Game Theory and Democracy

ChinyereAmanze

Professor Hubert Bray

Nov. 11th, 2013

Nicolas de Caritat, the Marquis de Condorcet: A True Renaissance Man

One Page Summary

Marie Jean Antoine Nicolas de Caritat, the Marquis de Condorcet, often called Nicolas Condorcet, was a French mathematician, social activist, and politician whose forethought on calculus, electoral ballots, women’s rights, racial equality, and the intersection between science and society, has earned him a place in history. Condorcet was born on September 17th, 1743 in Ribemont-sur-Asine, France to a family of noble standing (Eastman). His mother was a societal lady and his father was the Chevailer de Condorcet, which means he was a knight of the area Condorcet. His father’s knighthood accounted for the family’s noble standing, but unfortunately, Nicolas’s father died during a military exercise mere weeks after he was born. Condorcet’s mother kept him in the house until, at the bequest of his uncle, his mother hired a tutor for her eight year old son (Landes). At nine, Nicolas was finally enrolled in school.

Very little is known about the details of Condorcet’s elementary schooling, but his propensity for math is shown through the two awards he won for mathematic excellence at ages eleven and thirteen. At fifteen, Condorcet continued his education at the prestigious Collège de Navarre. There, Condorcet began to accumulate mentors who would not only exponentially expand his arithmetical knowledge, but who also counseled the young boy on philosophy and what we now know as sociology. One of Condorcet’s greatest mentors was Georges Girault de Keroudou (Landes), a corresponding member of the French Academy of Sciences, a lifetime member of the Mathematic Society of France, and an expert in differential equations and integrals (“Giraud, Georges”). Under the tutelage of experts such as these Condorcet’s passion for science and math blossomed and he dedicated his life to these pursuits though his mother desperately wanted her son to work in the church. In 1782, Condorcet married Sophie de Grouchy, a socialite who matched Condorcet intellectually and shared his passion for social activism (Acton). The couple had one daughter.

As he aged, Condorcet began to use his mathematic background to participate in social movements. He strongly believed that the rational of science could be applied to social problems to create effective change In fact the term “social science” was coined by a friend of Condorcet’s and inspired by Condorcet’s method to approach the issues of humanity (Wilson). Condorcet also founded the Society of Friends of Blacks, advocated for the separation of religion and state matters, and wrote multiple essays on the hope he had for people (“Marquis de Condorcet”). Unlike many Enlightenment thinkers, Condorcet did not have a cynical view of society and did not see people as motivated by self-interest. Rather, he furiously believed in what he called le bien public” which means the public good. Condorcet believed that people genuinely wanted to serve and aid other people. In La Bouche fer,Bulletin du Cercle Social[The Iron Mouth, the Bulletin of the The Social Circle], he stated that he “believe[s] humankind is infinitely perfectible, and that it should thus devote itself to achieving peace, liberty and equality…this progress must be the work of reason…I would not say, ‘everything is good’ but rather that “everything will be good.”(Landes). Condorcet advocated for the logical approach to peace and equality until his death.

During the turbulent times of the French Revolution, Condorcet experienced tremendous ups and downs. During his most popular time in this period, Condorcet was one of nine people chosen to be on the Committee of the Constitution. The Committee broke into two groups, the Jacobians and the Girondes, and each wrote a constitution. The Jacobian Constitution was chosen and this set a precedent for Jacobian power in this era. Condorcet was safe until King Louis XVI was tried for treason in 1792 (“Marquis de Condorcet”). The king was found guilty and sentenced to death. Condorcet, being the humanitarian that he was, agreed with the guilty verdict but spoke out against the death penalty. The Jacobians, who were working to remove any one who seemed to have Gironde sympathies, took this as a sign of Condorcet’s affiliation with the Girondes and issued a warrant for his arrest. Nicolas went into hiding for six months, eventually leaving the home of the friend who was protecting him because he was worried for her safety. He was arrested only four days after escaping and was found dead in his cell two days after his arrest (McLean).

The death of Nicolas Condorcet was tragic for his immediate family, his intellectual family, and the world. Condorcet was one of very few individuals who could not only expertly bridge the gap between mathematics and social change, but who practiced humanitarian concepts in every aspect of his life and even on his road to death. Nicolas de Condorcet was a renaissance man not merely because he was an expert in a variety of academic areas, but because he could operate in a variety of spheres and create change in all of them.

