Rauh, FréDéric
RAUH, FRÉDÉRIC
RAUH, FRÉDÉRIC (1861–1909), French philosopher. He was born at St. Martin-le-Vinoux, was professor at Toulouse and later (1901) at the Sorbonne (where he replaced *Bergson) and at the Ecole Normale Supérieure.
His main philosophical interest was in morality, which he treated apart from metaphysics and empirical facts. He held that moral thought is like invention, and finds its verification in action. Moral certitude is possible, and man's true guide is reflection upon instinct, rather than either just reflection or just instinct. Individual conscience in which active moral belief manifests itself is all important. His main works were Essai sur le fondement métaphysique de la morale (1890); L'experience morale (1903); Psychologie appliquée à la morale et à l'éducation, with R. d'Allones (1900–17); and Etudes de Morale (posthumous, 1911). He was a brilliant teacher. He was actively involved in the Dreyfus case.
bibliography:
L. Brunschwicg, in: Revue Philosophique (1928), 5–32; H. Daudin, in: Revue de Métaphysique et de Morale (1910), 185–218, 318–44 (contains complete bibliography); R. Junod, Frédéric Rauh, Essai de biographie intellectuelle (1932).
[Richard H. Popkin]