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Diderot 1713 - 1784 (71)

The happiest man is the one who makes people happy.


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Encyclopaideia

The Pythagoreans ate neither meat nor fish, or at least those of them who professed great perfection, and who prided themselves on having reached the ultimate degree of their Master’s theory. This abstinence from everything that has had life was the consequence of metempsychosis; but what was the origin of Pythagoras’ aversion for a large number of other kinds of food, for broad beans, asphodel, wine, etc.?

Denis Diderot (October 5, 1713 - July 31, 1784) was a French philosopher and writer during the Enlightenment, best known for his contribution to the first France Encyclopaideia. He was son of a wealthy blacksmith from the town Langri and he was taught by Jesuits priests as the family wanted him to become a cleric. He objected and continued his studies at Sorbonne, where he graduated in 1732 as a lawyer. He never exercised the profession but decided to become a writer. His decision disturbed the relations with his father, and for the next ten years he lived a bohemian life in Paris, enriching his knowledge and experiences, writing and translating from English. In 1743 he married a young laundress of humble origin and without dowry with a result the final estrangement from his father who strongly objected it. They had one survived girl, three other children died prematurely. His sister died of hard work in a convent, a fact that contributed to his repulsion of monasteries and religion. In 1746 his work "Philosophical thoughts" were ordered to be burned because of its skepticism, while the "Letter on the Blind", was considered by French authorities materialistic and atheistic, for that he was sentenced to prison for about a year in 1748.

When released, he began to deal extensively with the writing and direction of an ambitious project, the Encyclopedia. A publisher had commissioned him to translate the English Kyklopaideia, as he was working on it he decided not to be confined to the two volumes but to extend it by adding all the knowledge of his time. Encycolpaideia became an original grandiose project, constantly growing bigger with the help of friends and intellectuals from all over Europe. In 1751 the first volume was released; in 1765, after many vicissitudes, problems, and prohibitions, the 17th was completed. (Jesuits and many clergy considered anti-Christian anything would take the world out of darkness and had succeeded in banning it some years. Marquise de Pompadour, the mistress of King Louis XV, by affecting some ministers, had managed to lift the ban). Along with his involvement with this great work, he never stopped writing philosophical books, essays, plays, reviews. In all his works he was spreading the spirit of enlightenment, against superstition and bigotry, remaining firmly atheist and materialist. He also dealt with political issues and is considered one of the spiritual fathers of the coming French Revolution. Since 1755 he had an affair with Sophie volleyball, he sent her numerous letters revealing his philosophical reflection and the everyday life of his cycle in Paris. He died suddenly on July 30, 1784, a few months after his beloved Sophie.