Esquisse d'un Tableau Historique des Progrès de L'esprit Humain (Sketch for a Historical Picture of the Progress of the Human Mind).

CONDORCET, Marquis de.

Verlag: Chez Agasse, Paris, 1798

Half-title + TP + v-viii + [1]-390 + 391-392 = Table Des Matieres, Octavo. Fourth Edition. NOTE: On the bottom of the title page "An VI" is written next to the publication date. This signifies that this books was written in 1798 - year six of the French Revolutionary calendar. Marie-Jean-Antoine-Nicolas Caritat, the Marquis de Condorcet, was a distinguished mathematician and a friend to Voltain, d'Alember and Turgot. He was invited to contribute to the Encycloédie and at the age of twenty-six was elected to the Academy of Sciences. He became the Academy's permanent secretary at the age of 39 in 1782. He welcomed the Revolution and played a major role in promoting its democratic principles. But he was outlawed during the Terror and went into hiding for a year - during which time he wrote the Esquisse. Then, fearing that he would be discovered, he fled but was captured and soon died in prison.In the Esquiss, published after his death, is considered Condorcet's greatest work and is often cited as the culmination of characteristically eighteenth-century philosophy. With its emphasis on the idea of progress, the book also established a dominant theme of nineteenth-century thought. Condorcet traces the history of man through ten epochs, moving from savagery through the development of civilization and knowledge up to Descartes in the eight epoch. The ninth epoch spans the Enlightenment from Descartes to the Revolution. For the tenth epoch, Condorcet predicted that equality of opportunity will come to prevail among classes and nations and that man will improve intellectually, morally and physically. "A belief in the ultimate perfectibility of man lies at the root of all progressive thinking about the human condition. The philosophes and Godwin had familiarized the reading public with this notion, but it was left to Condorcet to give it its finest and most durable expression… Unlike Godwin, he does not preach absolute equality, but equality of opportunity. While progress is limited by human nature, as men desire freedom, so they will obtain it and the equality that goes with it. Knowledge of this comes only with education, and this explains Condorcet's zeal to improve it." (Printing and the Mind of Man 246)Printing and the Mind of Man 246 (First Edition) Mottled brown boards with gilt lettering and decoration to the spine. Joints cracked, but firm. With a small Parisian bookseller ticket to the upper left hand corner of the front board. Lightly foxed throughout. A lovley copy. ADDITIONAL PHOTOS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST. Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 1117

Bibliografische Details

Titel: Esquisse d'un Tableau Historique des Progrès...
Verlag: Chez Agasse, Paris
Erscheinungsdatum: 1798
Auflage: FOURTH EDITION.