Nicolas de Caritat, the Marquis de Condorcet: A True Renaissance Man

Few people in the world have fully embodied the idea of the “Renaissance man”. A Renaissance man is one who is fluent in various areas of knowledge. He can conceptualize theorems and write a constitution. He can discern the fairest way to determine election winners and lead a revolution. In simplest terms, he can contribute to numerous areas of society. Nicolas de Condorcet was a true Renaissance man and did all of the aforementioned things. Condorcet was recognized as a math prodigy from a young age, held various high positions in French government, promoted the idea of equal rights for all (women and minorities included), and was a leader in the new government that formed after the French Revolution. Arguably, his greatest contribution to society was his idea of “social arithmetic” (Landes). Simply stated, “social arithmetic” states thatthere are scientific ways to address many of society’s problems. For example, Condorcet had a large role in the shaping of French society after the revolution and believed the best way to ensure a truly democratic government was to elect leaders using his vote counting method- the Condorcet method. This is only one example of Condorcet combining his mathematicbackground with his humanities passions in order to improve society. Unfortunately, Condorcet’s strict principals and the turbulent times of the French Revolution led to his untimely death. In his wake he left us with novel ideas about abolition and women’s’ rights, ingenious formulas, and permeating ideas of democracy, revolution, and freedom.

Marie Jean Antoine Nicolas de Caritat, the Marquis de Condorcet, was born on September 17th, 1743 to a family of high standing. Nicolas, as he is called, was born in Ribemont-sur-Asine to Marie MagdeleineGaurdy. His father was the Chevalier (a knight) Antoine de Condorcet who unfortunately passed away during a military exercise a few weeks after his son was born. His father’s knighthood granted the family noble standing in French society. Nicolas never inherited the title “chevalier”, as he never joined the knighthood, but he was given the title Marquis de Condorcet, which meant that he was a nobleman who ranked just below a duke for the area of Condorcet (Eastman). During his childhood, Nicolas was kept mostly at home until he was nine when, at the urging of his uncle, his mother hired a Jesuit teacher for him. At eleven, Nicolas was finally enrolled in school and it was there that his mathematic genius began to shine (Wilson).

Little is known about Condorcet’s time in primary school except that he won an award for excellence in mathematics at the age of eleven and then again at the age of thirteen. In 1758, at the age of fifteen, Condorcet continued his education at the Collège de Navarre. Starting his streak as a Renaissance man early, Condorcet studied ethics, metaphysics, logic, mathematics, and philosophy at Navarre. As Condorcet’s passion for mathematics and humanities strengthened, so did discord between Nicolas and his mother. His mother wanted her son to serve in the church and had done her best to raise him in the ways of the Lord (McLean). Though Nicolas cared for his mother dearly, he could not dedicate himself to a life he did not want and a religion he did not agree with. His pursuit of scientific knowledge began to show rewards in 1765 when l'Académie des sciences (The Academy of Science) published his paper on Integral Calculus in their annual journal (Landes). Though Condorcet was not yet a member of the academy, he was drawing a great deal of attention from the academic world. Four years later, Condorcet was fully inducted to the Royal Academy of Sciences and in 1777 he became the permanent secretary of the academy (Acton). In 1785, Condorcet published Essaisurl’application de l’analyse à la probabilité des décisionsrendues à la pluralité des voix, which translates to “Essay on the Application of Analysis to the Probability of Majority Decisions”. This essay is a prime example of Condorcet’s ability to tie math with social practices, such as politics, as it uses probability to show why juries are more effective decision makers than individual experts (Sumpter). This essay also described an early version of the Condorcet method, a voting method that allows for either a winner who beats all candidates or a winner who would have the majority vote in all pairings (Eastman). Keith Michael Baker, celebrated professor of history at Stanford University, described Condorcet as “the principal spokesman of organized science not only in France but (given the power and prestige of the Paris Academy of Science … [and his post of perpetual secretary]) throughout Europe” (Landes). Condorcet’s scientific passion was not the only aspect of his life that came to fruition in the 1770s, this period was also the beginning of his foray into social matters.

