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Jean-Gaspard-Félix Laché Ravaisson-Mollien (; 23 October 1813 – 18 May 1900) was a
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
philosopher, '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 In philosophy, spiritualism is the notion, shared by a wide variety of systems of thought, that there is an immaterial reality that cannot be perceived by the senses.''Encyclopædia Britannica''"Spiritualism (in philosophy)" britannica.com This ...
, 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' can be seen to return in the late twentieth century with Gilles Deleuze."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."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 records and archives determined to have long-term value. The records maintained by an archivist can consis ...
, and educational administrator, 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 ...
exhibiting under the name Laché."Sinclair (2019), p. 8


Biography

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. Na ...
. 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 German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
in autumn 1839, where he attended the lectures of Schelling, 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 Greece, Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatet ...
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 severa ...
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 departm ...
. 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 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 philosophy ...
, and curator of the Department of 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 ...
(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. ...
in 1900.


Philosophical work

In philosophy, he was one of the school of Victor Cousin, 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 disti ...
. Acts of consciousness are manifestations of 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 o ...
life. The idea of
God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
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 vario ...
, in its observation of harmony in
nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the 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. Although humans ar ...
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