Le rêve de D'Alembert
Encyclopedia
D'Alembert’s Dream is an ensemble of three philosophical dialogues authored by Denis Diderot
in 1769 and published in 1830:
In this work, Diderot is at the zenith of his development of materialist
theories. It is here that he introduces his theory on life and nature, indicating that matter is not fixed but that, on the contrary, subject to evolution
. Each species in existence transforms itself and gives birth to a new species.
He would later create a special version for his patroness, Catherine II of Russia, replacing the certain character names.
Both Julie de Lespinasse and D’Alembert took poorly to being used as protagonists of the conversations.
Denis Diderot
Denis Diderot was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer. He was a prominent person during the Enlightenment and is best known for serving as co-founder and chief editor of and contributor to the Encyclopédie....
in 1769 and published in 1830:
- Conversation between d’Alembert and Diderot
- D’Alembert’s Dream
- Continuation of the Conversation between d’Alembert and Diderot
In this work, Diderot is at the zenith of his development of materialist
Materialism
In philosophy, the theory of materialism holds that the only thing that exists is matter; that all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions. In other words, matter is the only substance...
theories. It is here that he introduces his theory on life and nature, indicating that matter is not fixed but that, on the contrary, subject to evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
. Each species in existence transforms itself and gives birth to a new species.
He would later create a special version for his patroness, Catherine II of Russia, replacing the certain character names.
Both Julie de Lespinasse and D’Alembert took poorly to being used as protagonists of the conversations.