Paradox of the Idler

This chapter explores how Diderot makes the idler into a figure of modernity. Diderot's idler appears in urban space. In the title character of Le Neveu de Rameau ( Rameau's Nephew ), he offers an example of alternative subjectivation. The dialogue between the philosopher and the vagabond brings face to face two opposing figures of idleness, as well as two opposing relationships to the work. Like Marivaux's Spectator, Diderot's philosopher enjoys free-floating, vaporous thought. The chapter shows how grouping idleness and laziness together under the rubric “désoeuvrement” (inactivity) establishes distinctions based on differences of social status and economic condition, which shed an interesting light on Diderot's dialogue.

Art · Art history · Character (mathematics) · Epistemology · Face (sociological concept) · Laziness · Linguistics · Literature · Modernity · Nephew and niece · French Literature and Criticism · Historical and Literary Analyses · Historical and Literary Studies · Mathematics · Philosophy · Psychology