Book Reviews - Review 238

A set of three philosophical dialogues conducted by imaginary representations of people Diderot knew: D'Alembert, who had worked with Diderot on the Encyclopédie; Mademoiselle de Lespinasse, a well-known salon dame; and the knowledgable Doctor Bordeu. The discussions focus on the workings of the mind and the nervous system, the relationship of mind to body, and the questions of morality and free will.

Of course science has rendered many 18th Century assumptions obsolete - but this remains a strikingly perceptive and imaginative study of questions many of which are still being asked today; and it's clear from it that the seeds of Nineteenth-Century ideas, most notably evolution, were being sown in people's minds for many decades previously.

Le Rêve de D'Alembert is deep but light of touch, and despite being nearly 250 years old, very readable. It's also quite funny in places.

The dialogues were written in 1769 but, owing to their challenging of religious orthodoxy and their sometimes fruity references, not published until 1830.