Mélanges littéraires et philosophiques

by Denis Diderot, Lidia Breda (Series Editor), Jean-Claude Bonnet (Preface)

Des «Mélanges »de Diderot ne sauraient se réduire à un pot-pourri aléatoire, car le goût du mélange (une notion qu'il faut prendre incontestablement au sérieux dans son cas) a toujours été sa marque propre. Ces «Mélanges littéraires et philosophiques »veulent donner une idée de tout ce qui a commencé avec lui. Ils répondent également à l'esprit d'un genre qui se veut d'abord léger sans oublier, comme nous en prévient Diderot, que « rien ne peint si bien la vie et le caractère d'un auteur, que ses pièces fugitives ». En plus de deux petits chefs-d'oeuvre comme «Regrets sur ma vieille robe de chambre» et la «Satire première», le présent choix de texte s'emploie à révéler la large palette de l'écrivain et à montrer les différentes faces d'un génie singulier.

224 pages, Pocket Book

Published October 21, 2020

About the author

Work on the Encyclopédie (1751-1772), supreme accomplishment of French philosopher and writer Denis Diderot, epitomized the spirit of thought of Enlightenment; he also wrote novels, plays, critical essays, and brilliant letters to a wide circle of friends and colleagues.

Jean le Rond d'Alembert contributed.

This artistic prominent persona served as best known co-founder, chief editor, and contributor.

He also contributed notably to literature with Jacques le fataliste et son maître (Jacques the Fatalist and his Master), which emulated Laurence Sterne in challenging conventions regarding structure and content, while also examining ideas about free will. Diderot also authored of the known dialogue, Le Neveu de Rameau (Rameau's Nephew), basis of many articles and sermons about consumer desire. His articles included many topics.

Diderot speculated on free will, held a completely materialistic view of the universe, and suggested that heredity determines all human behavior. He therefore warned his fellows against an overemphasis on mathematics and against the blind optimism that sees in the growth of physical knowledge an automatic social and human progress. He rejected the idea of progress. His opinion doomed the aim of progressing through technology to fail. He founded on experiment and the study of probabilities. He wrote several articles and supplements concerning gambling, mortality rates, and inoculation against smallpox. He discreetly but firmly refuted technical errors and personal positions of d'Alembert on probability.