François de La Mothe Le Vayer, a French skeptical philosopher, was born in Paris, the son of a government official. He acquired his father's post when the latter died in 1625. His wife was the daughter of a Scottish intellectual, Adam Blackwood. During his early years La Mothe Le Vayer traveled widely in Europe. In 1639 he was elected to the Académie française and in 1647 was appointed preceptor to the Duke of Orléans. He was a prominent figure in avant-garde circles in Paris—in the group around Michel Eyquem de Montaigne's adopted daughter, Mademoiselle De Gournay; in the group of libertins érudits with Gabriel Naudé (1600–1653), Guy Patin (1601–1672), and Pierre Gassendi; in the scientific group around Marin Mersenne; and in the literary world of Molière (1622–1673; who jested at...