Page "Denis Diderot" Paragraph 21

In 1750 an elaborate prospectus announced the project to a delighted public, and in 1751 the first volume was published.

This work was very unorthodox and had many forward-thinking ideas for the time.

Diderot stated within this work, " An encyclopedia ought to make good the failure to execute such a project hitherto, and should encompass not only the fields already covered by the academies, but each and every branch of human knowledge.

" Upon encompassing every branch of knowledge this will give, " the power to change men's common way of thinking.

" This idea was profound and intriguing, as it was one of the first works during the Enlightenment.

Diderot wanted to give all people the ability to further their knowledge and, in a sense, allow every person to have any knowledge they sought of the world.

The work, implementing not only the expertise of scholars and Academies in their respective fields but that of the common men in their proficiencies in their trades, sought to bring together all knowledge of the time and condense this information for all to use.

These people would amalgamate and work under a society to perform such a project.

They would work alone to shed societal conformities, and build a multitude of information on a desired subject with varying view points, methods, or philosophies.

He emphasized the vast abundance of knowledge held within each subject with intricacies and details to provide the greatest amount of knowledge to be gained from the subject.

All people would benefit from these insights into different subjects as a means of betterment ; bettering society as a whole and individuals alike.