Mounier, Emmanuel

(1905-1950)

   philosopher

   Born in Grenoble, Emmanuel Mounier, influenced by henri bergson, jacques maritain, and charles péguy, founded the revue Esprit (1932) and played an important role in the intellectual, spiritual, and political movements in France between the two world wars. He denounced the economic, social, and spiritual disorder of the capitalist world, as well as its bourgeois individualism. in its place he proposed his concept of "personnelisme," in which he attempted to synthesize Christianity and socialism and in place of speculation preferred an existential concept based on action. Mounier's principal works include Révolution personnaliste et communautaire (1935), Introduction auxexistentialismes (1946), Traité du caractère (1946), and Le Personnalisme (1949).