Question

Describe the work of three Enlightenment thinkers.

Answer 1

Alembert, Jean Le Rond d’ 1717 – 1783
The illegitimate son of hostess Mme de Tencin, Alembert was named after the church on whose steps he was abandoned. His supposed father paid for an education and Alembert became famous both as a mathematician and as co-editor of the Encyclopédie, for which he authored over a thousand articles. Criticism of this – he was accused of being too anti-religious – saw him resign and devote his time to other works, including literature. He turned down employment from both Frederick II of Prussia and Catherine II of Russia.

Answer 2

Beccaria, Cesare 1738 - 1794
The Italian author of On Crimes and Punishments, published in 1764, Beccaria argued for punishment to be secular, rather than based on religious judgements of sin, and for legal reforms including the end of capital punishment and judicial torture. His works proved to be hugely influential among European thinkers, not just those of the Enlightenment.

Answer 3

Diderot, Denis 1713 – 1784
Originally the son of artisans, Diderot first entered the church before leaving and working as a law clerk. He achieved fame in the Enlightenment era chiefly for editing arguably the key text, his Encyclopédie, which took up over twenty years of his life. However, he wrote widely on science, philosophy and the arts, as well as plays and fiction, but left many of his works unpublished, partly a result of being imprisonment for his early writings. Consequently, Diderot only gained his reputation as one of the titans of the Enlightenment after his death, when his work was published.
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Answer 4

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