Encyclopédie summary

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Below is the article summary. For the full article, see Encyclopédie.

Encyclopédie , French encyclopedia created in the 18th century by the philosophes; one of the principal works of the Enlightenment. Under the full title Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers (“Encyclopedia, or Classified Dictionary of Sciences, Arts, and Trades”), it was inspired by the success of E. Chambers’s British Cyclopaedia; or An Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences (1728). Under the direction of Denis Diderot and initially aided by Jean Le Rond d’Alembert, 17 volumes were published between 1751 and 1765; other volumes were added later for a total of 35. Though opposed by conservative ecclesiastics and government officials and subjected to censorship, the Encyclopédie attracted articles from many important thinkers of the time, including Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Voltaire, and Denis Diderot, who were called “Encyclopedists.” In its skepticism, its emphasis on scientific determinism, and its criticism of the abuses perpetrated by contemporary legal, judicial, and clerical institutions, the work had widespread influence as an expression of progressive thought prior to the French Revolution.

French language Summary

French language, probably the most internationally significant Romance language in the world. At the beginning of the 21st century, French was an official language of more than 25 countries. In France and Corsica about 60 million individuals use it as their first language, in Canada more than 7.3

encyclopaedia Summary

Encyclopaedia, reference work that contains information on all branches of knowledge or that treats a particular branch of knowledge in a comprehensive manner. For more than 2,000 years encyclopaedias have existed as summaries of extant scholarship in forms comprehensible to their readers. The word

Jean Le Rond d’Alembert Summary

Jean Le Rond d’Alembert was a French mathematician, philosopher, and writer, who achieved fame as a mathematician and scientist before acquiring a considerable reputation as a contributor to and editor of the famous Encyclopédie. The illegitimate son of a famous hostess, Mme de Tencin, and one of

Dimitry Levitzky: portrait of Denis Diderot

Denis Diderot Summary

Denis Diderot was a French man of letters and philosopher who, from 1745 to 1772, served as chief editor of the Encyclopédie, one of the principal works of the Age of Enlightenment. Diderot was the son of a widely respected master cutler. He was tonsured in 1726, though he did not in fact enter the