Stalnaker, Joanna. “Diderot’s Word
Machine.” The Unfinished Enlightenment: Description in the Age of the Encyclopedia, Cornell University Press, 2010, pp. 99-123, https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/j.ctt7v7tg.
The Encyclopédie, contrary to most encyclopedias and dictionaries prior to it, includes extraordinary details on the mechanical arts and crafts; however, as Stalnaker accentuates, certain problems arose when writing about them, requiring the volumes of plates for supplementary information. The vast majority of artisans specializing in the mechanical arts had little to no experience in writing, notes Stalnaker; therefore, the Encyclopédie serves as a unique communication between Diderot’s ability to describe and artisans’ ability to create products and relay information accurately. Therefore, it is imperative to view the plates and images alongside the articles to gain a more holistic view of an art or craft. Additionally, the plates allow readers to apply a visual understanding to the parts of a craft and the whole production in general, something that an article struggles to do due to the challenges of describing intricate parts and assemblies in detail. Stalnaker claims that objects can convey meaning in a different fashion that text alone and the combination of the two, article and image, language of knowledge and language of the merchant, is what makes the Encyclopédie unique.
Country of Publication: United States
Main Classification: Language, Plates
7/14/2020: Created page.