Description
Book SynopsisThe title of this work may seem to beg an important question, since it rests on the assumption that Diderot
has a ‘concept of physical energy’. If man is composed of matter – active matter – than all human activity, be it moral, political, aesthetic, becomes capable of interpretation in terms of energy.
Table of ContentsPreface
Introduction
1. The metaphysical foundations
A.
Essai sur le merite et la vertu (1745)
B. The
Pensées philosophiques (1746)
C.
La Promenade du sceptique (1747)
D.
Lettre sur les aveugles (1749)
2. Transition: from the
Lettre sur les aveugles to the
Pensées sur l’interprétation de la nature (1749-1753)
A. Anti-finalism and the autonomy of scientific enquiry
B. Presentation of materialism
C. Investigation of biology
D. Diderot and Buffon: the philosophy of life
3.
Pensées sur l’interprétation de la natureA.
Conjectures and QuestionsB. Diderot and Maupertuis
4. Transition: From the
Pensées sur l’interprétation de la nature to the
Rêve d’AlembertA. The temptation of vitalism
B.
SensibilitéC.
Sur la cohésion des corps : energy
D. Approach to the
Rêve d’Alembert: letter to Duclos, 10 October 1765
5. The
Rêve d’AlembertA.
Sensibilité : the basic concept
B. The activation of
sensibilitéC. Active
sensibilité within the organism
D.
Sensibilité and metaphysics
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index
