DELBOS, ESTÉBAN-MARIE-VICTOR. - Philosopher, born at Figeac (Lot) on 26 Sept. 1862, died in Paris on 16 June 1916. From 1886 he taught in several lycées (Limoges, Toulouse, Vanvres, Paris), and from 1902 at the Sorbonne. In his work, which belongs more to the history than to the theory of philosophy, he was able to detach himself from the outworn canons of the dominant Hegelian historiography and to anchor himself in traditional French philosophy, especially in its Catholic orientation.
A profound connoisseur of modern philosophy, besides his contributions to many journals (Revue universitaire, Revue métaphysique et de morale, Annales de philosophie chrétienne, etc.), he left numerous writings, some judged masterpieces of clarity and precision and definitive works; among these may be recalled: Le problème moral dans la philosophie de Spinoza et dans l'histoire du spinozisme (Paris 1893); La philosophie pratique de Kant (ibid. 1905); Le «cogito» de Descartes et la philosophie de Loche (ibid. 1907); Le spinozisme (ibid. 1916).