Maurice Blondel (1861-1949) was a philosopher born in Dijon, France, and educated at the École Normale Supérieure. Blondel defended his thesis, L’action, in 1893 at the Sorbonne. Blondel at first was refused a university position on the grounds of having taken an improperly religious position in his philosophy but finally received a professorship in Aix in 1897. He was the author of a number of books, including Philosophical Exigencies of Christian Religion (University of Notre Dame Press, 2021).
Oliva Blanchette is professor emeritus of philosophy at Boston College. He is the author and translator of eleven books, including Maurice Blondel’s Philosophical Exigencies of Christian Religion (University of Notre Dame Press, 2021).