Spiritualism as a philosophy of culture: Ravaisson and Boutroux

This chapter deals with the work of Félix Ravaisson (1813-1900) and Emile Boutroux (1845-1921). Together with Jules Lachelier, these philosophers are to be taken as the paramount representatives of a mid-nineteenth-century revival of spiritualist philosophy in France. To the extent that they broke with the eclectic philosophy of Victor Cousin, they veered towards what Ravaisson called a 'spiritualistic realism or positivism' based on a close dialogue with the sciences and on a new emphasis on the concept of contingency. The chapter considers, in particular, the implications of this wave of spiritualism for the philosophy of culture and the philosophy of history.