Institute of Scientific Information of Social Sciences of Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federation, npakhsarian@gmail.com
The article analyzes the poetics of Diderot’s famous philosophical novel-dialogue Le Neuveu de Rameau. The work, written in the last third of the eighteenth century, remained unknown during the Enlightenment, but after publication in the nineteenth century, it gained great popularity. The depth of Diderot’s dialectical position in this and other works has been repeatedly noted by scholars, but relationship between figures “I” and “He” in the novel-dialogue is still the subject of discussion. On the one hand, “I” is the alter ego of Diderot himself, on the other hand, he often loses in a dispute with his nephew, an immoral person, a slacker and a libertine. In some cases, “He” agrees with “I”. More often the philosopher is forced to admit the correctness of his opponent, who points out that, contrary to the early Enlightenment beliefs about happiness brought only to virtuous people, immoral people can be happy, but they also have money and power. The philosopher is captivated by the sincerity of Rameau’s nephew, which does not mean that his own position is only an object of criticism. Diderot’s task is not a satirical exposure of the immorality and parasitism of his contemporary society, but an ironic and analytical study of a certain ethical and psychological phenomenon that can cast doubt on the views of a person of encyclopedic knowledge – a materialist and an atheist. The study of the function of each of the interlocutors in Le Neuveu de Rameau, the clarification of the irony role, made it possible to conclude that the confrontation between the Philosopher and Rameau is ambiguous, and that the dialogue has an open ending.
philosophy; music; manners; novel-dialogue; Enlightenment; irony; satire; morality
Download textFor citing: Pakhsarian N.T. (2022). The splendor and poverty of Enlightenment Philosophy: Le Neuveu de Rameau by Denis Diderot. Human being: Image and essence. Humanitarian aspects. Moscow: INION RAN. Vol. 3(51): Power of literature – writer and authorities, pp. 126-138. DOI: 10.31249/chel/2022.03.09