The term philosophes refers to the intellectuals—including scientists, literary men, and philosophers—in 18th-century France who were united, in spite of divergent personal views, in their conviction of the supremacy and efficacy of human reason. The philosophic thought of René Descartes, the skepticism of the Libertins, or freethinkers, and the popularization of science by Bernard de Fontenelle all inspired the philosophes, who were dedicated to the advancement of science and secular thought. They expressed support for social, economic, and political reforms, occasioned by sectarian dissensions within the church, the weakening of the absolute monarchy, and the ruinous wars that had occurred toward the end of Louis XIV's reign. French writer Voltaire and French political philosopher Montesquieu dominated the early movement, but that restrained phase became more volatile in the second half of the century. Later leaders were Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Denis Diderot, Georges-Louis Leclerc de Buffon, Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot, Étienne Bonnot de Condillac, and the Marquis de Condorcet. These philosophes were among those who compiled and published the 28-volume Encyclopédie (1751–72), one of the great intellectual achievements of the century. A literary and philosophical enterprise with an attitude of tolerance and liberalism, the publication had profound political, social, and intellectual repercussions in France just prior to the French Revolution. |