Denis Diderot (1713 - 1784)

Diderot was the most prominent of the French Encyclopaedists.

The Encyclopédie is the most famous publications representing the thought and ideals of the Enlightenment. The Encyclopédie’s aim was “to change the way people think”. Diderot wanted to incorporate all of the world’s knowledge into the Encyclopédie and it was the first general encyclopaedia to describe the mechanical arts. It attempted to collect and summarise human knowledge in a variety of fields and topics, including philosophy, theology, science and the arts. The Encyclopédie was controversial for reorganising knowledge based on human reason instead of by nature or theology.