The French Philosophes
From MTT p. 194-195
The philosophes (fee luh ZOHF) were a group of French thinkers and scientists who
believed that the ideas of the Enlightenment could be used to reform and improve
government and society. They spoke out against inequality and injustice. The philosophes
distrusted institutions, like most governments and the Church, that did not support
freedom of though.
One of the most important philosophes was Jean Jacques Rousseau. Like Locke, Rousseau
thought that people were naturally good. He added that imperfect institutions such as the
church and governments corrupted, or spoiled, this natural goodness. In his 1762 book The
Social Contract, Rousseau argued that governments should express the will of the people
and put few limits on people’s behavior.
Perhaps the most famous philosophe was Voltaire. His essays, plays, and novels exposed
many of the abuses of his day. He used his biting wit to attack inequality, injustice, and
religious prejudice. Voltaire was a great champion of freedom of speech. He once stated, “I
disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”
In the mid-1700s, articles by many of the philosophes were collected by Denis Diderot in
the Encyclopedia. One purpose of this huge work was to bring together information on all of
the arts and sciences. Another purpose was to make this information available to the
public. A third goal was to advance the ideas of the Enlightenment. Articles in the
Encyclopedia attacked slavery, urged education for all, and promoted freedom of
expression. They also challenged traditional religions and the divine right of kings. Both the
French government and the Catholic Church tried to ban the Encyclopedia, but it was still
an important influence on Enlightenment thinkers.
Voltaire - From HyperHistory
Voltaire, was the pen name of Francois Marie Arouet. He was a philosopher, satirist, historian, novelist, and
dramatist. He was born in Paris, educated by Jesuits. He studied law, then turned to writing.
He sharply attacked the political institutions of his time in a brilliant and witty prose style. This brought him
fame, but he gained enemies at court, and was forced to go into exile in England (1726-9).
Back in France, he wrote plays, poetry, historical and scientific treatises, and his Lettres philosophiques. He
moved to Berlin at the invitation of Frederick the Great (1750-3). In 1755 he settled near Geneva, where he
wrote the satirical short story, 'Candide' a satire against social wrongs. Voltaire's philosophical writings helped
bring about the French Revolution.
http://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/History_n2/a.html
The French Philosophes
From PhilosophySlam.org
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), Switzerland/France
Rousseau was a creative writer and used everything from opera to novels and romances
to explain his philosophy. He believed that human beings are inherently good, but are
corrupted by the evils of society. He considered science, art and social institutions to be
a part of what corrupts. He believed that the only way to get back to that goodness that
human beings are born with is to be as close to nature as possible.
In The Social Contract, Rousseau explained his political theories, which would later
influence the writers of the United States Constitution as well as the leaders of the
French Revolution. "Man is born free, and he is everywhere in chains." Because humans
are corrupted by society, all people must enter into a social contract that requires people
to recognize a collective "good will," which represents the common good or public
interest. All citizens should participate and should be committed to the good of all, even
if it is not in their personal best interest. He believed that living for the common good
promotes liberty and equality.
Rousseau was a big supporter of education. His novel Emile emphasizes how allowing
free expression and a focus on the environment instead of repressing curiosity will
produce a well-balanced, freethinking child. He also believed that women needed to be
educated as well as men, but in different directions. Women, according to Rousseau,
were not meant to be brought up ignorant and only allowed to do housework. Rousseau
was not only remarkable because he believed that a child's education should be focused
on his/her interests, but also because he believed that women need to learn more than
simply domestic chores.
http://philosophyslam.org/rousseau.html
The French Philosophes
From History.com
THE HIGH ENLIGHTENMENT: 1730-1780
Centered on the dialogues and publications of the French “philosophes” (Voltaire,
Rousseau, Montesquieu, Buffon and Diderot), the High Enlightenment might best be
summed up by one historian’s summary of Voltaire’s “Philosophical Dictionary”: “a chaos
of clear ideas.” Foremost among these was the notion that everything in the universe
could be rationally explained and categorized. The signature publication of the period was
Diderot’s “Encyclopédie” (1751-77), which brought together leading authors to produce an
ambitious compilation of human knowledge.
It was a time of religious (and anti-religious) innovation, as Christians sought to reposition
their faith along rational lines and deists and materialists argued that the universe seemed
to determine its own course without God’s intervention. Secret societies—the
Freemasons, the Bavarian Illuminati, the Rosicrucians—flourished, offering European men
(and a few women) new modes of fellowship, esoteric ritual and mutual assistance.
Coffeehouses, newspapers and literary salons emerged as new venues for ideas to
circulate.
http://www.history.com/topics/enlightenment
Quotes
“We are born weak, we need strength; helpless, we need aid; foolish, we need reason. All that we lack at birth,
all that we need when we come to man's estate, is the gift of education.” - Rousseau, Jean-Jacques and Barbara
Foxley (Translator). Emile: Or, On Education. 1762.
“The natural man lives for himself; he is the unit, the whole, dependent only on himself and on his like. The
citizen is but the numerator of a fraction, whose value depends on its denominator; his value depends upon the
whole, that is, on the community. Good social institutions are those best fitted to make a man unnatural, to
exchange his independence for dependence, to merge the unit in the group, so that he no longer regards himself
as one, but as a part of the whole, and is only conscious of the common life.” - Rousseau, Jean-Jacques and
Barbara Foxley (Translator). Emile: Or, On Education. 1762.
“Unless you know everything, you really know nothing. You don’t know where one thing’s going; where
another comes from; where this or that one should be put; which one should come first or would be better
placed second. Can you teach something properly without a method? And a method, where does that originate?”
- Diderot, Denis. Rameau’s Nephew Trans. Margaret Mauldon. New York: Oxford University Press. 2006.