The Encyclop?die of Diderot and D'Alembert: Selected Articles

ThepublicationoftheEncyclopedieinthemiddleoftheeighteenthcenturyisgenerallyrecognisedasadecisivefactorintheconflictideaswhichledtotheFrenchRevolutionof1789.Yet,despiteitsimportanceinthehistoryofeighteenth-centuryFrenchthought,nooutstandingworkoftheperiodislessreadtoday,simplebecauseofitsbulkandinaccessibility.Thosepartsreproducedinthiseditioncoverreligion,philosophy,scienceandpoliticalandsocialideasandincludearticleswhichreflectthehumanitarianoutlookofthecontributorsandtheirattitudetotheabusesoftheancienregime.TheselectionisofvaluenotonlytostudentsofFrenchliteratureandthought,butalsotoallthoseinterestedinthehistoryandpoliticalideasofFranceontheeveoftheRevolution;inthesepagesDiderot,D'AlembertandD'Holbachareallowedtospeakforthemselves,insteadofhavingtheirideassummarised(andsometimesmisinterpreted)byothers.