foolish education and arbitrary social conventions work among and remain...free." sensitive creatures. 4.Denis Diderot(1713-1784) c.Emile,or On Education (1762) Diderot,the 18th century French philosopher and man of It undertook the task of constructing an education and social letters,is best known as the editor of the Encyclopedie.He made order that would enable men to be natural and free. many contributions in the fields of philosophy and ethics,dramatic and aesthetic theory,literary criticism,diction,scientific speculation d.The Social Contract (1762) and politics. It was his most important work.It proposed a society able to Major Works: cultivate the individual's moral stature without injuring his freedom. Rousseau believed that a social contract was established when each a.Philosophical Thoughts (1746) individual gave his rights to a general will-as an equal participant It was concerned with the question'of the relationship between in the political life.Then he was as free after this contract as he had nature and religion.He viewed life as self-sufficient and held that been in the state of nature.He sacrificed his natural freedom for a virtue could be sustained without religious beliefs. civil freedom.The book ended with a claim for social democracy. b.Letters on the Blind (1749) e.The Confessions (1764-1770) It showed Diderot's turning to atheism.Religion became a It is famous as a literary expression of a writer's rememberance central theme in his writings. of things past,more revealing through its signs of passion than through its recording of the facts of his experience. c.Encyclopedie(1751） As a social philosopher,Rousseau said many things that It was published in 17 volumes of text and 11 volumes of contribute to the history of ideas: engravings. "The thirst after happiness is never extinguished in the heart of man.” d.Elements of Physiology (1774-1780) "Nature made men happy and good,but society makes him evil In this book he developed his materialist philosophy and fore- and miserable..” shad-owed the doctrine of evolution as later proposed by Charles "The problem is to find a form of association which will defend Darwin. and protect...the person and goods of each associate and in which each,while uniting himself with all,may still obey himself alone, 242 243