ÃÂmile Bréhier (; 12 April 1876, Bar-le-Duc â 3 February 1952, Paris) was a French philosopher. His interest was in classical philosophy, and the history of philosophy. He wrote a Histoire de la Philosophie, translated into English in seven volumes. This work inspired Frederick Copleston's own History of Philosophy (1946âÂÂ1975), initially comprising nine volumes.
In 1908, Bréhier received his doctorate under the direction of Victor Brochard from the Sorbonne with a dissertation about Philo of Alexandria. From 1910 to 1912, he was Master of Philosophical Conferences at the University of Rennes, and professor of philosophy at the University of Bordeaux from 1912 to 1914. He was Henri Bergson's successor at the University of Paris in 1945.
In 1914, Bréhier became a sub-lieutenant in the 344th Infantry Regiment; later, he was made a knight of the Légion d'honneur. In 1914, he lost his left arm in combat.
His students include Jean Hyppolite, Vladimir Jankélévitch, and Maurice Merleau-Ponty
The art historian Louis Bréhier was his brother.
He was an early follower of Bergson; in the 1930s there was an influential view that Bergsonism and Neoplatonism were linked.
He has been called "the sole figure in the French history who adopts an Hegelian interpretation of Neoplatonism", but also a Neo-Kantian opponent of Hegel.
He contributed the articles "Philo Judaeus", and "Stoics and Stoic Philosophy" to the Catholic Encyclopedia.