The Encyclopdie

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The Encyclopédie

• David Parker
• Stephanie Pucci
• Shaun Velasquez
• Annie Nakoney

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Introduction
The Encyclopédie was one of the earliest forms of
what we know today as an encyclopedia. Before it
was introduced, similar books were in production
but didnt live very long. This creation had a
major impact on the way France and their citizens
thought and perceived their surroundings
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Introduction (cont.)

• In our presentation, we will be discussing the
  following
• Background information about the Encyclopédie
• How it compared to the earlier version and what
  it accomplished in the days it was created
• How it compares to the versions we know of today
  and the differences between the two

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The beginning
The Encyclopédie was a work that took over two
years to finalize by its original author John
Mills, an Englishman living in France. It was
originally printed in French and named Ephraim
Chambers Cyclopaedia. Mills was assisted by a
professor named Gottfried Sellius who was from
Germany and settled in France as well.
The picture above is the actual title page from
Mills work
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Steps to finalization

• 2nd Step
• Jean Paul de Gua de Malves, who was the professor
  of philosophy in the College of France, was hired
  to edit the new book. He felt that the entire
  book needed to be revised so he as well as others
  did so, although he resigned after many disputes
  about his authority in the project. Denis
  Dederot then took over as editor.

• 1st Step
• It was taken to Andre Le Breton who was the King
  of Frances printer to ensure that it was in
  legal form. Breton wanted to take credit for the
  project, but Mills refused. Through their
  dispute, it was renamed Encyclopédie ou
  dictionnaire universel des arts et des sciences.

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Steps to finalization

• 4th Step
• In 1775 when the last of the original men who
  revised the work died, Charles Joseph Panckoucke
  took over rights of the Encyclopédie. From 1782
  to 1832, Panckoucke was well as others published
  an expanded edition of the work in 166 volumes as
  the Encyclopédie méthodique.

• 3rd Step
• After going through the hands of several other
  men, the first 35 volumes of the Encyclopédie
  were finally complete, although Mills was denied
  recognition after Breton brought an action
  against him, forcing Mills to return to England

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What was so significant about the Encyclopédie?

• The great encyclopédie by Diderot and DAlembert
  is not the largest encyclopedia ever published,
  neither it is the first, the most authoritative,
  or the most popular (Blom xiii).
• However, for the first time there was a
  publication that challenged the Church and the
  Crown as well as all establishments. It became a
  a publication of free thought, secular
  principal, and private enterprise (Blom xiii).
• It not only influenced the Enlightenment but
  centuries after. (Blom xiii).

This was inserted in the front of the
Encyclopédie. Taken from Denis Diderots
Encyclopédie, edited by Stephen J. Gendzier
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Significance Cont.

• Diderot commented on the photo on the previous
  page. He stated, We see at the top Truth and
  Reason and Imagination Reason tries to lift her
  veil Imagination prepares to adorn her. Below
  this group, a crowd of speculative philosophers
  lower, a number of artists. The Philosophers have
  their eyes fastened on Truth proud Metaphysics
  tries to divine her presence rather than see her.
  Theology turns her back and waits for light from
  on high. (Gendzier ix)

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What was included in the Encyclopédie?

• There was a wide array of topics.
• Basic knowledge, religious entries, agriculture
  and labor, government, human rights, thinking and
  knowledge entries, as well as other topics.
• There were entries of non-European people.
• Some of them would be considered demeaning to the
  modern reader.
• However, the writers were not accused on
  promoting hate or racial superiority (Blom 150).

Actual entry from the Encyclopédie,that was
translated into English. Taken from Gendzier.
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What was omitted?

• The Encyclopédie was intended to be the
  secularization of learning.
• But many things, had to be omitted or concealed,
  because many disapproved of some of its
  contents.
• The Jesuits even discredited the work (Blom 98).
• Sometimes the authors wrote anonymously to
  protect themselves (Gendzier xxi).
• Entries that threatened the church or the crowns
  power were frowned upon.
• However, there were still controversial entries
  about censor, the inquisition, the revocation of
  the Edict of Nantes, the slave trade,the salt
  tax, the use of torture, the constraints of
  feudalism, and the fanaticism of priests that
  were written about openly (Gendzier xxi).
• No women were named as contributors to the
  Encyclopédie, but there is evidence that there
  were a few women writers.

