Figures of Descartes in Nineteenth-Century French Historiography

The mobilizations of the figure of Descartes during the nineteenth century in France draw a clear dividing line between the institutionally dominant spiritualism of Victor Cousin, that of substance dualism and proofs of the existence of God, and alternative spiritualisms, concerned with promoting an empiricist psychology and respecting the claims of positivism. The historiography of Cartesianism thus represents a privileged place of observation of a philosophy at work. This contribution retraces the main stages and modalities of these founding philosophical narratives mobilizing the figure of Descartes. The conclusion develops the main historiographical and philosophical issues.