Paul Souriau (1852–1926) was a French philosopher known for his works on invention theory and aesthetics.
He studied at the École normale supérieure where he wrote a doctoral thesis entitled Théorie de l'invention published in 1881.
In his thesis, he argues that inventions are not the result of a rigorous scientific method but rather come as a deterministic consequence of a set of conditions in which the inventor lives.
A few years after this publication, in 1892 Souriau's wife gave birth to their son Étienne, who was an influential philosopher of aesthetics.
Throughout his career, but more particularly during the first decade of the 20th century, he published his reflections on the aesthetics of arts while being a professor at the University of Nancy.