Denis Diderot

About Denis Diderot

Chief editor of the Encyclopedie, the great project to map all knowledge. Jailed for a skeptical essay early in his career. His boldest materialist works circulated secretly for fear of prison. Argued that matter itself may be sensitive and alive. Catherine the Great bought his library and employed him as librarian. The Encyclopedie aimed, he wrote, to change the general way of thinking.