Philosopher in the Service of the Thermidorian Republic and Emperor: to the Political Biography of Maine de Biran

Abstract

The article analyzes the peculiarities of the political philosophy of the ancestor of French spiritualism based on documents published at the turn of the 20th–21st centuries. The specificity of his worldview in the early period of philosophical activity is considered, as well as the reasons that prompted him to turn to politics after the Thermidorian coup. Negative attitude towards the Jacobeans, regrets about the fall of the monarchy are very characteristic of his views during this period. He meets the Thermidorian republic and then the empire with hopes for close peace, social stability, based on strict observance of laws. At first, he praises Napoleon as a genius who “pacifies and comforts”. But then comes disappointment, a continuous sequence of wars leads him to condemn the Napoleonic policy as part of the “commission of five” of legislative corps in December 1813. The philosopher meets the restoration as an event consistent with the plans of Providence. Undoubtedly, the appeal to religious philosophy was largely motivated by Biran's political experience.