Who wrote the Encyclopédie?

New Research on 33,000 Anonymous Articles
Erscheinungsjahr 2026
ISBN: 978-3-032-31578-6
Verlag: Birkhäuser

Buch, Englisch, 327 Seiten, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 235 mm

Reihe: Science Networks. Historical Studies

This volume is a broad exploration of the authorship and editorial practices behind the of Diderot and D’Alembert, a monumental work of the Enlightenment.

It explores the intricate history of its creation, the identification of anonymous contributors, and the revolutionary impact of digital resources on scholarly research. The pioneering efforts of J. Lough, J. Proust, and R. N. Schwab laid the groundwork for uncovering the authorship of numerous unsigned articles. Recent studies, particularly those conducted by the project, have significantly expanded our understanding, identifying thousands of previously anonymous articles. This book provides an overview of these discoveries, the methodologies employed, and the renewed understanding of the ’s editorial history and contributions.

This work is ideal for academics, historians, and anyone interested in the Enlightenment and the evolution of encyclopedic knowledge.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Cernuschi, Alain

Derainne, Lucien

Guilbaud, Alexandre

Fachgebiete

• Mathematik | Informatik Mathematik Mathematik Allgemein Geschichte der Mathematik
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Kultur- und Ideengeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtswissenschaft Allgemein Historiographie
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften: Allgemeines Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften, Formalen Wissenschaften & Technik
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Europäische Geschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Chapter 1. Introduction.- Part I. Overview of the Problem.- Chapter 2. State of the Art.- Chapter 3. The Attribution Criteria used in .- Chapter 4. What Is an Author in the ?.- Chapter 5. The Role of Editors.- Part II. A New Approach by Field of Knowledge.- Chapter 6. Grammar: Toward the Language Dictionary.- Chapter 7. The Attribution of Anonymous Articles on Arts and Crafts: Diderot Chaining Together the Arts, Jaucourt Filling in the Gaps.- Chapter 8. History: First Stepping Stones Toward Exploring a Neglected Field.- Chapter 9. Natural History: The Case of Louis Jean Marie Daubenton.- Chapter 10. Medicine: A New Perspective on Vitalism in the .- Chapter 11. Astronomy: Attribution Criteria and Methodological Perspectives.- Chapter 12. Mathematical Sciences: Various Fields of Knowledge and Unexpected Authors.- Part III. New Perspectives.- Chapter 13. New Corpora by Contributor.- Chapter 14. A New Understanding of the Making of the .- Chapter 15. Stylometric and AI Attribution Methods. How Relevant are They for the ?.

Über Autor(innen)

Alain Cernuschi is a retired “maître d’enseignement et de recherche” of the University of Lausanne and a member of the ’s scientific committee and of the editorial board for the of D’Alembert. His research and publications focus primarily on Enlightenment encyclopedias, as well as on Rousseau, Diderot, and 18th-century musical thought.

Lucien Derainne holds the Junior Professor Chair "Littérature and scientific skills" at the University Jean Monnet. He works on the history of scientific methods in eighteenth-century France. He’s a member of the ’s scientific committee.

Alexandre Guilbaud is a member of the Institut de mathématiques de Jussieu-Paris Rive Gauche. Part of his research focuses on the history of the mathematical sciences and their interactions in the 18th century; the other part falls within the field of Digital Humanities, which he heads, and the of D’Alembert.