Nicolas de Condorcet

Its youth

Born with Ribemont (Picardy) in 1743, it is one of the descendants of the Caritat family. Caritat held their title of the town of Condorcet (Dauphiné) in which they were originating. His/her father died when it was still very young. His/her mother, very excessively pious woman, entrusted her education to the college Jesuit of Rheims, then with the college of Navarre, Paris.

Condorcet was characterized quickly by its intellectual abilities. The first public distinctions that it accepted were in Mathématiques. When it was 16 years old, its capacities of analyzes were noticed by D' Alembert and A.C. Clairaut, and soon, he became the pupil of Alembert.

Mathematician

Of 1765 with 1774, it more particularly concentrated on the Science S. In 1765, it published its first work on mathematics, heading Essai on the integral calculus , which was very favorably accommodated, and launched its career of mathematician of reputation. This test will be besides only the first of long series.

February 25th 1769, it was elected with the royal Académie of sciences.

In 1772, it again published work on the integral calculus, which was unanimously acclaimed and considered as revolutionists in many fields. It is shortly after that which it met and bound of friendship with the economist Turgot, which was going to become administrator under Louis XV (1772), then general inspector of Finances under Louis XVI (1774).

In 1786, he married Sophie de Grouchy, the sister of the future marshal of Grouchy, itself already brother-in-law of Cabanis.

Man in policy

In 1774, Condorcet was named general inspector of the Currency by Turgot. Consequently, Condorcet moved its center of interest of the Mathématiques towards the Philosophie and the Politique. The years which followed, it took the defense of the Human rights, and particularly of the women's rights, of the Juif S, and the blacks. It supported the innovative ideas of the whole recent the United States, and proposed in France projects of Réforme S policies, administrative and economic.

In 1776, Turgot was dislocated of its post of general inspector. Condorcet then chooses to resign of its post of general inspector of the Currency, but its resignation was refused, and it remained in station until in 1791. Later, Condorcet will write the Vie of Mr. Turgot (1786), where it will expose and show the founded good of the economic theories of Turgot.

Condorcet will continue to be seen allotting prestigious functions: in 1777, it was named secretary of the Academy of Science, and 1782, secretary of the French Academy.

Theorist of the voting systems

detailed Articles : Method Condorcet, Paradox of Condorcet

In many works, ( Test on the application of the analysis to the probability of the decisions returned to the plurality of the voices - Test on the constitution and the functions of the provincial assemblies - On the elections ), Condorcet is interested in the representativeness of the voting systems. It shows that the vote with plurality can not represent the desires of the voters very well since the first candidate does not collect more half of the voices.

He proposes his own voting system, the Méthode Condorcet, while admitting that he is not very realizable with large scales and exchange a very rich correspondence with Jean-Charles of Bordered originator of another system, the Méthode Bordered.

He highlights a fault in his own voting system - the Paradoxe of Condorcet - which proves impossibility, in its system, to release with certainty a general will starting from a sum of individual wills. Kenneth Arrow will prove thereafter that this impossibility is inherent in any voting system (Théorème of impossibility of Arrow).

Other work

In 1786, Condorcet worked again on the integral calculus and the differential equations, showing a new manner of treating the infinitesimal calculi. This work was never published. In 1789, it published the Vie of Voltaire , where it is shown quite as opposite with the Church as Voltaire.

French revolution

In 1789, when the Révolution burst in France, Condorcet held to with it an important role, him, large defender of many liberal causes, who hoped for a rationalist rebuilding of the company. After the catch of the Bastille (1789) he was elected at the municipal council of Paris. So that in 1791, it was elected representative of Paris within the legislative Assemblée, after having required the establishment of the Republic and became even the secretary of the Parliament. It sits with Brissotins (Of Gironde). The Parliament adopted, for the education system of the nation, the structure which Condorcet proposed: it introduces the basic concept of Laïcité of teaching. He proposed even a draft of constitution for new France. Moreover, it took an active share with the cause of the women, while deciding for the vote of the women in an article of the Journal of the Company of 1789, and by publishing in 1790 Of the admission of the women to the established among . Condorcet was soon in bad posture. Two currents of thought clashed as for the manner of reforming the French state: Of Gironde S, favorable to a peaceful rebuilding of the country and the Jacobin S, directed by Maximilien de Robespierre, which preached a radical purging of the French monarchical past. Condorcet, which belonged to the Of Gironde ones, voted against the execution of Louis XVI, but was not exactly in favor of leniency, in that which he preached the judgment with the galères with life, idea that he was besides one of only to defend.

The Of Gironde ones lost the control of the Parliament in favor of the Jacobins, in 1793. The Jacobin Marie-Jean Herault de Séchelles then proposed a new constitution, very different from that of Condorcet. But this one criticized it, which made it condemn for treason. October 3rd 1793, a warrant for arrest was delivered against him.

