Why read Diderot and the Art of Thinking Freely?

Book cover of Diderot and the Art of Thinking Freely

Book description

Best Book of the Year – Kirkus Reviews

A spirited biography of the prophetic and sympathetic philosopher who helped build the foundations of the modern world.

Denis Diderot is often associated with the decades-long battle to bring the world’s first comprehensive Encyclopédie into existence. But his most daring writing took…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Diderot and the Art of Thinking Freely as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Benjamin Hoffmann

Author

In this lively, elegant biography, Andrew Curran retraces the intellectual itinerary of a major eighteenth-century philosopher, Denis Diderot. Very few people ever lived and wrote with as much confidence in the power of posterity to recognize their greatness and the importance of their intellectual contribution after their death. Diderot, indeed, had to hide a significant proportion of his writings because they were just too controversial and ahead of their time. He believed that nothing was more inspirational than to work for the admiration of those who have yet to be born. Diderot and the Art of Thinking Freely is a…

From Benjamin's list on The best books about why people write books.