Diderot et le concept de civilisation

Bibliographic Data

ID11804335
AuthorsGianluigi Goggi (corresponding author)
Year1997
Volume29
Issue1
Pages353-373
Publication date1997-01-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueDix-huitième siècle (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0070-6760 • E-ISSN: 1760-7892
PublisherSociété française d'étude du XVIIIe siècle (PUBLISHER • FR)
DOI10.3406/dhs.1997.2188
OpenAlexW2461888566
LanguageFR
Citations received5

Gianluigi Goggi : Diderot and the concept of civilisation. In 1772, Diderot wrote a short piece on the civilisation of Russia, whose starting-point was his opposition to Voltaire's ideas concerning the transplantation of arts and sciences to Peter I's Russia. Diderot discusses the civilisation of Russia in the light of two other issues emphasized at the time : the civilisation or sédentarisation of savages ; and the development of civilisation in Europe during the Middle Ages. We can see that Diderot's piece combines two conceptions : on the one hand, the idea of a political project leading Russia from barbarism to civilisation through clearly defined stages (beginning with the installation of colonies of foreigners and aiming at transforming Russian society from below) ; and on the other, a conception of civilisation as a slow social evolution, based on a very different idea of the pace of civilisation from that implied by the political project. As he moves from one to the other, Diderot finally takes up certain of Voltaire's suggestions, which he had rejected at the beginning (for example, concerning the role of circumstances in the civilising process)

Archaeology · Barbarism · Civilization · Geography · Opposition (politics · Pace · Political science · Politics · The arts · French Literature and Criticism · Historical and Literary Analyses · Historical and Literary Studies · History · Law

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