Célestin Charles Alfred Bouglé (1 June 1870 – 25 January 1940) was a French

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and sociologist known for his role as one of

Émile Durkheim David Émile Durkheim (; or ; 15 April 1858 – 15 November 1917) was a French Sociology, sociologist. Durkheim formally established the academic discipline of sociology and is commonly cited as one of the principal architects of modern soci ...

's collaborators and a member of the '' L'Année Sociologique''.

Life

Bouglé was born in

Saint-Brieuc Saint-Brieuc (, Breton language, Breton: ''Sant-Brieg'' , Gallo language, Gallo: ''Saent-Berioec'') is a city in the Côtes-d'Armor Departments of France, department in Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in northwestern France. History ...

, Côtes-du-Nord. He entered the

École Normale Supérieure École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by Secondary education in France, secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing i ...

in 1890 and aggregated in philosophy in 1893. He was, along with Xavier Léon, Élie Halévy, Léon Brunschvicg and Dominique Parodi, one of the founding members of the journal '' Revue de Métaphysique et de Morale''. In 1896 he joined with Durkheim and became one of the first editors of the '' Année Sociologique''. He received his doctorate in 1899 and became a professor of the history of social economy. Sometimes referred to as "the ambivalent Durkheimian", he is considered to be the most original and autonomous among the Durkheimians. After teaching in

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

, and

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

he took a position at the Sorbonne in 1908, the same year that ''Essay on the Caste System'' appeared. In 1922, Bouglé published ''The Evolution of Values'', which is sometimes considered to be his magnum opus. He was the vice-president of Human Rights League (France) from 1911 to 1924 and played an important role in the organization's establishment in 1898. He founded and directed the first sociology research center in France, Centre de documentation sociale (1920–1940). He became the director of the

École normale supérieure (Paris) The – PSL (; also known as ENS, , Ulm or ENS Paris) is a ''grande école'' in Paris, France. It is one of the constituent members of Paris Sciences et Lettres University (PSL). Due to its selectivity, historical role, and influence within F ...

in 1935 until 1940. He died in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1940.

Influence

Bouglé was one of French anthropologist Louis Dumont's foremost inspirations when it came to seeing Indian castes (in the spirit of the ''Année Sociologique'') not just as elements making up a whole, but forming an ideological system (that of the Varnas, not the numerous Jatis) that in meaning and scope surpasses the sum of the elements.

Works

* ''Essais sur le régime des castes'' in 1908 (''Essays on the caste system''; published in English as "Essays on the Caste System by Celestin Bougle" with a translation by D. F. Pocock in 1971 by

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

). * ''Leçons de sociologie sur l’évolution des valeurs'' in 1922 (Sociological lessons on the evolution of values; published in English as ''The Evolution of Values: Studies in Sociology with Special Applications to Teaching'' in 1926 by

Henry Holt and Company Henry Holt and Company is an American book-publishing company based in New York City. One of the oldest publishers in the United States, it was founded in 1866 by Henry Holt (publisher), Henry Holt and Frederick Leypoldt. The company publishes in ...

). * ''Socialismes français. Du « socialisme utopique » à la « démocratie industrielle »'' in 1932; (published in English as ''French Socialisms: From 'Utopian Socialism' to 'Industrial Democracy' ''in 2024 by'' little big eye publishing''.)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bougle, Celestin 1870 births 1940 deaths Writers from Saint-Brieuc École Normale Supérieure alumni French sociologists French male non-fiction writers