Buffier, Claude

Buffier, Claude

▪ French philosopher
born May 25, 1661, Warsaw, Pol.
died May 17, 1737, Paris, France

      original and prolific French philosopher, historian, philologist, and educator, considered by the anticlerical Voltaire to be “the only Jesuit who has given a reasonable system of philosophy.”

      Buffier taught philosophy and theology at Rouen and literature at the college of the Jesuits in Paris, where he spent most of his life. In 1696 he was exiled for five years because of opposition to his archbishop's support of Jansenism, a movement within Roman Catholicism that stressed predestination and denied free will. In his best-known work, Traité des vérités premières et de la source de nos jugements (1724; “Treatise on First Truths and on the Source of Our Judgments”), Buffier sought to discover the ultimate principle of human knowledge. Beginning with the sense of the self's existence, he adopted the approach taken by Descartes, though he rejected the Cartesian method of a priori, or deductive, reasoning. Instead, he relied on common sense, a faculty that allows different men to reach similar conclusions. Thus, he was able to affirm the Cartesian conclusion that objects external to the human mind do indeed have their own separate existences.

      Buffier's influence extended to 19th-century French philosophy by way of the Scottish school of common sense, notably Thomas Reid. Buffier also wrote Éléments de métaphysique (1725), a widely used French grammar (1709), Cours de sciences (1732), and numerous essays in history, religion, and education.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Buffier, Claude — • Philosopher and author (1661 1737) Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006 …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Claude Buffier — (25 May 1661 – 17 May 1737), French philosopher, historian and educationalist, was born in Poland, of French parents, who returned to France, and settled at Rouen, soon after his birth. Society of Jesus     …   Wikipedia

  • Claude Buffier —     Claude Buffier     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► Claude Buffier     A philosopher, and author, born in Poland, of French parents, 25 May, 1661; died in Paris, 17 May, 1737. He received his early education at the Jesuit College in Rouen and… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Claude Buffier — Claude Buffier, né en Pologne le 25 mai 1661 et mort à Paris le 17 mai 1737, est un jésuite français, auteur de nombreux ouvrages sur l histoire, la grammaire et la philosophie. Sommaire 1 Biographie 2 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Buffier — Claude Buffier, genannt Pater Buffier (frz. Père Buffier, * 25. Mai 1661; † 1737) war ein in Polen in einer französischen Familie geborener französischer Philosoph, Historiker und Jesuit. Unter dem Titel Cours de sciences sur des principes… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Claude Buffier — Claude Buffier, genannt Pater Buffier (frz. Père Buffier, * 25. Mai 1661; † 1737) war ein in Polen in einer französischen Familie geborener französischer Philosoph, Historiker und Jesuit. Unter dem Titel Cours de sciences sur des principes… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Liste der Biografien/Bud–Buj — Biografien: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Anzat-le-Luguet — 45° 19′ 59″ N 3° 02′ 33″ E / 45.3330555556, 3.0425 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Liste des philosophes français — La liste des philosophes français est non exhaustive, et regroupe les philosophes notables qui ont exercés la philosophie en France. Pierre Abélard Sylviane Agacinski Pierre d Ailly Alain Ferdinand Alquié Louis Althusser Bernard Andrieu Anselme… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • List of Jesuits — This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it. Íñigo López de Loyola, recognized as a saint by the Catholic Church, founded the Society of Jesus in 1534 …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”