Born in Paris, he became professor of moral philosophy at Bourges (1845-1848) and Strasbourg (1848-1857), and of logic at the lycée Louis-le-Grand, Paris (1857-1864). In 1864 he was appointed to the chair of philosophy at the Sorbonne, and elected a member of the academy of moral and political sciences.
He wrote widely on philosophy, politics and ethics, on idealistic lines: La Famille, Histoire de la philosophie dans l'antiquité et dans le temps moderne, Histoire de la science politique, Philosophie de la Revolution Française, etc. However, his writings are not considered very original. In philosophy he was a follower of Victor Cousin, and through him of Georg Hegel. His principal work, Théorie de la morale, owes much to Immanuel Kant.
This entry was originally from the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.