Grenier, Jean (1898-1971). French philosopher and essayist. Raised in Saint-Brieuc, where he met Louis Guilloux, from 1930 to 1938 he taught philosophy at the Grand Lycée d'Alger: among his pupils was Albert Camus, who was profoundly influenced by Les Îles (1933) and Essai sur l'esprit d'orthodoxie (1938); their Correspondance 1932-1960 (1981) reveals a mutual respect and friendship. Upholding a philosophy of existence rooted in concrete experience and informed by a love of Greek civilization, Grenier also won renown for his studies of oriental philosophy, especially Taoism, as well as for his literary criticism and his writings on art (L'Esprit de la peinture contemporaine, 1951).
[David Walker]
