French Literature Reviews - 2026

Anne Beate Maurseth, L'Analogie et le probable: pensée et écriture chez Denis Diderot
Philosophy, Anthropology and Ideas

L'Analogie et le probable: pensée et écriture chez Denis Diderot
Anne Beate Maurseth

ISBN 978 0 7294 09124, viii + 226pp, 1 ill. £55 / €88 ex-VAT / $119

Publisher's blurb:

Analogy and probability were widely debated concepts in the eighteenth century. Through an analysis of four of Diderot's works – Letter on the Blind, Pensées sur l'interprétation de la nature, D'Alembert's Dream, and Jacques the Fatalist – the author demonstrates how these notions of analogy and probability are both intrinsic to a specific mode of thought and generative of a particular form of expression, and how fiction in Diderot's work serves as an instrument of philosophical inquiry.

Published in the SVEC (Studies on Voltaire and the Eighteenth Century) series by the Voltaire Foundation.

For further information, please visit the website www.voltaire.ox.ac.uk or contact email@voltaire.ox.ac.uk

Denis Diderot stands as one of the central figures of the French Enlightenment, renowned for his editorial work on the Encyclopédie and his versatile contributions to prose, drama, and philosophy. In this scholarly study, Anne Beate Maurseth examines how eighteenth-century debates surrounding analogical reasoning and probability informed Diderot's intellectual development. By analyzing four key texts—Letter on the Blind, Pensées sur l'interprétation de la nature, D'Alembert's Dream, and Jacques the Fatalist—the author illustrates the deep interplay between speculative thought and narrative form in his oeuvre.

This volume illuminates how Diderot employed narrative fiction not merely as entertainment, but as a rigorous instrument for philosophical exploration. Scholars and students of eighteenth-century French literature, intellectual history, and Enlightenment philosophy will find this study a valuable resource for understanding the mechanics of Diderot's writing. Published within the renowned SVEC series by the Voltaire Foundation, the book contributes to ongoing scholarly discussions regarding the methods and modes of expression characteristic of the European Enlightenment.