Philosophical Thoughts

Denis Diderot was born in Langres on October 5, 1713, and died in Paris on July 31, 1784. As a philosopher and writer, he wrote Letter on the Blind - for the use of those who see, and The Encyclopedia (1750-72), considered his greatest work, which, despite the opposition of the Catholic Church and the established powers, he carried out with commitment and enthusiasm. He also published some plays (of little success), particularly in novels (following the norms of some English humorists, especially Stern); The Religious, Rameau's Nephew, Jacques, the Fatalist and His Master. To him we also owe numerous articles of art criticism. Diderot made literature a craft, never forgetting, however, his condition as a philosopher. He was concerned about the nature of man, his condition, his moral problems and the sense of destiny.