Article

Jacques Lavigne

Published Online October 15, 2007

Last Edited December 15, 2013

Jacques Lavigne, philosopher (b 1919-d 1999). Educated at Montréal's Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf and the U de Montréal, he was primarily a professor in the Faculty of Social Science (chair of philosophy and political theory), then in the Philosophy Department.

Lavigne, Jacques

Jacques Lavigne, philosopher (b 1919-d 1999). Educated at Montréal's Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf and the U de Montréal, he was primarily a professor in the Faculty of Social Science (chair of philosophy and political theory), then in the Philosophy Department. Following this, he taught at the Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf (1953-1966), and completed his teaching career at the Cégep de Valleyfield. He was interested in the evolution of symbolism and the question of objectivity, and was a major figure in the revival of the philosophy that preceded the Quite Revolution. His most important book (L'inquiétude humaine, 1953) assured him an international reputation. Close to the great French reflexive tradition, Lavigne was very interested in the thought of Maurice Blondel, and his subsequent writings (particularly, l'Objectivité, 1971) confirm his evolution toward a philosophic attitude marked by existentialism and influenced by psychoanalysis. He was the teacher of writer Hubert AQUIN and filmmaker Gilles Therrien.