Étienne Souriau was a French philosopher, best known for his work in aesthetics

Aesthetics

Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste...

.

He studied at the École Normale Supérieure

École Normale Supérieure

The École normale supérieure is one of the most prestigious French grandes écoles...

 and received his agrégation of philosophy

Agrégation

In France, the agrégation is a civil service competitive examination for some positions in the public education system. The laureates are known as agrégés...

  in 1925. After teaching at the universities of Aix-en-provence

Aix-en-Provence

Aix , or Aix-en-Provence to distinguish it from other cities built over hot springs, is a city-commune in southern France, some north of Marseille. It is in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, in the département of Bouches-du-Rhône, of which it is a subprefecture. The population of Aix is...

 and Lyon

Lyon

Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....

 he eventually became a professor at the Sorbonne

Sorbonne

The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...

, where he held a chair in aesthetics. He was the editor of the Revue d'esthétique and was elected to the Académie des sciences morales et politiques in 1958.

Works

• L'Abstraction sentimentale, 1925
• L'Avenir de l'esthétique : essai sur l'objet d'une science naissante, F. Alcan, Coll. « Biblio. de Philosophie Contemporaine », 1929
• L'Instauration philosophique, 1939
• Les Différents modes d'existence, 1943 (new edition 2009)
• La Correspondance des arts, 1947
• L'Ombre de dieu, 1955
• Poésie française et la Peinture, 1966
• Clefs pour l'esthétique, 1970
• La Couronne d'herbes, 1975
• La Correspondance des arts, science de l'homme: éléments d'esthétique comparée, 1969
• L'Avenir de la philosophie, Gallimard, coll. « Idées », 1982
• Les Deux Cent Mille Situations dramatiques,
• L'Univers filmique,

Collaborations

• Esthétique industrielle, avec Charles Lalo et d'autres, articles parus dans la Revue d'esthétique, juillet-décembre 1951
• Vocabulaire d'esthétique, avec Anne Souriau, PUF, coll. « Quadrige », 2004