Search
Search Results
Definition
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) was a Swiss philosopher whose work both praised and criticised the Enlightenment movement. Although a believer in the power of reason, science, and the arts, Rousseau was convinced that a flourishing culture...
Definition
Social Contract
The social contract is an idea in philosophy that at some real or hypothetical point in the past, humans left the state of nature to join together and form societies by mutually agreeing which rights they would enjoy and how they would be...
Definition
State of Nature
The state of nature is an idea which became especially popular with certain philosophers during the Enlightenment, notably Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), John Locke (1632-1704), and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778). It refers to a state of existence...
Definition
Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) was a Finnish composer famous for his symphonies, the symphonic poem Finlandia, and the Karelia Suite. Although Sibelius inspired a music revival in his native country, became a figurehead for the Finnish nationalist...
Definition
Jean Lafitte
Jean Lafitte (also spelt Laffite, c. 1780 to c. 1820 CE) was a Franco-American leader of pirates and privateers who captured merchant vessels of various states in the Gulf of Mexico from 1810 to 1820. Lafitte proved an invaluable ally for...
Definition
Jean-Baptiste Jourdan
Jean-Baptiste Jourdan (1762-1833) was a French general who held significant commands in the French Revolutionary Wars (1792-1802) and the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815). He won a major victory for the French Republic at the Battle of Fleurus...
Image
René Waldeck-Rousseau
René Waldeck-Rousseau (l. 1846-1904), photo by Fréd. Bodinier, late 19th century
Image
Title Page of Second Discourse by Rousseau
The title page of Second Discourse by Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), first published in 1755.
Definition
Denis Diderot
Denis Diderot (1713-1784) was a French author and philosopher known for his views which influenced the Enlightenment and his general editorship of the multi-volume Encyclopedia, often described as the 'Bible of the Enlightenment'. Diderot...
Article
Architects of France's 1901 Law of Associations
The Law of Associations was adopted by the French Parliament on 3 July 1901 to limit the influence of Catholic teaching orders as the first step toward the formal separation of church and state that would follow in 1905. Of 16,904 religious...