The escape

The warrant for arrest against Condorcet forced it to hide. It found refuge for five months in the residence of Mrs. Vernet, Rue of Servandoni, in Paris. It benefitted from it to write one of its works the most appreciated by the posterity, Esquisse of a historical table of progress of the human spirit which was published after its death, in 1795. March 25th 1794, It left its hiding-place, convinced not to be there in safety, and tried to flee Paris. It was stopped with Clamart two days later, and put in prison at Borough-Equality (Borough-the-Queen). It was found two days later dead, in his cell. The circumstances of its death remain enigmatic (suicide, murder or disease).

Transfer to the Pantheon of Paris

At the time of the festivals of the bicentenary of the French revolution, in the presence of François Mitterrand, President of the Republic, ashes of Condorcet were symbolically transferred to the the Pantheon from Paris at the same time as those from the abbot Gregoire and from Gaspard Monge, on December 12th 1989. Indeed, the supposed coffin to contain ashes of Condorcet was empty: buried in the common grave of the old cemetery of Borough-the-Queen - closed down at the 19th century -, her forever found mortal remains.

Works

1765 : Integral calculus.
1767 : Problem of the three bodies.
1768 : Tests of analysis.
1773 : Praises of the academicians of the royal Academy of sciences, died since the year 1666 until 1699.
1774: Letters of one theologist to the author of the three century old Dictionary.
1775 : several booklets preaching the economic reforms of Turgot
1775: Letter of a plowman of Picardy with Mr. NR. (Necker) prohibitory author in Paris.
1775 : Reflections on the drudgeries. Monopoly and monopolist.
1775 : Report/ratio on a project of reformer of the land register.
1775 : Reflections on universal jurisprudence.
1776 : during its function of secretary of the Academy of Science, it wrote many Praises of French and foreign scientists
1776: Reflections on the trade of corns.
1776 : Thoughts of Pascal, corrected and increased edition.
1776 : Praise of Pascal.
1776 - 1777: drafting of 22 articles on the mathematical analysis, within the framework of the Supplement of the Encyclopedia
1777: Praise of Michel of the Hospital.
1778 : On a few infinite series.
1778 : New Experiments on the resistance of the fluids (in collaboration with D' Alembert and Bossuet).
1780 : Test on the theory of comets.
1781 : Reflections on the slavery of the negros.
1781 - 1784: Memory on the probability theory, in Memories of the royal Academy of sciences.

Volume Ist Reflections on the general rule which prescribes to take for value of a dubious event the probability of this event multiplied by the value of this event in itself (1781);
Volume II. Application of the analysis to this question: to determine the probability that a regular arrangement is the effect of an intention to produce it;
Volume III. On the evaluation of the possible rights (1782);
Volume IV. Reflections on the method to determine the probability of the future events according to the observation of the last events (1783);
Volume V. On the probability of the extraordinary facts. Application of the preceding article to some questions of criticism (1784).

1782 : Speech of reception to the French Academy.
1782 : Letter on Swedenborg.
1783 : Dialog between Aristippe and Diogéne.
1783 - 1788: Test to know the population of the kingdom.
1784 - 1789: Collaboration, with Alembert, Bossut, Joseph Jerome Lefrançois de Lalande (1732-1807), etc, with the Mathematics part of the methodical Encyclopedia.
1785 : Test on the application of the analysis to the probability of the decisions returned to the plurality of the voices.
1785 - 1789:

complete Works of Voltaire, published by Condorcet, Beaumarchais, etc (edition of Kehl).
Life of Voltaire.

1786 : Life of Turgot.
1786 : Influence of the revolution of America on Europe.
1786 : Treaty of integral calculus (unfinished).
1788 : Letters of a middle-class man of New Haven to a citizen of Virginia, on uselessness sharing the legislative power between several bodies.
1788 : Letters of a citizen of the United States to a French, on the businesses present of France.
1788 : Test on the constitution and the functions of the provincial assemblies.
1789 : Reflections on the capacities and instructions to be given by the provinces to their deputies to the General states. On the form of the elections.
1789 : Reflections on what was made and on what remains to be made.
1789 : With the electorate on Slavery of the Blacks.
1789 : Declaration of the rights.
1789 : Praise of Mr. Turgot.
1790 : Philosophical and political essay on this question: if it is useful for the men to be misled?
1790 : Opinion on the emigrants.
1790 : On the word “lampoonist”.
1790 : The True one and the False Friend of the people.
1790 : On the admission of the women to the established among.
1791 : Republic, or a king is necessary to the conservation of freedom?
1791 : Speech on national conventions.
1791 : Speech of October 25th On the emigrants with the legislative Parliament
1792: Five Memories on the state education (1791-1792).
1792 : Speech on finances.
1792 : On the freedom of the circulation of the subsistence.
1792 : The French Republic with the free men.
1792 : What it is that a French farmer or craftsman.
1792 : On the need for the union enters the citizens.
1792 : Nature of the political powers in a free nation.
1793 : On the need for establishing in France a new constitution.
1793 : What the citizens have right to wait of their representatives.
1793 : That all the classes of the company have only one same interest.
1793 : On the direction of the Revolutionary word.
1793 : General table of the science which has as an aim the application of calculation to political sciences and morals.
1793 : Outline of a historical table of progress of the human spirit.

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