Denis Diderot (French: [dəni didʁo]; 5 October 1713 – 31
July 1784) was a French philosopher, art critic and writer.
He was a prominent person during the Enlightenment, and is
best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor and
contributor to the Encyclopédie along with Jean le Rond
d'Alembert.
Diderot also contributed to literature, notably with Jacques
le fataliste et son maître (Jacques the Fatalist and his
Master), which was influenced by Laurence Sterne's novel "Tristam
Shandy" in challenging conventions regarding novels and
their structure and content,[1] while also examining
philosophical ideas about free will. Diderot is also known
as the author of the dialogue Le Neveu de Rameau (Rameau's
Nephew), upon which many articles and
sermons about consumer desire have been based.
~Borrowed from Wikipedia entry on Diderot