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The philosophes (French for philosophers) were a group of intellectuals of the 18th century Enlightenment ^[1].

Newton's formulation of the three laws of motion and law of universal gravitation prompted many Europeans to approach all study of nature through reason and logic. The philosophes were a result of this new approach to learning who encouraged reason, knowledge and education as a way of overcoming superstition and ignorance. Philosophes Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d'Alembert edited the Encyclopédie (1751-1772,) which represented the philosophe belief that everything could be known, classified and understood by man. It also questioned religious authority and criticized social injustice. They believed that the role of philosophy was to change the world, not just to discuss it.

Because it was illegal to openly criticize the church and state in France, many wrote plays, novels, histories, dictionaries, and encyclopedias with subtle messages attached. An example is Montesquieu's Persian Letters.

These philosophes influenced rulers, such as Frederick II, the Great of Prussia, Catherine II, the Great of Russia, Maria Theresa of Austria, and Joseph II of Austria. These were the enlightened despots of the time.

Although many philosophes disagreed with each other over certain principles the two major tenets the philosophes accepted were deism, and toleration

Many philosophes rejected organized religion, believing that it was holding back human progress. Those philosophes critical to religion claimed that Christianity prevented humans from seeking improvement in their condition, by teaching ideas such as predestination and original sin. Through doctrinal conflicts over minor differences in interpretation of biblical passages, religion promoted intolerance and bigotry. These philosophes did not espouse atheism through rational enquiry.

Many philosophes believed that toleration was the means to a virtuous life, although some believed otherwise. They believed that toleration would combat the religious fanaticism that prevented humans from bettering their condition. This movement towards toleration was led by Voltaire in his Treatise on Tolerance and Gotthold Lessing in his play Nathan the Wise

Most philosophes denounced slavery because it deprived people of their most basic rights. One of the most well known "anti-slavery" philosophes is Josiah Wedgwood, a potter. He designed and produced thousands of anti-slavery medallions, which some fashionable people wore or put up on display in their homes. Some of the other things philosophes denounced are: torture and/or cruel punishments for crimes, inhumane treatment of the mentally ill, and mercantilism. A certain group of philosophes called "physiocrats" searched for "natural laws" to explain economics. These "physiocrats" opposed mercantilism (a closed trading system that influenced the economic policies of most governments at the time), many argued that land, not the gold and silver that many kings were hoarding, was the true source of wealth. Through this they encouraged farming and a free market, a market in which all goods could be bought and sold without restraint.

• Jean le Rond d'Alembert
• Benjamin Franklin
• Denis Diderot
• Caesar Chesneau Dumarsais
• David Hume
• Thomas Paine
• Montesquieu
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau
• Adam Smith
• Voltaire

1. ^ Kishlansky, Mark, et al. A Brief History of Western Civilization: The Unfinished Legacy, volume II: Since 1555. 5th edition. New York: Pearson Longman, 2007.

• The philosophes
• Kagan, Donald et al. The Western Heritage, since 1300: Sixth Edition, Prentice-Hall, 1998. ISBN 0-13-617374-8