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The French Enlightenment (French:les Lumières françaises,[1]lit. '"the French Lights"')[a] was the intellectual and cultural movement that flourished in 18th-century France, forming a central part of theAge of Enlightenment (historically known in French asles Lumières,lit. '"the Lights"').[a]
The movement drew heavily on the ideas of English thinkers such asJohn Locke andIsaac Newton,[3] while in turn profoundly shaping other national Enlightenments. It also played a major role in inspiring theFrench Revolution (1789–1799). According to Sharon A. Stanley, the French Enlightenment was distinctive for its "unrelenting assault on church leadership and theology."[4] Many works critical of the monarchy or the Church were printed in theDutch Republic, where more liberal press laws allowed them to be smuggled into theKingdom of France.
Major French Enlightenment figures includedMontesquieu,Voltaire, andDenis Diderot. AlthoughJean-Jacques Rousseau was born inGeneva, he is often considered a central figure of the French Enlightenment because of his extensive work in France, his use of the French language, and his significant influence on French political and philosophical thought.
Political thought was relatively scarce in the French Enlightenment prior to the publication ofMontesquieu'sThe Spirit of Law in 1748.[5]
TheEncyclopédie, edited byDenis Diderot andJean le Rond d'Alembert and published in 28 volumes between 1751 and 1772, was one of the most important projects of the French Enlightenment.
TheCalas affair was a pivotal case in the French Enlightenment. In 1762, Jean Calas, a Protestant merchant fromToulouse, was wrongfully executed after being accused of murdering his son to prevent his conversion to Catholicism. This case drew the attention ofVoltaire, who launched a campaign to clear Calas' name. In 1763, Voltaire wroteTreatise on Tolerance, highlighting the danger of religious fanaticism. In 1765, after sustained pressure, Calas was officially exonerated.
"French anti-clericalism briefly dominatedGerman Enlightenment thought".[6] TheHungarian Enlightenment was greatly influenced by the French Enlightenment (through Vienna).[7]
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