Condorcet’s ascension into political matters is directly tied to his friend, economist Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot’s, achievement of powerful social positions. When Turgot was appointed to Minister of Finance, Condorcet went to great lengths to defend his friend’s policies and in doing so got involved in the general politics of France (Landes). One of his first socially minded essays was published in Fragment surl’Altantide and discussed equal rights for women. Condorcet’s approval of gender equality, and attraction to intelligent and socially active women, was highlighted by his marriage to Sophie de Grouchy in 1786 (Wilson). Sophie was a high society woman who matched Condorcet in passion, intellect, and hope for society. Like Condorcet’s experience with his extremely devout mother, Sophie’s experience at a covenant made an advocate for secular values. She collaborated on many of Condorcet’s writings and ran a salon that was frequented by the likes of Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine, both major socialist and democratic writers of the time (Landes). Through Sophie’s salon, Condorcet was able to meet many of the prominent philosophical thinkers of the eighteenth century and expand his own ideas.

Through interacting with these great eighteenth century thinkers, Condorcet’s social commentary sharpened and became social action. He co-founded the Society for the Friends of the Blacks in 1788 and was a very vocal abolitionist. Condorcet was a particularly effective social activist because of his process in which he used the rationality of science to address society’s ills. In fact, the term “social science” was first used in a letter from a friend inspired by Condorcet’s teachings to Condorcet (Wilson). Condorcet was elected to represent the nobility on the Electoral Assembly before French revolutionaries disbanded it. The Electoral Assembly was the way France voted on important issues before the Revolution. There were three sections, the nobility, the clergymen, and the common men. It is of incredible significance that Condorcet was still given a position in the new democratic government as revolutionaries were particularly disgusted with the nobility sector of the Electoral Assembly. But Condorcet still demanded respect in all circles due to his social advocacy so he was elected to chair the Committee on Public Instruction for the National Legislative Assembly (Acton). In 1972, Condorcet was one of nine men elected to the Committee of the Constitution of the New French Republic. The committee broke into two groups, the Jacobin party and the Gironde party. Each party wrote their own constitution and after much deliberation, the Committee chose to use the Jacobin version of the constitution. Though Condorcet did not consider himself a Gironde, he supported the Gironde constitution, and in response to the Committee’s rebuke of his version of the document, Nicolas wrote “Aux citoyensfrancais, sur la nouvelle constitution” (To French Citizen on the New Constitution) (Landes). This sharp attack on the chosen Constitution and promotion of his own was the impetus for Jacobin suspicion of his loyalties.

In 1792, Condorcet’s situation took the ultimate turn for the worse. King Louis XVI was tried for treason and sentenced to death. Condorcet, an immense believer in kindness andopponent of the death penalty, spoke out in agreement with the guilty version, but against the use of the death penalty. The Jacobins, who now held power, used this gentle admission as final proof of Condorcet’s Gironde “loyalty” and accused him, along with other leaders of the Gironde party, of treason. Condorcet and the other leaders were sentenced to death, but being a fore thinking man, Condorcet went into hiding before the sentence could be carried out (“Marquis de Condorcet). Even in hiding, Condorcet continued to write on the social advances that could be made using scientific advances. It was in hiding that he wrote, “Sketch for a Historical Picture of the Progress of the Human Mind”, an essay that described a future society based on reason and justice, rather than religion (Acton). Condorcet hid for six months before his concernfor the friend that was hiding him encouraged him to leave. Mere days after he left his hiding spot he was captured and thrown in jail. Two days after his arrest, he was found dead in his cell, cause unknown (McLean). Speculation has been made for centuries about whether he committed suicide or jailers killed him, but either way, the world lost a brilliant social mathematician, friend, and activist.

Nicolas the Marquis of Condorcet, was hundreds of years before his time. He inspired the term and study of “social science”. His ideas on everything from social justice to calculus would go on to be adopted by society many years after his death. Through his teachings, Condorcet taught the world so much, but there is also much to be learned in his death. Why is it that the innovators and the advocates tend to meet such untimely ends? As a global society, how do we treasure these people as we should? Condorcet’s logical approach to social justice is a tactic many NGOs now apply in order to be more effective. Imagine how effective aid organizations could be if Condorcet had been able to fully develop how to scientifically create change. It is our duty as a global society to value and protect those individuals who are able to change the world for the better. We owe it to the Martin Luther Kings of the world, the Jane Adams of the world, and the Nicolas de Condorcets.

Works Consulted

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