A famous French philosopher, novelist, and critic Denis Diderot (1713-1784) was born in Langres and received his master's degree from the University of Paris in 1732. He spent the next 10 years engaged in assorted occupations, including teaching and writing sermons for a fee. He also immersed himself in the study of mathematics, literature, and languages and translated a number of English works into French. In 1746 Diderot published his Pensees philosophiques (Philosophical Thoughts), which contained a bold critique of Christianity. That same year, at the request of his friend, the mathematician Jean Le Rond d'Alembert, Diderot became a contributing editor to the monumental Encyclopedie, a multivolume review of the arts and sciences of the day whose guiding perspective was a faith in the progress of the human mind inspired by rationalism. Other contributors included the most prominent philosophers of the period, such as Voltaire, Rousseau, d'Holbach, and Turgot.

Diderot's own philosophical orientation was rationalist. He was an advocate of the scientific method and developed a version of materialism that held the universe to be a purely physical system composed of elementary material particles containing energy. Moreover, in the Lettre sur les aveugles (Letter on the Blind) of 1749, Diderot presented an evolutionary theory for the development of organisms, including the influence of hereditary factors. Because this treatise contained a passage that questioned the notion of a divine purpose in nature and the existence of an intelligent God, Diderot was arrested by the authorities and imprisoned at Vincennes for three months.

Diderot's materialism led him to conceive of morality as a product of both physiology and culture. Human beings are decidedly natural animals, possessed of basic biological needs and driven by emotions and sensations. But they also possess imagination, memory, and intelligence and are able to adapt to different environments and modify their beliefs and habits. Through an appropriate education, it is possible to cultivate our national capacities and to live a life of virtue and justice that may bring happiness.

Diderot was also a prominent critic of the social and political institutions of the day, believing them to be unnecessarily restrictive and conservative. In a number of writings, including articles in the Encyclopedie, Diderot strongly supported the ideals of modern democracy against the traditional authority of royalty. He asserted that "the people" are the true source of sovereignty, and therefore they should choose representatives and determine legislation and the operation of government. To prevent tyranny, church and state must be separated. In addition, Diderot actively campaigned for the elimination of capital punishment and other forms of inhumane punishment. Overall, Diderot's contribution to the intellectual development of the enlightenment is significant, primarily due to the publicity his work on the Encyclopedie, brought to the philosophical and political ideas of the period.

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