Condorcet, Marie-Jean-Antoine-Nicolas de Caritat, marquis de

(1743-1794)

   philosopher, mathematician, political figure

   Born in Ribemont, Marie-Jean-Antoine-Nicolas de Caritat, marquis de Condorcet was educated at the Collège de Navarre in Paris. His first work was Essai sur le calcul intégral (1765), followed by a study, Problème des trois corps (1767). He became a member of the Academy of Sciences (1769) and was chosen its permanent secretary. In 1782, he was elected to the Académie Française. Condorcet's literary reputation was later assured by his Vie de Tur-got (1786) and his Vie de Voltaire (1789). A disciple of François quesnay and the physiocrats, and of anne robert turgot, voltaire, and jean d'alembert, Condorcet edited articles on political economy for dénis diderot's Encyclopédie and himself wrote against the death penalty and slavery, and in support of equal rights. As a deputy to the Legislative Assembly and the Convention during the revolution of 1789, he proposed a law for public education (1792). Arrested as a Girondin during the Terror, he wrote in prison his principal work, Esquisse d'un tableau historique des progrès de l'esprit humain (1794), in which he outlined the progress of humanity through nine stages, beginning with the primitive. Convinced of the indefinite development of the sciences, Condorcet also proposed a 10th stage in which, he affirmed, that through education, human perfection might be attained. Condemned to death during the terror for his moderate views, he poisoned himself in prison.