Dialogues for the blind and those who can see, or Philosophy in the boudoir

Abstract

The article analyzes the artistic features of Diderot and Sade’s philosophical dialogues, which allow authors to convey innovative ideas to readers, to turn a serious treatise into a fascinating theatrical show. These works (Diderot’s D’Alembert’s Dream (1769, publ. 1830–1831) and Conversation of a philosopher with the Maréchale de *** (1774, publ. 1775); Marquis de Sade’s Dialogue between a priest and a dying man (1782) and Philosophy in the Boudoir (1785)) are united not only by a dialogical form, but also by the original use of such rhetorical figures as fantasy and evidence, thanks to which abstract philosophical and scientific ideas appear directly before the reader’s eyes. Briefly dwelling on the importance and specificity of these techniques in antiquity, the author of the article examines their manifestations in the studied texts, referring to the history of their creation, structure, chronotype, heroes, mise-en-scène. All dialogues take place in a private setting, which allows the libertine heroes to express without fear their views, communicating them to their listeners in an intelligible language. In all dialogues, fictionality is combined with factuality, but if Diderot represents real characters in fictional situations, the Sade’s fictional characters quote well-known philosophical and anthropological works. The research makes it possible to better understand specificity and popularity of the genre of dialogue in the French Enlightenment literature.