Denis Diderot - Oeuvres de Denis Diderot - 1799

Works of Denis Diderot, published from the Author's manuscripts, by Jacques André Naigeon, of the National Institute of Sciences, etc. (volumes 1 and 2 only) - Paris, Deterville, year VIII - 454; 458 pp. - 10.5 X 17 cm.

Volume I: moral philosophy
Volume II: mathematics

Condition: In fairly good condition. Edges lightly rubbed. Bound solid. Stamps of the former owner. A few rust spots here and there.

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Denis Diderot, born October 5, 1713 in Langres and died July 31, 1784 in Paris, is a French writer, philosopher and encyclopaedist of the Enlightenment, at once novelist, playwright, storyteller, essayist, art critic, literary critic and translator.

Known as the “Prometheus of the Enlightenment,” Diderot was endowed with tireless curiosity, extreme sensitivity, and prodigious memory, so that his erudition covered a wide range of fields, from ancient history to chemistry, including mathematics and physiology. In addition to his essays on questions of biology, economics, physics, education, and politics, he left his mark in the history of the various literary genres he tried. In the theatre, he laid the foundations of bourgeois drama and recommended that the actor address the fourth wall in Paradox on the Actor. He revolutionized the novel with The Nun and parodied the novel with Jacques the Fatalist and his Master, explored various forms of philosophical dialogue in The Dream of d’Alembert, The Uncle of Rameau and This Is Not a Tale, and developed the genre of art criticism through his Salons. Moreover, for twenty years he was the driving force behind one of the most influential works of his century, the famous Encyclopædia, through which he came into contact with the latest scientific research and for which he wrote some 5,000 articles, partly clandestinely, explaining major religions and artisan techniques while denouncing erroneous beliefs to which he applied principles of historical methodology.

nicknamed the “philosopher” by his contemporaries, he professed a science-based materialism — which earned him more than three months of imprisonment — and showed the connections between the senses and ideas, even the most purely intellectual ones. Constantly at odds with religious dogmatism and intolerance, he is one of the leading figures of the Enlightenment movement along with Voltaire and his friend Rousseau — with whom he would have a heart-wrenching falling-out. Invited to Saint Petersburg by Empress Catherine II of Russia, he would vainly attempt to persuade her to adopt a democratic system of government. Deeply moved by justice and freedom, he provides a philosophical foundation for the revolution and delivers an uncompromising indictment of colonialism and the practice of slavery.

Even though he contributed greatly through his writings to the downfall of the Ancien Régime, he was rejected by the French Revolution because of his atheism. This writer who said he wrote for future generations would have to wait until the late 19th century for his work to be rediscovered. Some of his texts remained unpublished until the 21st century. (cf. Wikipedia)