philosophe

Philosophe is a French term used in the 18th century to refer to the leading intellectuals of the Enlightenment in France. Philosophes sought to apply reason and the scientific method to all aspects of life, challenging absolute monarchy, traditional religious authority, and inherited privilege. They advocated freedom of expression, religious toleration, secular education, and reform based on evidence and rational inquiry. Their work spread through journals, salons, and reference works such as the Encyclopédie, which compiled critical articles on science, philosophy, and society.

Prominent figures include Voltaire, Denis Diderot, Jean le Rond d'Alembert, Montesquieu, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, among others such as Condorcet, Turgot, and Buffon. Although diverse in opinion, they shared a commitment to progress through knowledge and a skeptical critique of superstition and power. They argued for checks on royal authority, legal equality before the law, and the protection of civil liberties, while often promoting education and civic virtue as foundations of reform.

In historical usage, the term describes this milieu of writers and public intellectuals rather than a formal movement or organization. Their ideas influenced political philosophy and the liberal movements of the 18th and 19th centuries, including the French Revolution. Today, philosophe can also be used more generally to mean a philosopher, but in historical contexts it denotes the Enlightenment-era French commentators who popularized rational critique of religion, politics, and society.