History of Science and Philosophy of Progress in the Encyclopedie : study on it's ideology and reader strategies

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K02085
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: History of thought
• Research Institution: Aoyama Gakuin University
• Principal Investigator: Ida Hisashi 青山学院大学, 文学部, 教授 (10339517)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-10-21 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 百科全書 / 科学史 / 哲学史 / 進歩 / ディドロ / イデオロギー

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study, starting from analysing the progressivist historical view held by Fontenelle in his eulogies dedicated to deceased members of the Academy of Science, has focused on an ideological analysis of the narrative of the history of science in the Encyclopedie. It has also tried to elucidate specific reader strategies that support the Encypedie's partisan discourse. As a result, it has helped to identify some implicit authors of the citations in Diderot's unsigned articles. In addition, it has demonstrated that the seemingly monotonous religious history of ancient pagan nations and the philosophical history of ancient and modern philosophers, written by Diderot in his articles on the history of philosophy, were carefully and strategically constructed by the author as an enlightened discourse.

Free Research Field

十八世紀フランス思想

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究では、伝統批判と学問知の再編成によって近代的な世界観への転換を促した『百科全書』の諸項目で叙述されている科学と哲学の歴史において、一見客観的な辞書の項目の装いの下に、進歩の哲学という百科全書派に通底する党派的な価値観への賛同を読者公衆から獲得することを目的としたテキスト戦略がいかに周到に張り巡らされているかを明らかにできた。
現代民主主義社会では普遍的な理念とされている啓蒙思想を『百科全書』という書物の具体的な記述を通じて捉え直すことで、検閲や敵対勢力の反応を意識しつつ読者公衆の支持の獲得を目指すイデオロギー的言説としての啓蒙思想のテキスト戦略の諸相に光を当てた意義は大きい。