Un nouveau La Mettrie à Pétersbourg : Diderot vu par l'Académie impériale des Sciences
Year: 1994
Type: article
Abstract: Georges Dulac : A New La Mettrie: Diderot in St Petersbourg as seen by the Imperial Academy of Science. Diderot had very little contact with the Academy of Science in St Petersburg, then in its most brillant period, but his relations remained outwardly cordial. However, the correspondence between J.A. Euler and his uncle Formey, secretary of the Prussian Academy, reveals the permanent and active hostility of the academicians and courtiers and Formey's campaigns to discredit Diderot both in his journals and in Russia. Particularly interesting is Euler's account of Diderot's election as a foreign member of the Academy, in which we see that the academicians indicated that they are forced to bow to the Imperial will and Euler evokes the forced election of La Mettrie to the Prussian Academy. Other very hostile but well-documented accounts by Euler concern the arrival and reception of Diderot and Grimm or an assembly at Smolny when Diderot read one of his pieces to the noble young ladies, and we also see how Euler used the material provided by Formey to discredit the philosopher.
Author: Georges Dulac
Language: English
Subfield: Philosophy
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2093129594