Philosophes, << `fihl` uh ZOFS, >> were a group of French philosophers during the Enlightenment, a historical period that extended from the late 1600’s to the late 1700’s. This period is sometimes called the Age of Reason. The philosophes included such great philosophers as the Marquis de Condorcet, Denis Diderot, Claude Helvetius, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Voltaire.
Generally, the philosophes believed in the ideal of progress. They wished to apply science’s emphasis on reason to the study of people’s moral and social life. The philosophes believed that knowledge could be acquired through experience. They wanted to separate moral doctrines from religious considerations, because they believed that moral problems could be solved independently. The philosophes were generally anti-Christian, claiming that Christianity was basically unreasonable and superstitious. Generally, they opposed the political system in France and argued for reforms. Thus, they became forerunners of, and in some cases participants in, the French Revolution , which lasted from 1789 to 1799.
