The "figurative system of human knowledge" , sometimes known as the tree of Diderot and d'Alembert, was a tree developed to represent the structure of knowledge itself, produced for the Encyclopédie by Jean le Rond d'Alembert and Denis Diderot.
The tree was a taxonomy of human knowledge, inspired by Francis Bacon's The Advancement of Learning. The three main branches of knowledge in the tree are: "Memory"/History, "Reason"/Philosophy, and "Imagination"/Poetry.
Notable is the fact that theology is ordered under philosophy. The historian Robert Darnton has argued that this categorization of religion as being subject to human reason, and not a source of knowledge in and of itself (revelation), was a significant factor in the controversy surrounding the work. "Knowledge of God" is only a few nodes away from divination and black magic.
Content
Below is a version of the Tree rendered in English as a bulleted outline.
"Detailed System of Human Knowledge" from the Encyclopédie.
- Civil History, properly said. (See also: History of civil society)
- Literary History.
- Memoirs.
- Antiquities. (See also: Classical antiquity)
- Complete Histories.
- Uniformity of Nature. (See: Uniformitarianism)
- Celestial History.
- History...
- of Meteors.
- of the Earth and the Sea (See also: Origin of water on Earth)
- of Minerals. (See also: Geological history of Earth)
- of Vegetables. (See also: History of agriculture)
- of Animals. (See also: Evolutionary history of life)
- of the Elements. (See also: Classical element, History of alchemy, and History of chemistry)
- Deviations of Nature.
- Celestial Wonders.
- Large Meteors. (See also: Asteroids)
- Wonders of Land and Sea. (See: Wonders of the World)
- Monstrous Minerals.
- Monstrous Vegetables. (See: Largest plants, Poisonous plants, and Carnivorous plants)
- Monstrous Animals. (See: Largest animals and Predators)
- Wonders of the Elements. (See: Natural disasters)
- Uses of Nature (See Technology and Applied sciences)
- Arts, Crafts, Manufactures.
- Minter.
- Gold Beaters.
- Gold Spinners.
- Gold Drawers.
- Silversmith & Goldsmith.
- Planisher
- Mounter（METTEUR EN ŒUVRE）,etc.
- Work and Uses of Precious Stones.
- Lapidary.
- Diamond cutting.
- Jeweler, etc.
- Work and Uses of Iron.
- Work and Uses of Glass.
- Glassmaking.
- Plate-Glassmaking.
- Mirror Making.
- Optician.
- Glazier, etc.
- Work and Uses of Skin.
- Tanner.
- Chamois Maker.
- Leather Merchant.
- Glove Making, etc.
- Practical Architecture.
- Practical Sculpture.
- Mason.
- Tiler, etc.
- Work and Uses of Silk.
- Spinning.
- Milling.
- Needlecraft.
- Velvet.
- Brocaded Fabrics, etc.
- Work and Uses of Wool.
- Cloth-Making.
- Bonnet-Making, etc.
- Working and Uses, etc.
- General Metaphysics, or Ontology, or Science of Being in General, of Possibility, of Existence, of Duration, etc.
- Science of God.
- Natural Theology.
- Revealed Theology.
- Science of Good and Evil Spirits.
- Science of Man.
- Pneumatology or Science of the Soul.
- Reasonable.
- Sensible.
- Art of Thinking.
- Science of Ideas
- Science of Propositions.
- Demonstration.
- Analysis.
- Synthesis.
- Art of Remembering.
- Natural.
- Artificial.
- Prenotion.
- Emblem.
- Supplement to Memory.
- Alphabet.
- Cipher.
- Art of Communication
- Science of the Instrument of Discourse.
- Pantomime.
- Declamation.
- Characters.
- Ideograms.
- Hieroglyphics.
- Heraldry or Blazonry.
- Science of Qualities of Discourse.
- General Science of Good and Evil, of duties in general, of Virtue, of the necessity of being Virtuous, etc.
- Science of Laws or Jurisprudence.
- Natural.
- Economic. (See also commercial law)
- Political. (See also political law)
- Internal and External. (See also foreign policy)
- Commerce on Land and Sea.
- Metaphysics of Bodies or, General Physics, of Extent, of Impenetrability, of Movement, of Word, etc.
- Mathematics.
- Pure.
- Elementary (Military Architecture, Tactics).
- Transcendental (Theory of Courses).
- Mixed.
- Statics, properly said.
- Hydrostatics.
- Dynamics, properly said.
- Ballistics.
- Hydrodynamics.
- Hydraulics.
- Navigation, Naval Architecture.
- Geometric Astronomy.
- Optics, properly said.
- Dioptrics, Perspective.
- Catoptrics.
- Acoustics.
- Pneumatics.
- Art of Conjecture. Analysis of Chance.
- Physicomathematics.
- Particular Physics.
- Simple.
- Comparative.
- Hygiene.
- Hygiene, properly said.
- Cosmetics (Orthopedics).
- Athletics (Gymnastics).
- Pathology.
- Semiotics.
- Treatment.
- Diete.
- Surgery.
- Pharmacy.
- Physical Astronomy.
- Judiciary Astrology.
- Physical Astrology.
- Chemistry, properly said, (Pyrotechnics, Dyeing, etc.).
- Metallurgy.
- Alchemy.
- Natural Magic.
- Imagination.
- Sacred, Profane.
- Narrative.
- Parable
(Note: This next branch seems to belong to both the narrative and dramatic tree, as indicated by the line drawn connecting the two.)
- Theoretical
- Practical (see also musical technique)
See also
Further reading
- Robert Darnton, "Epistemological angst: From encyclopedism to advertising," in Tore Frängsmyr, ed., The structure of knowledge: classifications of science and learning since the Renaissance (Berkeley, CA: Office for the History of Science and Technology, University of California, Berkeley, 2001).
- Adams, David (2006) 'The Système figuré des Connaissances humaines and the structure of Knowledge in the Encyclopédie', in Ordering the World, ed. Diana Donald and Frank O'Gorman, London: Macmillan, p. 190-215.
- Preliminary discourse to the Encyclopedia of Diderot, Jean Le Rond d'Alembert, translated by Richard N. Schwab, 1995. ISBN 0-226-13476-8
External links
- image of the Tree with English translations superimposed over the French text
- ESSAI D'UNE DISTRIBUTION GÉNÉALOGIQUE DES SCIENCES ET DES ARTS PRINCIPAUX, published as a fold-out frontispiece in volume 1 of Pierre Mouchon, Table analytique et raisonnée des matieres contenues dans les XXXIII volumes in-folio du Dictionnaire des sciences, des arts et des métiers, et dans son supplément, Paris, Panckoucke 1780.
References
Robert Darnton, "Philosophers Trim the Tree of Knowledge: The Epistemological Strategy of the Encyclopedie," The Great Cat Massacre and Other Episodes in French Cultural History (New York: Basic Books, Inc., 1984), 191-213. ↩