Born Jan. 19, 1815, in Lausanne; died there Jan. 21, 1895. Swiss idealist philosopher.
Secrétan studied under F. W. Schelling and was influenced by I. Kant. He was a professor at Lausanne from 1838 to 1846 and again after 1866 and at Neuchâtel from 1850 to 1866. In his main work, The Philosophy of Freedom (1849), he developed a spiritualistic concept of freedom. With respect to social issues, Secrétan favored the equal distribution of property, the abolition of class privileges, and equal rights for women.