1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Secrétan, Charles

SECRÉTAN, CHARLES (1815-1895), Swiss philosopher, was born on the 19th of January 1815, at Lausanne, where he died on the 21st of January 1895. Educated in his native town and later under Schelling at Munich, he became professor of philosophy at Lausanne (1838 to 1846), and at Neuchâtel (1850 to 1866). In 1866 he returned to his old position at Lausanne. In 1837 he founded, and for a time edited, the Revue suisse. His principal works were La Philosophie de la liberté (1848); La Raison et le Christianisme (1863); La Civilisation et les croyances (1887); Mon Utopie (1892). The object of his writing was to build up a rational, philosophical religion, to reconcile the ultimate bases of Christianity with the principles of metaphysical philosophy.

For a detailed examination of his philosophy, see Pillon, La Philosophie de Charles Secrétan.