Abstract
This paper outlines a strain of French Spiritualism, a philosophical tradition extending from Maine de Biran, Félix Ravaisson, and Jules Lachelier to their reception in the work of Maurice Blondel and his protégé Henry Duméry. In receiving and transforming this tradition, Blondel and Duméry have helped to provide a distinct philosophical paradigm in philosophy of religion, capable of providing insight into the spiritual nature of the human being, both in how spirituality relates to the advanced stages of religious culture in addition to its primitive presence in spontaneous action. As a tradition consecrated to the study of human consciousness, and the operations of the mind [l’esprit], the French spiritualist tradition provides a rich conceptual matrix for analyzing the nature of human thinking and its relationship to action. In such an analysis of human thought, Maurice Blondel set up a moral psychology and metaphysical anthropology, highlighting how the consciousness of the human being is linked to the objective order of existence, both in its material form and in the intelligible realities behind the nature of existence. This philosophical matrix helps to show how religious practices, through embodied engagement with the material world, are effective at generating a consciousness of metaphysical or transcendent realities. As such, this philosophical paradigm provides the means for constructing a theory of ritual, where ritual acts with symbols and signs may be rendered intelligible as the sensible means for the cognitive expression of spiritual activity.
Highlights
This paper outlines a strain of French Spiritualism, a philosophical tradition extending from Maine de Biran, Félix Ravaisson, and Jules Lachelier to their reception in the work of Maurice
[l’esprit], the French spiritualist tradition provides a rich conceptual matrix for analyzing the nature of human thinking and its relationship to action. In such an analysis of human thought, Maurice Blondel set up a moral psychology and metaphysical anthropology, highlighting how the consciousness of the human being is linked to the objective order of existence, both in its material form and in the intelligible realities behind the nature of existence
I wish to argue that greater emphasis needs to be placed upon the framework of human thought, and how ritual practices and engagement with material culture interact with the structures of human consciousness. This argument is intended to sustain the critique of phenomenology of religion delivered by Henry Duméry,6 while aiming to advance the vision of philosophy of religion as prompted by his teacher, Maurice Blondel, both of whom operated in continuity with the philosophical tradition of
Summary
The philosophical tradition of French spiritualism emerged during a period of intense competition between ideas. I wish to argue that greater emphasis needs to be placed upon the framework of human thought, and how ritual practices and engagement with material culture interact with the structures of human consciousness This argument is intended to sustain the critique of phenomenology of religion delivered by Henry Duméry, while aiming to advance the vision of philosophy of religion as prompted by his teacher, Maurice Blondel, both of whom operated in continuity with the philosophical tradition of French spiritualism. I will point to how the contributions of these masters of sympathy in the French spiritualist tradition, principally in reference to Blondel and Duméry, may offer an alternative critical paradigm where a more profound insight, and more clear description of religion and spirituality may be given, most notably in the cognitive aspect of symbolization that is indicated in the mysterious and persistent presence of ritual objects and religious rites that is being discussed within the field of cognitive archaeology and cultural anthropology
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
