CfP: Diderot’s Metamorphoses. Philosophy, Art, and Science

Among the eighteenth-century thinkers, Denis Diderot is undoubtedly one of the hardest to classify. He authored novels, theatre plays, science, and as well as philosophy essays. It is difficult to separate his properly “philosophical” works from the rest of his production. Nor, moreover, would it make sense to do so, because Diderot’s philosophy emerges precisely from the intertwining of all these different spheres of interest and work. The thirty-fifth issue of Lo Sguardo intends to investigate the figure of Diderot in all its different aspects: a philosopher, novelist, playwright, scientist, art critic, and cultural promoter (with the great project of the Encyclopédie). The aim of the issue is thereby to understand how these features of his work interact with each other, and how they contribute to the philosophy that emerges. And finally, to establish the meaning that this complex philosophical heritage can have for today.

Scholars worldwide are invited to contribute to this issue by sending articles relating to the philosophy of Denis Diderot. Here are some of the issues that might be addressed:

• The relationships between the writer Diderot, the philosopher Diderot and the scientist Diderot

• Diderot and the Encyclopédie

• Diderot’s sources

• Diderot’s influence on the nineteenth century

• The meaning of Diderot for today’s Philosophy

• Diderot Salonnier: between art criticism and aesthetics

• Diderot and music

• Diderot and imagination

Please send the paper, complete in all of its parts including an abstract in English (900-1000 characters), to callforpapers@losguardo.net, by the deadline indicated above. Please carefully follow the journal’s guidelines. All the papers will undergo a double-blind peer review.