Denis Diderot
Co-founder and chief editor of the Encyclopédie, a key figure of the Enlightenment.
Denis Diderot was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer who co-founded and edited the Encyclopédie.[1] During the Age of Enlightenment, Diderot was a notable figure.[2] For much of his career, Diderot faced financial hardship and was overlooked for a seat in the Académie Française.[3]
Quick Facts
- Region
- Western philosophy
- Era
- 18th-century philosophy
- Born
- 5 October 1713
- Birthplace
- Langres, Champagne, France
- Died
- 31 July 1784
- Place of death
- Paris, France
- School of thought
- Encyclopédistes, French materialism
- Education
- University of Paris
Facts from the source article.
Life and work
He began his formal education at a Jesuit college in Langres and received a Master of Arts degree from the University of Paris in 1732.[4] His 1749 Letter on the Blind introduced him as an original thinker and led to his imprisonment at Vincennes.[5][6] In 1766, Russian Empress Catherine the Great bought his 3,000-volume library for 15,000 livres and paid him a salary as its custodian.[3] Denis Diderot came into the world in Langres, Champagne, as the child of cutler Didier Diderot and Angélique Vigneron.[7]
In 1735 he gave up plans for the clergy, then studied law for a short time before taking up work as a writer and translator.[4][8]
What the cited sources add
Arthur M. Wilson's account notes that Diderot's father, Didier, was a master cutler whose surgical knives were much in demand.[9] Durant's history describes Diderot's father as a cutler specializing in surgical instruments, with the family in cutlery for two hundred years.[10]
References
- Wikipedia, "Denis Diderot" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Diderot". Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary. (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Denis Diderot" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Denis Diderot Biography, philosophy, Works, Beliefs, Enlightenment, & Facts", Encyclopedia Britannica (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Denis Diderot" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; Arthur Wilson, Diderot (New York: Oxford, 1972).; Verzaal, "Diderot op de Kneuterdijk (1)", National Library of the Netherlands, 25 October 2013 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Denis Diderot" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Curran, "Diderot and the Art of Thinking Freely", Other Press, 2019, p. 319 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Denis Diderot" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Morley 1911 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Denis Diderot" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Andrew S. Curran, Diderot and the Art of Thinking Freely, Other Press, 2019, pp. 95–96 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Denis Diderot" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Arthur M. Wilson. Diderot: The Testing Years, 1713–1759. New York: Oxford University Press, 1957, p. 14 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Denis Diderot" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Curran, "Diderot and the Art of Thinking Freely", Other Press, 2019, p. 319; Arthur Wilson, Diderot (New York: Oxford, 1972). (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Arthur M. Wilson. Diderot: The Testing Years, 1713–1759. New York: Oxford University Press, 1957, p. 14. facts only, no text reused. archive.org
- Durant, "The Age of Voltaire: A History of Civilization in Western Europe from 1715 to 1756", erenow.org. facts only, no text reused. erenow.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Denis Diderot (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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