The Discourse of Enlightenment in Eighteenth-Century France Diderot and the Art of Philosophizing

This study focuses on Denis Diderot, whose experimentation with presenting critical knowledge exemplifies the Enlightenment's struggle to produce a rationalist critique of all prior knowledge.

This study explores the problems faced by writers of the Enlightenment, who attempted to demystify all previous forms of knowledge by applying rationalist critiques that can in turn be applied to examine their own critical work. It focuses on the works of one of the best-known writers of eighteenth-century France, Denis Diderot, analysing his experimentation with presenting critical knowledge. Paying close attention to the formal-poetic nature of Diderot's writing, his 'art', it examines the interplay between critical knowledge and its representation, between epistemology and aesthetics. Professor Brewer shows how Diderot's work in the areas of philosophy, science, the fine arts and literature pushed Enlightenment critique to its limits, and points to its remarkable similarity to aspects of modern critical theory.

List of illustrations; Acknowledgments; Note on the text; Introduction; 1. Representing knowledge: reading the Encyclopédie; 2. Enlightenment critique and Diderot's art of philosophizing; 3. The matter of judgment and the art of phrasing sensation; 4. Critical narratives: Diderot's Salons; 5. Embodying knowledge; 6. Portraying Diderot: the aftermath; 7. Interpreting Diderot: critical values, critical violence; Notes; Index.

This study focuses on the works of one of the best-known writers of eighteenth-century France, Denis Diderot, whose experimentation with presenting critical knowledge exemplifies the Enlightenment's struggle to produce a rationalist critique of all prior knowledge. Paying close attention to the formal-poetic nature of Diderot's writing, it examines the interplay between critical knowledge and its representation.