The Worlds of Work: Formal Knowledge and Practical Abilities in Diderot’s Encyclopédie

Poni Carlo

Jahrbuch für Wirtschaftsgeschichte / Economic History Yearbook, 2009, vol. 50, issue 1, 135-150

Abstract: The work practices of different crafts are subjects of articles in Diderot’s Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, arts et métiers, in which writers, including Diderot and the chevalier de Jaucourt, reflect on the nature of work and contemporary economic activity. The distinction between the mechanical arts and the liberal arts was fundamental for Diderot, and he affirmed the importance of the former. Articles on pinmaking, watch-making and silk, and more general articles on masterpiece, commerce, art, manufacture, and industry are examined. In the latter, Jaucourt identified art exclusively with beaux arts, and underscored industry as a process of mechanical operations, foreshadowing a new economic system.

Keywords: Division of Labour; Industrialisation; Economic History (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://doi.org/10.1524/jbwg.2009.50.1.135 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bpj:jbwige:v:50:y:2009:i:1:p:135-150:n:14

DOI: 10.1524/jbwg.2009.50.1.135

Access Statistics for this article

Jahrbuch für Wirtschaftsgeschichte / Economic History Yearbook is currently edited by Dieter Ziegler

More articles in Jahrbuch für Wirtschaftsgeschichte / Economic History Yearbook from De Gruyter
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Peter Golla ().