Abstract
This paper is an investigation into
the gestation period of French spiritualism which triumphed in Victor Cousin's
teaching. We deal with the question of Madame de Staël's influence and in
particular her ideas on German culture and German idealism. We show that these
ideas, born in part from the dialogue with Charles de Villers, were fruitful
when they crossed paths with the latest philosophy of Maine de Biran. It was in
this context that Victor Cousin had the idea of moving towards German idealism.