Personalism in France

Abstract

The article discusses the ideas of French personalism as one of the most important trends in the philosophical anthropology of the twentieth century. Its representatives – Catholic thinkers E. Mounier, J. Lacroix, M. Nedoncelle, and others – pursued the task of reformulating the problems of the Christian concept of man and creating a philosophical doctrine of personality as the main concern of human civilization. Comprehending the humanistic tradition in the history of philosophy, originating from Socrates, Aristotle, Augustine, personalists put forward as central problems of their thinking existential and spiritual aspects of human activity, problems of personal communication and creative elaboration. In this regard, creativity and art were recognized as a climax of human activity, of intersubjective communication and productive imagination leading to a radical transformation of earthly life, where the person and his spiritual values will become a priority. Under the influence of the ideas of personalism, personalistically oriented conceptions were formed in Italy, Switzerland, Scandinavia, Latin America; they became the theoretical basis of various trends in social theology and stimulated reorientation of the official doctrine of modern Catholicism. The further development of the personalist theory of man was undertaken by P. Ricoeur, who relied on the latest researches in the fields of human activity, language, narration, ethics, and political philosophy.