Eugène Dupréel (February 8, 1879 – February 14, 1967) was a
Belgian 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 ...
. He has been professor at the
Université libre de Bruxelles
The (French language, French, ; lit. Free University of Brussels; abbreviated ULB) is a French-speaking research university in Brussels, Belgium. It has three campuses: the ''Solbosch'' campus (in the City of Brussels and Ixelles), the ''Plain ...
from 1907 to 1950, teaching
logic
Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...
,
metaphysics
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of ...
,
Greek philosophy
Ancient Greek philosophy arose in the 6th century BC. Philosophy was used to make sense of the world using reason. It dealt with a wide variety of subjects, including astronomy, epistemology, mathematics, political philosophy, ethics, metaphysic ...
,
moral philosophy
Ethics is the philosophical study of moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches include normative ethics, applied et ...
and
sociological theory
A sociological theory is a that intends to consider, analyze, and/or explain objects of social reality from a sociological perspective,Macionis, John and Linda M. Gerber. 2010. ''Sociology'' (7th Canadian ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson ...
. He developed an ethical theory and a theory of knowledge deeply influenced by
sociology
Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...
, and worked closely with the
Institut de Sociologie Solvay. Leader of the "École de Bruxelles", he had a major influence on the argumentation theorist
Chaïm Perelman
Chaïm Perelman (born Henio (or Henri) Perelman; sometimes referred to mistakenly as Charles Perelman) (20 May 1912 – 22 January 1984) was a Belgian philosopher of Polish-Jewish origin. He was among the most important argumentation theorists ...
and thus has been instrumental in the renewal of
rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. It is one of the three ancient arts of discourse ( trivium) along with grammar and logic/ dialectic. As an academic discipline within the humanities, rhetoric aims to study the techniques that speakers or w ...
.
Main work
(For a complete bibliography, se
« Notice sur Eugène Dupréel » 1980, p. 71-84.)
* ''Le rapport social : Essai sur l’objet et la méthode de la sociologie'', Paris, Alcan, 1912.
* ''Traité de morale'', 2 vol., Bruxelles, Éditions de la Revue de l’Université, 1932.
* ''Esquisse d’une philosophie des valeurs'', Paris, Alcan, 1939.
* ''Sociologie générale'', Paris, Presses universitaire de France, 1948.
* ''Essais pluralistes'', recueil d’articles, Paris, Presses universitaire de France, 1949.
External links
« Notice sur Eugène Dupréel » by Chaïm Perelman, in ''Annuaire 1980'', Bruxelles, Académie royale de Belgique, 1980, p. 61-86 (PDF).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dupreel, Eugene
20th-century Belgian philosophers
1967 deaths
1879 births