Antoine Louis Claude Destutt, comte de Tracy (
July 20,
1754 -
March 9,
1836), was a
French Enlightenment aristocrat and
philosopher who coined the term "ideology". The son of a distinguished soldier, he was born in the
Bourbonnais. His family was of Scottish descent, tracing its origin to Walter Stutt, who in 1420 had accompanied the Earls of Buchan and Douglas to the court of France, and whose family afterwards rose to be counts of Tracy. He was educated at home and at the
University of Strasbourg, where he was noted for his athletic skill. He went into the army, and when the
French Revolution broke out, he took an active part in the provincial assembly of Bourbonnais. Elected a deputy of the nobility to the states-general, he sat alongside his friend, the
Marquis de La Fayette. In the spring of 1792 he received the rank of maréchal de camp in command of the cavalry in the army of the north; but the influence of the extremists becoming predominant he took indefinite leave of absence, and settled at
Auteuil, where, with
Condorcet and
Cabanis, he devoted himself to scientific studies.
See more at Wikipedia.org...
Free Download Now!
