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'''Denis Diderot''' (1713-1784) was a French [[philosopher]] and leader of the [[Enlightenment]].  A [[polymath]], he contributed in numerous disciplines, including philosophy, literature and art criticism. He speculated on [[free will]] and the attachment to material things.  

'''Denis Diderot''' (1713-1784) was a French [[philosopher]] and leader of the [[Enlightenment]].  A [[polymath]], he contributed in numerous disciplines, including philosophy, literature and art criticism. He speculated on [[free will]] and the attachment to material things.  

He is best known for editing ''[[Encyclopédie]]'', the great multivolume French-language [[encyclopedia]] of scientific and social knowledge. He worked on it from 1748 to 1772.

He is best known for editing the ''[[Encyclopédie]]'', the great multi-volume French-language [[encyclopedia]] of scientific and social knowledge. He worked on it from 1748 to 1772.

Diderot held a completely materialistic view of the universe, and believed all human behavior is determined by hereditary means. He therefore warned his fellow philosophers against an overemphasis on mathematics and against the blind optimism that sees in the growth of physical knowledge an automatic social and human progress.  He rejected the [[Idea of Progress]]. In his opinion, the aim of explaining the universe through geometry was doomed to fail. Therefore, he founded his philosophy on experiment and the study of probabilities. He wrote several articles and supplements concerning gambling, mortality rates, and inoculation against smallpox for the ''Encyclopédie.'' There he discreetly but firmly refuted d'Alembert's technical errors and personal positions on probability.  

Diderot held a completely materialistic view of the universe, and believed all human behavior is determined by hereditary means. He therefore warned his fellow philosophers against an overemphasis on mathematics and against the blind optimism that sees in the growth of physical knowledge an automatic social and human progress.  He rejected the [[Idea of Progress]]. In his opinion, the aim of explaining the universe through geometry was doomed to fail. Therefore, he founded his philosophy on experiment and the study of probabilities. He wrote several articles and supplements concerning gambling, mortality rates, and inoculation against smallpox for the ''Encyclopédie.'' There he discreetly but firmly refuted d'Alembert's technical errors and personal positions on probability.