<P> The philosophes (French for "philosophers") were the intellectuals of the 18th - century Enlightenment . Few were primarily philosophers; rather, philosophes were public intellectuals who applied reason to the study of many areas of learning, including philosophy, history, science, politics, economics, and social issues . They had a critical eye and looked for weaknesses and failures that needed improvement . They promoted a "republic of letters" that crossed national boundaries and allowed intellectuals to freely exchange books and ideas . Most philosophes were men, but some were women . </P> <P> They strongly endorsed progress and tolerance, and distrusted organized religion (most were deists) and feudal institutions . Many contributed to Diderot's Encyclopédie . They faded away after the French Revolution reached a violent stage in 1793 . </P> <P> Philosophe is the French word for "philosopher," and was a word that the French Enlightenment thinkers usually applied to themselves . The philosophes, like many ancient philosophers, 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 . The Swiss philosophe Jean - Jacques Rousseau, for example, wrote a political tract, a treatise on education, constitutions for Poland and Corsica, an analysis of the effects of the theater on public morals, a best - selling novel, an opera, and a highly influential autobiography . The philosophes wrote for a broadly educated public of readers who snatched up every Enlightenment book they could find at their local booksellers, even when rulers or churches tried to forbid such works . </P>

Who were the philosophes and what did they believe