Condorcet, Marquis de

Marquis de Condorcet was an 18th-century French philosopher, mathematician, and political scientist known for his ideas about democracy and social justice. He advocated for the rights of individuals and the importance of education, arguing that human progress could be achieved through reason and Enlightenment values. Condorcet is also famous for the "Condorcet paradox," which describes situations in voting where collective preferences can be cyclic and inconsistent. His work laid the foundation for later democratic theories and emphasized the role of rational choice in decision-making processes. Condorcet's contributions influence discussions on voting systems and social choice theory today.