Bayle, Pierre (1647-1706), French philosopher
and critic, born near Pamiers, in Ariège.
Although born a Protestant, he was educated
at the Jesuit College in Toulouse. He converted
to Roman Catholicism in 1669, but in 1670
he again adopted Protestantism.
In 1675 he became professor of philosophy
at the Protestant academy of Sedan; in 1681
he was appointed independent professor of
philosophy and history at the Protestant
academy of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, receiving
his salary from the city.
His first well-known work was Pensées diverses sur la comète de 1680 (Diverse Thoughts on the Comet of 1680;
1682), a rationalistic discussion of the
widespread fears aroused by the great comet.
He was dismissed from his post at Rotterdam
in 1693 because of the suspicion that he
had written a tract expressing religious skepticism. He then compiled his Dictionnaire historique ET critique (Historical and Critical Dictionary, 1697).
The skeptical tone of this work, which strongly advocated
freedom of thought on all subjects, had great
influence on the French Encyclopedists and the rationalist philosophers of the
18th century.