COUSIN, VICTOR

(1792-1867), Fr. philosopher; founder of modern Eclectic School; lectured in Sorbonne, Paris, 1815; identified with struggles of his country for civil and intellectual liberty. In 1821 Cousin was suspended from chair for liberal opinions; replaced in 1828, and lectured on Hegel to crowded a emblies; became minister of public instruction, and between 1831 and 1848 laid foundations of modern elementary education in France; remembered largely for the impetus he gave to the study of philosophy in France and for the school he founded. Chief works, Translations of Plato, in 18 vols.; e ays on Abélard, Pascal, Locke; Hist. of Philosophy.