Diderot, Denis

Diderot, Denis
(1713–1784)
The principal editor of the Encyclopédie , and together with Voltaire the leading figure of the 18th-century Enlightenment in France, enjoying a long and eventful career dedicated to the acquisition and dissemination of learning. Diderot was an outspoken champion of the modern, secular, and scientific world view in an age where free-thinking was still dangerous in France. His philosophical works include Le Neveu de Rameau (composed in the 1760s, pub. in German, 1805, trs. as Rameau's Nephew ) and Le Ràve de D’Alembert (composed in 1769, pub. 1782, trs. as D’Alembert's Dream ) both of which breathe a delightful spirit of conversational play and banter, while in fact discussing with great seriousness the foundations of ethics and the nature of animal creation, albeit in the light of the speculative biology of the time. He burned what he believed to be the only manuscript of the latter work, in the presence of D’Alembert, who had been asked to seek its destruction by the saloniste Julie de l’Espinasse, who appears in the story. Fortunately, unknown to Diderot, an additional copy had been made.

Philosophy dictionary. . 2011.

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  • DIDEROT, DENIS° — (1713–1784), French man of letters. He was editor in chief of the celebrated Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire Raisonné des Sciences, des Arts et des Métiers (1751–80), to which he also contributed many articles. His article Juifs (Philosophie des)… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Diderot, Denis — born Oct. 5, 1713, Langres, France died July 31, 1784, Paris French man of letters and philosopher. Educated by Jesuits, Diderot later received degrees from the University of Paris. From 1745 to 1772 he served as chief editor of the 35 volume… …   Universalium

  • Diderot, Denis — (1713 1784)    writer, philosopher    Born in Langres to a well to do bourgeois family, Denis Diderot, a major figure of the enlightenment, studied theology, philosophy, and law at the sorbonne, while living a bohemian existence. There he spent… …   France. A reference guide from Renaissance to the Present

  • Diderot, Denis — ► (1713 84) Filósofo francés. Asumió la dirección de la Enciclopedia (1747). Defendió una moral que tuviese en cuenta la libertad individual y las exigencias sociales. Entre sus obras filosóficas destacan El sueño de d´Alembert (1769) y Ensayo… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • DIDEROT, DENIS —    a French philosopher, born at Langres, the son of a cutler there; a zealous propagator of the philosophic ideas of the 18th century, and the projector of the famous Encyclopédie, which he edited along with D Alembert, and which made a great… …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • Diderot,Denis — Di·de·rot (dēʹdə rō , dē drōʹ), Denis. 1713 1784. French philosopher and writer whose supreme accomplishment was his work on the Encyclopédie (1751 1772), which epitomized the spirit of Enlightenment thought. He also wrote novels, plays, critical …   Universalium

  • Diderot, Denis — See Enlightenment I (The French): science, materialism and determinism and Enlightenment II (The French): deism, morality and politics …   History of philosophy

  • Diderot, Denis —  (1713–1784) French encyclopedist and philosopher …   Bryson’s dictionary for writers and editors

  • Diderot — Diderot, Denis …   Philosophy dictionary

  • Diderot's — Diderot, Denis …   Philosophy dictionary

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