Denis Diderot ( ; October 5, 1713 – July 31, 1784) was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer. He was a prominent person during the Enlightenment and is best known for serving as co-founder and chief editor of and contributor to the Encyclopédie along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert.
Diderot also contributed to literature, notably with Jacques le fataliste et son maître (Jacques the Fatalist and his Master), which emulated Laurence Sterne in challenging conventions regarding novels and their structure and content, while also examining philosophical ideas about free will. Diderot is also known as the author of the dialogue, Le Neveu de Rameau (Rameau's Nephew), upon which many articles and sermons about consumer desire have been based.
Read more about Denis Diderot: Life and Death, Early Works, Encyclopédie, Other Works, Philosophy, Historiography, Bibliography
Famous quotes by denis diderot:
“Are we not madder than those first inhabitants of the plain of Sennar? We know that the distance separating the earth from the sky is infinite, and yet we do not stop building our tower.”
—Denis Diderot (1713–1784)
“Jacques said that his master said that everything good or evil we encounter here below was written on high.”
—Denis Diderot (1713–1784)
“People praise virtue, but they hate it, they run away from it. It freezes you to death, and in this world you’ve got to keep your feet warm.”
—Denis Diderot (1713–1784)
“Patriotism is an ephemeral motive that scarcely ever outlasts the particular threat to society that aroused it.”
—Denis Diderot (1713–1784)
“Disturbances in society are never more fearful than when those who are stirring up the trouble can use the pretext of religion to mask their true designs.”
—Denis Diderot (1713–1784)