Kafker, Frank A. “The Risks of
Contributing to Diderot’s ‘Encyclopedia.’” Diderot Studies, vol. 16, Librairie Droz, 1973, pp. 119–43. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/40372423.
In response to a claim that there were little risks for the Encyclopedists, Kafker explores the potential dangers associated with contributing to the Encyclopédie and the amount of concern about them. Kafker divides the Encyclopédie’s history into two periods, 1751-1757 and 1757-1789, specifying potential sources of fear including anonymity, writing a theological article, and being an editor. However, even though fear increased drastically post-1759, Kafker finds that persecution decreased (except for Diderot). All in all, while many contributors were not punished for contributing to the Encyclopédie, fear remained as the monarchy could be quite harsh in its discipline and the authors were well aware of the risks they were taking by writing for a scandalous work such as the Encyclopédie.
Basic Information
Country of Publication: Switzerland
Language: English
Decade: 1970s
Main Classification: Contributors
Related Sources
*In Progress*
Notes
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Updates
7/13/2020: Created page.