

Condorcet
22 snips Feb 8, 2024
Learn about the life and ideas of Nicolas de Condorcet, a philosopher during the French Enlightenment who promoted progress, equal rights for women, and abolition of the slave trade. Explore his contributions to the Encyclopedia, his association with the physiocratic movement, and his interests in representative government. Discover his beliefs as a republican and his views on education and societal development. Also, don't miss the importance of democracy and a surprise McDonald's Burgers advertisement.
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Condorcet's Childhood
- Condorcet's mother dedicated him to the Virgin Mary and dressed him in skirts until age eight.
- Educated at Jesuit College and later College de Navarre in Paris, where his mathematical talents flourished.
Encyclopédie's Influence
- Diderot's Encyclopédie wasn't just an archive of knowledge, but emphasized practical application and dissemination.
- This influenced Condorcet's focus on advancing, spreading, and applying knowledge for societal good.
Condorcet's Mathematical Pursuits
- Condorcet pursued mathematics against his family's wishes, who wanted him to be a soldier.
- His papers on integral calculus and the three-body problem gained recognition from prominent mathematicians like D'Alembert and Lagrange.