André Comte-Sponville (born 12 March 1952) is a French philosopher.
André Comte-Sponville was born in Paris, France. He studied in the École Normale Supérieure and earned a PhD from Panthéon-Sorbonne University, and is aggregated in philosophy. He is a proponent of atheism and materialism, but in a particular form, because of his spiritualistic aim.
The most important aspect of his work is an overcoming of traditional materialistic atheism in a perspective of post-materialism, because he demonstrates a spiritualization of atheism. This is especially present in his essay L'esprit de l'athéisme, published in 2006.
Traité du désespoir et de la béatitude (2 volumes, 1984–1988)
Une éducation philosophique (1989)
Petit Traité des Grandes Vertus (A Small Treatise on the Great Virtues or A Short Treatise on the Great Virtues) (1995), Translated into English by Catherine Temerson, Vintage, 2003, ISBN 0-09-943798-8
Valeur et vérité (Etudes cyniques) (1995),
La sagesse des Modernes, written with Luc Ferry
Présentation de la philosophie (2000) (The Little Book of Philosophy) (2005), Translated into English by Frank Wynne, Vintage, 2005, ISBN 9780099450184
Le bonheur, désespérément (2000)
Le capitalisme est-il moral? (2004)
L'esprit de l'athéisme (2006) Translated into English as The Little Book of Atheist Spirituality, Bantam (2009) ISBN 978-0-553-81990-8
Le miel et l'absinthe : Poésie et philosophie chez Lucrèce (2008)
Le tragique de la décision médicale : La mort d'un enfant ou la naissance de l'absurde with Denis Devictor (2008)
Le sexe ni la mort (2012), edition Albin Michel.
"Le bonheur - visions occidentale et chinoise", a three CD spoken word audio conference and discussion with Francois Julien, 2007.
Philosophy Masterclass for Libération (DVD, Éditions Montparnasse) : L’Amour (with Robert Maggiori, Anne Dufourmantelle, Michel Erman and Nicolas Grimaldi)
Brief interview with André Comte-Sponville (video)