A Romantic Historiosophy: The Philosophy of History of Pierre-Simon Ballanche: 82 (Brill's Studies in Intellectual History, 82) - Hardcover

This intellectual history study locates the philosophy of history of Pierre-Simon Ballanche (1776-1847) within the intellectual, religious, and social life of Restoration and July Monarchy France, and argues for the recognition of Ballanche as an important contributor to that milieu. Its four parts blend the topical and evolutionary approaches, analyzing dominant themes as they are developed across Ballanche's works, and charts Ballanche's complex relation of dependence and independence to the various intellectual currents of the period. This study clarifies the thought of a notoriously obscure thinker, illuminates the intellectual history of early nineteenth-century France, and demonstrates how Ballanche's project for religio-social regeneration effected a crucial step in the historical-mindedness of the Romantic period.

Arthur McCalla, Ph.D. (1992), Centre for the Study of Religion, University of Toronto, is a Research Reader in this same department. He publishes on the history of religious thought, and history of the study of religions, of the Romantic period.