Gabriel Bonnot de Mably belongs to the philosophical record as a figure whose arguments outlasted the disputes that prompted them.
The record lists Gabriel Bonnot de Mably as French philosopher, historian, and writer (1709–1785).
Gabriel Bonnot de Mably was born at Grenoble in 1709. His recorded nationality is France.
Enlightenment argument moved philosophy into public life: it was now about government, rights and religion as much as metaphysics.
The recorded fields of work are philosophy.
Philosophy advances by objection: an argument matters if serious people spend years attacking it.
That the work was done from France matters: philosophical traditions, institutions and the language of publication have never been evenly distributed.
Gabriel Bonnot de Mably died in 1785, aged 76. The arguments remain in print, which is the form in which philosophy survives.
Achievements
- Fields: philosophy
