French PhilosophersFrench Culture Project

By Pierre

Real name is Francois-Marie Arouet Born 21 November 1694- Death 30 May

1778 Wrote about his advocacy of civil liberties,

freedom of religion, free tradeand separation of church and state Outspoken supporter of social

reform

Voltaire

Voltaire is an anagram of “Arovet Li”, which is the Latinized spelling of his name, Arouet and the initial letters of “le jeune”

The adoption of his name at Bastille is seen by many to mark Voltaire’s formal separation from his family and his past

Why He Chose the Pen Name Voltaire?

Considered himself a deist He did not believe that any single religious

text or tradition of revelation was needed to believe in God

Focused on the idea of universal laws, underlying every religious system

Views on Religion

Mahomet Zadig Ou la Destinee Micromegas Dictionnaire Philisophique

Major Works

"All men are born with a nose and ten fingers, but no one was born with a knowledge of God.“ – Voltaire on men and God

"An ideal form of government is democracy tempered with assassination." — Voltaire on the government

"Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well." — Voltaire on appreciation

Famous Quotes

He drank over 50 cups of coffee a day The composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

despised Voltaire Wrote more than 20,000 letters and 2,000

books

Fun Facts about Voltaire

Real name is Charles-Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu

Born 18 January 1689- 10 February 1755 Famous for his theory of the separation of

powers Powers were executive, legislative and

judicial classification systems based on their principles

Montesquieu

Divided French society into 3 classes: the monarchy, the aristocracy, and the commons

Two types of governmental power: the sovereign and the administrative

Three main forms of government each supported by a social principle: monarchies, republics, and despotisms

Influential Work

Lettres Persanes or “Persian Letters” recounts the experiences of two noblemen, Usbek and Rica who are traveling through France

De l’espirt des lois or “The Spirit of Laws” he advocates constitutionalism, separation of powers, abolition of slavery, preservation of civil liberties and the rule of law

Major Works

“To become truly great, one has to stand with the people, not above them.”

“The less men think, the more they talk.” “Not to be loved is a misfortune, but it is an

insult to be loved no longer.” “Liberty is the right of doing whatever the

laws permit.”

Famous Quotes

Largely responsible for the popularization of the terms feudalism and Byzantine Empire

Troubled by poor eyesight Was completely blind at the later time of his

life, about five years before he died

Fun Facts

Jean-Jacques Rousseau was born 28 June 1712- 2 July 1778

Wrote about the theory of Natural Human Also wrote about Political, Educational and

Sociological thought Writings helped influenced the

French Revolution

Rousseau

Discourse on Equality Emile: or, On Education Julie, ou la nouvelle Heloise The Social Contract

Major Works

Believed in general will which refers to the desire or interest of people as a whole

Believes that the sovereignty of the law should be in the hands of the people

Believed in a classical republicanism which is built around concepts such as civil society, civic virtue and mixed government

Political Thoughts

Was one of the first to advocate developmentally appropriate education

Divides childhood into stages First is the age to 12, when children are

guided by their emotions and impulses Second is the age from 12-16, reason starts

to develop Third stage is 16 and over when the child

develops into an adult

Educational Thoughts

“What wisdom can you find greater than kindness.”

“The world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless.”

“I would rather be a man of paradoxes than a man of prejudices.”

“Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.”

Famous Quotes

Even though he wrote about the education of children, he never raised any of his own

Didn’t believe he would be a good parent because he lost his mother at birth and his father abandoned him at the age of 10

Made a living of writing and teaching music Danielle Rousseau on the TV show Lost, was

named after Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Fun Facts

Born 31 March 1596- 11 February 1650 Has been dubbed the “Father of Modern

Philosophy”

Rene Descartes

His theory provided the basis for the calculus of Newton and Leibniz by applying infinitesimal calculus to the tangent line problem

Descartes’ rule of signs is also commonly used method to determine the number of positive and negative roots of a polynomial

Created analytical geometry which is the bridge between algebra and geometry

Mathematics

Known for his quote “cogito ergo sum”, and in French “Je pense, donc je suis” which means “I think, therefore I am” in English

First thinker to provide a philosophical framework for the natural sciences as these began to develop

Suggested that body the body works like a machine

Philosophical Work

Meditations on First Philosophy Principles of Philosophy Discourse on the Method Les Passions de l’^ame (Passions of the

Soul)

Major Works

“It is not enough to have a good mind; the main thing is to use it well.”

“It is easy to hate and it is difficult to love. This is how the whole scheme of things works. All good things are difficult to achieve; and bad things are very easy to get.”

“Conquer yourself not the world.”

Famous Quotes

The enlightenment period philosophers, (Voltaire, Montesquieu, Rousseau) disagreed with his beliefs on multiple topics

Helped create the Scientific Revolution Was Roman Catholic

Fun Facts

21 June 1905- 15 April 1980 Leading figures in 20th Century French

Philosophy Key figures in the meaning of Existentialism Was a Marxist

Jean-Paul Sartre

Refers to a set of ideas about existence, beyond the terms used in ancient philosophy and objective science

Basically means they are agnostic in a higher power. “If God exists, then he exists; if he doesn’t, then he doesn’t exist”

Existentialism

La Nausee Being and Nothingness The Age of Reason Critique de la raison dialectique (Critique of

Dialectical Reason)

Major Works

“Existence precedes and rules essence. “ “Hell is other people.” “Man is condemned to be free; because

once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does.”

“Man is fully responsible for his nature and his choices.”

Famous Quotes

Was a French Soldier in WWII and many of his writings were experiences he had in the war

End of his life, he embraced anarchism Went to Cuba in the 1960’s to meet Fidel

Castro and spoke with Che Guevera Was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in

1964 but refused it

Fun Facts

^ http://www.e-enlightenment.com/item/voltfrVF0850079_1key001cor 

^ Montesquieu (1734), Considerations on the Causes of the Greatness of the Romans and their Decline, The Free Press, retrieved 2011-11-30 Ch. XVIII.

Abizadeh, Arash (2001). "Banishing the Particular: Rousseau on Rhetoric, Patrie, and the Passions" Political Theory 29.4: 556–82.

1988. The Philosophical Writings Of Descartes in 3 vols. Cottingham, J., Stoothoff, R., Kenny, A., and Murdoch, D., trans. Cambridge University Press

References