Hippolyte Adolphe Taine

Hippolyte Adolphe Taine , 1828-93, French critic and historian. A brilliant student, he gained recognition with the publication of his doctoral thesis, Essai sur les fables de La Fontaine (1853). His deterministic theories, which held that man was the product of heredity, historical conditioning, and environment, became the theoretical basis for the naturalistic school. His best-known works are Histoire de la littérature anglaise (1864; tr. History of English Literature, 1871-72); De l'intelligence (1870; tr. On Intelligence, 1871); and Les Origines de la France contemporaine (6 vol., 1876-93; tr. The Origins of Contemporary France, 6 vol., 1876-94). By his studies of the ancien régime, the French Revolution, and contemporary France he spread the idea of history as being concerned with the whole social life of any nation. In 1864 he began a 20-year career as professor of aesthetics and art history at the École des Beaux-Arts. Taine and his contemporary Ernest Renan were the most influential intellectual figures of their period. Although Taine has been attacked for sacrificing truth to his passion for formula and system, his learning, industry, and breadth of interest inspired scholars and critics of his time and later; his socio-historical method of analysis had considerable influence on philosophy, aesthetics, literary criticism, and the social sciences.

Bibliography: See study by L. Weinstein (1972).

Taine, Hippolyte (b Vouziers, Ardennes, 21 Apr. 1828; d Paris, 5 Mar. 1893). French philosopher, historian, and critic. He was a leading exponent of positivism, and in particular the chief figure in applying its ideas of scientific method to aesthetics and cultural history. In 1864 he was appointed professor of aesthetics and art history at the École des Beaux-Arts, Paris, and his lecture courses there formed the basis of several books, beginning with Philosophie de l'art (1865; it was translated into English the same year). In this he declared that ‘My sole duty is to offer you facts and show how these facts are produced’, and he described art history as a sort of applied botany: ‘Just as there is a physical temperature which by its variations determines the appearance of this or that species of plants, so there is a moral temperature which by its variations determines the appearance of this or that kind of art.’ Although he did not rule out the ideas of self-expression and genius, he thought they were less important than environmental, social, and economic factors. Taine antagonized many people, but his ideas had wide influence.