Thomas Paine vs. Denis Diderot
Side-by-side comparison of two thinkers
Thomas Paine
1737 – 1809
Thomas Paine was an English-born American Founding Father, French Revolutionary, inventor, political philosopher, and statesman. His pamphlets Common Sense (1776) and The American Crisis (1776–1783) framed the Patriot argument for independence from Great Britain at the outset of the American Revolution. Paine advanced Enlightenment-era arguments for human rights that shaped revolutionary discourse on both sides of the Atlantic.
"Independence is my happiness, and I view things as they are, without regard to place or person; my country is the world, and my religion is to do good."
Denis Diderot
1713 – 1784
Denis Diderot was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer, best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the Encyclopédie along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert. He was a prominent figure during the Age of Enlightenment.
"The more man ascends through the past, and the more he launches into the future, the greater he will be, and all these philosophers and ministers and truth-tell…"
Connections
Both wrote about: