Overview

The great eighteenth-century French thinker Denis Diderot (1713–84) once compared himself to a weathervane, by which he meant that his mind was in constant motion. In an extraordinarily diverse career he produced novels, plays, art criticism, works of philosophy and poetics, and also reflected on music and opera. Perhaps most famously, he ensured the publication of the Encyclopédie, which has often been credited with hastening the onset of the French Revolution. Known as one of the three greatest philosophes of the Enlightenment, Diderot rejected the Christian ideas in which he had been raised. Instead, he became an atheist and a determinist. His radical questioning of received ideas and established religion led to a brief imprisonment, and for that reason, no doubt, some of his subsequent works were written for posterity. This collection of essays celebrates the life and work of this extraordinary figure as we approach the tercentenary of his birth.

Full Product Details

Author:   James Fowler (University of Kent, Canterbury)
Publisher:   Cambridge University Press
Imprint:   Cambridge University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 1.50cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.380kg
ISBN:  

9781107649606

ISBN 10:   1107649609
Pages:   282
Publication Date:   20 March 2014
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

Introduction James Fowler; Part I. Diderot the Philosophe: 1. Diderot and the Ancients Russell Goulbourne; 2. Diderot's earlier philosophical writings Marian Hobson; 3. The Encyclopédie: innovation and legacy Daniel Brewer; 4. Diderot, Rousseau and the art of craft Angelica Goodden; 5. Diderot's anti-colonialism Anthony Strugnell; 6. Diderot's letters to Sophie Volland Pierre Saint-Amand; Part II. Novels: 7. Les Bijoux indiscrets: transition or translation? Anne Deneys-Tunney; 8. Jacques le fataliste et son maître: finding myself in the work of another Joseph Breines; 9. La Religieuse: Diderot's 'Richardsonian' novel James Fowler; Part III. Dialogues: 10. Eyes wide shut: Le Rêve de d'Alembert Kate E. Tunstall; 11. Diderot's Supplément au Voyage de Bougainville: logics of the human Andrew Curran; Part IV. Plays and Dramatic Theory: 12. Diderot and Olympe de Gouges Carol L. Sherman; 13. Diderot and Destouches Derek Connon; Part V. Music, Performance, Aesthetics: 14. Diderot's voice(s): music and reform, from the Querelle des Bouffons to Le Neveu de Rameau Mark Darlow; 15. Diderot and the aesthetics of the Libretto Béatrice Didier; 16. Diderot's Salons: Ekphrasis and related issues Tom Baldwin.

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Author Information

James Fowler teaches French at the University of Kent. He has written extensively on the eighteenth-century French novel and French philosophy. His publications include Voicing Desire: Family and Sexuality in Diderot's Narrative (2000) and The Libertine's Nemesis: The Prude in 'Clarissa' and the 'roman libertin' (2010).

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