Humanities › History & Culture 18 Key Thinkers of the Enlightenment Print DEA / G. DAGLI ORTI / Getty Images History & Culture European History European History Figures & Events Wars & Battles The Holocaust European Revolutions Industry and Agriculture History in Europe American History African American History African History Ancient History and Culture Asian History Genealogy Inventions Latin American History Medieval & Renaissance History Military History The 20th Century Women's History View More By Robert Wilde Robert Wilde History Expert M.A., Medieval Studies, Sheffield University B.A., Medieval Studies, Sheffield University Robert Wilde is a historian who writes about European history. He is the author of the History in an Afternoon textbook series. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on December 22, 2018 At the most visible end of the Enlightenment were a group of thinkers who consciously sought human advancement through logic, reason, and criticism. Biographical sketches of these key figures are below in alphabetical order of their surnames. Alembert, Jean Le Rond d’ 1717 – 1783 Archive Photos/Getty Images 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. Beccaria, Cesare 1738 - 1794 Corbis via Getty Images/Getty Images The Italian author of On Crimes and Punishments, published in 1764, Beccaria argued for punishment to be secular, rather than based on religious judgments 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. Buffon, Georges-Louis Leclerc 1707 – 1788 Bettmann Archive/Getty Images The son of a highly ranked legal family, Buffon changed from legal education to science and contributed to the Enlightenment with works on natural history, in which he rejected the biblical chronology of the past in favor of the Earth being older and flirted with the idea that species could change. His Histoire Naturelle aimed to classify the whole natural world, including humans. Condorcet, Jean-Antoine-Nicolas Caritat 1743 – 1794 Apic/Getty Images One of the leading thinkers of the late Enlightenment, Condorcet focused largely on science and mathematics, producing important works on probability and writing for the Encyclopédie. He worked in the French government and became a deputy of the Convention in 1792, where he promoted education and freedom for enslaved people, but died during the Terror. Work on his belief in human progress was published posthumously. Diderot, Denis 1713 – 1784 Louis-Michel van Loo/Flickr/CC0 1.0 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 20 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 imprisoned 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. Gibbon, Edward 1737 – 1794 Rischgitz/Getty Images Gibbon is the author of the most famous work of history in the English language, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. It has been described as a work of “humane skepticism,” and marked Gibbon out as the greatest of the Enlightenment historians. He was also a member of the British parliament. Herder, Johann Gottfried von 1744 – 1803 Kean Collection/Getty Images Herder studied at Königsburg under Kant and also met Diderot and d’Alembert in Paris. Ordained in 1767, Herder met Goethe, who obtained for him the position of a court preacher. Herder wrote on German literature, arguing for its independence, and his literary criticism became a heavy influence on later Romantic thinkers. Holbach, Paul-Henri Thiry 1723 – 1789 Bettmann Archive/Getty Images A successful financier, Holbach’s salon became a meeting place for Enlightenment figures like Diderot, d’Alembert, and Rousseau. He wrote for the Encyclopédie, while his personal writings attacked organized religion, finding their most famous expression in the co-written Systéme de la Nature, which brought him into conflict with Voltaire. Hume, David 1711 – 1776 Joas Souza/Getty Images Building his career after a nervous breakdown, Hume gained attention for his History of England and established a name for himself among Enlightenment thinkers while working at the British embassy in Paris. His best-known work is the full three volumes of the Treatise of Human Nature but, despite being friends with people like Diderot, the work was largely ignored by his contemporaries and only gained a posthumous reputation. Kant, Immanuel 1724 – 1804 Leemage/Getty Images A Prussian who studied at the University of Königsburg, Kant became a professor of mathematics and philosophy and later rector there. The Critique of Pure Reason, arguably his most famous work, is just one of several key Enlightenment texts which also include his era-defining essay What is Enlightenment? Locke, John 1632 – 1704 pictore/Getty Images A key thinker of the early Enlightenment, the English Locke was educated at Oxford but read wider than his course, gaining a degree in medicine before pursuing a varied career. His Essay Concerning Human Understanding of 1690 challenged Descartes’ views and influenced later thinkers, and he helped pioneer views on toleration and produced views on government which would underpin later thinkers. Locke was forced to flee England for Holland in 1683 because of his links to plots against the king, before returning after William and Mary took the throne. Montesquieu, Charles-Louis Secondat 1689 – 1755 Culture Club/Getty Images Born into a prominent legal family, Montesquieu was a lawyer and president of the Bordeaux Parlement. He first came to the attention of the Parisian literary world with his satire Persian Letters, which tackled French institutions and the “Orient,” but is best known for Esprit des Lois, or The Spirit of the Laws. Published in 1748, this was an examination of different forms of government which became one of the most widely disseminated works of the Enlightenment, especially after the church added it to their banned list in 1751. Newton, Isaac 1642 – 1727 Bettmann Archive/Getty Images Although involved in alchemy and theology, it is Newton’s scientific and mathematical achievements for which he is chiefly recognized. The methodology and ideas he outlined in key works like the Principia helped forge a new model for “natural philosophy” which the thinkers of the Enlightenment tried to apply to humanity and society. Quesnay, François 1694 – 1774 Author Unknown/Wikimedia Commons/CC0 1.0 A surgeon who eventually ended up working for the French king, Quesnay contributed articles for the Encyclopédie and hosted meetings at his chambers among Diderot and others. His economic works were influential, developing a theory called Physiocracy, which held that land was the source of wealth, a situation requiring a strong monarchy to secure a free market. Raynal, Guillaume-Thomas 1713 - 1796 Thomas Raynal/Wikimedia Commons/CC0 1.0 Originally a priest and personal tutor, Raynal emerged onto the intellectual scene when he published Anecdotes Littéaires in 1750. He came into contact with Diderot and wrote his most famous work, Histoire des deux Indes (History of the East and West Indies), a history of the colonialism of European nations. It has been called a “mouthpiece” of Enlightenment ideas and thought, although the most groundbreaking passages were written by Diderot. It proved so popular across Europe that Raynal left Paris to avoid the publicity, later being temporarily exiled from France. Rousseau, Jean-Jacques 1712 – 1778 Culture Club/Getty Images Born in Geneva, Rousseau spent the early years of his adult life traveling in poverty, before educating himself and traveling to Paris. Increasingly turning from music to writing, Rousseau formed an association with Diderot and wrote for the Encyclopédie, before winning a prestigious award which pushed him firmly onto the Enlightenment scene. However, he fell out with Diderot and Voltaire and turned away from them in later works. On one occasion Rousseau managed to alienate the major religions, forcing him to flee France. His Du Contrat Social became a major influence during the French Revolution, and he has been called a major influence on Romanticism. Turgot, Anne-Robert-Jacques 1727 – 1781 By Credited as "Drawn by Panilli, engraved by Marsilly"/Wikimedia Commons/CC0 1.0 Turgot was something of a rarity among leading figures in the Enlightenment, for he held high office in the French government. After beginning his career in the Paris Parlement, he became Intendant of Limoges, Navy Minister, and Finance Minister. He contributed articles to the Encyclopédie, chiefly on economics, and wrote further works on the subject, but found his position in government weakened by a commitment to free trade in wheat which led to high prices and riots. Voltaire, François-Marie Arouet 1694 – 1778 Nicolas de Largillière - Scan by Manfred Heyde/Collegamento/CC0 1.0 Voltaire is one of, if not the, most dominant Enlightenment figures, and his death is sometimes cited as the end of the period. The son of a lawyer and educated by Jesuits, Voltaire wrote widely and frequently on many subjects for a long time period, also maintaining correspondence. He was imprisoned early in his career for his satires and spend time exiled in England before a brief period as court historiographer to the French king. After this, he continued to travel, finally settling on the Swiss border. He is perhaps best known today for his satire Candide. Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Wilde, Robert. "18 Key Thinkers of the Enlightenment." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/key-thinkers-of-the-enlightenment-1221868. Wilde, Robert. (2023, April 5). 18 Key Thinkers of the Enlightenment. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/key-thinkers-of-the-enlightenment-1221868 Wilde, Robert. "18 Key Thinkers of the Enlightenment." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/key-thinkers-of-the-enlightenment-1221868 (accessed April 19, 2024). copy citation