Marquis de Condorcet

Marie Jean Antoine Nicolas Caritat, marquis de Condorcet (September 17, 1743 - March 28, 1794) was a French philosopher, mathematician, and early political scientist who devised the concept of a Condorcet method. Ahead of his time in many respects as an 18th century thinker, he advocated a liberal economy, free and equal public education, constitutional justice, and equal rights for women and people of all races. His ideas and writings embodied the ideals of the Enlightenment and rationalism, and remain influential to this day.

French Revolution

In 1789, the French Revolution swept France. Condorcet took a leading role, hoping for a rationalist reconstruction of society, and championed many liberal causes. As a result, in 1791 he was elected as the Paris representative in the Legislative Assembly, and then became the secretary of the Assembly. The Assembly adopted Condorcet's design for state education system, and Condorcet drafted a proposed Constitution for the new France. He advocated women's suffrage for the new government, writing an article for Journal de la Société de 1789, and by publishing "De l'admission des femmes au droit de cité" ("For the Admission to the Rights of Citizenship For Women") in 1790.

Related Topics:
French Revolution - Rationalist - 1791 - Legislative Assembly - Constitution - Women's suffrage - 1790

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There were two competing views on which direction France should go, embodied by two political parties: the moderate Girondists, and the more radical Montagnards, led by Maximilien Robespierre who favored purging France of its royal past. Condorcet was quite independent but still counted many friends in the Girondist party. He presided the Legislative Assembly, as the Girondist held the majority, until it was replaced by the Convention, elected in order to design a new constitution and which abolished monarchy in favor of the republic.

Related Topics:
Girondist - Montagnard - Maximilien Robespierre

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At the time of the Louis XVI's trial, the Girondists had however lost their majority in the Convention. Condorcet, who was against death penalty but still a strong supporter of this trial, pronounced against the execution of the King during the public vote at the Convention. He was then usually considered as a Girondist. Unfortunately, the Montagnards were becoming more and more influential in the Convention as the King's betrayal was confirming their theories. One of these, Heraut de Sechelles, a member, like Condorcet, of the Constitution's Commission, misrepresented many ideas from Condorcet's draft and presented what was called a Montagnard Constitution. Condorcet criticized the new work, and as a result, he was branded a traitor. On October 3, 1793, a warrant was issued for Condorcet's arrest.

Related Topics:
Heraut de Sechelles - October 3 - 1793

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The warrant for his arrest forced Condorcet into hiding. He hid for five months in the house of Mrs. Vernet, street Servandoni, in Paris. It was there that he wrote Esquisse d'un tableau historique des progrés de l'esprit humain (English translation: Sketch for a Historical Picture of the Progress of the Human Mind), which was published posthumously in 1795. On March 25, 1794 Condorcet left his hideout, no longer convinced he was safe, and attempted to flee Paris. He was arrested in Clamart two days later, and put in prison in the Borough-the Equality (Borough-the-Queen, French: Bourg-la-Reine). Two days later, he was found dead in his cell. The main theory is that his friend, Doctor Cabanis, gave him a poison which he eventually used. However, some historians believe that he may have been murdered (perhaps because he was too loved and respected to be executed).

Related Topics:
1795 - March 25 - 1794 - Clamart - Bourg-la-Reine - Doctor Cabanis

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Edward O. Wilson proposed that Condorcet's death marked the end of the French Enlightenment.

Related Topics:
Edward O. Wilson - The French Enlightenment

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Condorcet was entered into The Pantheon in 1989, in honor of the bicentennial of the French Revolution and Condorcet's role as a central figure in the Enlightenment. His grave can be found there today among other great French citizens.

Related Topics:
The Pantheon - 1989 - The Enlightenment

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