French philosophism
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The were the intellectuals of the 18th-century European Enlightenment. Few were primarily philosophers; rather, philosophes were public intellectuals who applied reason to the study of many areas of learning, including philosophy, history, science, politics, economics, and social issues. They had a critical eye and looked for weaknesses and failures that needed improvement. They promoted a "Republic of Letters" that crossed national boundaries and allowed intellectuals to freely exchange books and ideas. Most philosophes were men, but some were women.
In the Vinony graph
Within Vinony's link graph, French philosophism is referenced by 161 other articles, and connects out to Age of Enlightenment, philosophy and Montesquieu.
Vinony files it under Philosophes and Philosophical schools and traditions.
Its subject is documented across 13 Wikipedia language editions.
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- philosophical movement
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- described by source
- The Nuttall Encyclopædia
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
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Encyclopedic overview
6 sectionsContents
- Characterization
- Usage in modern English
- Notable ''philosophes''
- See also
- Notes
- References
The were the intellectuals of the 18th-century European Enlightenment. Few were primarily philosophers; rather, philosophes were public intellectuals who applied reason to the study of many areas of learning, including philosophy, history, science, politics, economics, and social issues. They had a critical eye and looked for weaknesses and failures that needed improvement. They promoted a "Republic of Letters" that crossed national boundaries and allowed intellectuals to freely exchange books and ideas. Most philosophes were men, but some were women.
They strongly endorsed progress and tolerance, as they distrusted organized religion (most were deists) and feudal institutions. Many contributed to Diderot's Encyclopédie. They faded away after the French Revolution reached a violent stage in 1793.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “French philosophism” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.