosophie moderne (four volumes) * ''La philosophie du moyen âge'' (1949) * ''Le monde byzantin – la civilisation byzantine'' (1950) * ''Chrysippe et l'ancien stoïcisme'' (Paris, 1951) * ''Histoire de la philosophie allemande'', 3rd edition updated by

Paul Ricœur Jean Paul Gustave Ricœur (; ; 27 February 1913 – 20 May 2005) was a French philosopher best known for combining phenomenological description with hermeneutics. As such, his thought is within the same tradition as other major hermeneut ...

(1954). * ''Études de philosophie antique'' (1955) He contributed the articles "Philo Judaeus", and "Stoics and Stoic Philosophy" to the ''Catholic Encyclopedia''.

Notes

References

* Alan D. Schrift (2006). ''Twentieth-Century French Philosophy: Key Themes And Thinkers'', p. 107.

External links

IDIH page

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brehier, Emile 1876 births 1952 deaths 20th-century French historians French military personnel of World War I People from Bar-le-Duc University of Paris alumni Academic staff of the University of Paris French male non-fiction writers Contributors to the Catholic Encyclopedia Corresponding fellows of the British Academy