This is a picture of Louise dEpinay who most
likely contributed to the Encyclopédie. Taken
from Philipp Blom on page 166.
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Encyclopédie and Enlightenment?

• There was a need for free thinkers and critical
  minds.
• The writers wanted to present knowledge even if
  that meant going against the establishment.
• But it is clear that the church still had some
  control.
• The writers risked arrest, imprisonment, and
  more, which caused them to begin to write
  anonymously.
• They had to conceal some of their entries but
  still managed to write about many controversial
  topics.
• The Encyclopédie is described as turning point
  in history the moment where new ideas carried
  they day over bigotry and orthodoxy (Blom 326).

This is Denis Diderot. Blom says that,
his expression reveals the human skepticism that
marks his works (166).
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Expressing Personal, Political, and Philosophical
Views

• The aim of modern encyclopedias is to be a
  comprehensive source of information (usually
  spanned in multiple books) that contains
  information on all possible branches of human
  knowledge.
• Current encyclopedias attempt to remain a neutral
  source of information. They attempt to only
  present facts about the respective subject and
  not opinions or personal views.
• However, this was not necessarily the case for
  the Encyclopédie

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Expressing Personal, Political, and Philosophical
Views
While the Encyclopédie attempted to convey all
known information in regards to math, art, and
science, Diderot and DAlembert also expressed
political, philosophical and their views about
the Enlightenment through the Encyclopédie

• This picture is taken from title page of the 1772
  Encyclopédie
• While this picture appears to just be a work of
  art, this pictures holds many hidden meanings and
  symbols expressed by the artist (Charles-Nicolas
  Cochin)
• For example, the lady in the middle with the
  bright light represented truth. The lady is being
  covered by a veil (The censorship of truth).
  Finally, there are two guys attempting to remove
  the veil from the lady. This represented the
  recovering of the truth

This is an example of the kinds of the material
presented in the Encyclopédie. Due to the views
of the enlightenment being represented through
the Encyclopédie, much controvery was formed and
was later subjected to censorship and banning.
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Current Encyclopedias

• The Encyclopédie first started in france in 1751,
  and production of it ended in 1780 spanning 17
  volumes of articles
• Today, there are many different companies
  producing their own kinds of Encyclopedias
• One such popular Encyclopedia is Encyclopedia
  Britannica which was founded in 1768 and has
  produced many editions of its popular
  encyclopedia series. The company is still active
  today and is still producing Encyclopedias. The
  company has also expanded into an encyclopedia
  online
• In addition, Modern day encyclopedias have been
  expanded to not only cover a broad range of
  topics, but to also cover a single subject as
  well (Nursing, Business, Law, etc)

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Wrap up

• We learned that todays encyclopedias are a
  rendition of Mills original creation over 250
  years ago
• Diderot took over his original idea, improved
  upon it and made it into something the French
  would refer to as a part of their everyday lives
• Gave creative thinkers a way of expressing their
  ideas and knowledge and open others minds to
  what they knew and learned over time

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References

• Diderot, Denis. The Encyclopedie. Edited by
  Stephen J. Gendzier. New York
• JJ Harper Editions, 1967.
• Donato, Clorinda. The encyclopedie and the age of
  revolution. G.K. Hall and Co., 1992.
• Blom, Philipp. Enlightening the World. New York
  Palgrave Macmillan, 2004.
• Encyclopedia Britanica. Volume 4, pg. 488, 15th
  edition.
• ENCYCLOPEDIE ou dictionnaire raisonné des
  sciences, des arts et des métiers. The
  University of Chicago Library. 31 July 2006.
  31 October 2006. http//www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/et
  s/efts/