Joseph Addison vs. Denis Diderot
Side-by-side comparison of two thinkers
Joseph Addison
1672 – 1719
Joseph Addison was a British writer and politician. He was the eldest son of Lancelot Addison. His name is usually remembered alongside that of his long-standing friend Richard Steele, with whom he founded The Spectator magazine.
"It is indeed very possible, that the Persons we laugh at may in the main of their Characters be much wiser Men than our selves; but if they would have us laugh …"
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: