The Enlightenment at Its Height

The Enlightenment emerged as an intellectual movement before 1750 but reached its peak in the second half of the eighteenth century. The writers of the Enlightenment called themselves philosophes; the word is French for “philosophers,” but that definition is somewhat misleading. Whereas philosophers concern themselves with abstract theories, the philosophes were public intellectuals dedicated to solving the real problems of the world. They wrote on subjects ranging from current affairs to art criticism, and they wrote in every conceivable format. Between 1750 and 1789, the Enlightenment acquired its name and, despite heated conflicts between the philosophes and state and religious authorities, gained support in the highest reaches of government.