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Who were the French philosophes?
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Enlightenment
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The philosophes were the influential literary figures, scientists, and thinkers of 18th-century France who championed the supremacy and efficacy of human reason. Despite their diverse personal views, they were united in their support for social, economic, and political reforms, often critiquing the absolute monarchy and the influence of the church.1
Key figures included:
- Voltaire and Montesquieu, who dominated the movement's early phase.12
- Denis Diderot, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Georges-Louis Leclerc, comte de Buffon, Étienne Bonnot de Condillac, Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot, and the Marquis de Condorcet, many of whom were instrumental in compiling the Encyclopédie.12
These thinkers were deeply influenced by the philosophy of René Descartes and the skepticism of the era's freethinkers. Their ideas, often disseminated through salons in Paris, played a decisive role in the cultural and intellectual transformation of France leading up to the French Revolution.134