Gottmann, Felicia. (2008) Materialism and morality : Diderot and Sade in light of the luxury debate. Studies on Voltaire and the Eighteenth Century, 6 . pp. 217-226. ISSN 0435-2866

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Abstract

Whilst the importance of the eighteenth-century luxury debate as an overarching concern of the Lumières has been recognised, little has been done to discover its influence on moral philosophy and literary texts not directly discussing the issue. Diderot, however, who published on the subject, also portrays the mechanisms of luxury and consumerism in Le Neveu de Rameau. In this text these mechanisms undermine his view of morality, which is rooted in his determinist materialism. The consequences of such a materialism coupled with consumerist ethics as pointed to in the Neveu are depicted in the libertine novels of the marquis de Sade, and pose the question of whether the combination of materialism in the consumerist sense and in the philosophical sense leaves any room for conventional morality.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	D History General and Old World > DC France
Divisions:	Faculty of Arts > History
Journal or Publication Title:	Studies on Voltaire and the Eighteenth Century
Publisher:	Voltaire foundation
ISSN:	0435-2866
Date:	2008
Volume:	6
Number of Pages:	10
Page Range:	pp. 217-226
Status:	Not Peer Reviewed
Publication Status:	Published
Access rights to Published version:	Restricted or Subscription Access
URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/49541

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