Encyclopédie

1751-1772 · Paris (France)

Diderot and d'Alembert issue the Encyclopédie across two decades, twenty-eight volumes of arts, sciences, and trades. Twice suppressed by the French crown, it carries the Enlightenment's program into workshops and studies: knowledge sorted by reason, and the crafts honored beside theology.

Tagged: Freethought Secular and Non-Theistic Secularism

The Event

Date
1751-1772 (exact)
Era
The Enlightenment Settlement; Standard periodization of secular and non-religious history
Location
Paris; today France
Traditions
Secular
Streams
Secularism, Freethought
Key figures
Denis Diderot, Jean le Rond d'Alembert

Primary Sources

  • The tradition's own record of the event.

Secondary Sources

  • Gottlieb, Anthony. The Dream of Enlightenment: The Rise of Modern Philosophy. New York: Liveright, 2016.
  • Jacoby, Susan. Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism. New York: Metropolitan Books, 2004.
  • Taylor, Charles. A Secular Age. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2007.
  • Zuckerman, Phil, ed. Atheism and Secularity. Santa Barbara: Praeger, 2010.

Provenance: HIST-1308; confidence 0.95; accessed 2026-10-28.

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