Olivier Lacombe

Lacombe, Olivier 

Born July 2, 1904, in Liège. French philosopher. Exponent of neo-Thomism. Professor at the University of Lille since 1947. President of the Catholic Center of the French Intelligentsia from 1958 to 1965.

Lacombe’s philosophical views were strongly influenced by the French neo-Thomists J. Maintain and E. Gilson. Regarding the present, like the Renaissance and the Enlightenment, as an age of attack on Catholicism, Lacombe advocates an extension of the traditional boundaries of Catholicism. He holds that Catholicism must absorb the wisdom of all peoples, including the peoples of Asia and Africa, thereby becoming a universal doctrine. Accordingly, he seeks to reconcile Christian spirituality with the spiritual legacy of Indian philosophy.

WORKS

L’Absolu selon le Védânta. Paris, 1937.
Existence de l’homme. Bruges [1951].
Chemins de l’Inde et philosophie chrétienne. Paris, 1956.
Gandhi ou la force de l’âme. Paris, 1964.